Is Truth Relative? The Lesson of the 3 Weeks
Every time I look online, listen to a clip from the news or peruse social media I find myself getting angry. The way that Israel and Jews are portrayed is maddeningly unfair and seems to only be getting worse. I recently heard a recorded class from a number of years ago by Rav Moshe Shapira zt”l that spoke to this challenging moment. Sometimes the first step to improving a situation is simply to understand the problem and its roots.
We have many sources that point to the idea that the words of the Torah are used to create and establish the natural world that, by design, is an outgrowth of the Torah. The natural world reflects the Torah so much so that if we were able, we could understand the same lessons and truths from the natural world that we learn in Torah[1].
Rav Shapira quotes the Rambam (Moreh Nevuchim 1:2) who explains that the initial sin of Adam and Chava was to introduce Ra (bad) into the world. After they ate from the tree they were “yodei tov v’ra” but this is not a positive. The Rambam differentiates between Emet/Sheker (truth and falsehood) and Tov/Ra (good and bad). The world initially was one of truth and falsehood. Absolutes with no lack of clarity. There was no debate about that which was true. When Adam and Chava ate from the tree the consequence was the possibility of relative truth. Suddenly the construct of false ideologies was introduced to the world. No longer was the right way clear – now we had Sheker that masqueraded as truth. It was now a world of Tov and Ra and it depended on your perspective. You say that this is a sin but I see it as repairing the world.
Rav Moshe Shapira explains that we are meant to use our creative capacity to extend the work of creation. Hashem created the world and pronounced that everything is Tov – good. We are meant to extend that goodness and give it sustainability in this world. When we use our creative ability to create Sheker – these false ideologies that are diametrically opposed to the Torah viewpoint – then we misuse our most important human ability.
Rav Moshe Shapira’s words resonated deeply with me when I heard them. Two historical examples came to mind. The first is Hitler, he industrialized murder in a way that was previously unthinkable. The word genocide had to be invented to describe what he did. He truly used human creativity to create a new evil in the world.
The second example is 9/11. I recall vividly when I first heard that a plane has collided with the World Trade Center. My immediate thought was “I hope everyone on the plane is OK.” I, like so many others, immediately imagined that a plane had accidentally grazed the tower and worried about those on the plane. This type of terrorism was unthinkable before Bin-Ladin hatched his evil scheme. Using a full plane as an explosive projectile to kill scores of civilians in a building as well as on the plane was simply not a reality until he misused his human creativity to create this evil.
The three week period between the 17th of Tammuz and the 9th of Av is referred to as Bein HaMetzarim[2] – between the narrow places. Rav Moshe Shapira explains this terminology to refer to this exact challenge play out. The period begins with the fast day of the 17th of Tammuz which recalls Moshe smashing the tablets upon seeing the Jewish people worshiping the golden calf. Rav Shapira explains that this was parallel to that initial sin of Adam and Chava. Instead of following the newly received Torah and making sure creation matched its values, the possibility of Sheker was reintroduced into the world. Moshe needed to smash the first tablets which symbolized the ideal clarity of Truth and Falsehood. But this is just the beginning of this process.
The period of three weeks end with the 9th of Av where this type of falsehood is given true expression in the world. This is exemplified by the sin of the spies who falsely portray Israel as dangerous and impossible to conquer. This completes what was started when the luchot were smashed. Falsehood now becomes a narrative that has legs and is embraced by many. When the Jewish people hear the false narrative of the spies they weep in despair. Yehoshua and Calev’s version of events is essentially ignored even though it is true.
In our current age this challenge is getting worse and the very two examples that leapt to mind demonstrate that clearly. The Holocaust was the creation of a pernicious and callous evil in the world but now we have Holocaust inversion. Israel is accused of committing genocide when she seeks simply to live in peace and protect her citizens. Similarly, the reality of large scale coordinated terrorism is not simply a reality of evil in the world but there is a narrative that it is the work of freedom fighters who are on the right side of History. In both cases narratives that should be as obviously false as the report of the ten spies are embraced by large swath of the public just as they were when the 9th of Av was first established as a day of great mourning.
This worsening situation has no easy solution but naming it is an important step. We must recognize the Sheker that infects the world and be able to name false narratives for what they are. As we enter the period of the 3 weeks, may we merit to see our fortunes reversed and with Hashem’s help have truth return to the world and have His presence return undeniably with the rebuilding of the 3rd Beit HaMikdash.
[1] This is what it means that Avrohom learned Torah from his own 2 kidneys (Midrash Rabbah Bereshit 61:1)
[2] Based on the verse in the first chapter of Aicha
