JOURNEYS OF TRUTH
by Naftali Loewenthal
By permission from Wellsprings (2003)
What is Truth?
Two Russian drunks were sitting at a table in the tavern, a nearly empty bottle of vodka between them. "Ivan! Ivan!" called one of them. "Yes Vitek, what is it?" "Ivan, I want to ask you something. Will you tell me?" "Of course, Vitek. What do you want to ask?" "Ivan, what is Truth?"
Truth is indeed mysterious. It is absolute and relative at the same time, easy to betray and yet invincible, as in the phrase: "Truth will prevail…" It is absolute reality and yet subject to circumstance. It is an attribute close to G-d, and for that very reason often profaned, denied and distorted, on the one hand, and awful and frightening on the other. The Truth can turn a person to stone…
Perhaps in fear of this, for the postmodernists, absolute truth has disappeared as a workable function of reality and instead it has been dissolved into multiple relativist truths: "the truth for you" - "but not for me". 19th century secularisation delineated existence, history and humanity in materialist and mechanistic terms, which it designated "true" and in opposition to tradition and spirituality. By contrast, 20th and 21st century thought, while it re-instates spirituality, at the same time often presents a relativistic and endlessly transparent ocean where there are neither rules nor borders, leading to the idea that everything is true, which is similar to saying that nothing is true. The end of history is also the end of Truth.
Standing back from this, we might make a special and significant declaration, which in effect is a declaration of faith: something is true. Let us make it more distinctive: Something is True. It might be that extrapolating from that single principle, step by step, syllogism after syllogism, one would arrive at the concept of G-d, Divine Creation, the necessity of Sinai ("the Truth must be communicated") and the whole of Jewish teaching….
So, Truth requires Faith. This combination is interesting. Rabbi Menachem Mendel of Kotzk (mid 19th century) is famous for his quest for truth. The verse from Psalms (85:12) emet me-eretz titzmach, 'truth flourishes from the earth' became a kind of motto for Kotzk. Since Kotzk (spelled with an alef) and eretz (earth) have the same gematria (291), the Kotzker Chassidim would say "Truth flourishes from Kotzk". Yet in 1940 in Jerusalem when it came to the publishing of the collected sayings of the Kotzker Rebbe, with the agreement of the Gerer Rebbe, the title "Emet veEmunah" was chosen for the book: Truth and Faith .
At an earlier stage of Western thought, the idea of Truth was seen as leading to Science. In a variety of ways, including some interesting letters to scientists by the Lubavitcher Rebbe in the 1950s, Science has been delegitimized as a source of Truth. Science is fascinating, it is often useful and it draws research grants to university departments. It is also continuously changing, according to complex rules, including societal and political, and has its own code of fashion, with an underlying pair of lists - one marked 'kosher' (respectable research) and the other 'non-kosher' (don't touch it, and there won't be any funding anyway). Today one can skilfully play the science game but, in the main, only religious mystics expect it to reveal Truth - because of what they learn in religious teaching. In the 21st century it seems that either there is no Truth at all, or Truth leads to G-d. We will explore the latter pathway.
G-d and Truth
The Mishnah tells us that at the end of the third paragraph of the Shema, as we say the concluding words "I am Hashem your G-d", we should immediately begin the section Emet veYatziv, "True and firm", without interrupting between the words Hashem and Emet. The Talmud bases this on a verse in Jeremiah (10:10): "and Hashem G-d is True". Thus, for millennia, we have been declaring, several times a day, that Hashem your G-d is True, or: Hashem your G-d is Truth.
This does not simply mean that we affirm that it is true that G-d exists. "Hashem your G-d is Truth", is telling us something more about G-d. The Jerusalem Talmud quotes the verse from Jeremiah and asks: "What is meant by True? Rabbi Abun said: that He is the Living G-d and King of the Universe". The truth of G-d relates to G-d in Himself and also to G-d as Creator. The Rambam spells this out further in the opening passage of Mishneh Torah . Phrases mentioning Truth are italicised:1. The foundation of all foundations and the pillar of all wisdoms is to know that there is a first Being. And He brings into being all that exists. And all that exists in heaven and earth and what is between them only exists because of the truth of His existence.2. And if you would imagine that He does not exist - then nothing else could exist.3. And if you would imagine that all beings apart from Him do not exist - then He alone will exist. He will not disappear just because they have disappeared. For all that exists needs Him, and He, may He be blessed, does not need all or any of them. Therefore His truth is not like the truth of any of them.4. This is what the Prophet states: and Hashem G-d is Truth. (Jer.10:10). He alone is True and nothing else is true as He is true. This is what the Torah means when its says: "there is nothing apart from Him" (Deut.4:35). This means: there is no true existing thing apart from Him or like Him. 5. This Being is G-d of the Universe and Master of the Earth.…This passage presents us with some interesting ideas about G-d, existence and Truth. Let us see if we can unravel some of them. The phrase the truth of His existence seems to imply that Truth is some kind of inner aspect of the Divine, an idea which might seem puzzling ("surely, G-d is G-d, period") but in fact has significant meaning in terms of the Rambam's own teachings (in the Guide for the Perplexed, see Part I chs. 54, 57) and kabbalistic and Chassidic thought. There are different levels of expression or revelation of the Divine. What we seem to be hearing in this text at the beginning of Mishneh Torah is that at a certain elevated level of the Divine, beyond all other Attrbutes, there is the truth of G-d's being. In his Guide the Rambam calls this "the essence and Truth" of G-d. This is ultimate Truth, which transcends All.
