Dedicated as a zechus for Hillel Tuvia ben Batsheva and
Elisheva Yael bas Daveda Sharon
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It¡¯s Chodesh Av and we are still in galus! While we all agree that we need to break the
sinas chinam, loshon-hora cycle that keeps us here, many people believe that they can¡¯t succeed for long.?
? The Chofetz Chaim says that¡¯s not so!
?Gossip is a habit, and bad habits can be broken.? Like a smoker, the first step for the loshon-hora speaker is awareness. He begins listening to the inner voice that says, "Maybe you should leave this unsaid." Every time he holds back, loshon hora
loses some of its hold on him.
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Start today¡ªgeulah is waiting!
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Good Chodesh
Dedicated l¡¯zecher nishmas Berel ben Hirsh z¡±l, by his children Dr. and Mrs. Reuven Shanik
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SEFER CHOFETZ CHAIM ?
Day 119 ¨C When an Act is justified?
? Speaking rechilus is prohibited even when it is made clear that the act committed was totally justified. It is therefore forbidden to tell someone that another person spoke negatively of him for a constructive purpose (l¡¯toeles).
Moreover, it is forbidden to tell someone that another person spoke negatively of him upon the advice of a posek (halachic authority). People tend to bear ill will towards those who speak against them even when it is obvious that the speaker was justified
in doing so.
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? SEFER SHMIRAS HALOSHON ?
The Man of Trust ?
Hashem has commanded us to study Torah at every available moment; at the very least, we are to set aside a fixed portion of time each day for its study. We are also commanded to set aside a portion of our earnings for tzedakah (charity), and fulfill other mitzvos
which ostensibly seem to deplete one¡¯s resources or prevent him from adding to his income. The evil inclination incites the Jew to be lax in his observance of these mitzvos by way of simple arguments: ¡°What will you be left with in the end if you give away
so much money which could be used toward lucrative investments?¡¯¡¯ Or, ¡°Now is a most opportune time for a business trip; you might never have an opportunity like this one! Your studies will have to wait for another time.¡¯¡¯ In this way, one feels compelled
to give less charity or to sacrifice his fixed learning session for the sake of the business opportunity which ¡°cannot be missed.¡¯¡¯
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To counter this, David declares: ¡°Trust in Hashem¡± (Tehillim 37:3) ¡ª trust that He will surely grant you whatever has been decreed for you; ¡°and do good¡± ¡ª through such trust you will find yourself ready to carry out all the good which the Torah seeks of you.
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Talmud Yerushalmi (Sotah 9:13) relates that a businessman was once studying Torah when some customers approached him, demanding that he show them his merchandise. The man replied: ¡°I will not interrupt my fixed study period. If this profit has been decreed
for me, then inevitably it will be mine.¡¯¡¯
Keep reading Day 120, the lesson for Shabbos
SEFER CHOFETZ CHAIM
Day 120 ¨C Committees and Courts?????????????????????????????
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is highly relevant when a committee meets to consider an individual for possible enrollment in a school, employment in a firm, or appointment to a communal or organizational
position. Whether or not the final outcome is in the person¡¯s favor, it is forbidden to divulge the identity of anyone who expressed an opinion against the person. It is wrong for a member of the committee to tell the candidate, ¡°I was on your side but was
outvoted by my colleagues.¡±rechilusThe prohibition against speaking
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The same would apply when a
beis din (rabbinical court) considers a case and comes to a decision against a party. It is forbidden for any of the judges to state that the ruling was unanimous, or which judges sided with which party, or to even say, ¡°I voted in your favor but was
outnumbered,¡± for it is natural for people to harbor ill will toward those who ruled against them.
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? SEFER SHMIRAS HALOSHON
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The Inconceivable
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It is inconceivable that one¡¯s livelihood should suffer because he refuses to interrupt his fixed study period to engage in business.
Can it be that Hashem would subtract from the amount of sustenance that has been decreed for an individual on Rosh Hashanah because that person faithfully adheres to his schedule of Torah study?!
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If one¡¯s steadfastness in this area results in the loss of a business opportunity, this should not be cause for concern. The Omnipotent
has infinite ways of bringing profit to one¡¯s door. If it will not be here today, it will be here some other day. One thing is certain: by the time the year ends, whatever income has been decreed in Heaven will be his, as our Sages have taught: ¡°All of a person¡¯s
income is fixed [each year] from Rosh Hashanah until Rosh Hashanah¡± (Beitzah
16a), and all the effort and business acumen in the world will not gain him one cent more.
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Surely one cannot hope to improve his situation by contravening the will of Hashem and disrupting his Torah study in order to earn
profit, or by giving less tzedakah than a man of his means should give. Only the wicked improve their material existence in this world by transgressing God¡¯s will, as it is written, ¡°And He repays His enemies in his lifetime, to make him perish¡± (Devarim
7:10)
