Dear Jewish Response Staff,

It's an old stereotype that Jews are deceptive in their business dealings. They say one thing and mean another. I know many Jews who are very honest people; my question is, however, was there any truth to this stereotype in the past, maybe in Talmudic times or the middle ages?

Larry K.

Dear Larry,

No, the Talmud speaks explicitly against deception.

Chullin 94a. Shmuel said: One may not deceive another person, even a non-Jew. This was not said explicitly by Shmuel, but was derived from the following story: Shmuel once crossed the river using a ferryboat. He told his servant to pay the ferryman. The servant gave the ferryman a non-kosher chicken, allowing the ferryman to assume that it was kosher.

The Talmudic commentator Rashi explains: Shmuel's law explains why the Mishnah says that one may not give a non-Jew a piece of meat from which the sciatic nerve (forbidden to Jews) was not removed. The non-Jew might not notice this and may assume that the Jew is giving him valuable kosher meat. He will then feel gratitude toward the Jew, a gratitude based on a false premise.

This law is codified by Maimonides (Laws of Sale 18:3) and by the Shulchan Aruch (Choshen Mishpat 228:6).

Maimonides writes further: And similiarly, lies, tricks, subterfuges, cheatings, and circumventions of gentiles are forbidden. They said [as quoted above] 'It is forbidden to deceive anyone, even an idolatrous gentile' and even more so when it can lead to the desecration of G-d's name. For that is a great sin and imbues in a person bad traits. And all these wicked actions G-d explained that He will be disgusted with them and with those who perform them, as it says: (Deuteronomy 18:12) "For anyone who does these is an abomination of G-d." (Maimonides, Commentary to the Mishnah, Keilim 12:7)

Rabbi Moshe of Coucy (d. 1260) wrote in his Sefer Mitzvos Gadol, Negative Commandment 74:

Israel must separate themselves from the vanities of the world and hold onto the seal of the Holy One, blessed is He, which is truth. They should not lie to anyone, Jew or non-Jew, and they should not deceive anyone in any manner, as the prophet says, The remainder of Israel will do no wrong and will not speak falsely, and there will not be found in their mouths deceptive speech (Zephaniah 3:13).

Soon the Holy One, blessed is He, will come to redeem the Jewish people. If the Jewish people acts honestly, the gentiles will say, G-d acted fairly when he picked such people of truth to be His chosen nation. The Torah in their mouths is true. But if they act dishonestly, the gentiles will say, Why did G-d choose for His portion thieves and swindlers?

Also, the prophet says, And I will plant them for Myself in the earth, and the Talmud comments, A person only plants one kor in order to reap many korim. Here too, G-d scattered the Jewish people among the nations so that converts would join them. If the Jews deal dishonestly, who will join them?