EXOD466 Integrity means doing what one says, being what one speaks. It means being true to others, but also to oneself. Self-deception is a common human inclination; integrity is it antidote. … self-deception is a major roadblock in the creation of one's life as a work of art. Just as one is proscribed from deceiving others in word or deed, one is enjoined not to deceive one's own self. In this regard the Hasidic master, Bunam of Przysucha, was asked: Who is a hasid, who is pious? He answered: One who goes above the requirements of the law. The questioner asked: What is the law? The rabbi replied: It is forbidden to deceive one's neighbor. And what is going above the letter of the law? Not deceiving one's own self. Rabbi Bunam's disciple, Mendel of Kotsk, interpreted the commandment "You shall not steal" (this verse) as including a prohibition against stealing from one's own self. See Heshel, A Passion for Truth (New York: Farrar, Straus and Giroux, 1973). According to Isaac Aboab, the admonition against lying extends to self-deception. He wrote, "There are other matters that fall under the heading of falsehood; for example, when a person praises himself for having virtues he does not possess." Aboab, Isaac, Menorat Ma'or. (Jerusalem: Mosad ha-Rav Kook, 1961). sec. 2, p. 103.