Good afternoon—or good morning; it’s the end of the morning. We’re back at Torah Tuesday, now at our section on Shemirat HaLashon, the laws of Lashon Hara (harmful speech) and Rechilut, which is peddling or gossip. In most cases, they are definitely Asur (forbidden).
Let’s say you’re sitting or partying with a few people, and one person—we’ll call him David—says in a loud voice, audible to everyone present, that Reuven, your friend, did something to Shimon. David said it in a crowd of people. Now, since David said this openly, with a crowd of people around, we might assume that it’s true. Why would he say such a thing in a situation where it would be easy for everyone listening to see that it wasn’t true, or for someone to prove it wasn’t true? Therefore, there’s a tendency to accept it. We say it’s probably true because he’s not true. He said it out loud in front of everybody.
Now, can Shimon, the subject or victim of this negative statement, believe David—that somebody said this about him? If there’s something constructive, as we’ve learned, to’elet, to be gained from this information, it may be good for him to absorb it and take note, but he should never believe it until he can confirm or deny it. It’s a subject that requires investigation. If the information has no relevance to to’elet, meaning that whether it’s true or not, it’s not going to, as we say, change my life, harm me, make me lose any business or friends, or break up a deal, then why pay attention to it at all? You should assume it’s not true, as it says in this week’s parasha, b'tzedek tishpot amitecha, judge him favorably, along with many other warnings of the same kind from the Torah that you should judge your friend favorably, or Dan LeKaf Zechut (judge your friend favorably).
The Chafetz Chaim then offers another case, which we’ve already mentioned here, but perhaps it’s worth mentioning again. Let’s say you’re in Shimon’s presence, and Reuven tells you, “You know, Shimon said something negative about you.” He said it in front of the guy—you got it. Somebody is accused of saying something about you while you and that suspected speaker are right there. So you say, “Look, if the guy’s right there, what do I expect? What are you talking about? I never said that.” Yet, in our example, suddenly the man is quiet, especially if he’s generally confrontational and would generally strike back or deny it. You’re likely to believe him. He would never say it in front of this person if it weren’t true, and that would create animosity between you and that person, assuming the circumstances give validity to the statement. The fact of the matter is, says the Chafetz Chaim, even in this extreme case, you have to dismiss Reuven’s report as false, assuming there’s no constructive purpose. So why should I believe it?
So we see here that every report from someone speaking Lashon Hara has another flaw. It’s an amazing fine point, and we need a mind like the Chafetz Chaim to reach this type of analysis. What does he say? Listen: if the man is speaking negatively, even if it’s true, it’s Lashon Hara. If he’s speaking Lashon Hara, he’s categorized, in the terms of a witness, as a Rasha (wicked person). And we’re not allowed to believe a Rasha in a court of law. We’re not allowed to believe the report of a Rasha without a court of law. We’re not allowed. We’re not allowed to believe it. If he is speaking Lashon Hara, there is sin involved, so why should I trust that he’s also honest, truthful, or reliable? He’s invalidated by the fact that he commits sins. Well, speaking Lashon Hara is a sin. So, my friend, why are you accepting his testimony? If you knew somebody was an unreliable, dishonest person, you wouldn’t believe his actions in any business situation. You wouldn’t give him credit. “He doesn’t pay.” “Well, I don’t know if he pays, but he does this.” So how can I trust him to do that? In the same token, the Chafetz Chaim warns you: once he speaks Lashon Hara, he can be categorized as a Rasha. And once he’s categorized as a Rasha, he’s unreliable to bring Eidut (testimony). So you are forbidden to believe him.
Now, accepting Rechilut—again, it’s gossip about one person, telling you what another person did or said about you—is a common situation. Since business people are usually listening to me, they should know that this common occurrence is dangerous in a businessman’s world. You have a man who sells a product, maybe wine, because in the Gemara it’s always wine. He sells wine. A Goy (non-Jew) comes and asks, “How much is your wine?” He takes a taste; it’s good quality. He says, “Okay, I’m going to bring you three barrels. How much for the three barrels?” They agree upon a price. He leaves his barrels and says, “Fill them up; I’ll be back tomorrow.”
So now the seller assumes, “I have a deal to sell three barrels of wine to this Goy at this price. It’s just a matter of him picking them up and paying me.” When the Goy leaves, he sees another place, a competitor that sells wine. He says, “Hi, what’s doing?” The Goy says, “Oh, I just bought some wine from this guy, and I think I got a good deal. I’m very excited about going tomorrow. I’m renting a truck and picking it up.”
The Goy did not tell the second Jew that he had already concluded the deal. He asked for the price. The Goy didn’t tell him that he had already concluded the deal. The Goy says, “How much is your wine?” He tastes it; it seems to be okay. Now, the second person is more anxious and under more pressure to sell it. He has too much inventory, needs money for a bill, or is just anxious to sell it before it gets spoiled. So what does he do? He offers the same wine as the first person at a lower price. What does the Goy do? As we say in Brooklyn, he’s no dummy. He goes and cancels the first order.
So the first seller is shocked. “What happened between the time he dropped off his barrels and now? I filled the barrels with wine. He’s only supposed to come pick them up, so why is he canceling the order?” He tells him, “But we had a deal. Where are you going? What are you doing? In fact, I have your barrels here already filled. How could you break the deal?” The Goy doesn’t want to look bad, so he says, “I’ll tell you the truth. I met your competitor, and he asked me, ‘Why don’t you buy from me? My wine is much better, and my price is cheaper.’” That’s all this person has to hear. “How could that man do such a thing to me? How could he do that to me? He literally took the bread out of my baby’s mouth.” And World War III breaks out between them. Not only in business, but socially, and in everything that surrounds their lives, their relationship is broken down.
Now, is that justified? The Chafetz Chaim tells us that, had the first merchant told himself the truth—that the second merchant probably had no idea there was a previous deal, and was just anxious to make a deal for himself—they could talk it out, work it out, and there would be no animosity. But by accepting the negative statement about somebody else, that he actually did it intentionally to hurt him, he actually aggravated the situation. Accepting Rechilut means somebody tells you somebody said something about you or did something harmful to you, and you have not verified the facts. A person who accepts Rechilut violates the laws of Rechilut, and it’s a very serious transgression that’s part of the general Sinat Chinam (baseless hatred) that destroys the Beit HaMikdash (Temple), a type of Lashon Hara.
So we have to be careful to investigate, verify, and validate anything that’s said to us, and only if it has to’elet. If it has no positive purpose, whether it’s true or not, there’s no skin off my back, we say, then why am I wasting time going through the process of proving that somebody said something about me? I should be Dan LeKaf Zechut, which is in Parashat Kedoshim. If you’re Dan LeKaf Zechut, it’s b'tzedek tishpot amitecha: you have to judge your friend favorably, ignore the statement, and avoid the violation of Lashon Hara.