"This [article] will add a whole different layer of intimacy, because the people I go to shul with and the people I spend most of my nonwork time with read the Jewish Journal," Ford told XBIZ. "Almost nobody in my religious community reads the Daily News. When the Jewish Journal writes about you, it has a more intense level of impact."
The Jewish Journal story mentions the sin of "the evil tongue" — "lashon hara" in Hebrew — and points out that "Few sins are as serious as that of lashon hara, the evil tongue … There are 31 commandments regarding lashon hara. The gist is that it’s not only sinful to gossip about someone, but to say negative things at all, even if true, unless there is a compelling reason."
…Asked about the reaction of his current congregation to the article, Ford said, "I don’t know what the consequences are. Ask me in a week. On the one hand it’s relief, on the other, it’s a feeling of dread. At the synagogue where I go for prayers, they stack up the Journal. Everyone’s reading it."
To read the entire article, visit the Jewish Journal website.