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Sefer Chafetz Chayim םייח ץפח רפס
Hilchot Esurei Lashon Hara ערה ןושל ירוסיא תוכלה
Kelal Zayin - Halachah 4 ב הכלה - ז ללכ

did something inappropriate but this person does not have an established ונל שיש ינפמ יכו השודקה ונתרות תעד ןכ אל
reputation for routinely committing this sin. Even if we heard from many
people that he committed this particular sin, still it is forbidden to accept ורובידב ןמאנ תקזחב וקיזחהלו ותופיל הז לע ארבס
this story as truth and to hate him and even more so one may not speak לצא וליפא אלהו ,ותקזחמ ינשהל הז ידי לע איצונ
Lashon Hara against this person or humiliate him.
אל ,לודג חכ ול שיש ןיד תיב ינפל דעוהש רבד
One should realize that everything we have said was already concisely
summarized by Rashi in the cited Gemara Megilah (25b) in the notation ירבדכ ןיד תיבב רבדה טלחויש ללכ וז ארבס הרכזנ
beginning with the words “Terrible reputation: That bad reports repeatedly קר ךירצ ןיא ןוממבו ,וינפב וילע דיעהש ינפמ דעה
circulated in society that this man is an adulterer.” He did not write that a
bad report was rumored about him, but he wrote that reports “repeatedly וריבח לע תונג ירבד ראש דעה דיעה םאו ,העובש
circulated,” implying that because of this man’s terrible deeds, many ותודע ינהמ אל לוספו עשר הזב ותושעל הצורו
different stories (all bad) were constantly circulating about him. Similarly,
Rashi explains in Gemara Kedushin (81a) in the notation beginning with לע וילע ראשנ אלו ,ותקזחמ ינשהל איצוהל ללכ
the words “The court gives lashes to a person for a report that is not good” ומכ ותורשכ תקזחב ראשנו לוספ קפס םוש ןיד יפ
(The Beit Din punishes with lashes the person who has a reputation for
repeatedly committing sins – That this person defiantly committed sins is ח"כ ןמיסב טפשמ ןשחב ראובמכו ,םדוק היהש
a matter of public record). The implication of Rashi’s commentary here ,ה"הגהב
conforms to what I explained, that specifically in such an instance where
there is a basis for this man’s repeated bad reputation, one is permitted to
conclude an opinion and hate this man for his sins. But if there is only a ונייה יעבימ שחימל )א"ע א"ס( הדנב ורמאש המו
rumor about him that he once transgressed an esur, one may not form an קפס םוש וילע היהיש אלו ונממ ומצע רומשל קר
opinion, as I wrote above.
םימ ראבב 'ו ללכב ונרריבש ומכו ותקזחמ ואיצוהל
The understanding of the Shulchan Aruch Ehven HaEzer is also clearly
as I wrote above. In section #178, paragraph #20 he writes as follows: A .ש"יע ופוסב ה"כ ק"סב םייח
married woman who claims in court that so‑and‑so is stalking her, and he
denies it, the court has no basis for punishing him, etc. But if this man has האור אוה םא ןידה אוה הז לע האדוה םינפב כ"שמו
earned a reputation as being suspect for committing immoral offenses etc,
the court actively restrains him, as Chazal have taught (in the citation in ותולצנתה ירבדמ רכינו הז לע לצנתמש ןודינהל
Gemara Kedusheen) “The court gives lashes to a person for a report that is םירבד לככ ןימאהל רתומ ןכ םג תמא רבדהש
not good.” (Quoted up until this point). The Shulchan Aruch does not say
that this man is merely “suspect” for committing immoral acts, but rather .ב"יו א"י ףיעסב ש"יעו ןמקל םיראובמה םירכינה
more definitively the Beit Din is aware that this man has an established
reputation for committing immoral acts, again the implication being as I ןבאב ראובמש הממ .קתוש אוה םא וליפאו )ג(
wrote above.
דיעה דחא דע םא וליפאד ט"ס ח"עק ןמיסב רזעה
This is also the law as brought down in Yoreh De’Ah section #334
paragraph #42, quoted as follows: “If he has a terrible reputation, for ויניעב ןמאנ אוה םאד ,הקתשו התניזש הינפב
example, he reads books that contain apostasy, or his friends \ family
are frequently embarrassed by his actions, etc.” Note the text does not 2 Meaning, that if he admitted to those charges then one could believe the
say that they “were embarrassed” (once) or some comparable language, Lashon Hara.

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