Vayechi, Genesis
47:28-50:26
It happens all the time. We all probably do it. We tell “white lies,” small deviations from the truth that smooth social discourse or get us out of an uncomfortable situation. But isn’t it always wrong to lie? Doesn’t Judaism demand truth as an absolute, an ideal for which to strive always?
In this week’s Torah portion, the last in the book of Genesis, our tradition gives an answer that might surprise us. The patriarch Jacob has died. Joseph’s brothers fear that now that Jacob is dead, Joseph might finally take revenge on them for their having sold him into slavery. They ask, “What if Joseph still bears a grudge against us and pays us back for all the wrong that we did him? So they sent a message to Joseph, ‘Before his death your father left this instruction: So shall you say to Joseph, ‘Forgive, I urge you, the offense and guilt of your brothers who treated you so harshly.’ Now please forgive the sins of the servants of the God of your father.’ When their message came to him, Joseph wept.” (Gen. 50:15-17)
The ancient commentators who read this passage concluded, as we must, that the brothers had fabricated a message from Jacob, in other words, told a white lie. Did those wise sages condemn the action? No. Rather, they said:
“It is permitted to change the truth for the sake of peace. Remember when Abraham and Sarah were old and three visitors claimed Sarah would have a child in a years time? Sarah laughed, thinking to herself, “After I am worn out and my husband is old, will I now have this pleasure?” But when God reported Sarah’s thoughts to Abraham, God leaves out the disparaging remark about Abraham’s loss of vigor. Why? For the sake of peace.” (from the Midrash)
Why do our sages quote both sources? They were offering test cases to establish the boundaries for “white lies.” The brothers offer an outright fabrication. God tells a “half-truth,” which omits a hurtful phrase. Together we learn that peace can be allowed to take precedence over the truth.
The careful discussion of the rabbis of old helps us understand that we cannot heap one lie upon another, nor enter carelessly into the realm of peacekeeping through half-truths. Telling the truth is always the ideal, always our goal. But our tradition understands that truth does not always come in shades of black and white. Logicians will assert that a sentence is either true or false. But Judaism teaches that the truth is often multi-faceted and hard to pin down. The Talmud is a record of the truths, plural, found in differing opinions. Two schools of thought, Hillel and Shammai, disagreed on just about every issue. Of them the Talmud says, “These and those are the words of the living God,” i.e., there is truth in both arguments and our human job is to ferret out and live by a consensus truth that enriches life and strengthens community.
The brothers’ white lie allows the family to live in harmony for the rest of their days - an almost unimaginable resolution to the dysfunctional family created by Jacob, Leah and Rachel. We close Genesis with a sigh of relief and wonder, turning next week to Exodus, the book of our redemption from slavery in Egypt.
Shabbat Shalom!
Rabbi Judy Shanks
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