LEV427 Hypocrisy intensifies deceit, for the hypocrite pretends to believe one thing while intending to act quite differently. Thus the rabbis warned: "The Holy One, blessed be He, hates a person who says one thing with his mouth and another in his heart" (Pes. 113b). Hypocrites are one of the four kinds of deceivers who may not come into God's presence" (Midrash Psalms 101:7). "There are seven sorts of thieves. The first comprises people who deceive their neighbors by urging them to be their guest when they don't really want them, or those who push a gift when they know the neighbor won't accept it" (Baba Kama 7:8). "The law, 'you must not set a stumbling block before the blind,' [this verse], include the sanction, 'you must not hide a part of your intention in giving someone advice.' You must not say 'sell your field and buy a donkey,' when you are really manipulating things so that you can buy his field" (Sifra Ked. 88). ... People lie for various reasons. Some convince themselves that they should tell only what they think we need to know. Others believe that a sin of omission--giving an incomplete version of the truth--is a lesser vice than a sin of commission--saying and doing whatever they think they can get away with ... Our sages reject such convenient rationalizations. They have always demanded scrupulously high standards, especially of our leaders. Scam artists who pray on the poor, the lonely, and the elderly are particularly reprehensible.