Identifying the ‘Truth’

Saying the truth, speaking and acting truthfully, is one of the principles human civilization is founded upon (pirke abot 1, 18). The Torah exhorts us to tell the truth and keep away from lying. It also teaches us that there are some exceptional cases in which we are allowed – or even commanded- to alter the truth.

First we need to understand that spiritual growing depends on grasping the ‘true’ nature of our existence and living accordingly.

The God given tools to identify the truth are our intelligence (sekhel) and reason (Rambam).

The ultimate reality is God.

But it is not easy to hold ‘constantly’ in our minds the reality of God’s existence (let alone God’s Presence!) and live according to that Truth. Why? Becuase most people do not stop their lives to reflect where are they going or what are they living for? They are driven by pure ‘imagination’, constantly escaping, eluding, mocking or ignoring the reality of God’s existence, which is
also the reality of their own existence. Even those who are believers, often ‘forget’ of His existence and fall into the tricks of imagination.

The rabbis said that: “The seal of God Almighty is EMET” (the notion of ‘truth’), which means, that we should identify the ultimate reality as the reality of God. Therefore, whatever comes from God -the Torah: the book of His will- emanates from that source of truth too.

Living a truthful life begins by identifying the world of imagination around us and have a clear notion that the only true REALITY is God’s.