<html><head><style type="text/css"><!-- DIV {margin:0px;} --></style></head><body><div style="font-family:arial,helvetica,sans-serif;font-size:12pt"><div><br></div><div style="font-family: arial,helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;"><br><div style="font-family: times new roman,new york,times,serif; font-size: 12pt;"><div style="font-family: arial,helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;"><div>Celebrity Gossip: Muttar/Assur and Why?<br>1. Is there a difference in talking about loshon hora (lh from herein) when it refers to a jew, or a non-jew. do we go according to the rov (majority of the person's religious status) if/when making this distinction? (this would apply here as most-rov hollywood movie-stars/celebrities are not-jewish). Would there be a difference if the person being talked about was a hollywood/movie/music, etc, celebrity, or a national/regional/israeli jewish/not-jewish political/banking/public figure??<br>2a. must there be a presumption of
truthfullness about a topic that makes discussing it muttar? for instance, when a state-controlled media such as iran or n. korea issues a report about something, are we allowed to discuss it, or, since we can probably assume it is false, or at the least slanted (this would probably apply to slanted arab coverage of jewish events) we would be forbidden from discussing it? If the halacha is that we are NOT allowed to discuss it, would
the applicable issur-halacha be a lh one? or a midvar sheker tirchak one? or any other one?<br>2b. Some people believe celebrity gossip to be basically false, and mostly engendered to sell magazine/print copies. What preponderance of truthfulness of a possible story would make it muttar/assur to discuss? e.g. If 80% of gossip stories are false (=20% true) can we discuss it? or need it be 50%-50% true/false? or 51% or above likelihood of truth (rov-majority)? or any other yardstick?<br>3. If something is a public matter, certain halachos apply making it more permissible to discuss. Would such lieniencies apply to celebrity gossip, any more/less so than yesterday's superbowl game highlights?<br>4. Many stories in chazal are midrashim, guzmas, as well as rebbeshe maisos and baal shem tov stories. These are taught and told to inspire us and to teach us to behave in a torah-derech. However, some of these stories are not true. Would the same yardsticks of
truthfullness (as asked in question 2a above) be applicable to torah inyanim, being as they are meant to instruct us and can therefore be argued to be doing a useful and positive purpose? Or, would they not be permitted to be discussed (highly doubtful as they are chazal's). Either way, would these storie's /chazal's fall under the same yardsticks as asked in 2a above, and if so, why/why not? What if any distinction(s) would be made for discussing them vs. the superbowl highlights or current events or gossip columns? Would the applicable halachos again fall under the distinctions of lhora, midvar sheker tirchak, chukas hagoyim, etc. ?<br>Thanks much. <br><br><br></div>
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