Age Before Beauty: Volume 5, Issue 46, Ha'azinu
- Sefas Tamim
- Oct 2
- 1 min read
October 4, 2025; 12 Tishrei, 5786 Sponsored anonymously for the Refuah Shleimah of Yair Nissan Ben Sara
QUESTION: "My sister told someone she was fifty, though she is really 45. Afterward, she explained that people are more likely to compliment her on her youthful appearance if she claims to be older. Is it acceptable for her to do this?"
ANSWER: The question of whether your sister may lie about her age to receive compliments involves a fundamental debate about the scope of the Torah's prohibition against falsehood.
The Chofetz Chaim interprets "Midvar Sheker Tirchak" (Exodus 23:7) as a clear, sweeping Torah prohibition against lying, representing what many consider the normative Halachic position...