Q&A: Lying
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Lying
Question
Hello Rabbi,
I wanted to know what the halakhic status is of the prohibition against lying. And is there an obligation to tell the truth even in a case where a person wants to preserve privacy about a certain matter? Thank you.
Answer
It’s hard to write a whole essay here on the laws of lying. There is an article by Rabbi Sherlo in one of the first issues of Tzohar that tries to sketch a general map of the laws of lying from their sources, and it is worth looking there. Among the medieval authorities (Rishonim), Rabbeinu Yonah discusses this at length in Shaarei Teshuvah.