Pischei Teshuva (Orach Chaim, siman 156): All the mussar books admonish people regarding the sin of lashon ha’ra. I admonish the world about a greater, more prevalent sin, namely, not speaking up when necessary to protect the oppressed from the oppressor…. (By not speaking up], you violate the commandment lo ta’amod al dahm rei’echa. Similarly, in monetary matters, we are obligated by hashavat aveida, returning a lost article to its owner. If you see that someone’s employees are stealing from him, or a person’s partner is taking advantage of him, someone is being misled in a business transaction, or an individual seeks to borrow money and he is someone who doesn’t pay his debts, and similarly, in matters of matchmaking, if you possess knowledge that this person has a bad character, all these are examples of hashavat aveida. [translated by Steven Oppenheimer D.D.S.]
See the similar view of Rav Sternbuch posted previously
Interesting subject considering it's the opinion of many bloggers that those who protect sexula abusers often use the club of loshon horo to silence people from informing others of what has happened.
ReplyDeleteSee the similar view of Rav Sternbuch
ReplyDeletehttp://daattorah.blogspot.com/2008/07/child-abuse-lashon-harahharav-moshe.html
Whenever one wants to talk loshon horoh they should ask a rov. Why is it different than any other halacha?
ReplyDeleteshlomo said...
ReplyDeleteWhenever one wants to talk loshon horoh they should ask a rov. Why is it different than any other halacha?
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Because many people don't realize it is something they should ask a rov.
Sometimes even a rosh yeshiva or rabbi is not aware that concealing information is wrong.