Prayer for Beginning Study from Rabbi Mordecai Kaplan
From the cowardice that shrinks from new truth
From the laziness that is content with half-truths,
From the arrogance that thinks it knows all truth,
O God of Truth deliver us.
(Reconstructionist Mahzor p.190)
(יח) רַבָּן שִׁמְעוֹן בֶּן גַּמְלִיאֵל אוֹמֵר, עַל שְׁלשָׁה דְבָרִים הָעוֹלָם עוֹמֵד, עַל הַדִּין וְעַל הָאֱמֶת וְעַל הַשָּׁלוֹם, שֶׁנֶּאֱמַר (זכריה ח) אֱמֶת וּמִשְׁפַּט שָׁלוֹם שִׁפְטוּ בְּשַׁעֲרֵיכֶם:
(18) Rabban Shimon ben Gamliel says, "On three things the world stands: on judgment, on truth and on peace, as it is said (Zachariah 8:16), 'Judge truth and the justice of peace in your gates.'"
Everyday Holiness -- Alan Morinis p. 166
Truth is delicate. It's fabric is easily stretched and torn. Truth is versatile -- look how many causes will readily sacrifice truth to some other goal. Truth can be simple, but more often it is deceptively complex, and not always singular. And as the Alter of Novarodok teaches, we are easily confused about truth, because truth can appear before us in the guise of falsehood, just as falsehood can show up in the trappings of truth...
Because we want to develop the quality of truth as an optimally calibrated feature of our inner life, we don't focus on truth as if it were something hard, objective, and external. Rather the truth we'll investigate is subjective... Jewish tradition understands truth as situational, and we ourselves are part of the situation.
Everyday Holiness -- Alan Morinis p. 169
Truth involves not only speaking accurately, but even more important and earlier in the process, seeing accurately. And since truths are often multiple, so must be our perspectives.
Seeing a situation from the vantage point of others who are involved is one principle we need to apply to truth. Another is to be sensitive to the results that spring from our "truth."
(א) מִזְמ֗וֹר לְדָ֫וִ֥ד ה' מִי־יָג֣וּר בְּאָהֳלֶ֑ךָ מִֽי־יִ֝שְׁכֹּ֗ן בְּהַ֣ר קָדְשֶֽׁךָ׃ (ב) הוֹלֵ֣ךְ תָּ֭מִים וּפֹעֵ֥ל צֶ֑דֶק וְדֹבֵ֥ר אֱ֝מֶ֗ת בִּלְבָבֽוֹ׃ (ג) לֹֽא־רָגַ֨ל ׀ עַל־לְשֹׁנ֗וֹ לֹא־עָשָׂ֣ה לְרֵעֵ֣הוּ רָעָ֑ה וְ֝חֶרְפָּ֗ה לֹא־נָשָׂ֥א עַל־קְרֹֽבוֹ׃ (ד) נִבְזֶ֤ה ׀ בְּֽעֵ֘ינָ֤יו נִמְאָ֗ס וְאֶת־יִרְאֵ֣י ה' יְכַבֵּ֑ד נִשְׁבַּ֥ע לְ֝הָרַ֗ע וְלֹ֣א יָמִֽר׃ (ה) כַּסְפּ֤וֹ ׀ לֹא־נָתַ֣ן בְּנֶשֶׁךְ֮ וְשֹׁ֥חַד עַל־נָקִ֗י לֹ֥א לָ֫קָ֥ח עֹֽשֵׂה־אֵ֑לֶּה לֹ֖א יִמּ֣וֹט לְעוֹלָֽם׃
(1) A psalm of David. Adonai, who may sojourn in Your tent, who may dwell on Your holy mountain? (2) He who lives without blame, who does what is right, and in his heart speaks the truth; (3) whose tongue is not given to evil; who has never done harm to his fellow, or borne reproach for [his acts toward] his neighbor; (4) for whom a contemptible man is abhorrent, but who honors those who fear the Adonai; who stands by his oath even to his hurt; (5) who has never lent money at interest, or accepted a bribe against the innocent. The man who acts thus shall never be shaken.
