Truth
Truth in Hebrew is Emes, which possesses a much deeper meaning than just the negation of a lie. Emes, the Jerusalem Talmud informs us, contains the first, middle and last letter of the Hebrew alphabet. Emes is more than just being truthful, but total consistency. Moses was unique because his subordination to G-d was so absolute that he had surrendered his ego to G-d and did not have a vested interest in anything. His interests had become G-d’s interests.
“Moses is True and His Torah is True”
Korach was Moses’ cousin. He was a distinguished personage and, according to our sages, quite wealthy and powerful.
All of his knowledge, wealth and power were not enough for Korach He started a rebellion against Moses, stating that Moses had arrogated to himself and his brother Aaron, positions of power. Moses’ protestations to the contrary, that his nomination of Aaron as the High Priest was made at the behest of G-d Himself, fell on deaf ears. Korach and his cohorts simply did not believe that G-d had so instructed Moses. They were convinced that Moses fabricated the story that G-d commanded him to appoint Aaron to his position of power.
The Torah then recounts the tragic end of Korach and his followers; they were swallowed up by the earth and perished. Our sages add that their souls, realizing their fatal mistake to challenge Moses’ integrity, declare: “Moses is true and his Torah is true; we are the fabricators.”
Moses epitomized the trait of truth and integrity, precisely because his essence was intertwined with the Torah that he had given the Jewish people. The prophet, in fact, identifies the Torah as the Torah of Moses. In the Book of Deuteronomy, the Torah is described as having being commanded to us by Moses.
One can raise a question about the order the Korachites used in describing Moses commitment to truth. They first said Moses was true and then they said that his Torah was truth. Shouldn’t it have been the other way around? “The Torah is true and therefore Moses [who was totally committed to the] Torah is true?”
The Truth about Truth
The answer lies in the nature of the word truth. Truth in Hebrew is Emes, which possesses a much deeper meaning than just the negation of a lie. Korach was not necessarily accusing Moses of outright fabrication, but of coloration. After all, Korach, reasoned, just as I am human and I have vested interests, so is Moses a human being with vested interests. Inevitably, Moses would have to interpret G-d’s directives to him in a way that is favorable to his own family and interests. Perhaps, Moses imagined that G-d wanted him to appoint his brother Aaron.
Korach was wrong and in the end recognized that first and foremost Moses was Emes. Emes, the Jerusalem Talmud informs us, contains the first, middle and last letter of the Hebrew alphabet. This means that Emes is more than just being truthful, but total consistency. Inasmuch as no human can be totally consistent, Moses was unique because his subordination to G-d was so absolute that he had surrendered his ego to G-d and did not have a vested interest in anything. His interests had become G-d’s interests.
Korach thus realized that first, “Moses was absolutely Emes, and therefore the Torah that he taught was Emes, there were no inconsistencies or biased views, or subjective coloration of the Torah by Moses.
Moses in Our Generation
In every generation, our sages say there is a Moses whose dedication to the ideals of Torah parallel that of Moses. In our day and age, many hundreds of thousands of Jews have recognized the Lubavitcher Rebbe as the Moses of our generation. It is not surprising that among the many praise heaped upon him is the one of emes, absolute truth and consistency that derives from a devotion to G-d and Torah in an ego less manner.
This Shabbos, the third of Tammuz, is the fourth anniversary of the day in which we were denied the ability to see and hear the Rebbe. However, in light of the Rebbe’s identification with Emes-consistency that could never wane or waver, the Rebbe and is teachings are very much alive. Most significantly, the Rebbe’s “campaign” to prepare us for the redemption can certainly not have changed.
The Rebbe has declared that “the time of your Redemption has arrived!” “Our mission now is to add more goodness and kindness,” so as to hasten the Redemption and be prepared for it. The Rebbe, whose emphasis on providing a Jewish education for every Jew is legendary, also exhorted us to intensify our study of Torah in general and the topic of Moshiach and Redemption in particular. The objective of this enhanced learning program will be to internalize the ideals of Redemption and thereby making us more spiritually sensitive and refined.
No Compromises of Truth
In all of the Rebbe’s teachings that fill over 200 volumes published to date, the Rebbe has never wavered — in the spirit of Emes — in his insistence that we accept and love every Jew regardless of their level of commitment, observance and affiliation. While never compromising on Torah ideals, the Rebbe would never compromise on the unconditional and unmitigated love for everyone. This expression of Ahavas Yisrael, is the catalyst that will make the Redemption possible and peaceful. May we all merit to see the Rebbe’s aspirations and ideals realized in the most immediate, complete and literal fashion.
From the book Light from the Future: Parshas Korach by Rabbi Heschel Greenberg, published by the Jewish Discovery Center.
