So what should the seller actually say when the disappointed buyer comes back?

Rabbi Klapper shows the proper way to handle yesterday's case. Perhaps Shimon never knew Reuven wanted the item, and the seller simply couldn't wait — or even if Shimon pushed the sale through. Either way, when Reuven returns, the seller should name no names: just say somebody came and bought it. And if it's true, he should take the blame on himself — it was my fault. Since a seller may sell to whomever he wants, Reuven really has no basis to be upset, and if he is, he'll find the item elsewhere. This keeps the matter localized and internal, so it doesn't spread into something far worse.

Keep it internal — and keep listening tomorrow.

Hosted by Rabbi Ari Klapper and produced by Eli Podcast Productions, this episode is part of the Real Judaism series, available on RealJudaism.org. Don't forget to subscribe and share to stay connected with our daily lessons and timeless Torah insights!

A buyer set an item aside and left for cash — but you sold it to the next customer. What do you tell him?

Rabbi Klapper gives a vivid example: Reuven agrees to buy something at a garage sale and leaves to fetch the money; while he's gone, Shimon pays and takes it. When Reuven returns furious, the seller, not wanting to look bad, blames Shimon for forcing the sale. So many problems here: even if it were true that Shimon did it, saying so is still rechilus — the sale is done and revealing it helps no one, only breeding needless hatred. The seller shouldn't say it, and Reuven has no right to believe it either. Both sides must be careful: the seller not to speak, and the disappointed buyer not to accept the tale.

How should the seller have handled it? Find out tomorrow.

Hosted by Rabbi Ari Klapper and produced by Eli Podcast Productions, this episode is part of the Real Judaism series, available on RealJudaism.org. Don't forget to subscribe and share to stay connected with our daily lessons and timeless Torah insights!

You voted no in a secret ballot — so can you tell the angry crowd it wasn't your doing?

Rabbi Klapper brings the Chofetz Chaim's exception to yesterday's heter of saying I didn't do it. Picture a committee of seven voting privately; you voted no, but the majority voted yes, and the decision hurts people. When one of them asks how the committee voted yes, you may not say I didn't vote yes to distance yourself. The reason: the committee as a whole makes the decision. Just as in beis din, where a dayan who ruled in the minority is still bound to the ruling the court as a whole issues, so the dissenting committee member shares responsibility — and denying his part would itself be rechilus.

Join us tomorrow for the next real-life example.

Hosted by Rabbi Ari Klapper and produced by Eli Podcast Productions, this episode is part of the Real Judaism series, available on RealJudaism.org. Don't forget to subscribe and share to stay connected with our daily lessons and timeless Torah insights!

Your car is parked right behind the one that was scraped — and the owner turns and asks you who did it. What now?

Rabbi Klapper presents a fresh case: you saw who scraped a man's car, and your own car sits right behind his, making you a suspect. When he demands to know who caused the damage, may you name the culprit? Unless the halacha and all the rules of to'eles tell you it's the right thing to do, simply clearing your own name is not reason enough to reveal the guilty party. What you may do, says the Chofetz Chaim, is say I didn't do it — a person is allowed to exonerate himself without naming the one who's actually to blame.

There's an exception to this rule coming — hear it next time.

Hosted by Rabbi Ari Klapper and produced by Eli Podcast Productions, this episode is part of the Real Judaism series, available on RealJudaism.org. Don't forget to subscribe and share to stay connected with our daily lessons and timeless Torah insights!

How many aveiros can hide inside one throwaway comment on the street?

Rabbi Klapper counts the damage when one person tells another he was overcharged and the victim storms back to the store, sparking a fight over quality and refunds. In that single exchange a person can violate rechilus and lashon hara, lifnei iver of placing a stumbling block, and onaas devarim of hurting another's feelings — and it can ignite machlokes, sinah, and even worse. Our words carry enormous power: they can build connections between Jews or destroy them. Knowing the halachos beforehand is what lets us recognize that force before we wield it carelessly.

Use your words wisely — and come back tomorrow to keep learning.

Hosted by Rabbi Ari Klapper and produced by Eli Podcast Productions, this episode is part of the Real Judaism series, available on RealJudaism.org. Don't forget to subscribe and share to stay connected with our daily lessons and timeless Torah insights!

You spot a friend's new purchase and blurt out that he paid way too much — are you helping or sinning?

