Ethics Of Cheating

The Ethics of Cheating - The Jewish View

Rabbi Gershon H. Fluk

This article originally appeared in Ten Da'at 1, 1, 1987, pp. 9-11. Reprinted here with permission.

THE PROBLEM

Lengthy conversations with some groups of students, graduates, parents and teachers, as well as our own observations, have convinced us that cheating is extensive among some students in our school. Students cheat by obtaining the answers prior to or during examinations, by giving answers to fellow students either actively or passively during tests, or by bringing to the examination material that will help them answer the question. This cheating and dishonesty takes place not only in tests but also in short- and long-term projects and daily homework.

THE EXCUSES

Students give various reasons for cheating. To begin with, they consider the main purpose of high school to be preparation for the best universities and ultimately for highly rewarding careers. As such, what really counts, according to their thinking, is high grades, an excellent transcript that will admit them to the university of their choice. The students feel that they are in a very competitive environment in our school and that they must also compete with students outside the school. In the effort to keep up and remain competitive, the temptation to cheat is great. Cheating, some students admit, is simply a much easier way of obtaining a decent grade than studying for a test or working hard at assignments and homework. Equally startling is the feeling on the part of the students that everyone else is cheating both in school and in the wider society and therefore, why should they be different? "Cheating is the right thing to do if you want to succeed," one student said. "What is wrong is getting caught." Although there are no statistics, this seems to be the sentiment of many. Our students simply have too many models, both in and out of school, of dishonesty.

THE TORAH VIEW

The Hebrew Academy is first and foremost a Torah institution. In addition to striving for academic excellence, our primary purpose is to instill in our students the values and ethics of the Torah. Our goals in life must be different than those of society at large. We want our students to succeed materially and professionally, but without sacrificing or even compromising our religious and ethical values. Here is a brief summary of the Torah's view of Emet and Sheker, honesty and dishonesty, and its implications with regard to cheating in school.

Emet, usually translated as Truth, has a much broader meaning than the English word "truth" implies. Emet is not simply the opposite of "falsity"; it is the opposite of deceit, of insincerity, of dishonesty. Emet encompasses all that is right, just, sincere, honest - and true.

G-D IS EMET

The teachings of the Tanach and our sages are replete with the concept that G-d is Emet: The Chumash tells us that one of the attributes of G-d is Emet (Exodus 34:6). The prophet Jeremiah declares: "ה' אלקים אמת", "G-d the L-rd is Emet" (Jeremiah 10:10). And we find in the Talmud (Shabbat 55a) that "חותמו של הקב"ה אמת", "The signature of the Holy One, blessed by He, is Emet." Our sages also note that the letters of Emet (Aleph, Mem and Tav) are respectively the first, middle and last letters of the Aleph-Bet, thus encompassing everything.

TORAH IS EMET

If G-d's name is Emet, it stands to reason that the Torah which He gave us is also Emet: King David declares in several places that both the Torah and its commandments are Emet (e.g. Psalms 119:142, 151) and the Talmud says in Brachot 5b: "אמת זו תורה" "Emet is Torah." To our sages the foundation of our world, of society's very existence, rests on Emet: The Midrash (Breshith Rabba 1) says that the creation of the world was, from the beginning, with Emet: "מתחלת ברייתו של עולם ראש דברך אמת" "From the beginning of the creation of the world, your first words were truth." And in Pirkei Avot 1:18, Rabban Shimon ben Gamliel says: "על שלשה דברים העולם קיים: על האמת, ועל הדין, ועל השלום"

PURSUIT OF EMET

Our sages taught that the purpose of our creation is to imitate the attributes of G-d, to follow the dicta of the Torah and to create an everlasting, just society. They urge us (Shabbat 133b; Rambam, Hilchot De'ot 1:6) to strive to conduct our lives with the same qualities -including Emet - which G-d ascribes to Himself.

We are urged in Proverbs 23:23: 77, "Acquire truth and do not sell it." The value of Emet is clear: "שופט אמת תיכון לעד, ועד ארגיעה לשון שקר" "That which is true will last forever, but that which is false will last a short time" (Proverbs 12:19). One form of the pursuit of Emet is the pursuit of Justice: "צדק צדק תרדוף" "Justice, justice, shall you pursue..." (Deuteronomy 48:20). The person who pursues Emet is considered wise and righteous; he is the ideal