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Mekor Hachayim Sefer Chafetz Chayim
Hilchot Esurei Lashon Hara

Kelal Vav

abusive and vile, that his comments are an evil libel and denigrating
because of the hatred he feels towards the “victim” – then even
listening is forbidden. (Please see the following Hagahah).

Be'er Mayim Chayim on page 305

K6/4. There are occasions when it is a mitzvah to listen (6) to

someone degrading another Jew. For example, when the listener
reasons to himself that by listening to all of the speaker’s Lashon
Hara comments (about the “victim”) the listener will then have
the ability to show the speaker or to show other listeners gathered
around the speaker that they have the story all wrong or to find
other ways to give the victim the benefit of the doubt. (Please see
the following Hagahah). There is another circumstance where it is
a mitzvah to listen to Lashon Hara; if someone appeared before the
listener intending to complain that the victim (for whatever reason)
wronged him and it is within the ability of the listener to tone down
the level of anger to the point where the speaker will not repeat his
Lashon Hara to others (because if not for this listener’s intervention
perhaps other listeners would believe the speaker’s Lashon Hara as
the truth) and in so doing the listener will increase the level of peace
and harmony in Jewish society. However, even with all of these
leniencies, this listener must be very careful to closely guard his
soul not to believe for one moment that the words of the speaker are
true, but only suspect the possibility that what he is hearing might
be true in order that he not become enmeshed in the net of the sin of
accepting Lashon Hara as the truth.

Be'er Mayim Chayim on page 309

K6/5. Now we will return to qualify the subject begun in the

2nd halacha of this Kelal, that merely listening to Lashon Hara
is forbidden by the Torah in the context of specifically going to
a particular place to hear it. But if this listener was in a forum
of a group of persons gathered for a particular purpose (8) and
they began using language that is forbidden (Lashon Hara) and he

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