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Sefer Chafetz Chayim 12 VOL-3 םייח ץפח רפס
Hilchot Esurei Lashon Hara ערה ןושל ירוסיא תוכלה
Kelal Yud - Halachah 11 אי הכלה - י ללכ
back; But he doesn’t leave anything for me, he takes far more produce that ונאבה רוסיאלו ,היאר םוש ונל ןיא רתיהל רבד ףוס
he is entitled to (i.e., the sharecropper is a thief).” Here we see that nothing
beneficial, no useful future outcome could have come from Rav Hunah’s היאר תומדכ דוע יל שיו .ל"נכו תוקזח תויאר המכ
remarks that the sharecropper should stop taking more produce that he אבקוע רמ היל חלשד ).'ז ףד( ןיטיגב ןנירמאד אהמ
was entitled to (i.e., that the sharecropper should stop stealing). In making
those (Lashon Hara) remarks Rav Hunah did not intend that his colleagues םרסומל ידיבו ילע םידמועה םדא ינב רזעלא 'רל
should reprimand his sharecropper. Rav Hunah’s only motivation in םמש תא תולגל הצר אלש ירה 'וכו והמ תוכלמל
making those remarks was to deflect the criticism against himself, but this
too is forbidden. It is generally forbidden to speak Lashon Hara about אללש ןויכ ,םינפב ונתרבסכ כ"עו ,וילע ודמעד ףא
someone, even if it is true and the speaker’s only intention is to deflect ךכיפל רזעלא 'ר ינפל הלגיש יוליגה היהי תלעות
criticism leveled against him. A proof to this concept (that you cannot use
Lashon Hara as a defense to protect yourself from criticism) comes from .הזב רהזל שי דואמ ןכ לע ,תולגל הצר אל
Gemara Babba Batra (164b) “(when Rebbe asked his son Rebbe Shimon,
whose beautiful handwriting composed the text of the Sefer Tehilim that
he was reading, and Rebbe Shimon answered) I did not write it, Rebbe
Yehudah Chayata wrote it. Rebbe responded to his son – Stop speaking :ה"הגה
Lashon Hara! (Rebbe Shimon’s praise of Rebbe Yehudah Chayata would הדוהי 'ר ):'ל ףד( תורוכבב אתיאד הממ תושקהל ןיא ןכו *
inevitably invite someone else to to find some other fault in Rebbe Yehudah
Chayata). Even though Rebbe Shimon’s only motivation was to save יבגל ןנבר ורדש תורהטב אתלימ והל קפתסיא יסוי 'רו
himself from criticism, still his father called his remarks Lashon Hara. הב ןייעל היל ורמא וליזא ,סונגיטנא ןב אנינח 'ר לש ונב
If that is so, then how could Rav Hunah have told his colleagues that his
sharecropper was stealing field gleaning? Based on what was said above, 'רל היל ורמא ותא ,'וכו והייבגל הידידמ ןנבר ביתוא 'וכ
to say that someone stole from you is in fact Lashon Hara! 'וכ היל רמא 'וכו הז לש ויבא הדוהי 'ר והל רמא הדוהי
But the truth of the matter is that the question doesn’t even get started. ,'וכו ומוקמב חנומ אהי ןקז דובכ
First because Rashi explains (in the citation that begins with the words
“He stole from me”) Rav Hunah as meaning “and don’t all of you suspect 'רו הדוהי 'ר ינפל רפסל ןנברד אגוזהל רתומ היה ךיאה
him too, that he stole from me far more than the share he was entitled to?”
Rashi means that these rabbis (the colleagues of Rav Hunah) already knew קחודד( תורהטה לע םנימאה אלש םדובכב עגנש המב יסוי
the sharecropper was a thief and therefore Rav Hunah’s remarks were not אלש ל"י כ"ג אכהד )אניד יבד אחולש ללכב ויה םהד רמול
Lashon Hara. And even if we explained the case at its literal meaning, 'רו הדוהי 'רש תלעותל קר הזב ותונגל םרופיסב ונוויכ
that (Rav Hunah told his colleagues) the sharecropper was a thief, still
there would be no question. Because Rav Hunah’s only motivation was
to deflect the criticism against himself and that is not comparable to the watch them) while he stood up to look into the question. The two scholars
case in Gemara Babba Batra cited above (164b), because there it would returned to Rebbe Yehudah and Rebbe Yossi and told them what had
have been sufficient for Rebbe Shimon to deflect criticism from himself happened (that they were watched, they were suspected of not observing
by simply saying “I didn’t write it” and why did he have to mention Taharot). Rebbe Yehudah said to them, his father held scholars in contempt
and he also holds scholars in contempt. Rebbe Yossi said don’t disturb
the name of Yehudah Chayatah (in the case of the Tehilim or Shtar their dignity (don’t accuse him of despising scholars) since from the day
MeKushar) and deflect the criticism onto him? As the Rashbam explains the second Beit HaMikdash was destroyed the Kohanim (including Rebbe
in his commentary there (citation beginning with the words “Stop [your Chaninah Ben Antignos who was a Kohein) guarded themselves by not
Lashon Hara]).” But that is not so in our case, as here there was no other entrusting matters of Taharot to everyone.
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