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Mekor Hachayim Sefer Chafetz Chayim
Hilchot Esurei Lashon Hara

Kelal Heh

make this mistake are commonly found and nearly all of society
falls into this mistake solely because of their ignorance of the law.
Therefore I ask of my reader not to be astounded by what I am
about to put forth and I will clearly explain each detail carefully.
Hopefully, with help from Hashem, perhaps in so doing some of
these terrible misconceptions will be corrected.

I will say to you very clearly that it is absolutely forbidden to disgrace
someone because of his imperfect character traits; either because of
his (shallow) intellectual abilities or because of his (weak) strength
or because of his (lack of) wealth or anything comparable. I will
explain what I mean in great detail.

Intellectual abilities: For example, to publicly put forward that so-
and-so is not a “Chacham” \ clever or wise. And it goes without
saying that if the story conveyed by the speaker is a lie or if it is only
partially true and this speaker is exaggerating so-and-so’s inabilities
more than they really are, the speaker is certainly committing a
terrible sin, the severity of which is more profound than routine
Lashon Hara and passes into the category of a slanderous lie
because the lie degrades the essence of a fellow Jew. But even if
the speaker’s words are factually true, we have shown the sources
in the 1st Kelal among all of our Early Authorities that Lashon Hara
applies to remarks that are true, and these statements which detract
from the “victim” and degrade his intellectual abilities are obviously
Lashon Hara. In this regard, the Rambam writes the following

It is interesting to take note of the precise phrase used by the Chafetz Chayim
Z”L to describe the format of the Lashon Hara discussed here. The Chafetz
Chayim Z”L writes that the speaker is “Sholel” the intellectual attributes of
the “victim;” “Sholel HaMa’alot.” The Chafetz Chayim Z”L is discussing a
speaker who attempts to prove to his listeners that the “victim” is really not
at the level of competence (intelligence, etc.) that the listener thinks. This
speaker will try to tactfully peel away at the “victim’s” portrayed image of
intelligence by the subtle choice of his (Lashon Hara) language. This type
of speech is more insideous than conventional Lashon Hara and in this Kelal
the Chafetz Chayim Z”L proves that the potential for damage sustained by the
victim as a result of the speaker’s comments qualifies the remarks as Lashon
Hara as if the speaker called the victim an outright simpleton.

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