Mishmeres HaSholom: Ask the Rav

The following questions and answers were taken from the Mishmeres Hasholom pamphlet in Israel. For details and inquiries please email us at office@hasholom.org or call 972-2 5379160.

Q: I spoke to one of my students in private because of her unacceptable behavior. In my desire to pad the rebuke a bit, I told her, “I’m aware of the fact that some of your classmates do likewise, but for you in particular…” Later, I realized that my words may have constituted lashon hara regarding the entire class.

I would like to know if, in fact, my comment is a case of lashon hara — though the sole purpose was to cushion the rebuke — and if so, how can I correct my wrong?

A: If your student’s classmates are also involved, then she would have known about it. Additionally, since you mentioned it in passing, it is not considered lashon hara. However, if what you told the student was a distortion of the truth, it would be a transgression of hotzaas shem ra regarding the class.

That being the case, use the first opportunity to mention to your student that what you told her about her classmates was said in order to soften the rebuke, but that in actuality the girls were doing well in that particular area.

The opinions expressed in this article are those of the individual author and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of Hamodia.