BAIS HAVAAD ON THE PARSHA 5773 Parshas Shelach: Violating Confidentiality

Parshas Shelach contains the tragic narrative of the spies sent to survey the Land of Canaan. While their task was to observe and to report their observations, a major component of modern espionage is signals intelligence, and communications intelligence in particular, with Henry L. Stimson's celebrated distaste for the practice ("Gentlemen do not read each other's mail.") seen as laughably quaint. I am not aware of any significant discussion of the ethics of such intelligence gathering in the service of the national interest; this article explores some of the Halachah pertaining to such conduct in the context of the intercourse of private citizens.(AUDIO HERE) CLICK HERE FOR PRINT VERSION.