Q&A: Slander
Slander
Question
Hello Rabbi Michael, recently I’ve run into several cases where it’s hard not to speak negatively, such as a friend asking for an opinion about a restaurant, or a conversation about certain religious groups. My question is: what is the source of the many prohibitions of slander that appear in the book of the Chafetz Chaim?
Answer
The Chafetz Chaim in his book also brings the sources.
Even so, turning the topic into detailed, definitive Jewish law seems exaggerated to me, and not for nothing was this not done before the Chafetz Chaim. I would attribute most of these laws to common sense, not to proofs from one aggadic passage or another.
In my opinion, giving an opinion about a restaurant is not slander. First, because this is for the benefit of the friend. Second, we are not talking about a particular person but about an institution (usually people don’t know the restaurant manager). Especially since if the taste of the food there doesn’t appeal to you, that says nothing at all about the personality of any of the workers or managers there. Everyone has their own taste.
Questioner:
What about mentioning certain flaws in Haredi society or in Religious Zionist society during a conversation among friends? Is that considered slander?
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Rabbi:
Slander about a public group is indeed slander. Either because the public is considered an entity in its own right, or because such slander applies to each of the individuals included in that public.
But when it is for a constructive purpose within the framework of a discussion or debate, in my opinion it is permitted. Especially when the matters are known, and you are only expressing an opinion about known facts rather than revealing hidden facts.
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Questioner:
What do you mean by a constructive purpose within the framework of a discussion? What kind of benefit do you mean here? And one more small question: you wrote that you would attribute most of these laws to common sense. Did you mean that the laws of slander should be derived from common sense? I didn’t really understand what you meant by that.
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Rabbi:
If you want to decide whether to be Haredi, or whether to cooperate with Haredim, or whether to send children to Haredi education, or whether to choose a Haredi rabbi for yourself or conduct yourself according to the rulings of Haredi rabbis—these are all relevant benefits.