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When is it appropriate to lie?

By Rabbi Mendy Piekarski

“Rabbi,my child goes to school, where there are various influences with beliefs that are different from my religion. When would it be appropriate for my child to “lie” about her beliefs in order to keep her friendships? When should she stand up for her beliefs?”

To address the question, I would like to share the following story:

A few years ago, I was a counselor in an overnight camp in upstate New York, for a group of boys who were about 12 years old. One of the boys in my bunk was from Northern California, and went to public school. Over the few weeks of camp, we talked about how he felt about his Jewish background. He mentioned a few times that he was never too proud about it, as he didn’t want to stand out from the rest of his friends and possibly lose friendships.