Since this is important, I decided to republish this piece in English for my friends who do not know Hebrew:
Looking back at the Lanner affair that shocked the Modern Orthodox world several years back and with similar view at the Yudi Kolko affair (and some similar affairs) that are currently rolling in the Haredi world, we may see how the passion for one subject of a great leader of one generation may cause tragedies in subsequent generations. To those who do not know, in the Lanner affair and more seriously in the Kolko affair, persons in educational roll attacked and molested children who were under their authority. The major problem with those affairs was not the cases themselves but the fact that these creeps could have acted for thirty and forty years without any attempt of their superiors to stop them despite the fact that those superiors knew (or should have known) what was going on. Repeating attempts of the victims to bring the cases to the attention of those superiors, the leaders of the generation and the Jewish community were stonewalled by organized campaigns of silencing that went up to physical threats.
The culture of organized silencing is rooted in the Jewish culture (at least the European) in terms such as s’past nisht – inappropriate – it is not to be mentioned in public, it may cause damage to the Shidukh of other family members, etc. Those terms got their ideological formalization and justification (or maybe excuse) in the works of two great leaders, R’ Israel Meir Kagan – HaHafetz Haiim and R’ Shimon Schwab, both of blessed memory.
The Hafetz Haiim saw Loshaon HoRa as the root of all ills in the society. He may have been partially correct as it is possible that the Jewish society was and maybe still is infested with cynicism, malicious joy, and the search of whatever is wrong with others. No doubt, if this illness exists, there is a need to fight and criticize it. But the way HaHafetz Haiim chose to fight it was not the best possible. All those illnesses may exist in the society and maybe even more so in the closed Haredi society and if so, then nothing have changed since the time of the Hafetz Haiim. However, there is now an ideological justification to cover-up real problems.
R’ Shimon Schwab, in his article about writing Jewish History (see reference bellow) went a big step forward. In this article that was published again in a collection of his essays by C.I.S, R’ Schwab argued that we, simple mortals that are not prophets, may not judge correctly what is the truth and what is appropriate to publish about people of previous generations. This argument may stand (maybe), but R’ Schwab did not stop there. He actually called to actively cover-up any misdeeds and to publish inspirational stories about the leaders of the previous generations. Namely, R’ Schwab argue that we should cover-up and we should publish stories that are untrue (equal lies). One must read this article very carefully in order to fully understand its terrible implication.
Most orthodox people who read this article, after three or four generations of extoling the virtues of Shemirat HaLashon, do not see or understand this implication, at least not on first read. They are oblivious to the problem similarly to their secularist brethren, who, after so many generations of anti-religious education, do not understand the terrible implication of the secularist coercion in Israel.
My people, the Issur of Loshon Hara is overrated and brought with it the maladies of cover-up and organized lies.
Comments:
1. C.I.S Publishers follow R’ Schwab recommendation and actively publish untrue stories about previous generations’ leaders. Their books could be a basis for a dissertation on a culture of cover-up and how a society instills that culture in the next generation. The mere existence of such books in the Western society is an incredible phenomena
2. Issur Loshon HaRa means that it is forbidden to bad mouth anybody. In on itself, it is not a bad idea, but when it is used as a justification for cover-up it becomes a weapon in the hands of the bad guys.
3. Shemirat HaLashon –guarding one’s tongue is a positive euphemism for #2 above – based on the name of HaHafetz Haiim main work in the subject.
4. Publishing untrue stories go against the notion that the Truth is the seal of Go-d. It also go against the Issur Loshon HaRa itself in its pure and unmodified form – saying something good about somebody may also imply what is wrong about him
5. It is clear that both the Hafetz Haiim and R' Schwab did not mean it that way. They were indeed righteous people who may have overlooked the implicatton of their works. It is the implementation in the real world that is so terrible.
6. Book/article reference: the article "Jewish History" could be found in either:
Selected Writings: A Collection of Addresses and Essays on Hashkafah, Jewish History and Contemporary IssuesISBN: 0935063498
or
Selected Writings: A Collection of Addresses and Essays on Hashkafah, Jewish History and Contemporary Issues (Paperback, 1988)ISBN: 0935063501
Jan 1988
Publisher: C.I.S. Publications
