SEFER CHOFETZ CHAIM
? Day 96 ¨C Whom to Rebuke
? In situations where reproof is required (see Day 93), one is obligated to interrupt even his own parent who is speaking loshon hora and respectfully explain that he or she should not be speaking in this manner.? A rav, as well,
should not be allowed to speak loshon hora.? However, it is disrespectful to accuse a rav of speaking loshon hora.? Instead, one should ask the rav for assistance in understanding why it was permissible for him to make a given statement.
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Children are not included in our obligation to reprove a fellow Jew who has sinned.? However, parents, as well as teachers, are obligated in the mitzvah of chinuch, educating their charges in proper mitzvah observance.? Thus, parents and teachers must train
children from an early age to refrain from speaking or listening to loshon hora.
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SEFER SHMIRAS HALOSHON ? Judge Others Favorably ?
The Torah states:¡±With righteousness shall you judge your fellow¡± (Vayikra 19:15), which our Sages interpret as a commandment to give one¡¯s fellow the benefit of the doubt (Shevuos 30a). This precept is among those ¡°whose fruit one enjoys in this world and
whose principal reward is preserved for the World to Come¡± (Shabbos 127a). Development of this trait is crucial for perfecting the quality of Shmiras haloshon.
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To give one¡¯s fellow the benefit of the doubt is to decide in one¡¯s mind that someone who is said to have committed a misdeed did so either unwillfully, out of ignorance, or correctly (i.e. that, in fact, a
sin has not been committed). When the report does not lend itself to any of the above interpretations, one should consider the possibility that the speaker added or omitted details which completely alter the nature of the report.
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To judge others favorably is also to bear in mind the teaching: ¡±Do not judge your fellow until you have reached his place¡± (Avos 2:5).
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The more one accustoms himself to judge others favorably, the less he will transgress the sin of loshon hora.
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