A new website was opened with a list of some other important websites and I was not included. I am referring to Lashon Hora Crimes (LHC). Their grand opening statement exudes a tone of pained regret about the epidemic of lashon horah that has plagued Jews since the destruction of the Second Temple and continues to afflict us. Funny, I thought that the destruction of the Second Temple was attributed to needless hate, which the haredi world manges quite well. These days, lashon horah is code language for not speaking evil of ultra orthodox Jews, especially if they are inside your faction of the ultra orthodox world.
LHC put up a list of offending sites including: Failed Mesiah (sic), Nuchem Rosenberg (sic), Vos Iz Neias (VIN), Yeshiva world (sic), Matzav, and JDblog (sic). I dont want to quibble about their professionalism but four out of their six blog listings had an error. When they wrote JDblog I think they meant JBlog Central, a guide to other Jewish blogs. Naturally, since it leads people to yet other blogs it is considered an avi avot tumah (primary source of impurity).
Am I guilty of lashon horah when I point out the defects in their listings? Perhaps, to be dan l’kaf zchus (to give them the benefit of the doubt) this is a clever ploy. Obviously, since they advise you to avoid sites they don’t need to provide the URL. However, there are devious frum folk who would Google the title to find the URL and then they would fall into the abyss.
The strategy of Lashon Hora Crimes is doomed. Many frum Jews want to break out of the censorship ghetto of haredi media. They want to go to the very sites that Lashon Hora Crimes warns them against. In fact some of them will check in regularly to find what is on the list, figure out the URL ,and then click away.
Some of us create these sites with a constructive purpose in mind. The frum world is afflicted by corruption, abuse of power, ignorance of critical facts, and cover-ups of abuse. The Chofetz Chaim is clear that there is no prohibition of lashon horah when others need the information to protect themselves from harm(toeles). The haredi world has torn the Sefer Chofetz Chaim apart at the binding and tossed the parts about a toeles into the shaimos box.
At some level the creators of this blog know about the permission, even the requirement, to share derogatory facts when there is a toeles. How else could they publicly accuse the blogs on their list of violating the laws of lashon horah since that in itself is derogatory information. Sadly, the noble goals enshrined in the Jewish approach to lashon horah have been perverted into a mechanism for allowing some people to sling slander while blocking the voices of others. Many molesters continue on in their careers long after their acts are known by adults in the community. The cover up artists stop complainants by invoking the line, “talking about Rabbi Ploini would be lashon horah.”
I am heartbroken. I wanted to be recognized by Lashon Hora Crimes. I figured a listing would have gotten me a few new readers. It is not fair. Matzav, YeshivaWorldNews and Vos Iz Neias (VIN) have plenty of readers. I have only been around for a little over a year and only get 500 -100 visitors a day. Couldn’t they have bumped me up on the list.
I thought I earned my place by saying some pretty nasty things about dangerous people. I will not despair. At the end of their list of treyfah blogs they promised that there are “many more coming.” I can only hope I am one of them.
ACTION CALL- Readers, go to Lashon Hora Crimes and nominate Frum Follies and other favorite Jewish websites for inclusion on their list. While you are there, challenge them to justify ignoring the need to report ugly facts about others when there is a toeles. Ask them why they are like Reform Jews who are selective about which parts of halachah they want to keep. I don’t know if they will censor comments. So please keep a copy of your comments and paste them back here into a comment field.
FRUM FOLLIES by Yerachmiel Lopin 
They do censor comments.
I asked them if my website could get on the list and I pointed out that, of the few people that will continue to visit his blog, the sites listed will surely get a few hits as a result.
I thought it was a valid request. Obviously he didn’t, because the comment was removed. Oh well – I guess not everyone appreciates my humor.
Anyway – I wish him luck and thank him for further revealing haredi stupidity.
I give it 2 months, tops.
Perhaps it’s kismet, and it will work in your favor by helping to bring the hard to reach part of the community, to their senses.
By listing names of other sites, isn’t that Rechillos?
Lupin, your site doesn’t merit being on that list. When heiligeh bloggers such as dovbear, undercoverkofer, wolfishmusings, the collective at unpious, hasidicrebel etc.. are not listed- who are you to have such gaiveh as to believe you deserve mention? I would, with complete and utter lack of respect, urge you to spend some time on introspection and then to do tshuva. You owe the entire jblogosphere an apology.
What, you think I am too innocent, too polite, too unwilling to address the bad guys? You hurt my feelings! 😉
Too polite, too meek, too reticent and not nearly as irreverent as you should be!
Shoyn!
LOL. You forgot the greatest of them all: Frum Follies. Thank you for the guide, even though it is far from complete.
