Welcome to Embrace Shabbat.
חותמו של הקדוש ברוך הוא אמת- G-d’s signature is truth.
The Gemara relates the story of a piece of paper that came floating down from
heaven. Once uncovered, it revealed the word אמת. The Gemara concludes from this anecdote that G-d’s signature
is אמת.
אמת is not
merely translated as “truth.” It refers to a constant, absolute existence. Even
the word connotes dependency: א-ת with the מ in the
middle. The Rambam teaches that G-d never changes. Everything is dependent on
Him. Nothing else in the world can be labeled “truth,” because it will
eventually cease to exist. אמת, on the other hand, refers to something that exists forever and
never changes. ה' אלוקיכם אמת- G-d is
truth.
אַתָּה אֶחָד ושִׁמְךָ אֶחָד, וּמִי כְּעַמְּךָ
יִשְׂרָאֵל, גּוֹי אֶחָד בָּאָרֶץ- G-d is true, the Jewish people are true, Shabbat is true. The
Gemara in Masechet Chagiga teaches that Shabbat, Torah, and the Jewish people
are all interrelated and testify on each other. G-d, the Jewish people, and
Shabbat are emet and true witnesses
for one another. HaKadosh Baruch Hu and Shabbat testify on Yisrael, Yisrael and
Shabbat testify on HaKadosh Baruch Hu, and HaKadosh Baruch Hu and Shabbat
testify on Yisrael. (The Chidah says that one of the reasons why a person’s
sins are forgiven on Erev Shabbat is so that when we are called upon to
testify, we will be a kosher witness.)
Where is honestly seen in each of these?
There is no question that Hashem is Emet.
ונתן לנו תורתו תורת אמת- The Torah is emet,
which is why Yaakov Avinu’s middah is אמת. The more Torah is part of a person, the more they personify אמת. A Yisrael’s mind sees things in the correct way because of their
connection to Torah.
וְטַהֵר לִבֵּנוּ לְעָבְדְּךָ בֶּאֱמֶת- to serve G-d in truth, we need purity of the heart, which
comes from being connected to the Torah that is true. ישראל ואורייתא וקודשא בריך הוא חד הוא- G-d,
the Jewish people, and the Torah are all one. The more that we are connected to
the Torah, the more we personify אמת.
Shabbat- generally, a person is not allowed to trust an am haaretz (an ignorant person)
with the laws of maaser. However, a
person is allowed to trust such a person on Shabbat because the fear of
Shabbat is within him, and therefore he will not tell a lie. Shabbat instills אמת into a person. The word בראשית, when unscrambled, spells ירא שבת. The fear of Shabbat is
within Yisrael, and therefore we become truthful people.
I heard the following idea from Rav Gedalia
Zlotowitz, who repeated it in the name of Rav Yisrael Besser, in the name of
one of his Rebbes:
Why do we turn around in Lecha Dodi when we
accept Shabbat on Friday night?
On a simple level, we turn to accept Shabbat,
who is coming into our hearts and homes. On a deeper level, we know that
Shabbat is מעין עולם הבא, a
microcosm of the World to Come. The World to Come is called עולם האמת, the world of truth, whereas
our world is called עולם השקר, the
world of falsehood.
Gemara Pesachim 50a relates that after one of
the tanaim had a near death experience,
he came back and said that in shamayim,
he saw an upside down world. People who appeared to be “on top” in this world,
were actually on the bottom, and vice versa. When Shabbat starts, we enter into
עולם האמת, the
world of truth, and therefore, everyone turns around to symbolize this fact.
The person who was in the front of the shul now sits in the back, and the
person who was in the back of the shul is now in the front. We are turning
around to show that symbolism- we are now entering the עולם האמת, the world of truth.
This Gemara continues:
וַאֲנַן
הֵיכִי הָתָם? כִּי הֵיכִי דְּאִיתוּ אֲנַן הָכָא, הָכִי אִיתִינַן הָתָם
Rabbi
Yehoshua ben Levi asked: And how do we, the Rabbis, look there? Rav Yosef
responded: Just as we are regarded here, so are we regarded there.
Rabbi Wolbe explains that even in this world,
a Talmid Chacham acts as if he is the עולם האמת. Therefore, the Rabbis do not move around in the Next World.
This Gemara is only referring to the outside world when it relates that the
people who are on the top slip to the bottom in the עולם האמת.
Have a Shabbat Shalom.
