Question: To what extent can one misrepresent the truth and still not considered to be lying?

Answer: In ancient times it was common to store wine in large barrels. The finest wine would be the first to be served out of a newly opened barrel because once it was opened the wine would gradually begin to go sour. It was thus a sign of great honour to open up a new barrel for a guest. The Talmud relates that Rabbi Yehudah had just sold out his stock of wine and would soon have to open up a new barrel anyway. His friend Ulla came as a guest and Rabbi Yehudah opened the barrel to serve his friend. The Talmud says that in this case, Rabbi Yehuda was guilty of deception because he had Ulla thinking that the new barrel had been opened in his honour.

This concept is referred to in the Talmud as "Gneivat daat" - "stealing another person's mind". This means that creating a false impression and achieving undeserved friendship and approval as a result of that action is a violation of Jewish Law. Even if there is nothing wrong with the action it is deception because of the false perception. Rabbi Yehuda should have told Ulla that he was out of wine and that's why he was opening a new barrel.

However this only applies if the impression is truly misleading. Where there is an expectation that people will generally see through the created perception this prohibition does not apply. The Talmud tells of two great rabbis who were on the way out of their city when they bumped into another rabbi on his way into the city. This Rabbi got the impression that the two Rabbis had come out in order to greet him and he even remarked so. The Talmud says that these rabbis did not violate the principle of gaining "undeserved friendship" - by not informing him that they had actually come out for another purpose - because the idea that these two great rabbis would come out to greet this other rabbi was so farfetched that it was actually this Rabbi who had fooled himself.

Therefore, psychological gimmicks used in advertising such as advertising a house for sale with an accompanying photograph that has obviously been taken at the best possible angle, could be permitted - because only a fool would actually think that the entire house always looks like that. So too, there is no problem in packaging a product in an attractive way so that it gets seen in the best possible light - as long as what you are seeing is what you get and that all information provided is absolutely true and not misleading.

It goes without saying that because there is a very fine line between that which is misleading and that which should be "seen through", for all practical matters a competent rabbi must be consulted.

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