The Black Truth About White Lies
Q. I'm going with my twelve-year-old son to buy him a bike, giving me the perfect "alibi" to go out and get my wife a surprise birthday present. When we get home, my wife is sure to ask, "What took so long?" Normally I'd make up a "white lie" in order to keep the surprise, but I'm afraid this might be a bad example for our boy. What should I do?
A. Your concern for the educational message you convey is well placed. In fact, this exact concern is the subject of a remarkable story in the Talmud.
A renowned Rabbi had a very strained relationship with his wife, and whatever request he made of her, she would do the exact opposite. When their son got a bit older, the Rabbi started relaying his requests through the boy. To his delight, he discovered that his wife had begun honoring his requests! He said to the son, "Your mother is improving!" The clever lad replied, "No, it's just that I reverse your requests". The Rabbi praised the youngster for his wisdom, but told him he shouldn't continue his habit, so as not to become accustomed to lying.
I recommend the following trick to diminish your dilemma: Be alert for any slight delay at the bicycle store, or even "engineer" one. Then when you come home you can honestly say, "Sorry, honey, it took them a long time to find our order" (two minutes instead of one). Or: "After we were already out of the store, we found something that needed fixing" (you asked the guy to take two seconds to adjust the mirror).
If your child is quite naïve, then he may take your statement at face value. After all, this was an actual occurrence that did cause a delay. If he's rather sophisticated (like most twelve-year-olds nowadays), just explain to your son that normally we try to be completely honest, but that occasionally a slight misdirection is acceptable in order to surprise and delight someone.
And mazal tov on your wife's birthday. It's a wonderful sign that after so many years of marriage you not only remember her special day, but also go out of your way to make it memorable.