The Jewish Ethics of Speech: What is LaShon Hara

I hope he spends a lot more time on this subject (LaShon Hara) because it is the basis of so much interesting writing.  He notes in this entry two more citations (but not until days in the 300’s!).  LaShon Hara - ‘the evil tongue.’  Includes everything from lying including slander and libel (which pretty much all societies frown upon).  But this particular entry looks at the Jewish injunction to not speak the truth if it is injurious to someone else.

That’s big.  So and so is a liar, cheats on his spouse, abuses his children AND small animals.  While all of this might be TRUE, Jewish law forbids the discussion of this (outside a court of law).  If we KNOW that someone is doing harm to others (or themselves?) are obligated to report it.  He notes that “if you were about to enter a room and heard the people inside talking about you, what you probably would least like to hear them talking about are your character flaws or the intimate details of your social life.  Yet, when we speak of others, these are the things we generally find most interesting to discuss.”

Shalom bayit - the idea of ‘peace in the house’ relates to this idea.  If my wife asks, “Does this dress make me look fat?”  The true answer and the correct answer may be two different answers.  It is in these grey areas (as Linus notes in a Peanuts cartoon, “Charlie Brown, I didn’t know that lies come in colors.”) that Jewish writing has much to say - I wish I knew more.