EXOD858 We are forbidden to lie. When someone lies, he violates a Torah prohibition (Chofetz Chayim, Positive commandment 13). The Talmud (Sanhedrin 92a) expresses the severity of lying by equating it with idolatry. The Sages (Sotah 42a) list liars among those who will not behold the Divine Presence in the world to come, as it is written, "He that spreads falsehood shall not be established before My eyes" (T'hilim 101:7). Since there are certain situations when it is permissible to distort the truth, as will be listed below, questions might arise about the permissibility to say something that is not true in specific instances. [The author lists twenty-two basic laws of this prohibition and ten instances in which it is permissible to tell an untruth].