March 2019

Chofetz Chaim Daily 23 Adar II 6:5 If one is in a group of people saying LH who will not accept rebuke & he can’t leave or put his fingers in his ears, then he MUST 1)Resolve not to believe 2)Be unhappy to listen 3)Not show consent. 6:6 It is a sin if he was aware they were going to speak LH before he joined.

Chofetz Chaim Daily 24 Adar II 6:7 The sin of LH is commonly caused by not judging favorably. 6:8 It is much worse if the subject is a Talmid Chacham, whom one must try harder to judge favorably.

Chofetz Chaim Daily 21 Adar II 6:1 Asur to BELIEVE LH, as it says Lo sisa sheima shav. Believing is worse than speaking. 6:2 Asur to LISTEN to LH. Mutar if there is a valid toeles, for example you’ll be able to protect yourself/others.

Chofetz Chaim Daily 22 Adar II 6:3 If someone wants to tell you LH, ask him if there will be toeles for you to listen. Otherwise asur. 6:4 Mitzva to listen to LH IF: 1) Letting speaker finish his story will allow you to show listeners its false. 2) Listening to angry speaker will vent his anger and prevent from spreading further.

Chofetz Chaim Daily 20 Adar II 5:7 Asur to degrade someone’s belongings i.e. to say ploni’s store sells bad quality items. 5:8 It is worse when two people say LH, because it is more damaging.

Chofetz Chaim Daily 19 Adar II 5:5 Saying that someone is weak can damage him for shidduchim or getting a job. Asur to say that ploni isn’t as rich as thought to be, if it will make it hard for him to get a loan. 5:6 RULE: It depends who you are talking about. A positive for one person may be very negative for another.

Chofetz Chaim Daily 18 Adar II 5:2 Asur to tell people that ploni is weak/not smart etc. because this will damage him socially & financially. 5:3 See sefer for more details. 5:4 Worse to say that ploni isn’t such a scholar; e.g. if he’s a Rabbi, it will damage his spiritual influence and livelihood. If he’s a newlywed, it will embarrass him and his new family.

Chofetz Chaim Daily 16 Adar II 4:11 One seeking info about a potential shidduch/partner may ask others, and they may say necessary info (See rechilus Chap. 9 for more detail). However you must explain why you are asking so it will be with proper intention. One MAY NOT ask those who do not like the subject.

Chofetz Chaim Daily 17 Adar II 4:12 To repent for LH, one must ask subject mechila (only if he was hurt; socially, emotionally, etc.) It is impossible for a habitual LH speaker to ask mechila from everyone he pained. 5:1 If you see someone doing sins bein adam l’chaveiro, (ex. not lending money that he could afford) you must not tell anyone. Editor –  However one must still take the appropriate steps of rebuke, etc with the seven conditions as will be elaborated upon in Chapter 10. This is especially important if one is found to be hurting another.

Chofetz Chaim Daily 12 Adar II 4:3 If you see an average Jew doing something wrong, even many times, you must assume it was a mistake or that he didn’t know it was wrong. 4:4 Even if one is sure that subject KNEW it was wrong, asur to tell. Maybe he did teshuva. Instead you should rebuke him privately and nicely.

Chofetz Chaim Daily 11 Adar II 4:1 Asur to degrade someone about his parents’ negative actions or his own past misdeeds. Asur to tell about someone actively doing something wrong bein adam l’Makom. 4:2 Even a slight wrongdoing is asur to report i.e. not keeping a minhag etc

Chofetz Chaim Daily 9 Adar II  3:5 Asur to say LH in a sneaky fashion, i.e. to pretend you don’t realize that ploni acts this way or that what you’re saying is negative 3:6 Asur to say LH even if you know in advance that it wont cause any harm to the subject.

Chofetz Chaim Daily 10 Adar II  3:7 One must judge his fellow favorably as it says Bitzedek tishpot amisecha. Often, not doing so leads to LH (see sefer for more details). 3:8 Even in scenario that one isnt obligated to judge favorably, one still must not relate what he saw, unless all the conditions are met. See chapters 4, 5, & 10.

Chofetz Chaim Daily 7 Adar II 3:1 Asur to say LH both in front of and not in front of the subject. 3:2 Something that can be understood as positive or slightly negative can only be said if you would say it in front of the subject. This indicates the positive intention.
Chofetz Chaim Daily 8 Adar II 3:3 Asur to degrade someone even if said as a joke. 3:4 Asur to say anonymous story, if the listener will be able to discern who its about. Asur to cause a negative impression about somebody.