Question: Do you violate lashon ha’ra if you speak negatively about someone who is deceased?
Short Answer: Many poskim hold that it is forbidden to speak negatively about the deceased, but the exact source and nature of this prohibition is debated by the poskim.
Explanation:
I. Talking Negatively
The Gemara (B’rachos 19a) brings the statement of R’ Yitzchak, that “Anyone who speaks negatively (see Rashi) about a deceased person, it is as if he speaks negatively about a rock.” The Gemara elaborates and explains the reasoning of R’ Yitzchak: either (i) because the deceased does not (or will not or cannot) know of the words about him or (ii) because the deceased, even if he knows of the words, does not care about them.
The Gemara questions this ruling by citing Rav Papa, who recounted a case where a person spoke negatively about Mar Shmuel after Mar Shmuel’s death, and a heavy branch fell and crushed his skull. This implies that it is forbidden to speak negatively about the dead, contrary to R’ Yitzchak. The Gemara answers that it is only prohibited when speaking about a talmid chacham like Mar Shmuel. The Gemara concludes by citing Rabbi Yehoshua ben Levi, who stated that anyone who speaks negatively about a talmid chacham after his death will go to Gehinom.
The clear implication of this Gemara is that there is no prohibition to speak negatively about a deceased person (perhaps any deceased person, according to R’ Yitzchak), unless he is a talmid chacham (certainly according to Rabbi Yehoshua ben Levi). This fits nicely with our previous discussion (see Article #3) regarding the scope of “amecha” in the pasuk (Vayikra 19:16) of “Lo seileich rachil b’amecha,” which arguably does not include the deceased. See also sefer KaDonag Namasu (on the Mishnah B’rurah, 156:156).
II. The Takanas HaKadmonim
The Mordechai (Bava Kama 106), however, rules that someone who speaks negatively about the deceased should fast, give himself lashes, and give tz’dakah, as this is a terrible sin. The Mordechai cites the Avi Ezri who notes a “Takanas HaKadmonim” (edict of a previous generation) to refrain from speaking negatively about the deceased. Even though “many have challenged this edict,” the Mordechai defends the Takanas HaKadmonim and cites a proof from the Midrash Tanchuma, that Moshe Rabbeinu was punished for telling the B’nei Yisrael (Mattos 32:14) that they have “replaced their fathers as sinners.” In other words, Moshe spoke negatively about Avraham, Yitzchak, and Yaakov, and was thus barred from entering Eretz Yisrael. (See also Mordechai, Bava Kama 81-82).
As an aside, the sefer Eimek HaChodesh (p. 254) questions the proof of the Mordechai, as Avraham, Yitzchak, and Yaakov were tzadikim, and thus it is forbidden to speak negatively about them according to the Gemara (B’rachos, above) regardless of any Takanas HaKadmonim.
This Mordechai is codified in the Shulchan Aruch (Orach Chayim 606:3), as well as in the Rama (Choshen Mishpat 420:38).
III. Connecting the Sources
The Chofetz Chaim (Lashon HaRa, Klal 8:9) likewise paskens like the Mordechai, ruling that, post the Takanas HaKadmonim, there is a prohibition to speak negatively about the deceased, even if the deceased was unlearned. Presumably, the Chofetz Chaim understands that the Kadmonim made this edict, even though fundamentally it was permitted to speak negatively about the deceased.
Indeed, the Aruch HaShulchan (Orach Chayim 606:5) states this expressly, that even though the Gemara (B’rachos, above) permits speaking negatively about the deceased, the Kadmonim made an edict forbidding such speech.
Yet, neither the Chofetz Chaim nor the Aruch HaShulchan explain the reason for this edict. If the dead don’t know or care about the lashon ha’ra, why is it forbidden?
Some Acharonim address this question. The sefer Shaarei Avraham (p. 355) cites the Ben Yehoyada, who explains that the edict was not for the deceased, but rather for the family of the deceased. The sefer Mesilas Chayim (Vol. 2, p. 45) answers that the edict was for the pain caused to the deceased in Shamayim. This is based on a saying by Rav Avraham Grozovzky zt”l, that one must judge someone favorably, so that he will be judged favorably. Simply, this means that a person should judge others favorably so that Hashem judges him (the person doing the judging) favorably. However, Rav Avraham explained it differently: A person should judge others favorably so that Hashem also judges those others favorably. In other words, how a person is “judged” (or spoken about) by others, has an effect on how Hashem judges that person being spoken about.
