One is not allowed to speak slander. This is a prohibition in the Torah. [It is one of the 613 commandments]. There is a difference of opinion between the Rambam and Rabainu Yona in this issue. And it is divided between what the slander is about; between God and man, or between man and man.
The later has seven conditions for it to be allowed. The former has no such conditions but still is similar in many respects. [There has to be rebuke and to see it yourself, etc.]
Rav Shick once said that if you hear someone saying slander about some third party, you should know that eventually they will say slander about you behind your back.
In any case there is a law that slander [lashon hara] that was said in front of three people is allowed to be said. The reason is once it was said in front of three it is already public. It is assumed they will go and tell it anyway.
The question here is the guy is coming to beit din and asking, "Can I say it?" Then tell him, "No," and then there will not be three advertising it. I heard this question at the Mir (NY) I think from the grandson of Avigdor Miller. I never found a good answer for this.
A similar question just came up today about the opinion of Rabbi Yochanan in Shabat.
שגגת קרבן forgetting a sacrifice is not called forgetting. Shabat 69a. Why is forgetting the punishment of karet (cutting off from his people) considered an accident? Because he can say, "If I had known it was karet, I would not have done it."
So say the same about forgetting the sacrifice. Well, you could answer he does not bring a sacrifice since it is considered as if done on purpose. But this goes back on itself. It is only considered on purpose because we don't consider it as forgetting.
The way my learning partner and I decided to try and tackle this issue is to look at the Gemara in Shabat 69a, but so far it is not clear what we will discover.
The later has seven conditions for it to be allowed. The former has no such conditions but still is similar in many respects. [There has to be rebuke and to see it yourself, etc.]
Rav Shick once said that if you hear someone saying slander about some third party, you should know that eventually they will say slander about you behind your back.
In any case there is a law that slander [lashon hara] that was said in front of three people is allowed to be said. The reason is once it was said in front of three it is already public. It is assumed they will go and tell it anyway.
The question here is the guy is coming to beit din and asking, "Can I say it?" Then tell him, "No," and then there will not be three advertising it. I heard this question at the Mir (NY) I think from the grandson of Avigdor Miller. I never found a good answer for this.
A similar question just came up today about the opinion of Rabbi Yochanan in Shabat.
שגגת קרבן forgetting a sacrifice is not called forgetting. Shabat 69a. Why is forgetting the punishment of karet (cutting off from his people) considered an accident? Because he can say, "If I had known it was karet, I would not have done it."
So say the same about forgetting the sacrifice. Well, you could answer he does not bring a sacrifice since it is considered as if done on purpose. But this goes back on itself. It is only considered on purpose because we don't consider it as forgetting.
The way my learning partner and I decided to try and tackle this issue is to look at the Gemara in Shabat 69a, but so far it is not clear what we will discover.
