What Is Truth?

Q. Is there a duty to make sure one’s words are true? I have an instinct that there is but do not know of detailed arguments about it. In a secular legal framework there are different standards, but I am asking if it is a sin.

A. Thanks for your question. One of the Ten Commandments is not to bear false witness against another person, so that's a prohibition against lying right there. That, however, is a pretty specific prohibition. A more general statement can be found in Exodus 23:7, "Keep far from a false matter."

One is permitted to tell a "white lie" in order to keep the peace between people; we learn this from God, Who told Abraham that Sarah said that she was too old to have children, not that he was too old to have children, which would have hurt his feelings. However, one may not lie in court even to secure a just verdict. For example, even if someone legitimately owes me money, I can't make up false “facts” in order to ensure that I win.

I hope this helps!

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Q. Hi. Why is truth such an important principle in Torah?

A. It isn't.

Of course it is; that was a lie. But do you see how easy it would be to mislead and manipulate others if truth weren't such an important principle? If we didn't value truth, it would be impossible to maintain a functioning society, as people would say anything, however false, that furthered their own personal agendas. (Sadly, there are enough people who do that now. Can you imagine how much worse it would be if we didn't value truth?)

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Q. Is the standard of truth in the world weak? If we think about this idea, we see that truth is powerless in the world. Prophets who spoke the word of God (truth) by their nation were killed or died in exile. This shows that the truth in the world is powerless because it does not have a legion or a powerful army. What is the opinion about this?

A. I wouldn't say that there's one universal opinion about this. I can only give you my opinion. I think truth is the strongest thing in the world, not the weakest. No matter what one says or does, the truth will still be true. A teacher of mine once told me that even if there was nothing in the universe, there would still be truth, because it would be true that there’s nothing in the universe.

You might ask why Adam and Eve eating from the tree of knowledge between good and evil was undesirable. After all, wouldn't we want people to know the difference between good and evil? The reason is, before they did that, people didn't see things as “good” and “evil,” they saw them as “true” and “false.” You and I can argue about any topic, be it abortion, gun control or affirmative action, and each side will think that they’re on the side of good and their opponent is on the side of evil. There’s a certain amount of subjectivity that goes into such judgments. But truth is objective: something is either true or it isn’t.

So why isn't truth the driving factor in the world? As I mentioned, it's because Adam and Eve ate the fruit of the tree of knowledge, making mankind see things in terms of “good” and “evil.” We have to overcomes our biases and prejudices in order to see what's really true.

Rabbi Jack's book Ask Rabbi Jack is now available from Kodesh Press and on Amazon.com.