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

262 1 Medical-HalacHic Responsa of Rav ZilbeRstein Publicizing an inaccurate medical bulletin 2 271