The Veneer of Virtue II

I think I’ve discovered what attracts me to law. I’m pretty sure it’s related to the righteous indignation that swelled inside of me as I watched the frum Jew seated next to me cheat on his LSATs. Obviously cheating. There was no mistaking it; I saw him do it numerous times. The first instance: He finished his reading comprehension section early, and moved on to the most dreaded logical reasoning section. I could clearly see his answer booklet, but not his answer sheet. We took a break before we were supposed to start the logical reasoning section. As soon as we started, I glanced over at his test booklet. It was covered with notes and markings.

Thereafter, I noticed that as soon as he finished one section, he would illegally venture to the next. I noticed that the other students visible to me would stare at the wall or flex when they were done. This boy never did so. In fact the only time he actually wasn’t working was after they collected the test booklets and answer sheets and gave out the writing sample. He finished early as usual. This time he stared blankly.

All I had to do was yell “Hey, he’s cheating” and everyone would have turned around and he would have been caught dead in his tracks. But I didn’t. The first time I noticed it, I was still enraptured in my test, and I couldn’t decide if it was right to hang a fellow frum Jew out to dry. It would certainly make a(n even bigger) chillul Hashem. I stayed quiet, but I was burning up inside. Did I do the right thing?

Immediately after the test I confronted him. First he pretended to not understand the concept of cheating. When he could feign ignorance no longer, he just flat out denied it. He eyed the other yeshiva guy, and smirked as he tried to turn my accusation on me. The tacit approval in his friend's eyes turned my stomach. I considered mentioning something to the proctor, but it would have been my word against his. Reasonable doubt would abound.

I was incensed, and completely consumed by what had transpired. Clever retorts floated into my brain. I kept thinking of what I should have said, what I should have done. I was so distracted I forgot about the test itself. I was not very confident about my score, but my mind kept turning to the nefarious cheater.

I find cheating morally reprehensible. But the fact it was a yeshiva bochur is what really got my blood boiling. I kept thinking I should have said. “You’re right; I can’t prove your guilt. But next time you decide to pursue a similar course of action, do me a favor. Take your yarmulke off. There’s no need to tarnish the rest of us with your insidious behavior.”

UPDATE: Feeling somewhat vindicated after listening to this shiur.