Q&A: Avoiding Harmful Speech as a Way of Life
Avoiding Harmful Speech as a Way of Life
Question
Does the Rabbi think that the Chafetz Chaim’s rulings on harmful speech are the letter of the law, or that he was stringent and there is room to be lenient?
Apparently, there is almost no way to live a normal, socially integrated life while observing all the detailed Jewish laws on this topic. That is also the impression I get from the conduct of the people around me, including Jews who are careful about Jewish law in other areas.
(Especially since the Chafetz Chaim wrote that he was not being stringent at all, and even “censored” things so as not to frighten the public.)
Answer
I answered this in the past. Before asking whether he was stringent, ask whether these are even Jewish laws at all. In my opinion, he turned a topic that is mostly aggadic literature into detailed Jewish law. A large portion of the laws he brings are not really laws. He derives them from aggadic literature.
Discussion on Answer
In principle, each law needs to be examined from its source and decided on that basis, but because of the work of the Chafetz Chaim, this requires us to do the kind of work he did, only in the opposite direction: to clean his books of the non-halakhic parts and the non-binding details. I’m a big believer in common sense, at least for now.
The truth is, I thought the Rabbi had spoken about this, but I couldn’t find it. I’d be happy for a reference.
So how can one draw a conceptual boundary between normal conversation, where people also talk about other people, and harmful speech?