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VOL-3
Sefer Chafetz Chayim םייח ץפח רפס
Hilchot Esurei Lashon Hara ערה ןושל ירוסיא תוכלה
Kelal Het - Halachah 12 א הכלה - ט ללכ

st
1 Hagahah קבאד רוסיאה קר הז לע ובתכ ךכלד וניתישוק ץרתל שיו
As it is known that there are Jews who pay people to libel their fellow הידיד ואלבד ןפואב וליפא הזב לולכל וצרד ,ערה ןושל
Jews in order to steal their wealth by unjustly bringing them to appear ינפל ךייש אל הזבו ,ערה ןושלל ןכ םג םיאב ויהש רשפא
in court to stand trial before the government’s judges. [The editor of the
th
Agudat Nautzreh Lashon 13 edition of the Chafetz Chayim’s Hilchot יאקדב קר רויע ינפל ךייש אלד )ו"ד( ז"עב חכומדכ רוע
Esur Lashon Hara adds a note that it seems to him that this Hagahah was םיאב ויה אל הידיד ואלב םא לבא ,ארהנד ירבע ירתב
inserted (by) (because of) gentile censors]
תודוא הלחתמ ללכ ורביד אלש ןוגכ ערה ןושלל םיעמושה
אמיא ,ערה ןושל ורבדש דע םהל בביס וירבדב אוהו ,ינולפ
nd
2 Hagahah .רוע ינפלב ןכ םג רבועד
Since Hashem has helped me to explain several different concepts in the
laws of this Kelal, I thought to explain one more concept even though it is אקודד ,רמולו רחא םעטמ ל"נה אישוקה תוחדל ןיאו
outside the scope of this sefer, which is devoted to discussing the details of
the esur of Lashon Hara. Nevertheless, I did not avoid this subject because עיגהל ןפוא םושב ריזנה לוכי ןיאש ארהנד ירבע ירתב
many people are mistaken in this regard, namely, when one’s Yetzer Hara ,וניא הזד .ונינינעב ןכ ןיאש המ ,הידיד ואלב רוסיאה לא
persuades him to ridicule and mock his fellow Jew and convinces him אנוה ברד אדבועב ןישודקב ןכו .חיכוי לודג ונבל הכמד
to do so in an indirect way so that the ridicule and the insults won’t be
answered back by the victim with insults that are twice as caustic, or so ,רוע ינפלא רבעקו חתר אמלדו ארמגה השקמקד ל"נה
that he won’t cause people’s perception of him to change and they will still םא ףא ויבאל אטחי ןבהש םימעפל תויהל לוכיד ףא ירה
think of him as being wise. Instead he will use his wisdom and guile to
express himself in a way that hides the true intent of his remarks, so that ויבא וזיגרה אל םא התעד ןויכ םוקמ לכמ ,ויבא וזיגרי אל
people won’t immediately understand what he is really saying. But later, יאק הז רבד ירקימ ןכל ,ודגנ רבדמ ןבה היה אל אמתסמ
when they think about what he said, they will realize what he really meant .רוע ינפלב באה רבוע ךכלו ,ארהנד ירבע ירתב
and the victim will remain an object of humiliation and scorn because
he won’t be able to immediately (help defend himself and) respond to
those remarks. And as the incident is publicized (and more people come

How so very great is the sin of the man who informs on a Jew to a gentile, his
sin is so great as to be unbearable and his punishment is comparable to the
punishment of a heretic or someone who denies that the Torah is G-d-given
or denies that at some time in the (near) future G-d will give life back to those
who have died. Their punishment is so great that Gehinnom will have ceased
to exist but their punishment will continue to endure, as Chazal teach us in
Gemara Rosh Hashanah (17a). Our great Kabbalists have written about this
person, that his punishment will be to become reincarnated as a mad dog.
I have heard this same idea expressed by the Vilna Gaon, his holy memory is
a legacy of peace, in the following incident. The Gaon accepted upon himself
a form of exile and hired a wagon and a Jewish driver. The horse pulling this
wagon strayed off the road and trampled some plowed furrows on the side of

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