Illustrations paragraph 5

One must be very careful concerning undesirable character traits. People often denigrate someone for things that don’t exist. For example, if the bridegroom is a straight person who does not understand people’s cunning or does not joke around like other youngsters, immediately, he is publicized as a fool and simpleton to the extent that the marriage arrangement is sometimes annulled. There are many examples of this.
Such people are not merely speakers of lashon hara. The Torah calls them motzi shem ra (slanderers) because they say untruths. Even if it was true, one would need to fulfill all the required conditions. Therefore, to denigrate one side of the marriage agreement because of its ancestor’s deeds is also lashon hara.