A lie that saves from sin

Attitude to violations

Question

A young man learns in a yeshivah. His whole family spend most of their time watching non-kosher movies. In the past, he used to do that too, but now he wants to repent. He tried quitting once, but his whole family made fun of him and made his life difficult. Because of that, he wants to lie to them and tell them that he has problems with his eyes, and watching movies causes him pain. Is he allowed to lie for this purpose?

Answer

Dear …!

One is allowed to lie in order to prevent oneself from sinning. However, in my opinion, this won’t help him. He needs to be encouraged to stand up for the truth and not be embarrassed of those who mock him for serving Hashem.

Source

Shulchan Oruch, section Orach Chaim, ch. 1

Comments

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