Seeing God (Bereishis #2)

 Bereishis: Seeing Good

When the time came for the Ribono Shel Olam, Master of the World, to make the first human being, the ministering angels made themselves into competing counsels. Some of them said, ‘don’t create humans,’ and the others said, ‘create them.’ The angel of chesed (kindness) said, ‘create them, for they will do acts of loving kindness.’ Then the angel of emes (truth) said, ‘do not create them, for they will be full of lies.’ The angel of tzedek (righteousness) said, ‘create them, for they will establish justice.’ The angel of shalom (peace) said, ‘do not create them, for they will be in constant strife!’ What did the Ribono Shel Olam, do, but grab up emes and hurl it to the earth. Whereupon the ministering angels said before the Ribono Shel Olam, ‘Ruler of all worlds, what have You done? Why have You so chastised the chief of your court? Let emes arise again from the earth’ (Bereshit Rabba, 8:8).

The Zera Shimshon, as recorded by Rabbi Nachman Seltzer, explains that “the Ribono shel Olam listened to what emes was saying. When it was time to create man, He threw emes down to earth, forcing it to play a role in a world whose default setting is one of compromise, and which desperately needs truth to balance the scale so the compromises bring it close to truth and ultimate justice” (page 46).

Truth was cast to earth, and yet we are all aware of how difficult a time humankind has both with sticking to the whole truth and with discerning when people are or are not telling the truth. Indeed, this seems even more so the case in recent times, when rather than participate in conversation, many feel justified in shouting their opinions rather than researching facts. And even when facts are known they are used as justifications for one point of view over another rather than as information upon which a person can use their own free will and critical thinking. Indeed, a little more of that necessary spirit of compromise would be greatly beneficial.

While things feel more desperate today, one could look at history and suggest that this is simply the way of the world. Humanity has always struggled with balance and compromise. God cast truth to the earth, but truth itself was hidden in the world. More importantly, the ability to see absolute truth – to understand the greater picture from all perspectives – remained purely in the hands of the Ribono shel Olam. This is perhaps reflected in the first chapter of Bereishis, when it is written on the first day: “And God saw that the light was good. And God separated between the light and the darkness” (1:4).

We see here, in the very first steps of creation, the seeming necessity of division, of having two sides to contrast against one another. Could there be light if there was not darkness? Rabbi Yonason Eibeschutz, quoted in Sefer Talelei Oros:

Observes that normally good qualities are recognized in contrast to their opposites. For instance, if we see a good person and an evil person we recognize the goodness of the first by contrasting it with the evil of the second. Therefore, the order of the verse should have been reversed. The recognition of the goodness of the light would come as a result of its contrast to darkness. However, this limited vision only applies to human beings. God knows the value of everything in absolute terms.

Humankind can only choose what they believe is good based on what they believe is bad. But being able to look at the integral essence and know something is good is a quality reserved for the Divine. This is how the world needs to be if it is not to be torn apart by division. Free will demands that we have to shape our morality, even within the parameters guided by Torah, just as Free Will necessitates the lack of open miracles so that we might retain the ability to make choices.

It is easy, of course, to sit here and write a reminder to all that humankind’s hold on truth is fluid. We like to make much of being on the right side, of the us versus them, which leads, unfortunately, into a thought pattern of good verses evil. But rather than focusing on the division, or on claiming to be the light – the good and true - perhaps we need to spend more time thinking about how our world thrives on differences.

There is a phrase that has become quite common in the media and in public discourse: “My Truth.” No phrase brings to mind so quickly the fact that humans are incapable of pure objectivity. We always have an agenda of some level or another. And in a world where truth is so heavily influenced by perspective, it is especially important to remember that the ultimate decision of what is good is in the hands of Hashem.