Studying Rebbe Nachman's offering for 1 Adar this morning on 1 Adar 5785 / 1 March 2025, I come upon his teachings about craving for food (material things) compared to craving for truth.
לְשׁוֹן רַבֵּנוּ זִכְרוֹנוֹ לִבְרָכָה וַאֲכַלְתֶּם אָכוֹל וְשָׂבוֹעַ וְהִלַּלְתֶּם וְכוּ': (יואל ב)
“Vaakhaltem Akhol Vsavoa (Then You Will Eat and Be Satiated) and praise the name of God your Lord who performed for you such wondrous deeds. Never again will My people be ashamed.” (Joel 2:26)
I come upon this phrase:
וְהֶאָרַת פָּנִים, הוּא תִּקּוּן וֶ"אֱמֶת"
"But a shining countenance is the rectification known as “and Truth.”
וְעִקַּר עֲשִׁירוּת בָּא מֵאֱמֶת, כְּמוֹ שֶׁאָמְרוּ חֲכָמֵינוּ זִכְרוֹנָם לִבְרָכָה (שבת קד): קֻשְׁטָא קָאֵי. וְאָמְרוּ חֲכָמֵינוּ זִכְרוֹנָם לִבְרָכָה (פסחים קיט): וְאֶת הַיְקוּם אֲשֶׁר בְּרַגְלֵיהֶם – זֶה מָמוֹנוֹ, שֶׁעָלָיו קָאֵי.
And wealth stems mainly from truth. As our Sages taught: Truth stands (Shabbat 104a), and the Sages taught: “all the subsistence at their feet” (Deuteronomy 11:6) —this is his money, by means of which he stands (Pesachim 119a).
I also come upon the phrase:
וְנִזּוֹנִים מִמִּדַּת הָאֱמֶת
"They will be nourished by the Divine attribute of truth."
This is surely nourishment that we need today. We are starving for truth. Truth in the media. Truth in diplomacy. Truth in our lives.
Yesterday I witnessed, with horror and concern - along with millions of others - the President and Vice President of this country displaying deep seated untruths in their public meeting with the President of Ukraine, a country at war. The lack of veracity in the Vice President's verbal attack on President Zelensky was breath-taking.
Daily I witness shocking misrepresentations of the experiences of Palestinians, Israelis, refugees, migrants, women, trans people, people of color... How do we discover, and encounter, the truth?
I am setting this question forward for myself, and for you, as you read this. In a world suffused with media and strategies that intend to influence how we think and how we understand what is true, how can we cultivate the soul food of truth?
For me, part of the answer is study; studying texts, searching for the means by which my ancestors traveled toward truth. This is a journey that I suggest we all must take.
Safe travels. Chodesh Tov Adar. And Shabbat Shalom.