Last week we had said that if a person is speaking out against someone who hurt someone else, assuming he meets the 7 prerequisites he still can only speak out in a group of at least 3 so word will go out and he does not look like he’s trying to flatter the sinner, unless he is afraid of repercussions. Today the Chofetz Chaim said that if a person is known to be someone who doesn’t care what anyone else says and is known to be always honest then he can speak out against the perpetrator even in private, once the perpetrator is willing to listen to rebuke because everyone knows he’s telling the truth and not flattering the sinner.
There is a difference between a person who you should not rebuke beforehand if you know he will go on the defensive and not even give into pressure from others in the future, and if a person is known to always be stubborn and will never listen to anyone then it is still worth it to rebuke him first before spreading the word of his evil ways because maybe he’ll have a change of heart this time.
We’ll see in more detail next week that the same applies to one who transgressed a sin between man and Hashem, but besides meeting the 7 prerequisites there is 3 other criteria needed to speak out against him. 1. He is constantly committing this sin. 2. He is doing it on purpose. 3. It’s the type of sin everyone knows is forbidden.