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Although it is still too early to analyze, we can’t ignore it either. It turns out that we have been lied to about President Biden for years. The persistent mendacity of his family, supported by a corrupt media, for years fostered an image of a nice guy doing his best despite external forces pulling him down. All of a sudden, with one debacle of a debate, a good deal of his own party and the once collaborative media ran for the hills. Only his prevaricating family attempted to maintain the obvious fallacy, but it seems to have been too little too late. Millions of people fulfilled the truth of aino domeh shmiah lere’iyah (Mechilta, Yisro 9; Rosh Hashanah 25b), you must believe your own eyes, which finally opened up wide with shock and much anger. We were fooled and lied to.
On one level, we should not be surprised. Rabbi Lipschutz, in his editorial last week, referred to “a world of sheker,” the make-believe universe in which we all find ourselves. Let us expand a bit upon this important theme, which affects every one of us every day.
Not only was Joe Biden depicted as America’s loyal and trusted savior, but simultaneously, his opponent, former President Trump, was portrayed as the devil. Ironically, the New York Times, one of his major detractors, spent its entire “Sunday Opinion section” demonizing him with a full-page banner declaring ominously that “He failed the tests of leadership and betrayed America. Voters must reject him in November. Donald Trump is unfit to lead.”
On the inside, the editorial continued its treachery with dozens of so-called proofs of Mr. Trump’s unworthiness. This from the people who failed journalism 1.1 by either missing or hiding (take your pick) the obvious signs of President Biden’s cognitive decline that could have saved millions of citizens from the plague of crime, murder, economic disaster and other results of dementia and lack of leadership that ensued. To add insult to injury, the Times included in its litany of Mr. Trump’s “sins” that he “recognizes Jerusalem as Israel’s capital, upending decades of U.S policy.” Unlike the Times’ Machiavellian allegation that Trump did this to fulfill promises made to “pro-Israel American Jews, like Sheldon Adelson, a major donor,” Mr. Trump was actually fulfilling a promise made by several presidents. Indeed, he was merely standing by America’s only true ally in the Middle East, the only one the United States could count upon for support in the U.N. and other crucial fronts. Even if the attempted assassin is shown to have been mentally ill, the toxic atmosphere created by the media and Biden White House certainly contributed to such violence. All of this is ample proof of Chazal’s characterization of this world as representing the nadir of pretense and duplicity. We will soon explore how we as Torah Jews should react to this kind of deceit, but first let’s listen to what our sages had to teach us about such people and societies.
First of all, to hear the simplest proof of the phoniness of the secular world, let us listen to one of our most recent rabbeim who always told the truth. Rav Aharon Yehudah Leib Shteinman (M’zekeinim Esbonan 1:58) used to share with the many who came to him for advice that “the best proof that this is a world of falsehood is that Olam Haba is called ‘the true world.’ That implies that this is the olam hasheker.” As always, simple yet profound words.
Indeed, the posuk (Tehillim 126:1) states, “When Hashem will return the captivity of Tzion, we will be like dreamers.” Rav Tzadok Hakohein of Lublin (Machsheves Chorutz, page 11) explains that in the World to Come, we will realize that whatever we thought was the truth in the previous world was actually a dream and fantasy. Only the greatest of people were able to overcome the many layers of dissembling that permeated that false world.”
Our situation would seem to be so precarious that Rav Yitzchok Koppelman (Shiurei Chumash Rashi, Bamidbar 13:17) expresses wonder that such a false world can even exist. If there isn’t even a shred of truth there, how can the world go on?
He answers using the Rashi on that posuk that “any lie that doesn’t begin with a bit of truth will not prevail.” Thus, he teaches us, “the entire world rests upon the tiny bits and moments when the truth shines through.” So why did Hashem create us in this way? He answers that if the world was permeated with “too much truth,” this would eliminate any free will for mankind. Thus, sheker is a necessary evil until the perfection and redemption of the universe. Until then, it is up to us to work hard (ya’amol) to discover and embrace the truth.
How do we do that? The Sefas Emes (Sukkos 5648) cites the brocha we make upon the Torah, “Who gave us the Torah of truth.” He asserts emphatically that “this brocha teaches that our primary relationship with the Torah and our love for it rests on the fact that it teaches us the way of truth. This is the only way that we can overcome the hollowness of this world. This is why we recite daily in Uva L’Tzion the final posuk in Micha: “Grant truth to Yaakov,” that we should use every day to discover more and truth to counteract the prevailing hypocrisy.”
The Maharam Schick (Parshas Metzora, page 77) also quotes his rebbi, the Chasam Sofer, who in turn cited Zechariah (8:19). The novi says, “Love truth and peace.” The Mishnah (Avos 1:2) teaches us to be one of the talmidim of Aharon who loved and pursued peace, loved people and brought them closer to Torah.” Said the Chasam Sofer, “Aharon was able to be mekarev people because he wanted only the truth, nothing for himself.” This endeared him to people and he was able to influence them. The Maharam Schick concludes that “even in the interest of fostering peace, one should love and teach everyone the truth. This will result in more truth and peace.”
