Daily Jewish Law - 2/1

Hi,


Yesterday we said that one may not speak negatively of a person in his presence (despite rationalizing that if I'll say it in his presence, it must not be that bad).

However, one may say something with two potential meanings, one negative and one positive, in the subject's presence; we assume that one wouldn't do this unless he intended the positive meaning.

(Mekor Chaim 3:2)

Have a great day,
Mordechai

Saying it to his face doesn't help

Hi,

We have been learning about lashon hara, harmful speech.

People sometimes excuse harmful comments by saying, "I even say this to his face."

While such candor is admirable, saying a negative thing about a person in his presence rather than behind his back does not mitigate the Lashon HaRa aspect. Instead, it adds another element of embarrassing him to his face.

(Mekor Chaim 3:1)

Have a great day,
Mordechai

Daily Jewish Law - 1/30

Hi,

We have been learning about lashon hara, harmful speech.

If someone discusses with you his personal affairs, such as his business, you may not reveal them to others - even if nothing negative is apparent in them - unless he already discussed them in a public forum, showing that he does not mind public knowledge.

(Mekor Chaim 2:13)

Have a great day,
Mordechai

Daily Jewish Law - 1/29

Hi,

We have been learning about harmful speech.

The fact that a person's negative incident is publicly known and comes up in conversation on its own, without intent to cause a bad reputation, still does not permit embellishment or editorializing on the part of people in that conversation.

(Mekor Chaim 2:9)

Have a great day,
Mordechai

Daily Jewish Law - 1/28

Hi,

We have been learning about lashon hara, harmful speech.

If a person has divulged something negative about himself in a group setting, but he asked that the group members not mention it elsewhere, those listeners are not permitted to consider the news "public knowledge," and may not repeat it.

(Mekor Chaim 2:7)

Have a great day,
Mordechai

Daily Jewish Law - 1/27

Hi,

We have been learning about harmful speech.

The prohibition against Lashon Hara is geared toward preventing me from communicating new negative information about a person, giving him a bad reputation. Conveying old information does not give him a bad reputation.

There is a separate prohibition against Tale-Bearing (Rechilut), and that prohibition is geared toward preventing me from instigating negative conversations about a person, causing people to turn against him.

The key here is instigation. If something is already public, so that the listeners are all familiar with it, then communicating it isn't Lashon Hara - the fact is already known. However, initiating such a discussion is still problematic under Tale-Bearing, because Tale-Bearing isn't really about divulging fresh information, it's about instigating negative comments about a person.

(Mekor Chaim 2:3)

Have a great day,
Mordechai

Daily Jewish Law - 1/25

Hi,

We have been learning about Lashon HaRa, harmful speech.

The size of the audience does not affect the permissibility of speaking negatively about others - it is prohibited before small and large groups alike.

However, it is worth noting that one who is speaking to a group of three or more people will be better-reminded to watch his words, since he will understand that his words will likely get back to the subject of his remarks. Therefore, one who must speak about other people should do so in a group, specifically, where he will be more careful.

(Mekor Chaim 2:1-2)

Have a great day,
Mordechai