The Truth, The Whole Truth, and Nothing But The Truth

Rabbi Gary S. Creditor 
May 16, 2003

I have two different starting points for this sermon:

1. When I was in eighth grade in public school, every morning we had the New York Times delivered to us and each of had to cut open the chord and put it on the desks. We then spent the first fifteen to twenty minutes of class reading important articles. Each week one of us was responsible to report on the "Man of the Week." We also had to find any spelling errors or words that we didn't know. The Newark Star Ledger and Newark Evening News were no match for the New York Times. It was an adjunct textbook in my public school curriculum.

2. I was a fan of the TV show Perry Mason. I didn't miss too many episodes. Regardless of plot, they always got to the court room where the witness placed his hand on the Bible and was asked the following question that everyone can repeat: "Do swear to tell the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth, so help you, God?" While I don't know who were the scriptwriters, this verse comes right out of tomorrow's Torah portion. Its importance is already self-evident.

I. I thought of these two beginnings while contemplating the shameful and disgraceful episode of Jayson Blair and the New York Times, which has come to the public's attention this past week. Nationally and internationally, this newspaper was the source of knowledge in world affairs, local news, science, and even sports. If it appeared in the New York Timesit had the veneer of verisimilitude. You sounded like you knew what you were speaking about. It was true and so, you were true, or right. In light of this young man's frequent acts of journalistic fraud widespread fabrication and plagiarism trust in this newspaper, and, guilty by association, all newspapers and media, has been shaken. While every written and spoken word, including this sermon, comes from the writer's or speaker's own person, how do we have accurate information to form conclusions and opinions that shape our world and bring us to action? From my favorite detective series now reincarnated Sergeant Friday says: "The facts ma'am. Just the facts." Where do we get the facts? What is the foundation of our knowledge? The movie Forest Gump illustrated the ease at which the historical record can be corrupted. And now, the most venerable and esteemed printed media has been so blatantly blindsided and its readers and truth so obviously undermined.

II. Our Jewish tradition has many core teachings about truth, seven of which I would like to share with you.

1. Rabbi Haninah said: Truth is the seal of the Holy One Blessed Be He. [Shabbat 60.]
2. There are seven types of thieves. The first of them is he who is a gonav daat steals our knowledge and understanding [Tosefta Baba Kama Chapter 7 Halacha 8]
3. Emet, the world for truth, consists of the letters taken from the beginning, the middle and the end of the Hebrew alphabet, while sheker, the word for falsehood, consists of three consecutive letters. This indicates that one must search in many places for truth while falsehood is the easy way. The Hebrew letters which spell the word for falsehood rest on one point (of the kuf), wile the letters for truth are square and have firm foundation. This teaches that truth endures while falsehood cannot stand long. [Shabbat 104a]
4. When Rabbi Pinhas of Koretz noticed a new gilded kiddush goblet he was displeased. "Since when do we use golden utensils in our house?" he asked. His wife assured him that it was not golden but only gilded. "Then," said the rabbi,"you have not only brought arrogance, but also deceit and falsehood into the house," and he refused to use the goblet for the sacred ceremony. [Hasidic Anthology page. 493.]
5. Concerning the Torah's verse: "You are all standing today" (Dt. 29.9), the Kotzker Rebbe states: "youT â€~atemâ€T [in Hebrew] has the same letters as â€~truthâ€T â€~emetâ€T. Truth gives man stability, ability to stand and permanence, for indeed, falsehood has no legs to stand on. [Rabbi Mordekhai Hacohen, Al Hatorah, Devarim]
6. As I mentioned earlier, in tomorrow's Torah's portion there is the verse: "And ye shall not deceive one another." The Hebrew word for The other is amito spelled with an ayin. On this, the Hasidic Rebbe Menahem Mendel of Kotzk said: â€oDo not spell amito with an ayin but with an aleph, so that the meaning of the word is "his truth." Do not falsify the truth that is within you "to thine own self be true."
7. The classical Torah commentator Rashi refers to my Perry Mason oath, â€oso help you Godâ€� as he says that about not deceiving ends with the words â€oAnd you shall fear your Godâ€� because we might think that no one else knows. Perhaps that is how Jayson Blair felt. But Rashi assures us that this verse comes to teach the opposite. God knows the inner thoughts of man, even those, especially those, that are in our hearts and not otherwise apparent.

III. So the matter is clear. Jayson Blair ruined his career, damaged The New York Times, brought misgiving upon 375 otherwise honest and esteemed colleagues, and raised in us doubts about the truth. Yet what he did is so simple, given the computer age and DSL. Our children and grandchildren have to write school papers. Rabbi Rosin and I write sermons. Many in the congregation write and speak as the core of their livelihood.

What do we tell our children about honest research which takes longer and maybe doesn't get the highest grade?

How do we conduct ourselves? Do we site our sources accurately? Do we say that we are quoting, even if we don't seem so prestigious?

Do we obey copy write laws even if it costs us? Do we buy pirated editions of software? Do we use shareware without paying the fair price? Can we look ourselves in the mirror and see integrity, veracity and reliability?

Can people believe us when we write and/or speak?

Conclusion 
This sermon is not about Jayson Blair. It is about us and our own behavior. It is about what we teach our children, and how we conduct our careers. It is about the piece of the world that we fashion and whether others can rely on us.

I close with this Hasidic Tale: 
Once a hasid asked Rebbe Dov Behr: "It says that truth will grow out of the earth (Psalms 85). If truth springs up so easily, why is there so little of it in the world? The Rebbe replied: "Yes, truth does spring up from the ground. But not of itself. It must first be sown. And the way to sow truth is to bury falsehood in the ground. Then, to be sure, truth will grow all over."

May we be the sowers of truth. May we teach that truth to our children and grandchildren too.