Lesson 57: Lending Out
As we all know, when we allow people to borrow our things, they don’t always return in the same condition as they were in when we lent them…
Let us take example of a yeshiva student who brings an iron and ironing board from home to the dormitory so he could iron his shirts. One or two boys see him ironing one day, and thus discover that he has an iron and ironing board. Sometime later, these boys politely ask if they could borrow the iron to iron their own shirts, and the boy happily agrees. Gradually, the word spreads throughout the student body that this fellow has an iron and ironing board and graciously lends them to anyone who needs. Many students in the yeshiva start to regularly ask to borrow his iron.
One day, a boy borrows the iron, and forgets to shut it off… By the time he realized, it was too late – the iron burned itself out, and was ruined.
The iron’s owner finds out who ruined the iron, and he approaches him, asking him to pay for the damage which he caused. The student refuses, making all kinds of excuses why he should not be forced to pay.
Is the iron’s owner now allowed to tell other students what happened in order to enlist their help in convincing the boy to compensate for the damage he caused? Does Halacha permit him to inform his fellow students that this boy negligently ruined his iron and refuses to pay for it?
The answer is definitively yes. If somebody caused his fellow damage for which he then refuses to take responsibility, the victim is absolutely allowed to enlist the help of people who might be in a position to convince the guilty party to pay. This is a constructive purpose for which Lashon Ha’ra is allowed. If a person suffered damage, or was victimized by theft, he is allowed to tell people about what happened so they can pressure the guilty party to pay for the damage or return what he stole. Similarly, if the victim has reason to believe that the perpetrator will cause him further harm, then he has the right to tell people who might be able to help restrain that fellow to prevent additional damage.
Unfortunately, I have encountered situations where people who were victimized did not receive their due compensation because they were afraid to speak Lashon Ha’ra about those who harmed them. This is wrong. One who suffered harm for which he is rightfully owed compensation is entitled to inform people about what happened if this is necessary for him to receive what he is owed.
This applies even to other forms of harm. If a person knows that somebody is going to cause him humiliation, such as by publicizing embarrassing information about him, he is fully entitled to tell people about it so they can intervene and convince that individual not to publicize the information.
I have seen over the years how Hashem rewards selfless people who stand up for their fellow, who treat their friend’s problem as their own, and exert effort to help those who were victimized. If they answer the call when their help is enlisted, then when they turn to Hashem to enlist His help, Hashem will come through for them just as they came through for their peers.