The Rambam ties habitual public embarrassment of others to losing one’s share in the World to Come – what exactly crosses that line?
Q. What is considered severe embarrassment that one loses their share in the world to come? What if the person embarrasses that person and that person was really hurt and they just can’t forgive them, will that person lose his Olam Haba because that person can’t forgive them that they embarrassed them will they lose their portion in the world to come because they didn’t even say sorry to that person so that person doesn’t forgive them? But it was more like just a person made fun of a person in front of other people, said a mean comment to make fun of that person and it happened to be in front of other people, is this considered severe embarrassment ,because that person that was embarrassed can’t forgive them ?
The Rambam (Teshuva 3, 14) writes that one loses their share in Olam haBa if they are used to embarrassing people, and not if it was just a one-time sin. The problem is that one who embarrasses others probably didn’t do so just one-time… In any event, even if it was a one-time sin, one should ask forgiveness from that person, especially before Yom Kippur when we all ask forgiveness of eachother and it doesn’t particularly hurt the offended. After sincerely asking forgiveness 3 seperate times (in front of 3 people), the offended must forgive and the offender need not continue asking for forgiveness. And even if the offender hurt many different people many different times, if he asks forgiveness from both G-d and those he offended, he has wiped his slate clean and recovers his Olam HaBa.
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