11
votes
Accepted
Eidim Zomemim in a case of seeing a new moon
According to Rabbi Akiva Eiger, (Shu"t RA"E Mahadura Kama 176, cited here) they are not punished by the hand of man:
וגם משום מלקות, נראה דלא לקו, דלא שייך בזה 'לא תענה ברעך' דהא לא העידו ...
- 17.9k
11
votes
Can you lie to a terminally ill child?
The Shulchan Arukh (YD 337) writes:
חולה שמת לו מת -- אין מודיעין אותו, שמא תטרף דעתו עליו. ואין קורעין חלוקו, ואין בוכין, ואין מספידין בפניו שלא ישבר לבו. ומשתיקין את המנחמין מפניו.
A sick ...
- 101k
9
votes
Accepted
What is the halacha about lying to a Non-Jew?
No.
Deceiving anyone including a non-Jew is strictly forbidden. Even if the non-Jew suffers no loss.And even if the deception is not explicit lying.
The Gemora (Chullin 94A)says: “Shmuel says, it is ...
- 6,163
6
votes
Is cheating in a test an Averah?
R. Moshe Feinstein has a responsum about cheating. He was asked by someone who had heard that in yeshivot they allow the students to steal the answers for the Regents.
R. Moshe answered that it is ...
- 50.3k
6
votes
YouTube Videos with False Titles
First, please read my answer on "are internet clickbait links permissible.
Your case is much worse because of two factors:
The author surely knows it is a lie and has an evil intention to fool ...
- 28k
6
votes
Why wasn't Avraham lying when he said "Eloh-im yireh lo haseh li-ola, bni"?
Read it "Elokim yireh lo haseh l'olah = bni". He was hinting that the lamb was his son. And according to Rashi, Yitzchak got the hint, "vayelchu shneihem yachdav" - he accepted it willingly.
I quote ...
- 5,420
5
votes
Is there a source for the claim that a dishonest person cannot do teshuvah?
Anyone can do Teshuva but a dishonest person can’t always pay back and make amends.
The Gemora (Bova Basra 88B) says קשה עונשן של מדות יותר מעונשן של עריות
The punishment for using false measures is ...
- 6,163
4
votes
Scam baiting in Halacha
It's permitted for tzaddikim to out-swindle swindlers.
שרי להו לצדיקייא לסגואי ברמאותא עם רמאי
Sefer haMidot - Emet #4
- 2,078
4
votes
Accepted
Is taarof allowed?
Welcome to complex Middle Eastern cultures!
Shulchan Aruch says almost this verbatim if you're asked to be chazan -- you're supposed to decline the first two times, then only take them up on the third ...
- 136k
3
votes
May a Jew be an impostor on "To Tell the Truth"?
The Sources say that you may lie to
-save a life [Yoma 84b],
-keep the peace [Yevamot 65b; also Bava Metzia 87a],
-make people feel good [Ketubot 16b-17a],
-appear humble and modest [Bava ...
- 23.6k
3
votes
Accepted
Which religious texts cause some Jews to focus and worship the material gains in this life (creation) rather than to Hashem (the creator)?
Are there other religious texts in Judaism that conflict with the Torah and emphasize striving for worldly gains as priority?
I've never seen any and highly doubt there are. Rather, the explanation ...
- 74k
3
votes
Is lying about the blessings of Hashem considered a sin?
A Jew should tell the truth, as the Torah writes (Shemot 23:7): "stay away from falsehood". There is a small list of situations where one might "dance around the truth" to e.g., promote peace, ...
- 54.1k
3
votes
Accepted
Is there anything wrong with correcting your Rabbi in front of other people?
One should correct him in an indirect way, reminding him of his earlier correct teaching or asking a question that leads in the right direction.
This is based on the Shulchan Aruch in YD 242:22 (my ...
- 54.1k
3
votes
Are "clickbait" links permissible?
[As usual] I'd like to point out, that the problem with גניבת דעת or הונאה is two-fold:
[A sort of] "damaging" your fellow Jew, which stems from "לא תגנובו" and similar to it (ריטב"א חולין צד, א) ...
- 28k
3
votes
Having fun with telemarketers
See Shulchan Aruch CM 227:26 which says that there is no prohibition of Onaas Mamon (money) when done to a goy. This is because of the passuk לא תונו איש את אחיו - A goy is not Achiv.
