[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":125},["ShallowReactive",2],{"topic-lying":3},{"id":4,"title":5,"body":6,"description":117,"extension":118,"meta":119,"navigation":120,"path":121,"seo":122,"stem":123,"__hash__":124},"topics\u002Ftalmudic-topics\u002Flying.md","Does The Talmud Permit Lying To And Deceiving Gentiles?",{"type":7,"value":8,"toc":113},"minimark",[9,33,47,83,90,93],[10,11,12,13,17,18,21,22,25,26,21,29,32],"p",{},"No. Jewish law unequivocally forbids deceiving anyone — Jew or gentile. The Talmud states the rule directly in the name of Shmuel: \"It is forbidden to deceive anyone, even an idolatrous gentile\" (",[14,15,16],"em",{},"Chullin 94a","). This ruling is codified in Maimonides' ",[14,19,20],{},"Mishneh Torah"," (",[14,23,24],{},"Hilchot Deiot 2:6",") and the ",[14,27,28],{},"Shulchan Aruch",[14,30,31],{},"Choshen Mishpat 228:6","), and is repeated across the major works of halacha and ethics.",[10,34,35,36,21,39,42,43,46],{},"Maimonides goes further in his ",[14,37,38],{},"Commentary to the Mishnah",[14,40,41],{},"Keilim 12:7","), writing that \"lies, tricks, subterfuges, cheatings, and circumventions of gentiles are forbidden,\" and that such conduct is \"even more so\" prohibited because it can lead to a desecration of G-d's name. Withholding the truth is forbidden as well — the Midrash recounts Rabbi Shimon ben Shetach returning a precious stone found on a donkey he had bought from an Ishmaelite, declaring, \"A donkey I purchased, a precious stone I did not!\" (",[14,44,45],{},"Deuteronomy Rabbah 3:3",").",[10,48,49,50,53,54,56,57,60,61,64,65,68,69,21,72,75,76,21,79,82],{},"The accusation usually points to ",[14,51,52],{},"Bava Kamma 113b",", where Shmuel says a gentile's \"mistake is permitted\" and is described as having underpaid a seller by one zuz on a golden bowl mistakenly priced as bronze. But the Talmud is not endorsing deception — Shmuel himself is the one who forbids it on ",[14,55,16],{},". The passage addresses an unrelated question: whether a Jew is obligated to correct a gentile counterparty's ",[14,58,59],{},"own"," careless error in a transaction. Active trickery remains forbidden; what is permitted is treating an arms-length business relationship as arms-length. Maimonides (",[14,62,63],{},"Hilchot Geneivah 7:8","), the ",[14,66,67],{},"Chinuch"," (258), the ",[14,70,71],{},"Yam Shel Shlomo",[14,73,74],{},"Bava Kamma 10:20","), and the ",[14,77,78],{},"Sma",[14,80,81],{},"Choshen Mishpat 283:6, 359:3","), among many others, state explicitly that the leniency applies only to the gentile's accidental mistakes, never to deceit by the Jew.",[10,84,85,86,89],{},"Far from permitting dishonesty, rabbinic literature repeatedly praises the opposite. The Jerusalem Talmud (",[14,87,88],{},"Bava Metzia 2:5",") tells of sages who bought wheat from non-Jews, found money hidden in it, and returned it — prompting the sellers to exclaim, \"Blessed is the G-d of the Jews.\"",[10,91,92],{},"Sources:",[94,95,96,106],"ul",{},[97,98,99],"li",{},[100,101,105],"a",{"href":102,"rel":103},"http:\u002F\u002Ftalmud.faithweb.com\u002Farticles\u002Fcheat.html",[104],"nofollow","Rabbi Gil Student",[97,107,108],{},[100,109,112],{"href":110,"rel":111},"https:\u002F\u002Fohr.edu\u002Fexplore_judaism\u002Fask_the_rabbi\u002Fask_the_rabbi\u002F6108",[104],"Rabbi Yirmiyahu Ullman, Ohr Somayach",{"title":114,"searchDepth":115,"depth":115,"links":116},"",2,[],"Examining what Jewish law actually says about honesty and deception.","md",{},true,"\u002Ftalmudic-topics\u002Flying",{"title":5,"description":117},"talmudic-topics\u002Flying","2IG3i6gRQCALfU27UmHZ6UEEm-RuOgUNSLAKX3gxWnk",1778048375457]