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VOL-3
Sefer Chafetz Chayim םייח ץפח רפס
Hilchot Esurei Lashon Hara ערה ןושל ירוסיא תוכלה
Kelal Yud - Halachah 2 ד הכלה - י ללכ

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A working definition of a slanderer is someone who appears in Beit Din ,םהל עמְשׁנ םִאֶשׁ ,דֹאְמ םיִשׁנא המּכּ ןיִלָשׁכנ הזבוּ(
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and claims before the court that his wife had relations with another man
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after she became engaged (sanctified) to him and he brings witnesses to םִא ,םהל ררֵבְּתנ אלֶֹּשׁ ףא ,המ רבדּ וֹבוֹרקְִל הָשׂע דחאֶשׁ
support his charge against his wife. Following this husband’s accusation,
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if the father of this woman brings other witnesses who testify that the הערָ ףכֵתּ וֹל ןיִלְמוֹגו ןיִכלוֹה ,רבדּה תבִּס וֹא תמא אוּה
first pair of witnesses (who corroborated the husband’s charges) were :)'ז ח"נ וּהָיְעַשְׁי( תַוְצִמ הֶזָבּ ןיִמְיּקְַמ םֵה יִכּ ,םָבְשָׁחְבּ ,הֶז רוּבֲע
with them and they could not possibly have seen the events they were
testifying to (i.e., that they were liars), this is the person that the Torah ןיא יִכּ ,הלוֹדגּ תוּעט הזבּ ןיִעוֹטו ."םלּעְתִת אלֹ ךָרְָשׂבִּמוּ"
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characterizes as being a slanderer. That characterization, “slanderer,”
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remains even if the second set of witnesses say it was true, that the woman רמאנ אלֶֹּשׁ ,ל"נּה םינידּה לכל קוֹחרָל בוֹרקָ ןיבּ קוּלִּח
was promiscuous and she had relations with other men before she became
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engaged \ sanctified to her husband and that these witnesses themselves .)םוֹלָשׁו סח ,רוּסִּא תוֹשֲׂעל ידֵכּ "םלּעְתִת אלֹ ךָרְָשׂבִּמוּ"
warned the woman against having relations while she was a Niddah and
that the punishment for what she was about to do was Karet. Even with
all of this background, the husband is still called a “slanderer” because he :ה"הגה
should not have exaggerated her sin as he did (by bringing into the court
false witnesses). רבדּה הלּגְּתנ רבכּ םִא קרַ ,רָתּמ וֹניא הז ןפֹאבוּ )זי( *
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The statement of the gemara in Masechet Ketubot (46a) is very well ןידֲַע רבדּה הלּגְּתנ אלֹ םִא לבא ,קזּנּהו קָשׁענּהו לזגנּהל
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known, that the Torah’s warning against slandering is contained in the ןמּקַל ראֹבְמֶּשּׁ המ יִפכוּ ,םירִחאל רפּסל רוּסאֶשׁ הארְנ ,םהל
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pasuk (Vayikrah 19:16) “Do not peddle gossip in society.” The Rambam
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holds this same opinion in Sefer HaMitzvot in his commentary on the וּלִּפא אוּה תוּליִכרְ רוּסִּאדּ ,םיקִסוֹפּה םֵשׁבּ תוּליִכרְ תוֹכלִהבּ
301 Lav. This being so, then here too in our case, one must be extremely עדַוּי ןפּ ,ינוֹלְפּ דגנ הָשׂעו רבּדּ ינוֹלְפֶּשּׁ המ דחאל רפּסְמ םִא
st
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careful not to embellish or exaggerate the sin any more than it actually was
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because if not, the remarks would characterize the speaker as a slanderer. שׁי רבח - ךָרְבחֶשׁ( ,הּיל תיִא ארָבח ךְרָבחדּ )חי( ,ןוֹדּנּהל
This is the opinion of the Rambam as he expresses it in Hilchot De’Aut .םייּח םימ ראבִבּ ןיּעו ,הז לע וֹבִּלבּ האנִשׂ וֹל סנכִּתו ,)וֹל
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at the beginning of the 7 perek (2 halacha), that someone who lies and
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degrades a fellow Jew falsely is included in the category of “slanderer.”
Apart from this, the essential leniency of Rabbeinu Yonah is comparable םייח םימ ראב
to a solitary witness who is obligated to testify in Beit Din in the case
of a monetary dispute in order to compel the defendant to swear to his ש"מב הנוי 'ר תנווכ וזש .'וכו לזגנהל רוזעל )די(
innocence. This solitary witness most certainly is forbidden to embellish
his testimony even in the slightest detail by claiming, as an example, שייבתמהו םינפב ש"מו .ול םשא רשאל רוזעל
the defendant owes a penny more than the $100, the amount in dispute. בתכ לכה לע יכ ,כ"ג הנוי 'רמ חכומ ןכ ,'וכו
Similarly it is explicitly forbidden to increase the number of lashes given
to a Rasha any more than the law requires. This is the law here as well in ולש תשובה רפסיש י"עש הנווכהו 'וכו רוזעל ידכ
our case, since we learn from Gemara Arachin (15a) that the sinful words אל לע םנחב והניג ינולפש לכה ועדיו םישנאל
coming out of a person’s mouth are more damaging than a person’s sinful
actions. ראשנש המילכהו רעצה ונממ טעמתי ,ויפכב סמח
Therefore, based on what we explained if someone discloses remarks בשחנ יכ התע ותוארב ,וזה תשובה י"ע ובלב ול
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