Concerning ...
- 7,092
2
votes
Why don't we say the first verse of Psalm 6 in Tachanun?
לַמְנַצֵּ֣חַ בִּ֭נְגִינוֹת עַֽל־הַשְּׁמִינִ֗ית מִזְמ֥וֹר לְדָוִֽד׃
To the chief Musician on strings upon the Sheminit, A Psalm of David.
We don’t translate “sheminit.” It may be connected to shmini, ...
- 834
2
votes
Are there discussions of the difference in what Lavan says and what Hashem actually did?
Regarding your first point: In addition to the general understanding that Hashem appearing to someone is generally in a dream (as sourced by @Mevaqesh above), a number of Mefarshim to 31:29 (including ...
- 21.2k
2
votes
Eidim Zomemim in a case of seeing a new moon
Let me explain the logic of the accepted answer (unfortunately, it's just "it would appear that"):
As you mentioned, unlike other cases where the witnesses actually determine the situation (like ...
- 28k
2
votes
Lying on Websites
I think this article will give insight into possible answers to you questions.
Generally, one should avoid lying as the Torah instructs (Shemos 23:7), מִדְּבַר שֶׁקֶר תִּרְחָק.
Yet, there are ...
- 902
2
votes
Why do we kill a navi sheker?
See Sefer Hachinuch 517:
כי האיש הזה באמרו שהוא נביא ונצטוה בזה, ונראה דבריו מתקימין כדברי נביאי האמת, נחזיק אותו כאיש אלקים, קדוש, שליח האל, ונאמין אליו ונקח ראיה בכל הנהגותינו ממעשיו, ואולי אחר ...
- 23.1k
2
votes
May we always deceive deceivers?
As a start of an answer, it is worth noting what Rav Yaakov Kamenetsky writes in Emes L'Yaakov Bereishis 27:12 in his analysis on Yaakov tricking Esav to receive the brachos, and he brings this pasuk ...
- 34.5k
1
vote
Are you allowed to lie in order to prevent embarrassing yourself
See the gemara in Bava Metzia 23b which talks about certain things that Talmidei Chachamim are משנו במלייהו. One of the things in the gemara is פוריא, which Rashi there explains, that if they were ...
- 979
1
vote
Are you allowed to lie in order to prevent embarrassing yourself
Bereshit Rabba 100:9 in parsha Vayechi says:
"The brothers said to Bilha, whom Yosaif considered like his mother since she had raised him, "Go to Yosaif and tell him, "Your father ...
- 181
1
vote
Why deception seems intrinsic to Terah's descendants?
Netziv has an essay, Shear Israel (Remnant of Israel) translated by Howard Joseph as a separate book "Why Antisemitism?". It was written as an introduction to Netziv's commentary on Shir ...
- 5,134
1
vote
Why deception seems intrinsic to Terah's descendants?
None of the other people you mentioned here are ever discussed in depth or at length, only in their relation to the Forefathers. We really find no detail about them at all, never mind deception. And ...
- 9,584
1
vote
Is lying about the blessings of Hashem considered a sin?
There is no doubt that being observant benefits one's life tremendously. For example, if one properly observes Shabbos (Shabbat), one is free of stress. All enterprising activity is considered ...
- 121
1
vote
Is it permitted to use a pseudonym
We need to distinguish between lying and changing things (seems like a tautology, but it isn't).
Lying, which is denying or negating the truth is bad, agreed (see Gemmorah Shvuos 31, Chinuch 74, Sma"...
- 28k
1
vote
Is it permitted to use a pseudonym
While this may be considered anecdotal evidence, there were quite a few famous works that were originally published anonymously (although it often eventually became known, and sometimes became the new ...
- 6,943
1
vote
שקר and שוא The difference between
According to the Etymological Dictionary of Biblical Hebrew based on the commentaries of Samson Raphael Hirsch by Mattityahu Clark, the root שוא means to lack value and content (e.g. vanity; taking G-...
- 3,742
1
vote
שקר and שוא The difference between
Short answer
שֶׁקֶר and שָׁוְא are partially synonymous. שֶׁקֶר is a lie. שָׁוְא carries multiple related meanings - lie, false, null, nothing, for nothing, vain etc.
עֵד שָׁקֶר - Loosely "Liar ...
- 119
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