Our Jewish Heritage
Dr. Lenore C. Kipper, Judaic Studies Director Emerita
Middot, Enduring Virtues and Values of Judaism
Emet, Truthfulness
Jewish tradition teaches us that truthfulness, emet, is the beginning, middle, and end of everything. The Hebrew letters in the word symbolize this. Aleph is the first letter of the Hebrew alphabet, mem is the middle letter, and tav is the final letter. We call the Torah a teaching of truth, Torat Emet. The Torah considers emet essential for people to live together peacefully: “You shall not deal falsely nor lie to one another” and “You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor.” The Talmud also gives good advice: “Let your yes be honest and your no be honest; when a person who has been known to be dishonest and untruthful finally does tell the truth, no one believes him.”
All religious traditions extol the virtue of truthfulness. Without it, morality cannot exist. Emet is associated with honesty, integrity, the opposite of deception, manipulation, and distortion. Truthfulness is an ideal to be sought in all aspects of life. Today we are constantly looking for truth in politics, truth in lending, truth in journalism, truth and loyalty in friendship, and fidelity in marriage. The foundation of trust between people is Emet.
Are there times when we are faced with shades of gray?
Sometimes we need to soften the truth so we don’t hurt others, to prevent embarrassment and humiliation. Around 1500, Rabbi Gavriel Zaloshinsky wrote a book about good and evil traits, Orchot Tzaddikim: The Ways of the Righteous. He lists nine categories of falseness: false testimony, deceiving others into trusting, being manipulative, deliberately lying or distorting the truth, saying one thing and thinking another, breaking one’s word, deluding a person, falseness about oneself, turning things around because of your own needs.
The biblical story of Rebecca, Isaac, Jacob, and Esau about who should receive the birthright is an example of serious deception. Rebecca plans a way for Jacob to receive the birthright, even though Isaac intended to give it to the firstborn, Esau. Jacob intentionally deceives his father, then flees to Haran so Esau will not kill him. However, when he arrives at the home of Laban, Rebecca’s brother, Laban deceives him by switching his bride from Rachel to Leah. Read the story, Gen 29:25.
Rabbinic literature explores the virtue of truthfulness. The rabbis discussed many of the ideas described above, giving examples of what to do in different circumstances. All in all, there is an attitude that we may not be able to achieve pure truthfulness all of the time, but it is an essential value to guide our personal and community life.
Din v’Rachamim, Justice with Mercy
The idea of justice with mercy permeates Jewish law and literature. The Talmud and Codes of Jewish Law tell us how to carry out justice. They warn us about abusing power, urge caution in making judgments, and remind us to give a person the benefit of the doubt, dan l’chaf zechut. Don’t rush to judgment or jump to conclusions, as Hillel taught us, “Judge not your fellow until you have been in that person’s place.” Every day we are faced with making assumptions and judgments in our personal relationships at work and with family and friends. Developing an attitude of giving everyone the benefit of the doubt increases fairness and understanding.
Decisions based on the law need to be balanced with mercy and compassion. Justice is more objective; mercy is more subjective.
Another Hebrew word related to justice is tzedek, righteousness. A righteous person, a tzadik, is one who acts fairly, shows compassion, works to protect the rights of all people, and pursues justice. Abraham was called a tzadik.
The story of Abraham arguing with God about destroying Sodom and Gomorrah for their sinful behavior reminds us to have compassion for those who may be innocent. “Will you sweep away the innocent along with the guilty?” God responds, “I will not destroy the city for the sake of ten innocent people found in that place.” Unfortunately, not one righteous person could be found.
There is a Rabbinic story that illustrates the need for both justice and mercy in the world. The king symbolizes God, and the goblets symbolize God’s world in the process of creation.
A king had some empty goblets. He said, “If I pour hot water into the goblets, they will burst, and if I pour cold water into them, they will crack.” He mixed hot and cold water and poured it into the goblets, and they did not break. “If I create the world on the basis of mercy alone, it will be overwhelmed with sin; and on the basis of justice alone, the world cannot exist, so I will create the world with both justice and mercy so that it will endure.” (Genesis Rabbah 12:15, adapted).
Rabbi Milton Steinberg wrote: “A person is a failure as a human being, no matter what his other virtues and achievements, whose heart does not have compassion for others; And a person is a successful human being, no matter what else he may be lacking, who is rich in compassion for others.”
B’Shalom,
Lenore