Vayishlah 5772: Flattering The Wicked

In Genesis 33:10, Jacob flatters his brother with a syrupy, obsequious comment. Esau has just turned down the peace offering, saying that he has more than enough wealth already. Jacob responds, "No, I beg you, if now I have found grace in your sight, then receive my present from my hand; for therefore I have seen your face, as though I had seen the face of God, and you were pleased with me." Jacob goes so far as to compare the sight of his wicked brother's face to the impossible sight of God's countenance!

There is a debate in the Talmud as to whether flattery of this kind is permitted or not. On the one hand, Rabbi Elazar takes the hardline and says that those who flatter the wicked are cursed even by embryos. The reason for his opinion is that flattering the wicked only encourages evil to flourish. (B. Sotah 41b)

Likewise, Rabbi Shimon ben Halafta says, "From the day the fist of flattery prevailed, justice became perverted, conduct deteriorated, and nobody could say to his neighbour, 'My conduct is better than yours.'" In other words, flattering the wicked confuses the world's standards of morality. (ibid.)

On the other hand, Resh Lakish argues that it is permitted to flatter the wicked in this world. He quotes Jacob from our parashah, when he flattered Esau as described above. (ibid.)

But why would one want to flatter the wicked even if it is permissible? In the same sugya, Rabbi Levi answers this question with a parable: "The situation is like the parable of the man who invited a guest to dinner. The guest sensed that his host wanted to kill him. So when the guest ate, he said to his host, "This food tastes just like the food I ate at the king's palace." The host said to himself, "He knows the King personally!" Fearing retribution, he decided not to kill his guest after all. In other words, the guest flattered his wicked host in order to save his life.

The Torah Temimah has a more liberal interpretation of the parable. He says that one may flatter the wicked not only to save one's life, but even if there is a risk of any danger whatsoever, even if the risk is only a significant financial loss. One may flatter the wicked to avoid danger of any kind.

Many people flatter the wicked these days. There is a lot of praise for the so-called "Arab Spring," as if what the rioters want is Western-style liberal democracy. It is becoming clear that what the majority wants is a Shariah-based, Islamic theocracy and the destruction of Israel. (Many do want genuine freedom, but it does not seem that they are in the majority.)

By the same token, a columnist in the New York Times has heaped praise on the Chinese economic system, ignoring the fact that their system is based on totalitarianism, slavery, and gulags. It is permitted to flatter the wicked to get out of a sticky situation, but one must always remember that evildoers do not deserve compliments.