This week, we continue with translating the Chofetz Chaim’s Sefer entitled, “Sefas Tamim.” Sefas Tamim, from which our foundation takes its name, focuses on the importance of honesty in word and in deed.
“If we begin to think about the reasons why people commit this sin of speaking deceitfully, and why these men have ignored / trivialized this sin, we will conclude that there are many, many reasons. I will assemble the main reasons that bring a person to commit this sin.
First, at the very outset, the sin of stealing and the sin of lying become meaningless to this person. By virtue of this disregard, he will inevitably also trivialize the sin of speaking deceitfully, which is an outcome of the combined sins of theft and lying. When one wants to cleanse oneself from the stain of the sin (deceit), he should constantly think about the enormity of the sin and the punishment for stealing and lying, and in so doing he will be saved from committing it.”
