Weekly Newsletter Volume 1, Issue 27

January 13, 2022; Shevat 11, 5782

Halacha – Jewish Law Lying In A Case of Spiritual Danger

If a Rasha (wicked person) says words of wisdom that are true, and we are concerned that the masses will be misled and follow his evil ways, we are permitted to say that his words are false, even if they are true in this instance, to prevent people from his negative influence. It is also permitted to lie to poke fun at a heretical philosopher for the sake of ridiculing his arguments and degrading him to reveal his heretical nature.

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Weekly Newsletter Volume 1, Issue 26

January 6, 2022; Shevat 4, 5782

Halacha – Jewish Law Lying to Prevent Transgressions

If someone tries to prevent us from carrying out a Mitzvah we are allowed to lie if that will enable us to do the Mitzvah. The same is true regarding an Aveirah. If for example, someone is trying to elicit from us Loshon Hara or Rechilus, we may lie to prevent ourselves from transgressing the prohibition. However, when it is possible to sidestep the matter by saying something that can be construed in two ways, as opposed to saying an outright lie, that is always preferable.

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Weekly Newsletter Volume 1, Issue 25

December 30, 2021; Teves 26, 5782

Halacha – Jewish Law In last week’s newsletter*, we discussed the case of a Mishnah in Bava Metziah (Perek 6) of a homeowner (“Reuvain”) who hires a worker (“Shimon”) for let’s say $100 / hour, and then later Shimon changes his mind and does not want to work for Reuvain, unless he will pay him $200 / hour. Assuming that other workers are not readily available and Reuvain would incur a financial loss (Davar Ha’Avud) if the work is not performed on time, Reuvain can deceive Shimon and agree to pay $200 / hour and then at the job’s completion, pay him $100 / hour as per the initial agreement...

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