Page 268 - 20818_park-B_efi

20818_efi-ab - 20818_efi-ab | 9 - A | 18-08-20 | 13:29:02 | SR:-- | Cyan
20818_efi-ab - 20818_efi-ab | 9 - A | 18-08-20 | 13:29:02 | SR:-- | Black
#20818_efi-ab - 20818_efi-ab | 9 - A | 18-08-20 | 13:29:02 | SR:-- | Yellow
20818_efi-ab - 20818_efi-ab | 9 - A | 18-08-20 | 13:29:02 | SR:-- | Magenta
#
#20818_efi-ab - 20818_efi-ab | 9 - A | 18-08-20 | 13:29:02 | SR:-- | Yellow 20818_efi-ab - 20818_efi-ab | 9 - A | 18-08-20 | 13:29:02 | SR:-- | Magenta 20818_efi-ab - 20818_efi-ab | 9 - A | 18-08-20 | 13:29:02 | SR:-- | Cyan 20818_efi-ab - 20818_efi-ab | 9 - A | 18-08-20 | 13:29:02 | SR:-- | Black
in “Cursed is he who dishonors his father.” These transgressions are
not permitted even for a beneficial purpose, just as one is not allowed
to serve idols or have forbidden relations and commit other trans-
gressions for a beneficial purpose.
It would seem that we can prove that one is permitted to speak
badly even about a father, if it is done for a purpose, and that the
daughter is obligated to inform the appropriate authorities at the hos-
pital (if all the conditions explained by Chafetz Chaim are met). Proof
for this is in Sefer Chassidim (#1087), where he writes as follows:
If a person sees someone entrusting something to his fa-
ther or mother or teacher, and he knows that they are not
trustworthy, then if the one entrusting the item is wise and
decent, he should tell him not to entrust it and he should
reveal the truth to him. But if the one entrusting the item
is not wise and it would not be appropriate to tell him, he
should just say not to give it to them, but he should not say
anything bad about his father or mother or teacher; and
only to good people one should tell the truth.
The source for the words of Sefer Chassidim is probably maseches Me-
gillah (13b) where it speaks of Rachel Immeinu who said to Yaakov:
“My father is a deceitful man and you cannot withstand him.” But one
should reflect - in Sefer Chassidim the author says that one should not
tell people that one’s father is wicked, so how could she say her father
is a deceitful man? The answer is that she had to warn Yaakov about
the intensity of her father’s deception. She had to make him aware
that Lavan would not only deceive him once in a while, but that in his
nature he was a professional swindler.
Therefore, in our case, it seems that the daughter is obligated to
reveal her father’s actions to the guard at the hospital, if he is wise and
decent. But if he is not wise and decent, she should only hint to him
that he ought to pay attention to her father’s actions.
Just think, if a father is ill and in order to heal him one has to
remove his clothes and this will embarrass him, it is clear that a son
or daughter are obligated to do so in order to save his life. So, too,
262 1 Medical-HalacHic Responsa of Rav ZilbeRstein
#
An incident is described in the Yerushalmi (Peah 1:1). A group of 9
people were obligated to go out to do the King’s Work as soldiers.
Among them was one man whose name was “Bar-Chovetz,” who did
not show up as required. One of the men said to another: What shall
we eat? And he answered: Today we will eat chuvtza (a type of lentil).
When he said the word chuvtza, the supervising policemen remem-
bered that “Bar-Chovetz” was absent and sent for him. When Rabbi
Yochanan heard this he said: This man is guilty of speaking lashon
hara in a discreet way.
From this story we can learn several things:
1. Although he did not say anything shameful about Bar-Chovetz,
since his words caused him damage, he violated the prohibition
of lashon hara.
2. Although he did not speak of him openly but only gave a slight
hint by saying “chuvtza,” he still violated the prohibition of slan-
der by causing a loss to Bar-Chovetz. As the Mishnah Berurah
(156:4) rules, “If one says things that cause bodily or monetary
damage to one’s fellowman, or cause him some damage or fear,
this is called lashon hara.”
According to this, publicizing that a public official is sick if the pub-
licity will cause him harm is considered lashon hara. So, too, if one
publicizes that a specific bank is in a bad state, this is also lashon hara
since people are likely to withdraw their money as a result.
The Chafetz Chaim (Hilchos Rechilus 1:8) teaches: Levi told Shimon
lashon hara about Reuven. Later, Reuven came and asked Shimon:
What did Levi tell you about me? What should Shimon do? Should
he reveal what he heard or not? The answer is that it depends. If he
can answer without lying or speaking rechilus, he should do so. But if
Reuven will understand from his response that Levi said bad things
about him, he is allowed to say an outright lie in order to maintain the
peace and to avoid the prohibition of rechilus.
According to this, in our case, if people ask the physician about
the public official’s state of health, then if the physician can evade the
question and answer without any lie or lashon hara, he should so. But,
Publicizing an inaccurate medical bulletin 2 271