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