THE DILEMMA
Your friend is at the Lag Ba’Omer bonfire at the corner of your street with a large group of neighbors. They are all standing together waiting for the music to start and giving their opinion about the new house going up in your neighborhood, which is the size of a small hotel. The owner of the house is a businessman who supports every tzedakah in town. “He seems like a big tzaddik, but do you know what it’s like to work for him?” says one man. “My cousin was his warehouse manager until he quit because he couldn’t take the boss’s temper tantrums anymore.”
“Sounds like our new neighbor is going to be someone to steer clear of,” your friend tells you later. “One of the guys says he has a really bad temper.”
May you repeat this information, that originated in a group of three or more people?
THE HALACHA
Apei t’lasa doesn’t apply unless you hear the loshon hora with your own ears. If someone who did hear it in those circumstances passes it on to you, you may not rely on this leniency to repeat the information.
Sefer Chofetz Chaim, Hilchos Loshon Hora 2:3.
