Baseball and Congress: Truth and Loyalty

Originally posted 2/17/08, 4:50 PM, Eastern Daylight Time.
We may first wish to ask if the present Congressional investigation of steroids use in baseball is a Jewish issue. I am sure that many will say no. On the other hand any issue that involves an consideration of our values, especially when values are in conflict, must call upon us to investigate the Torah perspective on a matter. Such is the case here -- and as often the case the Torah perspective truly highlights the complexity of human life and our need to render appropriate valued decisions.

Last week, I was listening to the radio as a I drove and heard people voicing their opinion on whther Andy Pettit was right in fingering Roger Clemens on the latter's use of steroids. Many argued that Pettit was absolutely correct in telling the truth. Others argued that Pettit even should have lied to maintain his loyalty to a friend. The ones who felt that the truth was most important basically argued that morality must be maintained and lying was wrong. The ones who felt that Pettit sold out his friend basically responded that even though it may be more moral to tell the truth, you sometimes have to lie for a friend. It was at this point that I truly felt that this was a Torah issue for the Torah argument is not that you must break with morality to lie for a friend but rather that morality itself is often hard to define. Sometimes lying is the moral choice. The complexity of a situation is lost in a non-Torah perspective of the moral universe. In the Torah laws of testimony, lying is not condoned but the restrictions on testimony in various situations are intended to highlight this issue. If a testimony will not accomplish a conviction, it should not be given, is one example.

I am not saying that Pettit was right or wrong. I think it is a complex issue. What I am saying, though, is that it may be worthwhile for us to look at issues in the world to see how the Torah would direct us in those situations -- and what we may find more than anything else is Halacha's sensitivity to the complexity that is life.

Rabbi Ben Hecht