Monday, April 26, 2021

Slander for sake of peace

 Rema (#7): [We have a situation that if the reputation of one distinguished and innocent Torah scholar is destroyed than a horrific dispute will be ended. … Our Sages tell us of the importance of peace – even allowing lies to be said to preserve peace] So we can develop a logical proof from this concerning our matter. Just as we see that the prohibition of erasing G‑d’s name is permitted for the sake of peace [between husband and wife] but it is not allowed to slander a decent person, so therefore the creation of peace which permits the sin of erasing G‑d’s name would also permit slandering. If the bringing of peace between man and his wife can be accomplished in this way so surely it is permitted to bring peace between family, villages and towns. It is clear in halacha that it is better to cause a deterioration in the physical well‑being in our country rather than to give one Jew to be debased and ridiculed and slandered for something he didn’t do. And surely we need to suffer financially so as to not cause the sacrifice hundreds of distinguished community leaders for debasement - which is what is happening in the current situation. Nevertheless it appears to me that even in our current situation we should not deviate right or left from the path and do a physical action. However we need to distinguish between handing an innocent person directly to be killed or degraded to save others which is prohibited and the mere use of words which in this situation is nothing and would be permitted…. Thus we have brought conclusive proofs that it is permitted to speak lashon harah and slander someone for the sake of peace in the community. However perhaps this gives permission only for speaking slanderously against someone but how do we know that it is permitted to put the slander into writing and to posken like this?… Nevertheless it would seem that we don’t make a distinction between speaking and writing. Since speaking slander is permitted than slandering someone in writing is also permitted…


3 comments :

  1. About 10 years before you originally posted this I had a discussion with a professor of psychology at my synagogue and I explained to him my theory that this was a mechanism employed by Hareidim to discredit the modern Orthodox. There are feasts of unity in attacking the easy targets. But, the unity is short lived and disintegrates again.

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  2. Wow you are really paranoid.
    Charedim slander the saintly modern Orthodox who have never done anything that should upset anyone?!
    You think they do this to produce peace?! I guess you think the Russians, Chinese and Arabs are also regularly slandered for the sake of world peace?!

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  3. Why do you think Rav hutner turned on Rav Soloveitchik?
    He was a Ben bayit in Rav Moshe soloveitchik's house. Was it because his own initiative for a yeshiva-college programme was shot down? Thus, attacking Rav soloveitchik would regain his position in the hareidi orbit, creating "peace"

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