This is 'absolute Truth', but as such it seems entirely inaccessible to humanity. Once we enter discussion of these more esoteric realms of the Divine we go beyond our human definitions and our human possibilities. We encounter an ultimate level of consciousness of reality which is so intense that it would prevent any finite human being, even Moses, from remaining subject to the limitations of this physical world: "And He [G-d] said: you cannot see My face, for man cannot see Me and live" (Exodus 33:20).
At the same time, the Rambam suggests - in line with the passage from the Jerusalem Talmud cited above, which focuses also on G-d the Creator - that as a product of this level of Divine truth there emerges the created world, which "only exists because of the truth of His existence". This created world does therefore actually seem to bear within it a certain measure of truth: but that truth is not to be compared with that of the Divine Essence. "His truth is not like the truth of any of [the created beings]" (#3 in Mishneh Torah above).
We thus have a transcendent Truth beyond everything, and local and limited varieties of truth which are the basis of, and pertain more closely to, our finite world.
Let us take another step towards investigating our relationship with the transcendent level of truth, through a very famous Talmudic passage.
Approaching Ultimate Truth and Avoiding Falsehood
Our Sages taught:- Four [people] entered Pardes: they were Ben Azai, Ben Zoma, Acher and Rabbi Akiva. Rabbi Akiva [who was the leader] said to them: 'when you reach the pure marble stones, do not say "Water! Water!" for it is written "one who speaks falsehood cannot stand before My eyes" (Ps.101:7) Ben Azai looked closely and died… Ben Zoma looked closely and was harmed… Acher looked closely and 'cut down the plants' [abandoned Jewish practice]… Rabbi Akiva entered in peace and went out in peace. The entry into Pardes, the deepest level of knowledge of Torah, seems to be an encounter with Truth in an awesomely exalted - and hence dangerous - form, close to the absolute. What is the error of "falsehood" against which Rabbi Akiva is warning? According to a discussion of this passage by the Lubavitcher Rebbe, this instruction provided the key to avoid the pitfalls which in fact trapped each of Rabbi Akiva's three companions.
When approaching Truth at such an exalted level, one is required to maintain an exalted standard of personal Truth oneself. By taking care not to fall into that "falsehood", like Rabbi Akiva one can enter in peace and come out in peace.
The explanation of the warning is that the "stones of white marble" which look like, or even contain some mystical form of "water" is indeed an exalted level: the parsa or veil between the Infinite and Creation. At this point, according to Rabbi Akiva, one should perceive a fundamental unity between the two levels, as if each were just a pure reflection of the other, total unity. The person's own self is utterly at naught, it has no other qualities than its reflection in the infinite beyond, it is so much part of the 'water' that in fact there is only the spiritual water, nothing else.
According to Rabbi Yitzhak Luria, the problem was to think that there are two kinds of water, and hence the person cries out twice "Water! Water!". In fact there is only one kind of water, which pervades all levels of existence. Seeing more than one means a serious interpolation of self , the self of the individual. This is the falsehood: his own ego. His ego interposes and thereby introduces an error into his view of the exalted Truth of the parsa, the mystical veil hiding the Infinite Creator, and the person becomes confused. The result is serious casualty, whether in the form of ecstatic death, madness or nihilism. Ben Azai refused to return to a dark world; Ben Zoma returned but never adjusted to it; Acher returned to the physical world but abandoned entirely the Jewish worldview with its hope for Tikkun, spiritual repair .
The confusion promoted by the sense of self led to the view that in ultimate terms there is division and therefore there is no hope, and this was expressed differently by each of Rabbi Akiva's companions. Only Rabbi Akiva who was able to attain the level of selflessness, bitul in Hebrew, total self-nullification, was able to perceive all as a unity albeit on different levels. His view of existence whether above or below was filled with hope of ultimate revealed oneness and repair.
