Rebbetzin Chaya Mushka

This letter post quotations comes from the website article Chabad.org by Aryeh Citron and is meant to answer one of the participants of this coffeehouse room site,

“The laws of lashon hara are too lengthy to include in one article. In fact, Rabbi Israel Meir Hakohen of Radin wrote an entire book about these laws. The book is called Chafetz Chaim (which caused the author to be known as the “Chafetz Chaim”) too. The name is inspired by the verse in Psalms, “Whoever of you desires life (chafetz chaim) . . . guard your tongue from evil . . .”10.

Nevertheless, here is a brief overview of some of the laws, mostly gleaned from Chafetz Chaim:

1. Lashon hara literally means “bad talk.” This means that it is forbidden to speak negatively about someone else, even if it is true.11.

2. It is also forbidden to repeat anything about another, even if it is not a negative thing. This is called rechilut.12.

3. It is also forbidden to listen to lashon hara. One should either reprimand the speaker, or, if that is not possible, one should extricate oneself from that situation.13.

4. Even if one has already heard the lashon hara, it is forbidden to believe it. On the contrary, one should always judge one’s fellow favorably.14.

5. If one has already heard the lashon hara, he is forbidden to believe it
Nevertheless, one may suspect that the lashon hara is true, and take the necessary precautions to protect oneself.15.

6. It is forbidden to even make a motion that is derogatory towards someone.16.

7. One may not even retell a negative event without using names, if the listeners might be able to figure out who is being spoken of.17.

8. In certain circumstances, such as to protect someone from harm, it is permissible or even obligatory to share negative information. As there are many details to this law, one should consult a competent rabbi to learn what may be shared in any particular situation.18.”

FOOTNOTES
10.Psalms 34:12–13.
11.See Shulchan Aruch Harav, Orach Chaim 156:10.
12.See Leviticus 19:16, and Mishneh Torah, Hilchot De’ot, chapter 7.
13.Chafetz Chaim 6:2, based on Talmud, Ketubot 5a and other sources.
14.Ibid. based on Talmud, Pesachim 118a, and commentary of Rashbam ibid. s.v. Hamekabel.
15.Talmud, Niddah 61a. See Jeremiah, ch. 41, where the story is told of how Gedaliah did not believe lashon hara at all, and thus allowed his adversaries into his palace. They eventually killed him, as well as most of his men.
16.In the words of King Solomon: “An unscrupulous man, a man of violence, he walks with a crooked mouth; he winks with his eyes, shuffles with his feet, points with his fingers. Contrariness is in his heart; he plots evil at all times; he incites quarrels” (Proverbs 6:12–15).
17.Chafetz Chaim 3:4.
18.See Chafetz Chaim, ch. 10.

“The first word of G-d’s first communication to the first Jew is “Go!” Never suffice with your current achievements. Always advance.
— The Rebbe”

This dear ujm may be a call to you. Did you think of that? Maybe H”M through H-s Rebbe is calling you to be Chabad Lubavitch and no longer what you currently are today as a Yiddish Neshama. Sometimes it might seem that when G-D calls it feels strange, somehow wrong, or somehow not in line with what you are currently used to. Today, Tammuz Gimmel 5786 is the Yahrzeit of Rebbe Menachem Mendel Schneerson. I am doing a Mitzvah in his honor. This is my Mitzvah right now, to illuminate a person’s Neshama to accept what may seem unacceptable.

Please think on this. Yes, I am a woman Chabad Lubavitcher. I may have no right to direct you as a woman. But, you asked the question and this Decaffeinated Coffee House/Room is for everyone to participate it. It doesn’t say Yiddishe Neshama Torah women are not allowed. So, I hope you don’t mind my suggesting to you for you to consider that the Rebbe may want you to become Chabad Lubavitch and to expand your horizons so to speak.

Bleipt Gezundt ujm. Think about what I said and also think about the fact as you stated, “multiple times with different people – ask me if I’m Lubavitch”.

If that isn’t a call, I don’t know what is.

Also, I know that the fast days in July, most especially Tisha B’Av are coming up. Do a Mitzvah to stop what is known as ‘Baseless Hatred’ of one Jew to another. We want to rebuild the Beit Ha Mikdash, not make H”M unhappy with our behavior and relationship with H-m and thus cause H-m to want us to throw us out of it again.

Signed, Chaya Mushka of Chabad Lubavitch

@yittish,
you state, “At the risk of mentioning “BLANK” again…” First of all I will refer you to @Happy new year’s comments in his above post reply #2533781, April 10, 2026 11:45 am at 11:45 am; “Regarding “discussing other religions”, there is an explicit pasuk: Exodus 23:13…”And make no mention of the name of other gods, neither let it be heard out of your mouth.”

We Yiddishe in Torah Law, are Commanded not to mention or refer to the name of other gods. It is a Commandment. And you so glibly state that name in your above post. You are testing G-D, which is not a wise, nor a sound, way of writing your posts. G-D rejects being tested by someone willing to transgress H-s Torah Laws. There is indeed a punishment, decided by G-D/H”M H-mself if one transgresses one of H-s Commandments. “…make no mention of the name of other gods…” PERIOD. Please, you say you ,”want to understand Torah”, then act as such and obey Torah of H”M’s Laws. This one is just as important as all the other 613 Commanded Torah Laws that every Yid obeys, and must absolutely obey. Thank you for changing from your evil ways to ways of Torah, and please don’t mention that name or any other idol worship name on this or any other Yeshiva World News website.

@Happy new year and @qwerty613 your comments are exactly what @rescue and @yittish needed to straighten them out. In the Tanackh (the Jewish Bible which by the way omits books and writings from non-Torah religions and includes only books and writings that H”M’s Rabbi’s have approved of), as I just said, in the Tanackh in Parshas Devarim regarding the second set of Ten Declarations/Ten Commandments it states; ‘Thou shalt not recognize the gods of others in My Presence.’ Let’s consider the word, ‘recognize’. What does that mean/imply? First of all to recognize a god is to stare at it and consider worshipping it. Secondly, to recognize a god is to talk about it and explain it’s meaning to another/others and thus worship it. Thirdly, to recognize a god is to write about it and explain it’s meaning to another which is by the way a form of idol worship because you are recognizing it and consider it worthy of consideration which is a form of idol worship. What is idol worship? Idol worship involves bowing down and/or prostrating yourself to a god (whether the god is stone, wood, metal, ice sculpture, snow sculpture, glass, or another mineral or chemical compound listed in the scientific table of elements.), staring at it, talking about it, writing about it or any other way of considering it. These I state, are all ways of idol worship and thus “RECOGNIZING” the gods of other nations/religions. We, then, as the Tanackh states in the Parshas Devarim/Deutoronomy are “RECOGNIZING” the gods of others. We are, and I repeat, “FORBIDDEN” as Torah Yidden/Jews to do this. It is a RASHA/Wicked Evil One who will “RECOGNIZE” the gods of others, not Yidden/Jews. It also states in the BrachaTefillah/Blessed Prayer named, “ALEYNU” that we pray that there will be a destruction of all the idols/gods in stone, wood, metal, glass, etcetera and that every knee will bend and everyone will pray to the invisible G-D/H”M Of All and not to a hardened or softened substance (that could include stuffed animals or stuffed toys or dolls) that is in H-s Creation/Bereshis Bara. Remember, when we do not obey this Law of the Ten Declarations/Ten Commandments we are then punished by G-D/H”M for disobeying H-m. And what is the punishment? G-D/H”M decides.