() לְעולָם יְהֵא אָדָם יְרֵא שָׁמַיִם בְּסֵּתֶר וּמודֶה עַל הָאֱמֶת וְדובֵר אֱמֶת בִּלְבָבו וְיַשְׁכֵּם וְיאמַר:
A person should always revere God, in private (and in public), acknowledging truth and speaking truth in one's heart, on arising, declaring...
Le'olam yehay adam yirey shamayim
beseter u'vagalui umodeh al ha'emet
vedover emet bilvavo
veyashkem veyomar...
Laura Galant TED talk: How (and Why) Russia Hacked the US Election
As our realities are increasingly based on the information that we're consuming at the palm of our hand and from the news feeds that we're scanning and the hashtags and stories that we see trending, the Russian government was the first to recognize how this evolution had turned your mind into the most exploitable device on the planet. …
This is what Russia's long called "reflexive control." It's the ability to use information on someone else so that they make a decision on their own accord that's favorable to you. This is nation-state-grade image control and perception management …
This is power in the information age. And this information is all that much more seductive, all that much easier to take at face value and pass on, when it's authentic. Who's not interested in the truth that's presented in phone calls and emails that were never intended for public consumption? But how meaningful is that truth if you don't know why it's being revealed to you?...
We must recognize that this place where we're increasingly living, which we've quaintly termed "cyberspace," isn't defined by ones and zeroes, but by information and the people behind it. This is far more than a network of computers and devices. This is a network composed of minds interacting with computers and devices.
And for this network, there's no encryption, there's no firewall, no two-factor authentication, no password complex enough to protect you. What you have for defense is far stronger, it's more adaptable, it's always running the latest version. It's the ability to think critically: call out falsehood, press for the facts. And above all, you must have the courage to unflinchingly pursue the truth.
Deborah Lipstadt, author of
"Denying the Holocaust: The Growing Assault on Truth and Memory,"
Behind the lies of Holocaust denial
TED talk Posted May 2017
...Many of us have been taught to think there are facts and there are opinions — after studying deniers, I think differently. There are facts, there are opinions, and there are lies. And what deniers want to do is take their lies, dress them up as opinions — maybe edgy opinions, maybe sort of out-of-the-box opinions — but then if they're opinions, they should be part of the conversation. And then they encroach on the facts.
...
So why is my story more than just the story of a quirky, long, six-year, difficult lawsuit, an American professor being dragged into a courtroom by a man that the court declared in its judgment was a neo-Nazi polemicist? What message does it have? I think in the context of the question of truth, it has a very significant message. Because today, as we well know, truth and facts are under assault. Social media, for all the gifts it has given us, has also allowed the difference between facts — established facts — and lies to be flattened.
...
Truth is not relative. Many of us have grown up in the world of the academy and enlightened liberal thought, where we're taught everything is open to debate. But that's not the case. There are certain things that are true. There are indisputable facts — objective truths. ... The Earth is not flat. The climate is changing. Elvis is not alive...
...
And most importantly, truth and fact are under assault. The job ahead of us, the task ahead of us, the challenge ahead of us is great. The time to fight is short. We must act now. Later will be too late.
QUESTIONS:
Are you aware of ways in which you "shade" the truth to yourself or others? Can you identify any fears that motivate you to make that choice?
Are there situations in which you habitually deceive yourself or others?
Why do people deceive themselves and others?
Why do people believe untruths?
PRACTICES:
Pause before you speak and strive to be truthful. Pause before you consume media and consider where the information came from and whether it contains bias, deception or partial truth.
Study the chapter on Truth in your favorite Mussar text. I highly recommend Everyday Holiness by Morinis for this topic.
Count the Omer after sundown.
Write for 10-20 minutes at the end of each day reflecting on Truth.