Hence too, and this is a vital point in the Lubavitcher Rebbe's discussion of this passage, his yearning to climb upwards was not merely for the purpose of the ascent , but as a preliminary step towards the descent , the return from the exalted heights in order to bring the message of their meaning and inspiration to the everyday world. Seeing all as, ultimately, a continuum, this was his prime objective and he believed it could be achieved. Perhaps this relates also to the strong yearning for the Messiah expressed in Rabbi Akiva's hopes concerning Bar Kochba.
By contrast the presence of ego in his three companions led them to seek the ascent simply in order to gratify their personal longing for holiness. For them the ascent was important, not the return. They did not leave in peace because when they entered they did not intend to leave. They thought there was no point in descending back into "the world of falsehood" , only the higher level is True.
According to this Chassidic discourse, taught by the Lubavitcher Rebbe in 1962, a similar example is seen in the case of the two sons of Aaron who entered the deepest recess of the Sanctuary and died (Lev.10:1-2). Their quest was for their own spiritual self-gratification, the frenzied entry into ultimate holiness, rather than to enter and then to leave "in peace", bringing the inspiration of Truth to others .
Here we see the case of the exalted Truth which has a damaging effect on the seeker. Ultimate humility is the key to avoid this harm: the person and the "water" are indistinguishable. He or she is nothing but a ripple on a wave - and not even that. The suggestion in this subtle teaching is that through the path of utter humility one can reach an exalted level of Truth and also bring wholeness and unity to all the worlds.
Finding One's Point of Truth
A page of Rabbi Shneur Zalman's Tanya helps us explore this idea a little further.
The author is discussing the process of inspired prayer. The person's heart fills with love of the Divine in a powerful and transformative way. During the deeply spiritual and contemplative prayer, the person's entire being is infused with longing for holiness and successive feelings of intense love and awe of the Infinite. There is only one problem: after the prayer, he or she returns to their normal self.
Now Rabbi Shneur Zalman asks a highly significant question: is this kind of temporary and intermittent spiritual experience of intense love of the Divine "true"? Surely, if it were true it would be permanent, as in the case of the "Tzaddik", the person who has achieved permanent self-transformation and is always in a state of inspiration. "The lip of truth is firm for ever, while the tongue of falsehood is but for a moment" (Prov.12:19).
This harsh evaluation, in which 'Truth' is taken as a stark, black and white measure on which anything less than perfect will fail dismally is, however, only a suggestion. It is proffered, it seems, to indicate that there is such a measure, and that some people accept that only on these severe terms can they judge themselves. Rabbi Shneur Zalman then tempers his own suggestion for the benefit of a slightly wider circle of society, whom he calls the 'intermediates' (benonim) as opposed to the full Tzaddikim.Nevertheless, in relation to the rank of the 'intermediate', it is regarded as a truly perfect service in terms of their level of Truth…
What does this mean? Is Rabbi Shneur Zalman abandoning the idea of the permanence of truth? No. He explains that one could, in fact, consider the service of the 'intermediates' as 'permanent', because it is always in their power, through contemplation, to achieve inspiration in prayer. Since this is a constant possibility, their inspiration, when it does take place, is not considered a mere flash-in-the-pan, but is accorded the status of something "true" .
Rabbi Shneur Zalman then takes us a step further, by presenting an important general teaching about the nature of Truth:
For Truth is the attribute of Jacob, who is called 'The middle bolt which secures everything from one end to the other', from the highest level to the lowest. And on each level the bolt passes through the most central point, which is the point of 'Truth'.
We thus have a schema in which there are many spiritual levels. The central point of each level is its Truth. All points of Truth are linked together by the central pillar of the general diagram of the Sefirot, the attribute of Jacob (while that of Abraham, Kindness, is on the Right and that of Isaac, Severity, is on the Left). Hence one does not strive for "Truth" in absolute terms, rather for one's own level of Truth, the central point of one's own level. By attaining this, one is connected with all the upper levels of Truth. And thus the author continues:
The attribute of Truth is an unbounded inheritance which has no limit upwards to the highest degree.
In other words, once you have gained any level of Truth, your Truth at the centre-point of your own level, you are connected to all levels above. As Rabbi Yosef Yitzhak, the Sixth Lubavitcher Rebbe said: "When you grasp emet (Truth), even if it is only at the 'jot' of the Alef of emet - it is actually true".
What is meant by the "centre point" of one's own level? As I understand it, this is the point of humility and of balance. This is the point one seeks as a chassid, the point where one can both receive and give, because one is connected. This idea, in my understanding, provides an important commentary on the nature of Chassidism, and how it differs from non-Chassidic kabbalism. The kabbalists generally seek to ascend, the Chassidim try to find the middle point which joins everything.
