Rabbi Yisrael Rozen
"And
Yosef brought bad
reports about them to
his father" [Bereishit 37:2].
"He
said that they set their eyes on the daughters of the land, and that
is why Potifar's wife challenged him" [Pesikta Zutrata,
Bereishit 37].
Why Facebook?
I
will begin with a disclosure: I do not have a facebook account, and I
do not have a quarter of a million "friends" (except, of
course, for the readers of this column). And here is why: I do not
have the time or any desire to read about thousands of events as they
happen, and to be updated every minute or two about what every
"friend" thinks and feels at that very moment. I also do
not have the time or any desire to send out posts just to see the
deluge of reactions that I get. In general I can say that the
world would have been better off if this tool had never been
invented, since it has become a public square for punishment,
"shaming," rumors, insults, and disseminating slander.
All of these elements were intimately born in the cradle of the
world's most widespread (anti-)social network.
I
am well aware of the benefits of facebook. It allows widespread
personal expression and provides a framework for many good deeds,
such as bringing thousands of people to the funeral of a lone soldier
and tens of thousands to the wedding of the daughter of a terror
victim, in addition to providing a platform for collecting donations
to help people in need, and even to help find very valuable lost
items. However, it is very clear that the
public square will become filthy with the excrement of "shaming."
This malady will increase along with the enhanced exposure of the
power of this murderous tool. Every man and woman can readily
publicize his or her vague memories or even elements of vivid
imagination about what happened or almost happened in the past. And
the main thing is "not to be afraid at all" to sling filth
at others, making use of their full names and both past and present
titles.
A
Hint of Murder
Insulting
a person is "a hint of murder" (literally,
the "dust of murder") – see Rabeinu Yonah, Shaarei
Teshuva 3. After all, we have been taught, "a person should be
willing to throw himself into a fiery furnace in order to avoid
insulting his friend in public" [Bava Metzia 59a]. The social
network provides every single person with an opportunity to lie in
wait and stab anybody else who is caught in his net. Many cases of
suicide have occurred, even in Israel(!), as a result of "shaming"
on the network. And I
want to sound a warning that things may well get worse and not
better: the necessary
firearms exist, there is an abundance of motivation to fire away at
focused targets, and the media serve as perfect crowds to line the
square. They are hungry for ratings, and they
therefore greedily upgrade the "shaming" to super-levels if
the subject is a public figure, a celebrity, or one who occupies any
kind of official position.
It
is true that facebook did not invent the concept of shaming public
figures. All types of media - written, broadcast, and networks - have
engaged in this type of activity since time immemorial, and they are
experts in slandering and insulting people. However, the classic
media are still bound by rules of ethics and laws against slander. No
reporter would dare to publish a derogatory article without giving
the accused figure a chance to respond. The
"Slander Prohibition Law" is a constant reminder to the
media, and millions of shekels have been paid to the victims of
slander as a result of this law. (Here is another disclosure: I was
once slandered by "Yated Neeman" and was awarded some
compensation for their deed.) However, in facebook, by definition,
nobody would ever dream
of giving the shamed person an opportunity to respond.
It would seem that the existing slander laws do not have the power to
curtail the "execution by shaming" in the town square which
is used for denunciation or flogging. (Note that there was one case
in Israel where a man was fined for shaming his former wife on
facebook.)
No
individual exists, anywhere in the world, who can hide from the wrath
of being slandered on facebook
by those who seek to do him or her harm, or by some people who enjoy
the "sport" of devouring others. The formula is very
simple: Start with an embarrassing incident from the early youth of a
public figure who is well respected – for example, he or she may
have neglected to pay some tax or may have hired an illegal foreign
worker. All we have to do then is sit back and wait for our desires
to be fulfilled, and the script will play itself out.
For
the last three days and nights, I have been searching my brain, and I
admit that I have not found a worthy answer to the obvious question:
"Okay, what do you
propose?" It
would seem that the only alternative is to
tighten the belt of legal restraints
and necessary enforcement measures, in a way that will define limits
for "shaming" even within what purports to be "private
postings," and even if
there is a claim that the post was the truth or a half-truth.
The law must provide for judgements and fines that will act as a
deterrent, with compensation in the spirit of our traditions:
damages, pain, healing, forced idle time, and shame.
* * * * *
*
Yosef
the Righteous One, as he is described in our tradition, was accused
of "shaming" his brothers and reporting about them to his
father. The Midrash lists many types of shame, including sexual
harassment, as is quoted above. "They set their eyes on the
daughters of the land" (with the memories of the affair of Dinah
still fresh in their minds). His punishment appears in this week's
Torah portion – "He met the challenge of the wife of
Potiphar." Yosef's greatness was that he was able to maintain
his righteous behavior!
