Slanderers' Gallery

"You shall neither slander your kindred nor stand [idly] by the blood of your [slandered] brother" (wa-Yiqra 19.16). Based on this pasuq, the Sages have held that slander is tantamount to destroying (murdering) the nephesh (which is in the blood; cf. wa-Yiqra 17.11) of your brother. Those who fail to actively oppose slander are, therefore, guilty of transgressing this mitzwah and, by his or her silence and inaction, complicit in the slander.

Speaking of this verse, Rabbi Abraham Chill wrote, "The juxtaposition of these two commandments [{1} not to stand by idly by the blood of our fellow and {2} not to go around as a slandering-gossiper] indicates that slander is considered tantamount to murder…" (The Mitzvot, Keter, 1974, p. 228). One who wields a sword can kill only the body. A slanderer murders, by his words, the whole person, his reputation and even the true memory, of his victim. The slanderer murders the nephesh, which is the raison d'être of the blood. The common murderer kills only indirectly, by shedding the blood, which is essential for the life of the nephesh. The real person is the nephesh. The slanderer has found a more efficient form of murder, killing the nephesh directly — without shedding blood and without incurring the concomitant earthly punishment.

Thus, the same verse requires that no religious Jew may stand by idly while his fellow is being slandered any more than while his fellow is being murdered. He who discovers a slandering-gossiper and does nothing transgresses Torah!

Rav Greenwald states it succinctly: "Halakhically, slander is anything derogatory which is said about others… Halakhically, slander may be something which is completely true" (but which, nevertheless, "is likely to result in hatred or dissension"). Leshon ha-ra is the Hebrew term for slander.

Quoting Rav Greenwald again, "One who includes lies or exaggerations with the slander is called a motziy sheim ra ("one who issues a bad name"). The sin of motziy sheim ra is far greater than that of slander… If one did hear gossip or slander, he may not believe it." (loc. cit.).

The primary purpose of the Birkat ha-Minim malediction in the Amidah is crystal clear: "And for slanderers, let there be no hope" ("Slander," Ency. Jud., 14.1653)!!!

"Here are six things ha-Sheim hates, and a seventh that is a toeivah (abomination) to His Nephesh (Soul): 1. arrogance, 2. a lying tongue, 3. hands spilling innocent blood [Sages equate to slander], 4. a heart devising crooked thoughts, 5. feet hastening to run to wrong, 6. a false witness issuing exaggerations, and [7] one who incites contention among brothers." (Mishlei Shlomoh 6.19).

"Justifying a wrong-doer and wronging the just — both are toeivot (abominations) to ha-Sheim." (Mishlei Shlomoh 17.15).

"One who conceals hatred has lying lips, but one who issues defamation is a fool." (Mishlei Shlomoh 10.18).

"A false witness shall not be exonerated, and one who issues exaggerations shall not escape… A false witness shall not be exonerated, and one who issues exaggerations shall be lost." (Mishlei Shlomoh 19.5, 9).

The Teimani book of halakhah and Qabalah — Menorat ha-Maor by Abuhav — teaches (ζω) that the second Beit ha-Miqdash and the desolation of Yerushalayim in both 70 and 135 C.E. resulted from sinat khinam (gratuitous hatred) and slander.

"We've already learned that in the second Beit ha-Miqdash, although they were occupied in Torah, the mitzwot and compensating lovingkindness [i.e. charity], it was desolated by the deliberate-misdemeanor of sinat khinam that was among them. We also memorize in the tractate Gitin (divorces; Nashim 4), Nizaqin (damages) 55.2, Rabi Yokhanan said, "What is written: 'Happy is the man who is always circumspect, but the obdurate will fall into wrong' (Mishlei 28.14)? On account of Qamtza and Bar-Qamtza Yerushalayim was desolated. On account of a rooster and a hen Mt. Ephrayim was desolated. On account of a pole for a sedan-chair Beitar ["Bethar," the last stronghold of Bar-Kokhva] was desolated.

On account of Qamtza and Bar-Qamtza Yerushalayim was desolated. The [object of] this [unnamed] person's compassion was Qamtza, versus another with whom he had a dispute — Bar-Qamtza. [In 70 C.E., this unnamed person] made a banquet and told his servant, sending him, "Go, bring Qamtza." He went and brought Bar-Qamtza. Finding [Bar-Qamtza] relaxing [at the banquet], [the unnamed host] said to him, "Being that this person disputes [me] what's going on here? Get up, get out!" [Bar-Qamtza] said to him, "Since I've come — leave me be and I will bring you the cost of what I eat and drink." He said to him, "No." "May I bring you half of the cost of the banquet." He said to him, "No." "May I bring you the entire cost of the banquet." He said to him, "No." [Then the unnamed host] grabbed him by the arm and threw him out. [Bar-Qamtza] said [to himself], "Since the Rabbis were sitting there and didn't object to it, he deduced that they wouldn't get involved for the sake of heaven — [then] he went and slandered [the host] to the [Roman] king." (Translation copyrighted by Yirmeyahu Ben-Dawid, 2001).