The sefer Nachalei Devash (p. 121) suggests another answer. The Kadmonim created this edict to prevent others from becoming accustomed to speaking lashon ha’ra. By forbidding evil speech on the deceased, people will be careful not to speak negatively on people who are still alive. This author thinks that this fits nicely with the reason for lashon ha’ra as a form of instilling positive midos. See Article #1.
IV. Interesting Results
There are a few interesting sidebars that result from this topic. First, if there was a Takanas HaKadmonim based on Moshe Rabbeinu not to speak lashon ha’ra on the deceased, why did the B’nos Tz’lafchad say “ki b’chet’o yumas” about their father? The sefer Parperos Moshe (Vol. 2, p. 49) answers that this is a proof to the opinion that Tz’lafchad didn’t actually sin but was teaching a lesson.
Second, the sefer Otzar HaKuntresim MeRei’ach Nicho’ach (p. 14) cites the Pele Yo’eitz who writes about gilgulim (i.e., where a child has a neshamah of a deceased person). The Pele Yo’eitz says that a child born from a yavam/y’vamah (levirate marriage) is certainly a gilgul of the dead first husband (the child’s uncle), and the parents should tell the child about the negative attributes of the uncle in order to give the uncle a tikun. The MeRei’ach Nicho’ach queries why this is not lashon ha’ra, post Takanas HaKadmonim. He answers that it must be that the “tikkun” has a toeles (purpose) which permits the lashon ha’ra.
V. The Az Nidb’ru’s Interpretation
The Az Nidb’ru (14:68) has an interesting take on this entire topic. He rules that lashon ha’ra is forbidden even when about the deceased. Without addressing the Gemara in B’rachos (above), he notes an interesting discrepancy in the Shulchan Aruch and Rama as to the nature of this prohibition. While the Shulchan Aruch (Orach Chayim ibid) mentions the Takanas HaKadmonim, the Rama (Choshen Mishpat ibid) does not. The Shulchan Aruch also appears to limit the prohibition to “sheim ra” – lies – about the deceased, while the Rama broadens the prohibition to all evil speech, even the truth. Thus, the Az Nidb’ru understands that the Rama’s prohibition is separate from the Takanas HaKadmonim. It is fundamentally forbidden, according to the Rama, to speak negative truths about a deceased.
This is likewise evident from the Mordechai himself, who in one place (Bava Kama 106) mentions the Takanas HaKadmonim, but in another place (Bava Kama 81-82) does not. This is because the Takanas HaKadmonim was limited to speaking falsehoods about a deceased. Negative truths were forbidden even beforehand. See also Chashukei Chemed (Yoma 4b).
Rav Chaim Kanievsky (cited in Vavei HaAmudim, Vol. 26, p. 36-37) appears to agree. He explains that the prohibition to speak lashon ha’ra about the deceased stems from the Orchos Chayim’s ruling (see Article #3) that one should not speak lashon ha’ra on any creature (“biryah”), even sticks and stones.
Notably, Rav Yaakov Kamenetsky (cited in Chochmah VaDaas, B’reishis 37:18) disagrees. He proves from the facts that the Torah recounts “Vayisnaklu oso l’hamiso” (that the brothers of Yosef plotted to kill him), that it is permitted to tell the truth, even if it is negative, about the deceased. The Takanas HaKadmonim was only about speaking untruths.
VI. The Severity of The Prohibition
There is a fascinating story in the sefer Kerem Eliezer (N’ga’im 8) about the severity of speaking lashon ha’ra about the deceased. Rav Moshe Feinstein zt”l was once called up to the Torah to receive an aliyah, and he noticed that one of the boys in the yeshivah, who received the following aliyah, had a spot on his arm. Rav Moshe told the boy that it was tzaraas and asked the boy if he spoke negatively about another. The boy racked his brain, but the only lashon ha’ra he spoke was against the daughters of Lot, that they gave their children (from Lot) improper names. Rav Moshe proclaimed that this was lashon ha’ra and the boy must do t’shuvah. That is precisely what happened. The boy did t’shuvah and the spot went away. Rav Moshe proclaimed that the daughters of Lot were righteous, as they wanted to name their children after Lot in order to avoid people thinking that they got pregnant through a “miracle.”
Rabbi Ephraim Glatt, Esq. is Associate Rabbi at the Young Israel of Kew Gardens Hills and a practicing litigation attorney. Questions? Comments? Email This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..
