Sign up to TorahFax

Thursday, Shevat 27, 5777 / February 23, 2017

 

One of the many mitzvot in this week’s Parsha, Mishpatim, is, “Distance yourself from false matter.” The Torah guides us to be very careful not to lie.

 

Our sages in Pirkei Avot (Chapters of our Fathers) say, “The world stands on three things (pillars); on justice, on truth and peace.”

 

Q.Why did the sages have to specify that the world stands on three things? Everyone can figure out that, justice, truth and peace are three things.

 

A.When a table has four legs it may not matter so much if one of the legs is missing. The table can still stand on three legs. But when a table has only three legs, then each leg is very important. Even if one of the three legs is missing, the table will not hold up on just two legs.

 

Our sages specify that the world stands on three things, to emphasize the importance of each of these three. Even if only one is missing it erodes the stability of the universe.

 

In light of the “fake news” phenomenon these days, this mitzvah takes on much importance.

 

There are exceptions to this rule, when it is for the sake of bringing peace between husband and wife or between friends. But, even in those cases, it should be used only as a last resort.

 

The Talmud tells about the great Talmudic sage, Rav, that when he wanted to eat a certain food, his wife would make him something different. She didn’t respect his wishes. But, Rav didn’t make anything of it and ate whatever she prepared, making sure to keep the peace at home.

 

When his son, Chiya, became older, he felt bad for his father. When his father wanted a certain dish, Chiya wouldn’t tell his mother the truth, so that his mother would cook what his father actually wanted.

 

The plan worked and every time Rav would get exactly what he asked for. He didn’t know that it was only due to the fact that his son would tell his mother that he wanted something else..

 

After a while, Rav said to his son, “Looks like your mother has changed her ways.. She finally serves what I want.” At that point Rav’s son decided to tell his father the truth.

 

Rav was not pleased. He told his son, “Although you meant well and you did this for the sake of peace, you should not do this anymore as you are getting used to lying and the Torah commands, “To distance yourself from speaking false!”

 

HAVE A VERY GOOD, HAPPY, HEALTHY AND SUCCESSFUL DAY