Going to Caesar, Bar-Qamtza reported that his fellow Jews were rebelling against Rome. When Caesar asked how he could tell, Bar-Qamtza replied that his fellow Jews would refuse to offer Caesar's sacrifice. To find out, Caesar sent an unblemished calf to be sacrificed. Enroute, Bar-Qamtza made a blemish on the upper lip of the calf. This blemish disqualified the calf as a sacrifice according to Torah — but not according to Roman standards of sacrifice. Unable to offer the sacrifice, Caesar was convinced that a Jewish rebellion was imminent (Josephus, Wars, 2.409ff) and ordered the desolation of the second Batei- ha-Miqdash and Yerushalayim.

"In the story one can detect an echo of the factional dissensions that ravaged Jerusalem in the years preceding the destruction of the Temple" ("Kamza," Ency. Jud., 10.732). The self-feeding cycle of fractiousness, factionalism, gratuitous hatred and slander led not only to the destruction of the second Batei- ha-Miqdash and the desolation of Yerushalayim in 70 C.E. but to the desolation of Yerushalayim again in 135 C.E. as well.

Torah assigns responsibility to each person for his or her words, and holds that person accountable for his or her words. As Rav Ze'ev Greenwald notes in his book, Shaarei Halachah (Feldheim, 2000, p. 387), Torah commands us (wa-Yiqra 19.16), "Don't go around slanderously-gossiping among your kindred." Would that Rav Greenwald had quoted the rest of this pasuq, separated only by a comma, which is connected to this prohibition against slanderous-gossip: "Don't stand still over the blood of your companion — I am ha-Sheim!"

These days, people don't take responsibility for their words. Courts and judges don't hold people accountable for their words, allowing them to evade accountability unless premeditated malicious intent can be proven — a monumental and practically impossible task. This has created the environment in which all manner of lies, falsifications, fabrications, slander, misrepresentations, distortions, perversions of truth and even most hate propaganda is given rein as 'free speech.' It's no wonder that people can't find truth. The wonder is that some find truth despite having to swim in such polluted waters.

Free speech has never included the right to yell 'Fire!' in a crowded theater when there's no emergency. The other person's right to wave their hands ends at a safe distance from your nose. When there is no limit on freedom, only the predacious are free. That's called anarchy, the opposite of freedom.

It's time for people to insist that slanderers be held accountable for their words, for murdering not just a human being, but for murdering a person.

We're starting here. Now. Don't stand idly by the blood of your fellow.

We're unwilling to be Qamtza or Bar-Qamtza. We make every attempt herein to contain our outrage at blatant lies perpetrated against us, to limit what we write to that which is essential to defend ourselves effectively against these motziyei sheim ra (lit. "causers-to-go-forth of a bad name") and to inform the public, who deserves the life-changing truth, about what we believe and stand for. If we fail in giving vent to our outrage, then even our transgression, for which we humbly ask forgiveness, is ultimately caused by, and attributable to, the motziyei sheim ra who defame and falsely impugn us.

Anyone who publishes anything about us that is different than you read in the only Netzarim website (www.netzarim.co.il) are motziyei sheim ra, liars misrepresenting the Netzarim even beyond leshon ha-ra. The only way you can recognize their lies is to read the Netzarim website with your own eyes and discover the astonishingly blatant lies of brazen slanderers.

Some Christians presume to define a Jew, presuming that they know the definition of a Jew better than an Orthodox Jew. The flip side of the same coin, however, is that there are also some Jews who presume to define a Christian, presuming they know the definition of a Christian better than a Christian (or former Baptist preacher). There are also hate mongers among converts, who, understanding little about either religion, must slander others in a futile attempt to validate their own choices and beliefs.

Notice that motziyei sheim ra must resort to all manner of distortions and perversions of logic. Truth doesn't suffice for their purposes. In fact, it's truth that defeats them. They insinuate our guilt by association with groups that we have no connection with (ad hominem). They beg questions of what we believe (petitio principi). They insist that we believe things that we don't believe in order to incite hatred against us (ignoratio elenchi). They arrogantly publish contradictions to my own declarations about what I believe and what I stand for — as if they know better than I do what I believe and what I stand for. In doing so, they presume to preempt my right, granted by ha-Sheim, to speak for myself and to displace ha-Sheim as the only One who knows what I believe as well as I do. Not even ha-Sheim overrides the individual's voicing of his or her own beliefs.

Notice, too, that the motziyei sheim ra are often afraid to name names. They know that this could well put them in front of a judge and cost them everything they have. So, when they do name us, they cleverly make a subtle but legal disconnect from the slander so that "legally" they haven't said what they insinuate to you the reader. Such underhanded, "dirty tricks" deceptions are the work of false teachers, wolves in sheep's clothing who are responsible for alienating 90% of the Jews from Torah.

We never resort to their lies and deceptions. We publish truth and have nothing to fear in providing their name and, when we can uncover it, their organization, their web site, and their email address. Please complain to their domain about their spreading of brazen lies and hate propaganda. We provide the email addresses of their Internet servers when we find it. Most motziyei sheim ra try very hard to conceal their Internet servers… for good reason.

For 2,000 years Jews have seen the results of people presuming to know and do ha-Sheim's hating for Him — pogroms, persecutions, the Crusades and the Holocaust. 2,000 years of persecutions and still these hate-mongering crusaders learn nothing. Those who stand by their fellow's blood in the face of leshon ha-ra, much moreso motziyei sheim ra, transgress Torah.

The unbridled and malignant hatred of a few crusading blunderers bear much of the responsibility for driving away 90% of the Jewish community, and for continuing to drive Jews into the arms of the Church.