SEFER CHOFETZ CHAIM
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Day 153 ¨C Exaggerations
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The rule that slander cannot be justified, even for a constructive purpose, would seem to be without exception. The Chofetz Chaim, however, speculates that if one cannot bring about a given constructive result without exaggerating,
then it may be acceptable. The case he cites is where one is attempting to dissolve a friendship between two children, one of whom is a bad influence upon the other. If the victim will not be influenced to end the relationship unless the evils of his friend
are exaggerated, this may be permissible.
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The guidelines for such an exemption are very sensitive and one cannot rely upon it without prior consultation with a competent halachic authority.
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SEFER SHMIRAS HALOSHON
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Sanctity upon Sanctity
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¡°Do not contaminate yourselves through them lest you become contaminated through them. For I am Hashem your God ¡ª you are to sanctify yourselves and you shall become holy, for I am holy¡± (Vayikra 11:43-44).
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In commenting on the above, the Sages state:
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¡°If a person contaminates himself a little, they contaminate him a great deal; [if he contaminates himself] below, they contaminate him Above; [if he contaminates himself] in this world, they contaminate him in the World to Come. [Conversely,] if a person sanctifies
himself a little, they sanctify him a great deal; [if he sanctifies himself] below, they sanctify him Above; [if he sanctifies himself] in this world, they sanctify him in the World to Come¡± (Yoma 39a).
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Zohar states that when a person utters forbidden speech a ruach hatumah, spirit of impurity, is manifest upon his words. Spiritual forces of destruction then take this spirit of impurity and use it to contaminate words of Torah and prayer that this person has
uttered. Thus, if a person contaminates himself a little, they contaminate him a great deal.
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Conversely, Hashem, Whose loving-kindness is boundless, seeks to uplift us with an abundant flow of kedushah, sanctity. He calls to each and every Jew, as it were, ¡°Open for me an aperture like the eye of a needle and I will open for you an opening like that
of a hallway¡± (Shir HaShirim Rabbah 5:3). When a Jew overcomes his evil inclination and fulfills the Divine will, a spirit of sanctity is drawn upon his soul. If a person sanctifies himself a little, they sanctify him a great deal.
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