Q&A: Possible Slander
Possible Slander
Question
With God’s help,
Hello Rabbi,
I wanted to ask what the proper thing to do is in the following situation:
There is a synagogue near me, one of those huge ones that has emptied out over the years (a few floors, over 500 seats, but nowadays we’re talking about fewer than a few dozen people on the Sabbath, most of them elderly…)
And then one evening prayer service I suddenly saw someone who looked like a poor, elderly homeless man who had slipped into the building during the prayer service through the main entrance, apparently in order to sleep in one of the rooms that for many years have not really been used.
I was unsure whether it would be proper to tell the synagogue caretakers about it or not. About a year ago there were also cases like this, but since then they repaired things, blocked access, and removed them.
The doubt is this: no one will really notice him, at least not over the next month, and even if he steals a few crackers and some herring from the food at the kiddushes, how critical is that really…? Also, why do I need to inform on him? I may have seen it, but I’m not one of the caretakers, and I can “close my eyes” to it. But on the other hand, with all the sorrow in the matter, this is not a soup kitchen but a synagogue, and it’s also uncomfortable for the worshippers to have people like that there.
To sum up, at the time, since I was in doubt, I didn’t want to inform on him. But presumably he is still sleeping there at night, so is it proper to say something about it or not?
Answer
I think yes. The caretakers need to decide, not you. Maybe he will steal things? It would be advisable to contact social services / the police so they can see what’s going on with him. As far as I know, homelessness is usually not just plain poverty but begins with a mental health problem.
Discussion on Answer
There may be something there that could cause damage.
Is this a categorical imperative? Territorial considerations? (If I think something is proper, for example that a miserable person should receive certain needs, whether through me or through others, and someone else volunteers to provide them, I’m satisfied. Needless to say, the law, the police officer, and the judge certainly need to act according to the strict letter of the law.)
For the sake of discussion, let’s assume there is no concern about damage מצד the homeless person. Is it still proper to report him?
Oren,
It seems to me that if that’s the case, then there is no obligation. This one benefits and that one loses nothing (one who lives in another person’s courtyard without his knowledge, in a courtyard that is not ordinarily rented out).
Ben Nun,
I didn’t understand why there is any need to resort to those broad general principles. The explanation is quite simple. When you see someone stealing, do you need to report him? Is that a categorical imperative or territorial consideration? There’s no need for all that.
I didn’t understand what it means that someone volunteered to provide them. No one volunteered here; they simply don’t know that he came in.
Do we say “this one benefits and that one loses nothing” even in a case where we know that the owner is unwilling to allow homeless people to sleep in his apartment? For the sake of the discussion, let’s say he is particular about the holiness of the synagogue, or he does not want people to be deterred from entering the place because of the homeless people’s presence there.)
When I wrote that, I indeed didn’t notice that those explanations are necessary only according to my opinion (which seems so straightforward to me that sometimes I no longer even weigh the alternatives, and that is my fault), and that it is not accepted by you. And the discussion about consequentialism won’t begin here, so I withdraw the above (and hope its time will come, because it is dear to me).
No. The medieval authorities wrote that the homeowner has the right to object.
The fact that you think you know what is going to happen over the next month is already a problem.
Are you signing that you will pay for any damage he causes? Or is that only until it reaches your own pocket?
Obviously you need to report it.
For the sake of discussion, let’s assume this is a place where there isn’t anything worth stealing. Is it still proper to report him?