A question about loshon harah

amother

Thu, Apr 03 2014, 10:44 am

We had some work done in the house, a bathroom that needed repairs and some other items. We used an individual from the community as the contractor. Now my neighbor and close friend needs to do a similar job in her home and is considering using the same person. The problem is, we were very unsatisfied. The workers were unreliable, seemed to change every day, did a poor job on certain parts, and were extremely messy and destroyed several items that were nearby purely by being careless.

I assume I am permitted, or rather required, to share this with my friend? Am I correct?

amother

Thu, Apr 03 2014, 11:03 am

You are permitted to warn someone in order to prevent damage or monetary loss. You must however follow the seven conditions of repeating L"H l'toeles (not exaggerate, tochacha, not cause more damage than sanctioned by torah law, if you can prevent the loss any other way you must try that first, etc.) and the listener may not accept the info as the absolute truth; she may only be cautious (and not hire this person) on the basis of this info (and she of course has no license to repeat the info to someone else). If you know she will accept it as the absolute truth (and repeat the info or cause other damage to the maligned person), you may not tell her this info and if you do you will be held responsible for her actions.

So says the sefer chofetz chaim. If you want a more direct answer, call the shmiras halashon hotline from the chofetz chaim heritage foundation 718-951-3696