You seem to be well versed in the chofetz chaim and you keep referring to one of five criteria that the chofetz chaim requires check out Klal nine hilchos rechilas halocha bais. If you meet the them all, which you don’t as the chofetz chaim writes at the end of hilchos rechilas that most people do not.. then go ahead with your blog. in addition the chofetz chaim states that if you have committed any crime you have know right to preach the sins of others, Pedophiles are not M’dorisa as bad as it may be, but one word of loshon hora can contain 17 prohibition 14 positive commandments, and 3 curses.. now you do your calculations.
Chofetz chaim,
I would rather see someone engage, in nearly everyone of the 613 prohibitions and enjoy them all, better than molesting one child, I don’t care what you get out of the Torah, you sound like in your view a child is a piece of meat for the taking.
Incredible! You are part of a sick trend where people have gone overboard on an extreme interpretation of lashon horah to the point where they have cancelled the 5th shulchan aruch, seichel.
You actually said, “Pedophiles are not M’dorisa as bad as it may be.” Really, even with poskim considering them rodfim. Even with lo taamod al dam reyachah, even with suicides, drug overdoses, major lifetime suffering, alieanation for some society, religous and otherwise?
You are Exhibit A for what ails important parts of the frum world. BTW, the funny thing is that some of the biggest apostles of shtil, shtil are those who viciously attack modern orthodox or those in other ultra orthodox factions. So how do you deal with that.
you are at the top of my list.
Feh! Lupin is a pisher compared to such luminaries as Marah Harav HaGaon HaTzaddik, Rabbi Pinky Schmeckelstein, shlita, ptoo ptoo ptoo.
Lupin? I read Harry Potter too! “Loony Lupin” is one of my favorite characters.
http://www.jumpstation.ca/recroom/comedy/python/dennis.html
Why are you giving these losers free publicity? Just ignore them and they will disappear from the blogosphere like the anti-Nuchem blogs before them.
They will disappear because they are utterly incompetent. It gave me an occasion to discuss the absurdities and inconsistencies of the lashon horah campaigns.
@Jay: Thank you for the link. Now I know what a Lupin is.
Yes, you are right to be outraged. Why failed messiah and not you????
But I am happy to hear that Matzav and Yeshiva world news made it, along with vin.
The Chofetz Chaim, zt”l may have done a disservice to the Jewish people with his overemphasis on loshon hora. At the end of the day, my common sense knows what is loshon hora and what is not. I know when I am transgressing and I know when I am not.
If I say Rubashkin, Syrian Jewry (Deal, NJ), Moshe Eisemann, Mordechai Tendler, Chaim Berlin Yeshiva, Balkany, and others have stained Klal Yisroel, that ain’t loshon hora, nosirreee. Them are facts that need to be shouted from the rooftops throughout the Jewish world. This whole idea of emphasizing so much Shmiras HaLoshon has hurt many innocent yiddishe neshomos. We should emphasize, in its stead, being a mensch. As Rabbi Ron Yitzchak Eisenmann of Passaic said (not to be confused with the rasha M. Eisemann of NIRC) nobody knows the laws of loshon hora better than the molestor. The Saintly Chofetz Chaim certainly meant well, but people have taken advantage of his work to hurt others. Instead of Shmiras Haloshon, we should emphasize mussar sephorim so people can learn menschlichkeit. If you are a mentsch, you will naturally minimize your loshon hora, but you won’t lose your commons sense.
http://thinking-jew.blogspot.com/2011/04/judaism-vs-frumkeit-halacha-vs-chumra.html
How about Shmiras children and young girls???? How about Shmiras parnassa and education so boys can support a family and not expect their wives to carry all the financial burden in a family and have nervous breakdowns. how about Shmiras adulthood and teach boys to grow up and be responsible and don’t expect to live off parents who should be saving for retirement instead of funding corrupt yeshivas and seminaries that profit at expense of hurting others.
Well I have figured you all out, The torah has no value g-d made a mistake, and the bums on frumfollies are brilliant individuals. Take for instants OMG he would rather commit all sins, but beat the molester in the head… your sicker then most pedophiles and I venture to say you keep no-mitzvahs period why even argue.
Itxhemeyer on the otherhand should find some cover because the chofetz chaim will be back to prove that he minced no words every word is emes v’yatziv. What chutzpah you have talking about the biggest saint of our generation. Lopin your real dumb, all information you display is second hand information never got it from the source, Toailis my foot your a rusha who hates his own people carry on with your chilul hashem…when you suffer for what your doing.. remind your self about all the punishments written in the chofetz chaim u dont repent..everyone of those punishments will be delivered.. Shame on such Jews..How your parents gave birth to such rashim is unbelievable.
The molester deserves far worse than a beating in the head you idiot! Are you Meisels posting here – or one of his cronies with a hand out for a pay check??
Oh how I wish commenters would use a spell checker before publishing.