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Category Archives: Gossip
From Principles to Rules and from Musar to Halakhah: The Hafetz Hayim’s Rulings on Libel and Gossip by Benjamin Brown
LINK: Story from Professor Israel Ta-Shma: In the year 1873, when the Hafetz Hayim finished writing his book Hafetz Hayim on libel and gossip, he wished to publish it with rabbinical endorsements, as was customary. Since he also wanted to … Continue reading
Posted in Gossip, Hafetz Hayim, Halacah, Orthodoxy, Torah
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The Jewish Laws Of Proper Speech
I’m listening to some classes on lashon hara (forbidden speech according to Torah) on YUTorah.org and I am disappointed by how ignorant they are. YUTorah.org presents Rabbi Daniel Z. Feldman as an expert in this topic. Fourteen minutes into one … Continue reading
Can Comedy Be Kosher?
I just read a provocative article on Orthodox Jews in comedy in Tablet Magazine. According to the author’s self-description: “Josh Lambert (@joshnlambert), a Tablet Magazine contributing editor and comedy columnist, is the academic director of the Yiddish Book Center, Visiting … Continue reading
When Gossip Packs A Punch
A few months ago, Friend A told me about Friend B, “Her father is a conman.” And suddenly everything fell into place. All sorts of things that didn’t make sense suddenly made sense. The remark took all these jagged edges … Continue reading
Posted in Gossip
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The Great Controversies Of The Chofetz Chaim
The Chofetz Chaim was a European Orthodox rabbi who lived at the turn of the last century. According to Wikipedia: “Yisrael Meir (Kagan) Poupko (Dziatłava, 1838 – Radun’, 1933), known popularly as The Chofetz Chaim, was an influential Lithuanian Jewish … Continue reading
Posted in Gossip, Hafetz Hayim, Marc B. Shapiro, Orthodoxy
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Four Reasons Why You Should Gossip
From Chabad: Reason #2: You are G‑d’s warrior. And just as G‑d cannot tolerate falsehood, so too you, as His fighter, have a moral obligation to search, find and publicize your fellow’s secrets, so that he should not, heaven forbid, … Continue reading
Posted in Gossip
Tagged human sacrifice, moral obligation, reason 2, reason 3, table altar
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You Shouldn’t Read Blogs
From a Torah perspective, blogs just don’t seem kosher. I have an instinctive reaction against women as Orthodox rabbis. It just doesn’t seem right. Similarly, blogs that talk about other people, it just doesn’t seem right. That’s what the goyim … Continue reading
Posted in Blogging, Gossip, Los Angeles, New York, Orthodoxy, Personal
Tagged ghetto mentality, instinctive reaction, orthodox jew, orthodox rabbis, physical attributes, rate women, social mores, strange fire, torah perspective
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Does Facebook Lead To Defamation?
Orthodox rabbi Gil Student blogs: In this week’s The Jewish Press, R. Mordechai Weiss writes [on page 25]: Then came Facebook and Twitter, which took the Internet to a new level of impropriety. Things are written on Facebook that end … Continue reading
Posted in Gossip, Internet, Orthodoxy, The Jewish Press
Tagged abe froman, Facebook, facebook home, gil student, impropriety, jewish press, lashon hara, orthodox rabbi, rabbi moshe, rabbi weiss, twitter
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Dennis Prager Feels Little Desire To Gossip
I guess it all depends on how you define gossip. Dennis Prager’s number one source for items for his show is the Drudge Report, the number one news and gossip website in the world. On his radio show today, Dennis … Continue reading
Posted in Dennis Prager, Gossip, Judaism, R. Joseph Telushkin
Tagged Dennis Prager, drudge report, Gossip, radio show, scandals
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Rabbis, Converts & Jewish Law
I got into a discussion via email with Orthodox rabbi Yehuda Yonah Rubinstein who wanted me to remove from my website a claim that he was a convert to Judaism. I decided to publish our private email exchange after he … Continue reading
Posted in Conversion, Gossip, Judaism, R. YY Rubinstein, Rabbis
Tagged converst, converts to judaism, jewish law, journalistic criteria, medical practices, orthodox rabbi, orthodox rabbis, rubinstein
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