TOLEDOT 5786
Our World of Alternative Facts
One of my favorite Jewish authors is Nosson Slifkin. He became known as the “Zoo Rabbi” for his books about animals and Judaism. His book, The Challenge of Creation, was banned by some ultra-Orthodox rabbis despite its forward from Rabbi Zvi Hersh Winereb—then the Executive Vice President of the OU. Why was it banned? Because he told the truth—that many of the great rabbis through ages had questioned scientific statements in the Talmud. For example, it’s legitimate to believe the world is more than 5700 years old. He was banned for telling the truth!
His 1st book, Lying for Truth, is about the story in our Torah reading of Jacob deceiving his father Isaac to receive the blessing meant for his brother Esav. Isaac and Rebbeca had twins— Esav and Jacob. The Torah describes Esav as being “a hunter” and Jacob as being “a scholar.” Despite the fact that Esav is the eldest, and despite the fact that he exhibits great respect and honor to his father, and despite the fact that his father seeks to give him the blessing of the 1st-born…despite all this, Jacob—following his mother Rebecca’s lead—lies and fools Isaac, who is blind, making him think that he’s giving the blessing to Esav when, in fact, it was being taken by Jacob.
How could Rebecca and Jacob do such a thing? It would take a whole book to justify this, and that’s what Rabbi Slifkin does with this book which is subtitled: “Understanding Yaacov’s Deception of Yitzchok.” Slifkin comes up with numerous explanations, some of which stretch the imagination. But truth be told, if he had waited till now to write the book, he could have offered another explanation. He could have said that Jacob didn’t lie or deceive … all he did was present his father with an “alternate fact.”
The phrase, “alternate facts,” gained widespread attention in 2017 when Kellyanne Conway used it to defend inaccurate claims about the size of President Donald Trump’s inauguration crowd. Trump said it was bigger than Obama’s, while aerial photographs seemed indicate otherwise. Since then, “alternate facts” has become a shorthand for public figures making demonstrably false statements while insisting on their validity. We’ve seen it again and again:
-We saw it with the science of Covid 19 not quite what we were led to believe with masks, social distancing, and vaccinations.
-We see it with Robert F. Kennedy Jr. asserting that vaccines cause autism.
-In California a judge dismissed a case after discovering that a video submitted into evidence was AI-generated and never really happened.
-Social media amplifies alternative facts, as their algorithms prioritize provocative content over factual accuracy. This leads to the rapid spread of conspiracy theories and false narratives—including antisemitism.
-A 2025 study analyzing U.S. Congressmen’s speeches found politicians increasingly relying on personal beliefs—effectively, “alternative facts”—rather than actual data.
Alternative facts are not facts, they are falsehoods!
But, who are we to judge? Can any of us claim we’ve never told a lie? Studies show that we tell lies several times a day, often to those closest to us—our spouses, partners, friends, children—“white lies” which are thought to be of little consequence. If we were brutally honest all the time, few of us could survive.
I read a death notice of a man who died because he told the truth. His wife had asked him if he would still love her when she was old, fat and ugly. He meant to say: “Of course I will,” but it came out, “Of course, I do!” Services were held for him last Thursday at Arlington cemetery in Sandy Springs.
Sometimes a lie is an absolute necessity. And yet, the Bible teaches: “Do not lie, do not deceive one another.” (Lev. 19:11) “Hashem hates lying.” (Proverbs 6:17) “Lying lips are an abomination unto Hashem.” (Proverbs 12:22)
So what’s the story? How did Jacob do it—and with his mother’s approval, no less?! Are there times when lying is permissible? Let me give you Rabbi Kunis’ “5 Rules of Alternative Facts”:
- Rule #1—Never lie just to make yourself look good, because you’ll end up looking like a fool. We live in an age of mass-media where CCTV surveillance cameras and our phones are taking pictures of our every move. AI search engines are remarkably adept at “alternate facts.” I remember doing a search with AI to find a story of a hostage in Gaza trying to observe Torah. It found me a good story. However, when I did a Google search I found that the hostage in the story never existed!
Remember George Santos former U.S. Congressman? Elected in 2022, he was found to have grossly misrepresented his life story, falsely claiming to have graduated from Baruch College and NYU, working at Goldman Sachs and Citigroup, and that his maternal grandparents were Jewish Holocaust survivors. Our tradition says you can’t do that! So, Rule #1—Don’t lie to make yourself look good.
- Rule #2—While you can’t lie to make yourself look good, you can—at times—lie to make others feel good! We have countless examples of this in the Torah.
* A couple of weeks ago we read that when Gd told Sarah that she was to have a child, she laughed, saying, “My husband is too old to make this happen.” Gd, in repeating this story to Abraham, told him that Sarah said she was too old to bear a child. Gd used an alternate fact so as to spare Abraham embarrassment and cause conflict with his wife.
* After Jacob died, Joseph’s brothers told him (Gen. 16-17): “Daddy told us to tell you after he died that you should forgive us for selling you into slavery.” Nowhere in the Torah does it indicate that Jacob ever said that. But our tradition tells us that for the sake of peace, we can play games with the truth.
* The Talmud (Ketubot 17a) teaches that when you’re dancing before a bride and she is ugly—yes, there are brides…well, let’s not go any further—you are to tell her that she looks beautiful. After all, her husband thinks she looks good! And if she’s told that enough times, it will make her feel good!
So Rule #2 is that while you can’t lie to make yourself look good, you can—at times—lie to make others feel good!
- Rule # 3—There are times, yes, when we may use alternative facts…but don’t do it too often because it can become a very bad habit.
#4. Sure, there are times when a lie is permitted and when a lie is necessary. But still, our Torah (Ex. 23:7) tells us: Midvar sheker tirchok (Stay far away from a lie). You know why? And here is Rabbi Kunis’ Rule #4:
-Because even when it’s necessary, our Sages warn us that when you do lie, no matter how noble your motive, inevitably there’s a price to be paid. And they learn it from this story of Jacob and Esav. Jacob uses an “alternate fact” to trick his father and it haunted him.
-In next week’s Torah portion Jacob becomes the victim of an “alternative fact” when he’s deceived into thinking he is marrying Rachel, when she’s switched behind his back with her sister Leah. Their father Laban explains: “We don’t do what you did—allowing a younger sibling to bypass the 1st-born and steal their rights.”
-When his brothers sell Joseph into slavery, they dipped Joseph’s Coat of Many Colors into lamb’s blood to make it look like he was killed. Again, our tradition tells us that as Jacob lied to his father by wearing his brother’s hairy coat, here his children lied to him with a coat.
Yes, sometimes you have to lie! Sometimes it’s justified, and even acceptable to use “alternate facts.” But Walter Scott was right when he taught: “Oh, what a tangled web we weave when 1st we practice to deceive.”
And #5—one last rule. When you feel you do have to deceive … never lie to yourself. We oftentimes lie to ourselves about ourselves! We’re not always as innocent and pure as we make ourselves out to be. And yes, we are not as bad as we think we are. Knowing thyself, telling the truth to yourself, is the most important quality for change and growth. Our leaders and politicians must stand on their own record. They shouldn’t have to make one up. And we must do the same!
Shakespeare wrote: “To thine own self be true.” These are words we should all try to live by. And while we’re at it let’s always try to be true to others remembering the words of Psalm 15: “Who may dwell in thy tabernacle, who may live on Your holy mountain…he that walks uprightly, does what is righteous and speaks the truth in his heart.” Amen!
