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How could Yosef HaTzadik be guilty of lashon hara when he accurately reported his brothers' misdeeds to help them? The Torah (תורה)'s critique isn't of Yosef's words but of his failure to first build the relationships that would have made such reporting unnecessary. This establishes an extraordinarily high standard: we're responsible not just for our speech, but for creating bonds that prevent the need for negative words.
This shiur explores one of the most perplexing questions in Parshas Vayeishev: How can Yosef HaTzadik be held responsible for lashon hara when reporting his brothers' misdeeds to their father? The speaker begins by noting the apparent contradiction - Yosef is called a tzaddik, yet Chazal teach that lashon hara is worse than the three cardinal sins combined. The Baal HaTurim's observation that 'dibrotam' has the same gematria as 'motzi' (446) suggests Yosef brought spiritual death through his words. The analysis focuses on the precise language of the pasuk: 'vayave Yosef es dibrotam ra'ah el avihem' - he brought their evil reports to their father. The Torah (תורה) uses 'avihem' (their father) rather than 'aviv' (his father), indicating Yosef wasn't seeking to elevate himself in his father's eyes at his brothers' expense. Instead, he was reporting to their father specifically to help them, as a father has unique ability to guide and correct his children. This removes the speech from the category of traditional lashon hara.
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Parshas Vayeishev 37:2
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