38 | OCTOBER 28 • 2021

I

ntegrity is a word we hear about often.
We know it’s one of the highest compli-
ments you can pay a person. And we all
want to be regarded as people of integrity.
When we picture someone with integrity,
we think of a person who is upright, honest
and honorable. But, what does it actually
mean?
It’s an important question
to answer because, according
to the Talmud, one of the first
questions a person is asked
when appearing before the
heavenly court after leaving
this world is: “Did you deal
faithfully and honestly with
others?” (Talmud Shabbos 31a). Clearly, integ-
rity is one of the most basic and important
values we are expected to live by. But what
is it?
It’s obviously a multifaceted concept, but
one essential expression of integrity relates
to fulfilling the promises and commit-
ments that we make. As Shammai, the great
Talmudic sage, puts it: “Say little and do
much (Pirkei Avot 1:15). The Talmud (Bava
Metzia 87a) states that saying little and doing
much is in fact the defining quality of a truly
righteous person — and that someone who
promises much and doesn’t deliver on those
promises is the very opposite of a righteous
person.
To illustrate this idea, the Talmud cites the
example of Abraham from last week’s par-
shah. When a group of travelers (who later
turn out to be angels, although Abraham
didn’t know that when he first encountered
them) pass by Abraham’s tent in the heat of
the day, he runs out to meet them, promising
them bread and water. In the end, though, he
goes to extraordinary lengths to lavish them
with a huge meal and the finest delicacies —
in the words of the Talmud, a royal banquet
fit for the table of King Solomon himself.
Clearly, Abraham exemplifies our Mishnah’s
teaching: “Say little and do much.
”
The Talmud also cites a counterexample
from this week’s parshah, Chayei Sarah.
Abraham wishes to purchase the Cave of
Machpelah as a burial site for his wife Sarah
(which would also become the burial site
for the forefathers and foremothers of the
Jewish people). Ephron, the owner of the
plot of land, initially seems to tell Abraham,

very publicly, that he would give it to him as
a gift. But he then proceeds, later privately,
to extract from Abraham an outrageously
inflated price, even playing it down in the
process. Ephron promised much and deliv-
ered little.

RIVKA’S EXAMPLE
Rabbi Moshe Feinstein, one of the great
halachic deciders of the 20th century, iden-
tifies another potent example of what true
integrity is all about in this week’s parshah.
Abraham sends Eliezer, his trusted servant,
to Charan to help find a wife for Isaac — to
find someone who exhibits the quality of
chesed (lovingkindness), and who embodies
the values of the house of Abraham, and
would continue the legacy of building the
Jewish people.
He encounters Rivka drawing water at the
well — who, through the seemingly simple
act of providing water for Eliezer and his
camels to drink, displayed the very traits
that would make her a fitting wife for Isaac
and one of the great mothers of the Jewish
people.
According to Rav Moshe Feinstein, what
impressed Eliezer was that she was careful
with her promises. Integrity demands being
careful not to make promises that you will
not be able to keep, and so only after Rivka
had already delivered on her first promise to

give Eliezer water, did she then offer to give
water to the camels. Rivka demonstrated
the trait of integrity — so fundamental to
Abraham and Isaac, and to the Jewish people
as a whole.
This value of integrity encapsulated in the
phrase “say little and do much” is connected
to a network of values so essential to human
greatness. One such value is the sanctity of
speech and fulfilling verbal commitments.

KEEPING YOUR WORD
In the context of making and keeping vows,
the Torah says: “He shall not desecrate his
word.
” (Numbers 30:3) The word “desecrate”
implies that speech is holy, and that, there-
fore, one should honor verbal commitments.
Reinforcing this idea of the holiness of
speech, Onkelos translates the verse: “…
and Adam became a living soul” as: “
Adam
became a speaking being.
” It is the power of
speech that distinguishes the human being
from the rest of creation that defines the
human being.
In fact, the Talmud describes the human
being as the medaber — the “speaker.
” Speech
is sacred, and by extension, so are the prom-
ises we make to others.
But, making promises isn’t just about
upholding our commitments to others, it’s
also about being true to ourselves — what
we might call personal integrity. And this

What Is the Real
Meaning of Integrity?

Chief Rabbi
Warren
Goldstein

SPIRIT
A WORD OF TORAH