The Virtue of Truth
מעלת האמת
One of the most fundamental traits, upon which the world stands, is the trait of truth (Avot 1:18). Many directives are brought in the Torah regarding the obligation to speak the truth and to distance oneself from falsehood. In the following halakhot we will deal with this important subject, bringing practical examples of how much effort one must make to speak the truth, and in which cases halakha permits deviating slightly from the truth. We will begin by explaining the virtue of truth.
Our ability to advance in this world and in the World to Come depends on understanding reality. The intellect is the most important tool at a person's disposal, and the better we understand reality, the better we will be able to advance. But the central problem is that reality is deep and complex, and it has profound layers that our limited human intellect struggles to grasp; therefore all of us suffer, to one degree or another, from a deficiency in knowing the truth. There is a gap between what we know about each thing and the way things truly are. And since our knowledge of reality is incomplete, we sometimes experience a contradiction between what seems to us good and beneficial and what is moral and just. The better we know true reality, the more the apparent gap between what is moral and what is beneficial and pleasant will narrow; thereby we will become more truthful and just, and our lives will be better. Striving for truth is striving for identity between understanding, speech, and reality.
The One who knows the truth fully is, of course, the Creator of the world. Therefore the Sages said (Shabbat 55a): "The seal of the Holy One, blessed be He, is truth." A seal is the most distinctive expression of the one who seals, and since the Holy One, blessed be He, knows reality absolutely – His seal in the world is "truth."
The more precious truth is to us, to the point that we are willing to sacrifice benefits for its sake, the closer we will come to the attribute of the Holy One, blessed be He, and the better we will merit to understand reality; and by drawing closer to God and to an understanding of the world, we will merit to advance and ascend. This is the Torah's mitzva: "And you shall walk in His ways" (Devarim 28:9).