25 Nov PUBLIC DISCOURSE AND HARMFUL LANGUAGE: THE BOUNDARIES OF USING THE TERMS “SONEI’M” AND “MECHABLIM” IN THE PONOVEZH DISPUTE

This week, a long-
standing dispute in

Yeshivas Ponovezh
finally reached its
conclusion. News
sites and social media
platforms—many of them run by shomrei
Torah—reported the story and referred to the
two factions by the labels that have followed
them for years: “Sonei’m” (haters) and
“Mechablim” (terrorists).
It is necessary to examine whether using such
terms is permissible.
The Gemara (Bava Metzia 58b) teaches that
certain sins carry extremely severe punishment
in the World to Come, among them publicly
shaming someone and calling someone by a
derogatory nickname. The Gemara asks: what
is the difference between the two—are they
not the same? It answers that “calling a
nickname” refers to a case where the person is
already accustomed to that name. Rashi
explains: since he is already used to it, his face
no longer becomes pale from embarrassment.
This raises a question: if the person is not
embarrassed, why is it prohibited? Rashi
answers that the offender’s intention is still to
degrade him.
From here we learn that calling the Ponovezh

factions by harsh labels such as “Sonei’m” and
“Mechablim”—even if one argues that they
have become accustomed to these names—
still constitutes a derogatory nickname, and is
therefore forbidden.
One may ask: what if the speaker does not
intend to insult, but merely uses the terms
because they have long been used to describe
the groups? The Kesef Mishneh (Hilchos
Teshuvah 3:14) infers from Rashi that if the
person truly does not mind the nickname and
the speaker has no intention to embarrass him,
it is permissible.
However, this is not correct in cases like ours.
The Ben Ish Chai (Tora Lishmah §261)
explains that such leniency applies only when
the nickname carries no negative connotation—
for example, calling someone with a large nose
“the one with the prominent nose,” if in that
time and society no one considers it insulting.
But a nickname whose very nature is
negative—such as calling people
“Mechablim”—is obviously forbidden.
A similar ruling appears regarding the Chazon
Ish (Orchos Rabbeinu, p. 396): someone once
described a person as a “yeke,” and the Chazon
Ish objected, calling it a form of giving a
derogatory nickname because it carries a tone
of belittlement. Instead, he instructed them to

refer to the person as “precise and upright.”
Their opinions are based on the words of the
above Gemara, which states that one may not
give his friend a derogatory nickname. This
does not prohibit giving any nickname, but
only ones that are negative or disparaging.
From all of the above, the Kesef Mishneh’s
allowance applies only when all three
conditions are met:
1. The individual truly feels no hurt or insult
from the nickname.
2. The speaker has absolutely no intention to
degrade.
3. The nickname carries no connotation of
shame or negativity at all.
Beyond the halachic prohibition, refraining
from using nicknames brings great reward.
The Gemara (Megillah 27b and Tosafos there)
relates that when R’ Zeira was asked why he
merited such long life, one of the reasons he
gave was that he never called anyone by a
nickname—even one that was not derogatory.
Using labels such as “Sonei’m” and
“Mechablim” clearly fails these conditions and
therefore should not be used in responsible
public discourse.
There is also a special prohibition against

speaking negatively about crowds. It is far
worse to assign negative names to a group of
several thousand people than to speak against
a single individual, since speaking against
many multiplies the sin according to the
number of people involved.
On top of that, there are a few other serious
transgressions: Chilul Hashem – speaking ill
of the bnei Torah of one of the greatest yeshivot
in the world constitutes a chilul Hashem
regardless of the circumstances there. People
writing about issues often emphasize only the
controversies because that draws attention, not
realizing that in doing so, they are damaging
Hashem’s honor in the world. There is also the
problem of degrading Torah scholars of the
yeshiva. Thousands of students dedicate their
lives to Torah study at the highest level, and
we are obligated to look up to them, not speak
negatively about them.