Are There Any Cases Where LaShone Hara and Rechilus
are Permitted?
After reading such stringent principles which govern what is LaShone
Hara and Rechilus you may think, “Gee, I can’t say anything without it being
LaShone Hara is some fashion!”
Not so, there are rare occasions when one should speak
out against another, but only after certain steps (Matt. 18:15-20) are followed
and the motive behind such speech against them is not to hurt that person but
to protect others from them and their harmful ways and hopefully cause the
offending party to reconsider their ways and repent. For instance, if a
believer is living in open rebellion against ADONAI, clearly breaking His Torah
(I John 3:4) and you have confronted them privately, tactfully, and lovingly,
one on one and urge them to repent and they refuse to do so, then take one or
more brothers or sisters in the faith with you (Deut. 19:15) to again lovingly
and tactfully confront this person and persuade them to repent. If they still
refuse after this then you bring them before the “church,” which means here the
Beyt Din (House of Judgment), the Counsel of Ruling Elders of the Congregation
to review the charges against them and lovingly and tactfully urge them to
repent. If this fails then the Beyt Din can rule to have the person
excommunicated from the Congregation and shunned until they return in
repentance. But rarely have I seen it used appropriately in the modern day
Christian Church. Restoration is the ultimate goal of excommunication and
shunning, not punishment. The offender is excommunicated and shunned in an
attempt to:
1. Let that person know they did wrong.
2. To give them space to figure things out.
3. To show and remind them of the fellowship they are missing out on.
Shunning is never done in a, “Humph,” snotty kind of way, but in a
quiet, mournful politeness. As if the person was terminally ill and you are
speechless.
Then, and only then it is permissible to relay to others what this
person had said or done in order to protect others from getting caught up in
and being partakers of their sin. The only exception to this is that if for
some reason one is in a position that somehow makes it impossible for them to
contact or confront the offender properly and personally.
We should not ask, “When MAY I speak LaShone
Hara or Rechilus,” but “When MUST I speak LaShone Hara
or Rechilus?”
The following are guidelines to be considered when trying to determine
if LaShone Hara or Rechilus is in order.
· Be certain the danger to others if you do not speak out is real and not
imagined or exaggerated.
· If there are any other ways or methods in which to warn people which do
not include LaShone Hara or Rechilus, you must do that first. All other
acceptable alternatives must be first exhausted.
· Be sure your motives are pure and you have nothing to personally gain by
speaking out.
The following are guidelines in speaking out against others when the
circumstances are appropriate to do so.
· You must have personally witnessed the sin yourself and be sure you
indeed without a shadow of a doubt saw what you saw.
· You must speak out with the offender’s full knowledge of you doing so. This is beneficial because it may cause the
person to repent and thus you wouldn’t have to speak out.
· You must speak out publicly and not secretly behind closed doors or
others backs.
· Your motives in speaking out against or about the person must be out of
a pure motive to warn or protect others from getting caught up in the
offender’s sin and not punishment, humiliation revenge or personal gain.
· You must relay only bare essential facts without exaggeration.
· You must be willing to say what you have said as if the offender was
right there face to face in your presence.
· You must do everything possible to ensure that the results of your
speaking out will be positive and not cause undue harm to anyone.
· You must not speak out in such away so as to cause the offender to
suffer more than they deserve.
There are a few other rare occasions when one may speak LaShone Hara
against another, such as positively knowing something about ones future spouse
or business partner that is not already well known in order to protect one from
physical, mental, emotional, spiritual or financial harm.
In short according to the teachings of (Natsari) Judaism it is
permissible to speak out against:
· An unrepentant believer after properly going through the steps found in
Matthew 18 and refuse to abide by the decisions of a Beyt Din.
· A Rasha which is a wicked person who knowingly, blatantly, unashamedly
and overtly sins.
· An Apikores (Atheist or Agnostic) ONLY if by doing so
will produce constructive results, such as keeping a believer from straying
from the Faith.
Conclusion
How do we keep from engaging in and perpetuating LaShone Hara and or
Rechilus?
Colossians 3:2 Set your affection on things above, not on things on the
earth.
Philippians 4:8 Finally,
brethren, whatsoever things are
true, whatsoever things are
honest, whatsoever things are
just, whatsoever things are
pure, whatsoever things are lovely, whatsoever things are
of good report; if there be any virtue, and if there be any praise, think on
these things.
