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Sefer Chafetz Chayim םייח ץפח רפס
Hilchot Esurei Lashon Hara ערה ןושל ירוסיא תוכלה
Kelal Yud - Halachah 5 י הכלה - י ללכ

and publicize it throughout society. However, this disclosure םדא ןיבב ה"הו .וריבחל םדא השועש )חכ(
is permitted only if the victim was already aware of the Lashon
Hara spoken against him without the speaker’s disclosure. But if .'י ףיעסד איההכו רובעל קזחומ םא םוקמל
the victim was not aware of those remarks, then the observer is
forbidden to disclose those remarks to anyone because of the rule of חכומ ןכ ,ותחכות לבקי אלש וב עדויו ש"מו
“word will get out” and inevitably word will get back to this victim םע הז ןיד הושמש תצבוקמ הטישבש י"ר ירבדמ
for which this observer would be culpable for violating the laws of הזכ שיאש ונייהד ויתורבס לכב אתלת יפאד ןידה
Rechilut, as I will explain further on with G‑d’s help in the section
of this sefer dealing with the Laws of Esurei Rechilut (3 Kelal, תונגמ תוירבהש הצע עמשיש אוה ןיוכתמ יאדוב
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3 halacha). And most certainly it is forbidden to disclose these ןידב הלעמלו םיערה ויכרדמ בושי ז"יעו ותוא
Lashon Hara remarks directly to the victim even if this observer’s עדויש ןוגכ וז ארבס לצא י"רה בתכ אתלת יפאד
sole motivation was to strive to reach the truth of the matter. The
remarks he is repeating to this victim are absolute Rechilut even if אוהש ןויכד אוה טושפו ,ותחכות לבקמ וניאש וב
the one who made the remarks is a boorish person whose ridicule ותוא חיכויש ול איה הבוט רתוי ותבוטל ןיוכתמ
was directed against the important \ prestigious people in Jewish
society or even against his own father or rabbi. םסרפל ךרטצי אלו וירבדל עמשי ילוא הלחתמ
ירעשב הרואכלד ףאו .הזב ןידה אוה ןכ םא ותונג
קר והז ,םש ןייעמהל ןכ עמשמ אל ל"נה הבושת
Be’er Mayim Chayim
החכוה תוצמ ןידמ יאדוב לבא ,ערה ןושל קבא ןידמ
(K10/5/1) – (20) .. someone speaking Lashon Hara against his
fellow Jew: This is evident from Rabbeinu Yonah (Shaare Teshuvah, 3 םדוק וילא עמשי ילוא וחיכוהל ןיד יפ לע בייוחמ
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sha’ar) section #228 where he writes “We began our introduction by saying ףיעסב ליעל יתבתכש ומכ לכהו ,ותונג םסרפיש
it is permitted to demean and shame this person who sins because of the ןייע ,י"הזעב ןוכנ לע לכה יתראיב םש יכ 'ז ןטק
violence within him, (only) as long as society knows that he has not left
his evil (lifestyle) habits and steals (secretly) or robs (openly) or inflicts .םש
hurt or annoys or humiliates or shames or speaks Lashon Hara.” And
what I wrote above “(the disclosure is permitted) only if the victim was
already aware,” that is the context of Rabbeinu Yonah’s statement, that it
was permissible to disclose the severity of the sin of that person who spoke םייחה רוקמ
Lashon Hara, because if not for this (prior awareness) the remarks would
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be Rechilut, as I will write further on (in the Laws of Esurei Rechilut, the לע ערָה ןוֹשׁל רוּפִּס ןידּ דחי ןיוָשׁדּ )טכ( ,דוֹע עדַו .י
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3 Kelal, the 3 halacha) quoting the Rambam and other Authorities. That
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repeating something “someone” said about someone else said is called רבדּ לע ערָה ןוֹשׁל רוּפִּסו ,וֹרבחל םדא ןיבֶּשׁ ,ןוֹע רבדּ
Rechilut in a context (per Rabbeinu Yonah, section #228) where there can ,םוֹקמּל םדא ןיבֶּשׁ ,הרָבֲעבּ ךְא .םוֹקמּל םדא ןיבֶּשׁ ,ןוֹע
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be no useful outcome to the “victim” if those remarks are repeated and the
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only accomplishment of those remarks would be to publicly demean that ל"נּה םיִטרְָפּה לכּ וּמלְשׁי וּלִּפא ,וילע רפּסל רָתּמ ןיא
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“someone” as I wrote above in the 18 notation. This law and the law
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brought down in the 6 halacha are comparable in all of their details to the הֶשׂוֹעו הּבּ זחוֹאֶשׁ ,וילע הארָ ןכּ םִא אלּא ,'ב ףיִעסבֶּשׁ
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