Dear Jewish Fairy Godmother:

I relayed something inappropriate about a secondary friend to
someone I thought had the sense to keep her mouth shut. Now my
comment (slightly distorted but pretty much what I said in passing, at
a casual lunch) has reached her ears and because of how she
responded, caused some serious ripples in her family life. I feel
responsible and I suspect she is also blaming me, even though she’d
have been facing these same issues eventually, though perhaps not
under such public scrutiny. Should I do anything or keep my biog
mouth shut?

Gossip Girl No More

 
Dear Gossip Girl:

You should send her a polite hand-written note of apology in the spirit
of the High Holiday season. Express your regret for having spoken
inappropriately about matters that were not your own to share. Ask for
her forgiveness. Then keep to your sign-off word and learn to stop
talking about other people for entertainment, even if your intent was
not mean-spirited. Once spoken, words can travel far, and their
unintended consequences can hurt many.