Rabbi Levinsky Sermon: January 9
Is it ever okay to lie?
A seventh grader once asked me a deceptively simple question: Is it ever okay to lie? The Torah answers this question not with a legal decision but with a story. When Joseph’s brothers fear revenge after Jacob’s death, they invent words their father never spoke. They lie, and the Torah does not condemn them. The rabbis learn from this that one may alter the truth mipnei hashalom, for the sake of peace. Truth matters deeply in Judaism, but it is not the only value. Relationships matter too. The more challenging task is learning when honesty heals and when restraint preserves dignity. Ethical life is lived in that tension. Shabbat Shalom.
