The prohibition of deception and lying (even without theft)

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The prohibition of theft makes it forbidden to deceive someone in business. Rabbi Moshe Weiner explains that it is also forbidden to deceive another person even when no financial loss is involved. Obviously, this includes a prohibition of lying.

This is not part of the Noahide commandment that prohibits theft (“gezel” in Hebrew). Nevertheless, it is logically obvious that it is a sin (unless it is necessary for protecting a person’s property or safety, or to avoid embarrassment or insult to another person). In Rabbi Weiner’s book The Divine Code, see Part VII, topics 5:24,27.

Printed or ebook editions of The Divine Code by Rabbi Weiner are available through our page https://asknoah.org/books/the-divine-code and from Amazon.com.

Rabbi Moshe Weiner

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