However, Rabbi Shneur Zalman desired that his followers should also express truth in its most pure form. He wanted truth "with the quality of the truth of Jacob" , in other words, pure and unadulterated truth. One starts by finding the centre point of "one's own level", a level which is intermittent and unreliable. Yet one should also strive higher. Note that the Talmud terms a spring which dries up once in seven years "a false water-source". It is said that if Rabbi Shneur Zalman's concern for pure truth had been less vigorous he would have had thousands more followers.
Reaching for Emet and Drawing it into This World…
So, what is the task of the individual as regards Truth? The world is called 'alma de-shikra "world of falsehood". The task of humanity is to transform this realm, to make it a dwelling for the Divine, a place where Truth dwells in a pure and wholesome way.The difficulties on the path to transform the world into a domain of truth are expressed in a story in the Talmud (Sanhedrin 97a), about a town called 'Kushta', Aaramaic for Truth.
In Kushta everyone told the truth. Consequently, reports Rav Tavyumi , who went to live there, no-one there ever died before their time . There was a beautiful, serene atmosphere. Rav Tavyumi himself would never lie, "even if you gave me all the wealth of the world" and hence he moved to Kushta, married a local girl, and had two children. One day a woman from the neighbourhood came to visit. She knocked at the door and Rav Tavyumi opened it. "Hello," she said. "Is your wife in?"
Now, at that moment his wife was washing her hair. Rav Tavyumi became confused. How could he betray the rules of modesty and derech eretz? For a moment he forgot his life-long endeavour to tell the truth. "I am sorry. She is out". Shortly after this, tragically, Rav Tavyumi and his wife lost their two children. The inhabitants knew why this had happened, and asked the couple to leave.
Thus, Truth and the limitations of human sensitivities do not always dwell well together. Of course, in this story one might suggest that Rav Tavyumi could have responded in a different way, which would not actually have been a lie. However, the principle is clearly valid. As the Sages tell us: when G-d consulted His Heavenly consorts (famalia shel ma'alah) about the creation of Man, Truth said that he should not be created. Truth and daily life often conflict.
It is interesting that this story of Rav Tuvyumi's experience in Kushta is embedded, in the Talmud, in the middle of a series of ideas and teachings about the advent of the Messiah. The text quotes the idea (also in Tractate Sotah) that just before the advent of the Messiah "truth will be ne'ederet". Ne'ederet is usually translated 'lacking', but the Talmud explains: "it will become droves and droves". Does this mean the pluralism of Truth(s) of our time? The attainment of ultimate Truth and the spiritual good which that will bring, is a messianic ideal, transforming the nature of existence.
Our task is to face this challenge, and draw Truth into the world. "Emet means Torah", say the Sages. When Rabbi Shneur Zalman speaks of drawing "the emet of Hashem" into the world, he speaks of Torah . When his son Rabbi Dov Ber, the Mitteler Rebbe declares that "G-d is close to all who call Him, to all who call Him in Truth" (Ps 145:18) , the "truth" is explained as Torah .
Why? Isn't this too easy an answer? I should just study a page of Chumash, Mishnah, Talmud, Tanya, the Code of Law…? And this will be true…?
In a sense it is easy, but not too easy. The very nature of Torah is to draw the Infinite into a finite world. The Torah and its teachings are the instrument whereby the individual draws from the infinite Beyond, the absolute Divine Truth, bringing it into our world of limitations, deconstructing the darkness of falsity of the world in a fundamental way.
The person is himself or herself the key agent in this process. The essential issue is not Truth in the abstract (although in fact that is a natural and eventual concomitant) but the active Truth of each person's being.
How does one encounter this? How do we find our own centre point? Where do we come to face questions regarding 'the truth of one's being'?
We return to Ivan and Vitek at the beginning of this excursus, now in their Jewish form although the bottle of vodka is the same. In Chassidic life, blossoming in Eastern Europe but now the heritage of all Jewry (and, at certain levels, all humanity) the specifically "Chassidic" dimensions hold this possibility. An intimate and inspired Chassidic farbrengen (a kind of traditional encounter group), contemplation in prayer, yechidut (private meeting) with the Rebbe, humility and connection at the Ohel, can all have the effect of drawing away the layers of one's persona disclosing the reality of the person beneath.
Can we bear this process? Not always. In fact….
When Adam and Eve ate from the Tree of Knowledge they suddenly knew that they were naked and were ashamed. The Midrash comments that the nakedness was not only physical: They had one Mitzva - not to eat from the Tree of Knowledge. Now they had been stripped naked of it. In the face of Truth, we too find ourselves naked, and are ashamed.
Yet this very shame helps dissolve the ego which hampers our personal journey towards our own version of Pardes. Our shame, meaning our humility, lead us to the centre of our own level, and connect us with all levels. Humility is the key to Truth. From the ground (meaning from the lowest point) of our own being, Truth flourishes.
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