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Sefer Chafetz Chayim םייח ץפח רפס 4 VOL-4
Hilchot Esurei Rechilut תוליכר ירוסיא תוכלה
Kelal Alef - Halachah 3 א הכלה - א ללכ

to violate the Torah’s Lav of “Do not peddle gossip.” Resh Lakish holds
(the text of the verdict reads) “so-and-so are the judges who decided this
litigant was the winner and so-and-so is the judge who dissented and said
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this litigant is the loser,” even though at the time the justices wrote their *תוּליכרְ ירֵוּסִּא תוֹכלִה
verdict they had no intent to gossip about the judge who held the litigant
liable, still, this situation is not at all comparable to the case described in the
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Mishnah which uses the expression “but what else could I have done,” as 'א ללכּ
the P’nei Moshe explains in his commentary on the Yerushalmi (3 perek,
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10 halacha, “Mar’eh HaPanim,” commentary beginning with the word
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“Said”). Still, Rebbe Yochanan holds to his opinion, against the opinion of תֶמֱא לַע וּלּפֲאו ,תוּליכרְ רוּפּס רוּסִּא רַאֹבי הז ללכבּ
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Resh Lakish, that saying any more than “Zakai” becomes gossip.
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דָחֶא םִא ביִשָׁהלּ הַמוּ ,תוּליכרְ ארָקְנּ הַמוּ ,רוּמגּ
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Yet a further proof comes from Gemara Shabbat (33b) relating the incident
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involving Yehudah Ben Garim who repeated what he saw and heard, etc. יֵטרָפּ רָאְשׁ לכו ,יַתוֹדוֹא ינוֹלפּ רֵבּדּ הַמ :וֹלֲאוֹשׁ
(Please see Rashi’s commentary there). In that incident Yehudah Ben .םיפיִעס א"י וֹבוּ ,רוּסִּאָה
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Garim had no intention, G-d forbid, to shame Rebbe Shimon Bar Yochai,
since Yehudah Ben Garim was a great man, a prestigious person, as the
Tosafot explain in that reference. Please study carefully the Maharsha’s ה"הגה
commentary on that citation (Chidushei Agadot, citation beginning with םָתוֹא דֹמלִל םיִלוֹכי וּנייה וֹז הכלהבּ םינידּ המּכֶּשׁ ףא *
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the words “How many”) that Rebbe Yehudah Elaei did not disagree with
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Rebbe Shimon Bar Yochai. Similarly, Rebbe Yossi seems to concur with ,ערָה ןוֹשׁל רוּסִּא תוֹכלִה איִהֶשׁ ,הנוֹשׁארִ הכלהֵמ םמצעֵמ
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him even though he was afraid to openly express that same sentiment. המּכּ ינְפִּמ שׁוּרפבּ םוּנרְאבוּ הז לע וּנכמס אלֹ ןכ יִפּ לע ףא
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Therefore if everyone who was part of that conversation concurred, most
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certainly Yehudah Ben Garim did not disagree with that sentiment. For .המדּקְהה ףוֹסבּ וּנבַתכֶּשׁ וֹמכּ ,םיִמעְט
although he was prestigious, nevertheless he was their student and still he
is considered a gossip in repeating what he heard (because of the harm it
caused his teachers) and from the fact of his subsequent punishment, since .בא ט"י ,ןסינ 'ט ,ולסכ ט"כ* - תרבועמ הנש .בא ג"כ ,ןסינ ג"כ ,ולסכ ג"כ - הטושפ הנש :ימוי חול
Rebbe Shimon Bar Yochai turned him into pile of bones. .'ל םוי לש דומילה תא םג ט"כ םויב םידמול ,םימי ט"כ קר ןושח שדוחב שי םא *
And do not try to contend against this concept by arguing that the incident
involving Yehudah Ben Garim was not relevant to Lashon Hara because םייחה רוקמ
that contention is wrong since the Rambam also used this incident to learn
אלֹ" :רמאנֶּשׁ ,הֶשֲׂעַת אלֹבּ רבוֹע וֹרבחבּ לגּרְַמה )א( .א
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The Gemara Shabbat (33b) is illustrating an example of Lashon Hara: Rebbe תוֹשׁפנ גרֹהל םרֵוֹגו ,אוּה לוֹדגּ ןוֹעו "ךָימּעבּ ליִכרָ ךְלֵת
Yehudah, Rebbe Yossi and Rebbe Shimon Bar Yochai were in discussion. ."ךָערֵ םדּ לע דֹמֲעַת אלֹ" :וֹל ךְמסנ ךְכל ,לארְָשׂיִּמ תוֹבּרַ
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Rebbe Yehudah (seemingly) praised the civil engineering accomplishments
of the Romans. Rebbe Yossi remained silent but Rebbe Shimon Bar Yochai הגרְהנֶּשׁ ,יִמוֹדאה גאוֹדּ לֶשׁ וֹתוּליִכרְֵמ ערַא המ ,דמלוּ אצ
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criticized the Romans for the monsters that they were. Yehudah Ben Garim
was listening to this discussion and mentioned it to someone in his household.
Eventually word of Rebbe Shimon Bar Yochai’s comment got back to the remarks is called the “listener” or the “victim” and the person conveying
Roman government who then condemned him to death. Rebbe Shimon Bar those remarks to the “listener” is called the “speaker,” the “gossip” or the
“reporter.”
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