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Sefer Chafetz Chayim םייח ץפח רפס
Hilchot Esurei Lashon Hara ערה ןושל ירוסיא תוכלה
Kelal Beit ‑ Halachah 1 ב הכלה - ב ללכ

by HaKadosh Baruch Hu (as the pasuk says, “and Hashem heard”) and still אשיב אנשיל ןכ םגד תוליכר ןינעלו רומג יאנגב אנוה בר
she was punished. Someone who publicly makes remarks that degrade
another person, how much even more so will he be punished!” Similarly, הבר ירייאד ארתב אבבב םש ם"בשר שוריפל ומכו ירקימ
this same idea is repeated in the Sifri, perashat Teh’tzeh (commenting on .תוליכר ןינעל אנוה בר רב
Devarim 24:9) and in perashat Beha’alautecha (commenting on Bamidbar
12:1). Then necessarily the larger the audience who hears the Lashon
Hara the greater is the speaker’s sin. תסריג יפלו ל"נה ןטק דעומב אברד ארמיממ היאר דועו
And do not say that we cannot use Miryam as a teaching example because ונייה ,הבר ארבג הימקל רקפתיא יאו יסרגד ן"רו ש"ארה
there they spoke about their brother Moshe Rabbeinu in a way that the
halacha forbids (since in reality Moshe was correct in what he did) as we אל רמאו יתאו ןיד תיבה תא ןיד תיב חילשה ינפב ףריחש
see from Hashem’s response. That is not so because there is absolutely no ,רקנת םהה םישנאה יניעה ביתכד אשיב אנשילכ יזחתימ
question that if the matter being discussed was truthful but the remark was
commonly derogatory, for example, to say that someone is a “simpleton” וליפאו םולשה וילע וניבר השמ לע םריבאו ןתד ונווכד
or a “fool,” that in so doing one publicly assassinates the character of a יאק הז שוריפ יפלו ,ירשד אמלא ,חילשה רפיס יכה
fellow Jew. (And because of the very many sins of society, this is very
commonly found. That if someone does not flatter and tacitly agree to אמתסמו היה תמא הז רבדו ,תוליכר לע אברד ארמימה
his “friend’s” evil doings, then immediately this “friend” will vent insults ארמגב עמשמ יכה וליפאו .ל"נכו אתלת יפאב ןכ םג
against him and publicly smear him, calling him a fool and a simpleton.
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Regarding this Chazal have said (Eduyot 5 perek, 6 mishnah) “Better to יפאב וליפא רפסל רוסא הוה אניד יבד אחולש ואל יאד
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be called a fool all your life and not be a Rasha for one moment in G‑d’s .אתלת
presence”). This would be absolutely forbidden even if spoken in front of
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three people, as I demonstrated above in the 1 Kelal (in the first notation
of the Be’er Mayim Chayim) quoting the unanimous opinions of all Early ,לבקל רתומ ןיידהד ןניעומשאל רקיע יתא אברד רמול ןיאו
Authorities, that even if the remarks are true, they are Lashon Hara and
forbidden. Moreover, these kinds of remarks meet all of the law’s criteria רבד לביקש עמשמ ,דאמ השמל רחיו רמאנש הממ היארו
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for Lashon Hara, as I will explain further on in the 5 Kelal (in the 2 – 5 קרפ ם"במרמד ,םש א"שרהמב ןייעו ופא הרח הז לעו ,הז
halachot). Therefore it is an absolute certainty that the greater the number
of listeners to this Lashon Hara, the greater is the speaker’s sin. ומכו יאק חילשאד אידהל חכומ ןירדהנס תוכלהמ ה"כ
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This was stated explicitly in Gemara Arachin (16a). The gemara says השרפ תותליאשב ןכ םג חכומ ןכו ,ןמקל ה"יא ראבנש
that there is no contradiction, that in one instance it (Lashon Hara) was ןירדהנסמ הרורב היאר דועו .ש"יע יאק חילשאד חרק
said privately and in the other instance it was said publicly. The gemara
explains that if it was done privately then the Ketoret \ Incense would be an ךלת אל םושמ יאכז רמא ןנחוי 'ר יבתכ יכיה בתכימ ).'ל(
atonement and if it was done publicly then the bells woven into the fringes ימלשוריב חכומדכ וינפב םתוח םשד ףאו ,ךימעב ליכר
of the tunic of the Kohein Gadol would bring an atonement. (Please see
אריתה אכיל ות אליממ רוסא וינפבד ןויכו וז הנשמ לע
.טושפ רבדה יכה ואלבו ,אתלת יפאל
The gemara asks that in one place it says that the Tunic (Meh’eel) worn by the
Kohein Gadol was an atonement for the sin of Lashon Hara and in another
place it says that the Ketoret incense brought in the Beit HaMikdash was an
atonement for the sin of Lashon Hara.

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