We have often been taught that the way to fight darkness is to provide more light. The more that we proclaim the truth and abide by it ourselves, the more falsehood will cower, shrivel up and disappear. We began to see this in the reaction of the Biden machine to his open display of his disability. Nothing more had to be said and in fact was counterproductive. The Medrash (Yalkut Tehillim 834) teaches that “when we act in accordance with the truth down here on earth, we will be saved from catastrophe and good things will come to the world.” In fact, Chazal (Taanis 5b) tell us that Yaakov did not die. The reason for this is that his middah was emes. Interestingly, a number of later Yaakovs, such as Rabbeinu Tam, were known for their absolute pursuit of truth (Seder Hadoros 79a) and Rav Yaakov Kamenetsky attributed many of his successes to his lifelong commitment to the truth.
The Maharal (Nesivos Olam, Nesiv Ha’emes 1), too, points out that one cannot play games with the truth, picking and choosing at will. One of the reasons he offers is that if one removes even only the letter alef from emes, the result is meis, which means death. Perhaps this is what Rav Zusha of Anipoli meant when he taught that “m’devar sheker tirchok – distance yourself from falsehood” also means that words of sheker distance us from Hashem. This surely means that while emes brings brocha, sheker drives us far from the Source of blessing. Furthermore, unlike all the purveyors of sheker we have recently discovered, those who try their best to speak only truth are helped by Hashem to succeed. Rav Yosef Shaul Nathanson, author of the Sho’el Umeishiv and rov of Levov, taught the dayanim in his city that although even the wisest judge is only human, but if they seek truth and do their best, Hashem guides them to the emes. Sadly, we have seen that this is a rare commodity in the current world at large.
Let us end with an extraordinary Chassidic story that illustrates the power of truth. The brothers, Rav Elimelech of Lizhensk and the aforementioned Rav Zusha, are said by the Chassidim to have complemented each other in middos. Rav Elimelech represented malchus, royalty, and Rav Zusha yesod, a form of holiness and purity. In his classic Noam Elimelech, Rav Elimelech often credits his brother for introducing him to Chassidus. They had two other brothers, Rav Nosson Litwak of Warsaw and Reb Avrohom, who became a military physician in Koenigsburgh. Rav Nosson once took extremely ill and the doctors declared him to be fatally sick. Although the doctors said that his condition was contagious, an elderly man took pity upon him, saying that he himself will probably soon die anyway, so he can afford to expose himself to the patient, and he personally fed and cared for Rav Nosson.
One day, the caretaker noticed that Rav Nosson was no longer moving and began preparations for the chevra kadisha. However, suddenly, Rav Nosson not only showed signs of life, but began to get stronger and stronger. He begged for some food, made a brocha and soon became totally healthy again. In the morning, his loyal “nurse” begged his patient to tell what exactly had brought him back from the dead, but he refused to talk about it. Finally, his benefactor replied sharply. “Listen,” he prodded, “I risked my life for you and took care of you with great mesirus nefesh. You owe it to me to reveal how you got your life back.”
“Okay,” the “dead” man began reluctantly. “At the moment my neshomah was leaving me, my brother Rav Elimelech came up to me, demanding, ‘What are you doing here?’ I answered that I had been adjudicated and sentenced to death. My brother began to cry out, ‘Can it be that even here it is like down there, where falsehood reigns? It is not right to take a young man who has left behind a wife and children.’”
Rav Elimelech loudly concluded, “I do not agree with this decision,” demanding that the Heavenly tribunal open the case once again.
At that point, Rav Zusha, the other brother, joined the fray. “Elimelech,” he shouted, “take him by the arm and follow me.”
The Heavenly judges rebelled fiercely. “What do you think you are doing?” they declared. “Do you think the world is hefker and anyone can do what they want? Who are you who takes such Heavenly matters into your own hands?”
Suddenly, a powerful Heavenly voice rang out. “That is the rebbe Rav Zusha,” it declared. “He is carrying the holy Zohar, which he always learns. We must listen to whatever he demands.”
Rav Nosson finished his story and then joined his brothers, becoming a chossid. Rav Zusha won the day because there was not a false bone in his body. He was what he learned and spoke, the very embodiment of every word in the Zohar, and so could even bring the dead back to life (Betzalel Landau, Rav Elimelech of Lizhensk, pages 302-303).
If I may be so bold, I would like to address these words to former President Trump:
You, too, have been given a new lease on life. Please, by all means, continue the wonderful work you have started: the Abraham accords, giving Israel the ability and support to do what it needs to do to rid the world of evil and to restore glory to the United States.
But, please, for your sake and for all those who love, respect and care about you, rise above the pettiness. You are greater than unimportant squabbles and insults. You have the potential to become one of the greatest leaders the world and certainly the United States has ever known. You have faced death with your own eyes (and ears) and now can think of eternity and your legacy. For you, your family, for the United States of America, but most of all, for you, Donald J. Trump.
May G-d be with you.
