Reply To: Kabbalas Loshon Horo

If not, according to halacha, does it help if there is toeles later?

I’ve been wondering this for a long time. I heard a couple of stories about a friend of mine that were NOT said in context of Toieles, and subsequently those very stories were suddenly of paramount importance when I was asked about shidduch being suggested for this very friend. Were those stories to be true [and I confirmed this Halacha with a Rav], I would tell the other side and they would probably break the shidduch. If I would have been told this in reference to the Shidduch, I would be licenced to pass on the information. However, I heard it as plain gossip. Is the fact that it is now l’toieles enough that I can believe it later?

I would say that besides for the halachah of Toeles, I couldn’t believe the stories, at least at face value. The very fact that it was gossip would motivate the storyteller to embellish, exaggerate and perhaps change the story. He would not have been as careful with the truth as he would be otherwise.