QUESTION: I am a high school girl, who, like other girls my age, often leaves class to hang out with my friends in the hallway or the bathroom. The teachers are often strict with me and do not allow me to leave class without an acceptable reason. I found that if I hold my hand on top of my nose, the teacher will allow me to leave – thinking that I desperately need a tissue. I feel that this is not actually lying as I have not said anything. Is this permitted?
ANSWER: This is not permitted. Rav Yavrov ZT”L in his Niv Sfasayim (1:6) writes that even alluding to a lie with a physical action is forbidden. Therefore, placing your hand on top of your nose to deceive your teacher would not be permitted.
Rav Yavrov bases his ruling on a Sefer Chassidim (1:46) which says that even if one does not say a word, but merely engages in an action that implies a falsehood, it is still not permitted.
It seems that the Sefer Chassidim does not base his ruling on the prohibition of “Midvar Sheker Tirchak” – distance yourself from the word of a lie, because by engaging in a deceptive action, one has not spoken a word. Rather, he bases his ruling on a separate prohibition called “Hin Tzedek.” This prohibition is explained in Bava Metziah 49a which derives from the words “Hin Tzedek” (Vayikra 19:36) that when we say “Hin” which is similar to the word “Hen” which means “Yes” to something, it needs to be “Tzedek” - true. This means that our words must be true and when we say “Yes” to something, we must mean what we say. Since the charge of “Hin Tzedek” is said in the Torah in the context of keeping honest weights, where one may deceive or cheat another without saying a word, the Sefer Chassidim learns that this prohibition extends to deceptive actions that are engaged in, even without the utterance of any words.
Even if one would argue that your action is relatively harmless, elsewhere, the Sefer Chareidim quotes the Rashbatz (Mitzvos of the mouth #26) that even if the falsehood does not cause any harm, it is still a Torah prohibition according to the Rashbatz (and others concur with the Rashbatz as well).