Rabbi Klapper describes what happens in real life when someone who doesn't know these halachos sees a friend's new purchase and cries, you got robbed, that's the most expensive store! He imagines he's helping, but he's stumbling into rechilus and lashon hara: he doesn't know the going rate, what extras came with it, how long ago it was bought, or the real price. Worse, he can't know what his friend will do with the information — it may just breed anger and hatred toward the store owner and lead to further aveiros. So many sins can flow from a conversation under five minutes. The rule, Rabbi Klapper stresses, is never say anything negative about anybody or anything.

Internalize it by hearing it again — and again — tomorrow.

Hosted by Rabbi Ari Klapper and produced by Eli Podcast Productions, this episode is part of the Real Judaism series, available on RealJudaism.org. Don't forget to subscribe and share to stay connected with our daily lessons and timeless Torah insights!

What if he won't go to beis din at all, but takes the law into his own hands?

Rabbi Klapper turns to the case where the one cheated may take matters into his own hands rather than going to beis din. Here the Chofetz Chaim adds three more safeguards on top of the earlier five rules of to'eles: you must have firsthand knowledge, not hearsay; there must be two people who would qualify as valid witnesses in beis din; and you must consider whether he'll grab back more than he's owed. Even if all eight rules are met, if he'll bypass beis din and settle it himself, you must not tell him. Better to bring the information to a Rav to find a proper way to recover the loss.

Careful is the word of the day — return tomorrow for more.

Hosted by Rabbi Ari Klapper and produced by Eli Podcast Productions, this episode is part of the Real Judaism series, available on RealJudaism.org. Don't forget to subscribe and share to stay connected with our daily lessons and timeless Torah insights!

What if the person you warned marches back to the store and says you're the one who told him?

Rabbi Klapper presents the last of these rules of to'eles: what happens when the person you told he was overcharged goes back to the store and announces that ploni said you cheated me. That itself would be rechilus about you. If he'd say only I heard I was overcharged, without naming his source, that's fine. But if he'll name you to the store owner, the Chofetz Chaim is unsure whether you may tell him in the first place — especially if you know he's the type who needs backup to prove he's right. Best, Rabbi Klapper says, to ask a Rav before speaking.

Not sure how it applies? Ask your Rav — and listen again tomorrow.

Hosted by Rabbi Ari Klapper and produced by Eli Podcast Productions, this episode is part of the Real Judaism series, available on RealJudaism.org. Don't forget to subscribe and share to stay connected with our daily lessons and timeless Torah insights!

Before you tell your friend he was cheated, is there a way to fix it without speaking rechilus at all?

Rabbi Klapper adds another rule of to'eles: whenever possible, go directly to the one who cheated rather than to the victim. Maybe the store owner doesn't even realize what he did or its halachic ramifications, and would return the money on his own — sparing you from speaking rechilus. More broadly, if there is any other way to reach the same goal without lashon hara, you must take it. The Chofetz Chaim brings the source from a Gemara in Sanhedrin: when Yehoshua asked Hashem who took from the cheirem of Yericho, Hashem essentially answered, am I a talebearer? Figure it out yourself — so Yehoshua used a goral instead.

Think out of the box before you speak — and join us again tomorrow.

Hosted by Rabbi Ari Klapper and produced by Eli Podcast Productions, this episode is part of the Real Judaism series, available on RealJudaism.org. Don't forget to subscribe and share to stay connected with our daily lessons and timeless Torah insights!

You know for certain your friend was overcharged and could get his money back — so should you tell him?

Rabbi Klapper continues the case where it's clear a person was cheated in a way that halacha lets him recover his money, and reviews the rules of to'eles for saying so. Don't exaggerate beyond the truth; have pure intentions to help the one cheated, not to harm the cheater; and know what he'll actually do with the information. If he'll go to beis din, tell him — but if he'll only stew in anger or act against halacha, or won't act at all, stay silent. In fact, the Chofetz Chaim says, tell him it was a good purchase and let him feel good, and this is not the falsehood the Torah warns against.

Come back tomorrow as we keep unpacking the rules of to'eles.

Hosted by Rabbi Ari Klapper and produced by Eli Podcast Productions, this episode is part of the Real Judaism series, available on RealJudaism.org. Don't forget to subscribe and share to stay connected with our daily lessons and timeless Torah insights!