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Sefer Chafetz Chayim םייח ץפח רפס 11 VOL-3
Hilchot Esurei Lashon Hara ערה ןושל ירוסיא תוכלה
Kelal Yud - Halachah 7 ו הכלה - י ללכ

or perhaps some other benefit will result, as discussed above in the ומכו הזמ תלעות אובתש האור אוה םא רפסל רתומ
th
4 halacha. Please see that reference.
.הז ףיעסב םינפב ונבתכש

Be’er Mayim Chayim
המב וללכנ הז ףיעסב םינפבש ונירבד לכ תמאבו
(K10/7/1)-(23) .. if the speaker knows beforehand or realized
… in the presence of three people: This is the opinion of the Shetah .תקולחמה ילעב לע ר"השל רבדל רתומ ורמאש
Mekubetzet in his commentary on Gemara Babba Batra (39b) quoting the י"ר םוקמ לכמ ,ונבתכש ומכ יכה אנידד ףאו
Aliyot of Rabbeinu Yonah, of blessed memory. Please see that reference.
The majority of this Kelal (K/10) is assembled from the writings of קר ןפואה הזב ירייא אל ר"השל רפסמהו בתכש
Rabbeinu Yonah in his Sefer Shaare Teshuvah and the quotations of וינפ שקיב אלו בתכדמ ,כ"קסב ונבתכש ומכ
Rabbeinu Yonah cited by the Shetah Mekubetzet.
הז םושמ ולש רתיההד עמשמ ,ונוע לע ריבעהל
(K10/7/2) – (24) .. even though it is forbidden: I will elaborate
on what I wrote in explanation of the opinion of Rabbeinu Yonah as ,ןודינהל תרחא אתועיר דוע עיגי אלש ףא ,דבלב
contained in the Shetah Mekubetzet, quoted as follows: “(If someone ומכ יאדו אלא ,תוליכר רוסיאל י"ר ששח אלו
disclosed information in front of one or two people) perhaps the details
of the disclosure are not true,”…“(but if the disclosure was made ‘in the ראשנ אלו ןודינהל הלגתנ רבכש ירייאד ונבתכש
presence of three people’) everyone knows that someone with a strong ןכלו רפסמה הז לש תונג רופיס םעטמ קר ונל
presumption of legitimacy would not make a public statement that is a lie.”
Even though I explained this concept and brought proof to it, that one may מ"שב ומשב אבוהש ומכ אוה ומעטו ,י"ר ריתה
not believe Lashon Hara even if it is spoken in the presence of three people, ילוא םגו ןוא ילעופ תוירבה ונגיש ידכ ב"בל
that it is obvious that if the speaker did not make his disclosure in front of
three people society would strongly suspect the disclosure was a lie, that עמשישכ ןודינהל סייפיו ז"יע בושי ומצעב אוה
the speaker was suspect of being a liar and they would not investigate the .הז רובע ותוא תונגמ תוירבהש
charges in the disclosure. Instead now (that it was disclosed in front of
three people) the charges will make an impression on society and they will
conclude that the charges are more likely to be true, still this person (the
“sinner”) may not be denigrated because of the charges in the disclosure םראבאו .ל"נה םיטרפה כ"ג הזב ורסחי אלו )בכ(
because perhaps one small detail may have been omitted and because of .הזב שדחתנש רבד ינפמ שוריפב
that omission the entire sense of the story was misrepresented. Therefore
the entire disclosure must first be completely investigated (and if the
charges are found to be true) then this person must be reprimanded.

However, when Rabbeinu Yonah said “(If the matter is disclosed in front אלו ,ר"השל וילע רפיס אוהש ומצעב עמשיש )א
of only one or two people, then) perhaps the details (of the disclosure .ול ררבתנש אל םא ,םירחאמ הז עמשש
are not true)” he did not mean that perhaps the matter was doubtful but
now because it was disclosed in front of three people it must have been
true. This was not his intention, because we have already proven using
clear examples that it is forbidden to accept Lashon Hara as truth in any

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