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The Jewish Calendar | A Practical Guide to Shabbos | Chinuch: Education | Rav Dovid's Shiurim
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To Tell the Truth...

We all bend the truth at times, and -- within limits -- this can be permitted by halacha. But how far can we bend the truth before it becomes falsehood? What level of truth is required by the Torah? What mix of falsehood is permitted, when, and why?
16 Av 5769 listen Kiddush Hashem in Business Transactions (15:31)
Every business transaction, even a simple purchase in a store, is an opportunity for kiddush Hashem.
Sources: Devarim Raba Parsha 3
15 Av 5769 listen Being Honest with Yourself (15:38)
To ensure your personal honesty and integrity, find a kosher accountant and a rebbe.
Sources: Mak. 24a
14 Av 5769 listen Lessons from Tisha B'Av: Creating a Culture of Honesty (16:52)
Issues we should each address to become the Holy Nation we can be...
10 Av 5769 listen Lessons from Tisha B'Av (17:32)
Reflections on Tisha B'Av: what should we learn from the fast?
5 Kislev 5769 listen Honesty in Business (13:26)
Davening and Torah study must lead to proper action -- honesty in business among them.
Sources: OC 155:1-2; MB 155:8-11
27 Adar I 5768 listen Maintaining Honesty and Integrity in Everything We Do (15:29)
Keeping our promises is not just about our interpersonal and business relationships; it is a spiritual necessity for the entire Jewish People and the entire world. We must always be of one voice in heart and speech.
Sources: Sha'arei Teshuva 3:183; Zeph. 3:13; Brachot 2:2
Dedicated in honor of Rabbi Hager, the rabbi of the Wall Street Synagogue, and in honor of Yoel ben Ephraim Mordechai.
26 Adar I 5768 listen Honesty in Business (14:45)
We must use a hin tzedek in all of our business dealings -- whether literally or figuratively.
Sources: CM 204:7; Shabb. 31a; Sha'arei Teshuva 3:182
24 Adar I 5768 listen Keeping Promises (17:02)
Part of emes entails being true and honest, and that means keeping our promises.
Sources: Lev. 19:36; Bava Me. 49a; Bava Me. 44a; Sukkah 46b
22 Adar I 5768 listen Hin and Hen Tzedek: Say Only What You Mean (13:06)
We may only possess accurate weights and measures. Based on the same verse, Chazal admonish us: say only what you mean.
Sources: Lev. 19:36; Bava Me. 49a; Mak. 24a
21 Adar I 5768 listen The Difference between "Emes" and "Truth" (15:17)
Changing our words or deviating from the truth does not mean that we are deviating from emes. A proper understanding of emes at times includes deviations from what in English is called "truth."
Sources: Emet l'Ya'akov (Rav Yaakov Kamenetsky zt"l) Breishit 27:12
19 Adar I 5768 listen Deviating from Truth is Sometimes Permissible, but it is Always Dangerous (14:15)
Sometimes we can deviate from the truth, so long as we stick within appropriate halachic boundaries. But making a habit of such deviation is dangerous.
Sources: Yev. 63a; Yam Shel Shlomo (Maharshal) Yevamot 6:46; Gen. 27:19; Rashi, ad loc.
15 Adar I 5768 listen Different Categories of Untruth (13:08)
Rabbeinu Yonah differentiates among different types of untruth, distinguishing between that which is permitted and that which is forbidden. But even the permitted should be avoided, as it accustoms our tongues to falsehood.
Sources: Sha'arei Teshuva 3:181
13 Adar I 5768 listen Deviating from Truth (14:21)
There are times when we are allowed to deviate from the truth, but knowing how and when is generally extraordinarilly difficult to judge.
Sources: Ketubot 17b; Yev. 65b; Sha'arei Teshuva 3:181
Dedicated l'ilui nishmat Geula Yehudis Malka Rivka bas Chaim Mordechai on the occasion of her yahrzeit.
9 Adar I 5768 listen Distance Yourself from Falsehood (16:08)
We have two mitzvot regarding truth and falsehood: "Do not lie" and "Distance yourself from falsehood. Why two mitzvot and what is the difference between them?
Sources: Exo. 23:6-8; Shevuos 30b; Yad Ketana Ch. 10 Deot 1:1
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Enjoy each of Rav Dovid's Daily Halacha Series:
Wake Up! | Kavanah | Zmanim | Tzitzit | Tefillin | Brachot
Pesukei d'Zimra | Kriat Shema | Amidah | Geshem and Tal | Mincha
Kaddish | Amen! | Shabbos | Kiddush | Shofar | Teshuva
Rosh HaShana | Ten Days | Yom Kippur | Sukkos | Pesach | Sefirat HaOmer
Shavuot | Chanukah | Purim | Rosh Chodesh | Tu B'Shvat
Fast Days | The Three Weeks | Tisha B'Av | The Four Parshiyot | Parshat HaShavua
The Kosher Kitchen | Issur v'Heter | Speaking to G-d | Spiritual Reality, Spiritual Freedom
The Jewish Calendar | A Practical Guide to Shabbos | Chinuch: Education | Rav Dovid's Shiurim
True or False? | Respect for Parents, Elders, and Torah Scholars | Ben Adam l'Chaveiro
Rav Dovid's daily halacha is given at the Wall Street Synagogue before shacharit.

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