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Sefer Chafetz Chayim
Hilchot Esurei Lashon Hara

Kelal Dalet - Halachah 4

a regretful heart that is embittered because it committed a sin.
When this person’s actions are disclosed before others, he becomes
an object of humiliation and disgrace in the public’s esteem even
after he decided never again to repeat it and was forgiven for his
sin.18 Therefore the fool who discloses this person’s (past) sins is
committing a sin.

One may not even disclose this person’s actions to the rabbinical
authorities of the city (16), even if there is a second witness to
this person’s actions (and if there wasn’t a second witness, in any
circumstance it would be forbidden to disclose these actions because
the city’s rabbinical authorities are forbidden to believe him and
if he did disclose those actions he would be considered to be an
habitual speaker of Lashon Hara, as I will write about this further
on) because no useful outcome can come from disclosing this
person’s actions. Instead, one must privately, discretely (17) speak
to this person about the sin he committed before G‑d, and encourage
him to discipline himself in order to avoid the circumstances that
led him to commit the sin in the first place, in order that he not
repeat his actions and come to sin again. However, the person who
is reprimanding him must be careful to use gentle language (17)
in order not to embarrass this person, as the Torah commands us
(Vayikrah 19:17) “Reprimand your fellow Jew but don’t come to
sin because of him.”

Everything written until this point (18) was in the context of
discussing even an average person in all other regards and even more
so if this person is a Torah Scholar who is fearful of committing a sin,
but for the moment his Yetzer Hara got the better of him, it would
be absolutely forbidden, a serious sin on the part of the witness, to
disclose this person’s sin. It is forbidden to continue to even suspect
this Talmid Chacham of continuing in this sin because one can be
certain without doubt that he has done Teshuvah. Because even

18 Reference is made to Rabbeinu Yonah in Shaare Teshuvah, 3rd sha’ar, sections
#216-217 who quotes Mishle (14:9-10) “A guilt-offering will intercede for
fools” (meaning, it serves to make restitution for fools and mitigate their
punishment).

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