Rabbi Frand on Parshas Bereishis
These divrei Torah were adapted from the hashkafa portion of Rabbi Yissocher
Frand's Commuter Chavrusah Tapes on the weekly portion: Tape # 388, The
"Kedushai Ketanah" Controversy. Good Shabbos!
The Heavenly Truth and the Earthly Truth
The pasuk [verse] says, "Let us make man" (Bereshis 1:26). The Medrash
comments on that G-d "consulted" with the ministering angels in Heaven
before creating Adam. G-d wished to teach us "Derech Eretz" [ethical
behavior] that it is appropriate for people in power to consult with their
subordinates even though the decision making power rests totally with the
one in power.
The Medrash then relates that the "feedback" which G-d received from the
angels was not unanimous. Some argued that man should be created and others
argued that he should not be created. The Attribute of Kindness (Chessed)
advised that man should be created for he would be a kind creature who would
do acts of benevolence. The Attribute of Truth (Emes), on the other hand,
advised that man should not be created -- for his character is entirely
false in essence. He is the antithesis of truth.
The Medrash continues by relating that G-d took Truth and threw it to the
ground. The pasuk in Daniel alludes to this incident when it says, "...and
You threw Truth to the ground..." [Daniel 8:12]. The simple reading of the
Medrash is that G-d had a "problem" with the objection raised by Truth, so
He eliminated Truth -- throwing it to the ground -- and then proceeded to
create man, despite the objection.
What is the meaning of this Medrash? Does "Truth" cease to exist just
because G-d threw it down to the ground?
There is a metaphor here. Rav Schwab explains this Medrash in a way that
also interprets a Gemara in Bava Basra that has always bothered me. There
are two types of Truth -- the Heavenly Truth and the Earthly Truth. The
Heavenly Truth is the pure unadulterated hard truth. Truth in Heaven pulls
no punches and tells it exactly as it is. That is why when the Prophets
spoke to the Jewish people, the words were harsh. They were delivering a
message of Truth that came from Heaven. There is no sugar-coating or
compromises in the Heavenly Truth. It is the truth, the whole truth, and
nothing but the (sometimes painful) truth. The expression "the truth hurts"
is referring to the Heavenly Truth.
In this world, we also have truth. But human beings are not always capable
of dealing with pure unadulterated truth.
A friend asks, "do you like my tie?" Am I going to say, "No. It doesn't
match your suit?!" In fact, the choice of a tie may indicate that the
wearer has very poor taste or very bad eye sight. But one does not tell
him that.
"Interesting... Creative... Very nice... Original... " We come up with all
sorts of adjectives, but we can not bring ourselves to say the unadulterated
truth. We sugar-coat the truth. We bend the truth. This is the Earthly type
of "truth."
"How was your day?" "Fine." Am I going to respond with a detailed
description of how my day really was? This is the way we speak. Is "fine"
the truth? No. But it is the "Earthly Truth."
This is the meaning of the Medrash. G-d took Truth and threw it down to the
ground. G-d said that the truth that human beings will experience will be
the Earthly Truth. They will hear the Heavenly Truth from the Prophets --
from the likes of Yeshaya and Yirmiyahu. The Prophets will tell it like it
is.
The Gemara says in the name of Rabbi Yochanan, "From the day the Temple
was destroyed, prophecy was taken from the prophets and given over to
fools and to young children" [Bava Basra 12b]. What does this mean? The
Rambam describes the qualifications for becoming a prophet [Yesodei
HaTorah 7:1]. A prophet must be wise and of strong character, outstanding
in his intellectual and moral credentials, and so forth. How could it be
that all of a sudden, after the destruction of the Temple, the village
idiot or the three year old can be the prophet?
The Gemara means that nowadays, the truth comes from the mouth of babes.
Pure unadulterated truth, truth that hurts, is not spoken by mature people
with social graces. Cultured people will not tell me what my tie really
looks like. But sometimes, from the mouth of babes who have no inhibitions
and from the fools who do not know better, truth is still heard. This is
sometimes how G-d delivers the message of truth to us.
Rav Schwab writes that he was once at a mourner's house. The maternal
grandfather of a three year old boy had just died. The paternal grandfather
walked in to pay a shiva visit to his daughter-in-law. The 3 year old said
to his paternal grandfather "How come that grandfather died and you did not
die?"
Perhaps that was a message. The 3 year old was perhaps delivering a
message spoken with Divine Inspiration -- "It is better to go to a house
of mourning than to a house of drinking for this is the end of every man
and the living should take it to heart." [Koheles 7:2]. Whenever a person
goes to a funeral or to a mourner's house, he should be thinking "there,
but for the grace of G-d, go I". This grandchild put it into words -- "How
come not you?"
This is the meaning of the Gemara "From the time the Temple was destroyed,
prophecy was given to fools and to young children". We are afraid to say
Truth the way it sometimes needs to said. That only comes from people who
are not yet "wise enough to the (deceitful) ways of this world" and who can
tell it like it is. From the mouth of babes, comes the truth.
This write-up was adapted from the hashkafa portion of Rabbi Yissocher
Frand's Commuter Chavrusah Torah Tape series on the weekly Torah portion.
The complete list of halachic topics covered in this series for Parshas
Bereishis are provided below:
Also Available: Mesorah / Artscroll has published a collection
of Rabbi Frand's essays. The book is entitled:
and is available through your local Hebrew book store or from
Project Genesis, 1-410-654-1799.
