Truth Sustains Israel Through the Final Exile

1a“And I did not know” [Bereishis 28:16]. This can be understood through the Midrash Tanchuma on this parshah [Tanchuma Vayeitzei 2]. “He dreamed, and behold, a ladder…”: R' Shmuel bar Nachman said, This teaches that the Holy One, blessed be He, showed our father Yaakov the prince of Bavel climbing seventy rungs and coming down, and so on. Then the prince of Edom climbed, and Yaakov did not know how far. At that moment Yaakov Avinu was afraid and said, “Perhaps this one will have no descent?” The Holy One, blessed be He, said to him, “And you, do not fear, My servant Yaakov” [Yirmiyahu 30:10]. The Midrash also says there that Hashem showed him all the exiles. That is, he saw all the exiles to the very end, and he perceived that his mind could not grasp how great the darkness and the troubles of the last exile would grow. Yet looking toward the time of the end, he saw and said, “Surely Hashem is in this place, and I did not know.” The Targum renders this, “In truth [bekushta], the glory of Hashem dwells in this place.”

1bHe saw that only through the attribute of truth would Hashem be an everlasting light for them. That is what will give them endurance and strength, as Chazal say, “Truth endures” (Shabbos 104a). There is also “a place called Kushta, Truth, where no one dies before his time” [Sanhedrin 97a], and that place is Luz¹. This is what Yaakov saw: only through his own quality, “truth to Yaakov” [Michah 7:20], will they endure, even beyond understanding, and through it they will see “the glory of Hashem.” The Targum on the next verse continues: “This is not an ordinary place, but a place in which there is favor before Hashem” [Onkelos on Bereishis 28:17]. Through this attribute — knowing in truth how low their state is — they will arouse mercy and favor from Hashem.

2aThis is also the meaning of the Midrash Tanchuma further on. Yaakov said, “Perhaps Edom will rule forever?” The Holy One, blessed be He, said to him, “And now, do not fear, My servant Yaakov. For behold, I will save you from afar” [Yirmiyahu 30:10]. This follows Chazal (Shabbos 104a): “Young children came to the beis midrash and said: Why are the letters of sheker, falsehood, close together, while the letters of emes, truth, are far apart? Because falsehood is common and truth is rare.” Falsehood is near and familiar to everyone, because of our many sins. The yetzer hara and this world, the world of falsehood, are close before people's eyes. The good inclination and the World to Come, the world of truth, are far from the eyes of flesh and blood. That is why truth is called “far,” and its letters stand far apart².

2bThis was Hashem's promise to Yaakov Avinu, the man of truth: “You will grant truth to Yaakov” [Michah 7:20]. The salvation will come through the truth found among the Jewish people. “The remnant of Israel will do no wrong and speak no falsehood” [Tzefaniah 3:13]. Even in a time of darkness and lowliness, the essence of truth is still found in the treasured people. They are afraid of falsehood, because their souls are hewn from beneath His Throne of Glory, and “Hashem, God, is truth” [Yirmiyahu 10:10]. Through this our salvation will sprout. That is “For behold, I will save you from afar”: through truth, which is called “far” and whose letters stand far apart. He will send us His light and His truth [cf. Tehillim 43:3], Eliyahu HaNavi and Moshiach, as Rashi explains in Tehillim. Amen, may it be His will.