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Truth and Self-Knowledge
The first vessel described in the process of the construction of the Mishkan is the Ark which contained the Torah.
שמות כה – (יא) וְצִפִּיתָ֤ אֹתוֹ֙ זָהָ֣ב טָה֔וֹר מִבַּ֥יִת וּמִח֖וּץ תְּצַפֶּ֑נּוּ וְעָשִׂ֧יתָ עָלָ֛יו זֵ֥ר זָהָ֖ב סָבִֽיב:
Shemot 25 – (11) And you shall overlay it with pure gold; from inside and from outside you shall overlay it, and you shall make upon it a golden crown all around.
תלמוד בבלי – יומא עב:
מבית ומחוץ תצפנו אמר רבא כל תלמיד חכם שאין תוכו כברו אינו תלמיד חכם.
The verse states concerning the Ark: “From within and from without you shall cover it” (Exodus 25:11). Rava said: This alludes to the idea that any Torah scholar whose inside is not like his outside, i.e., whose outward expression of righteousness is insincere, is not to be considered a Torah scholar.
Rava states that a Torah scholar whose “inside is not like his outside” is not a true scholar. This statement has an intuitive appeal, but upon closer examination requires further explanation. What does it mean that one’s inside is not like his outside? Why did he not simply say that any person whose inside is not like his outside is not a scholar?
The Rambam incorporates this statement into his laws of character development:
רמב"ם דעות ב
(ו) אסור לאדם להנהיג עצמו בדברי חלקות ופיתוי, ולא תהיה אחת בפה ואחת בלב, אלא תוכו כברו, והענין שבלב הוא הדבר שבפה. ואסור לגנוב דעת הבריות, אפילו דעת הגוי:
A person is forbidden to act in a smooth-tongued and luring manner. He should not speak one thing outwardly and think otherwise in his heart. Rather, his inner self should be like the self which he shows to the world. What he feels in his heart should be the same as the words on his lips.
כיצד, לא ימכור לגוי בשר נבילה בכלל שחוטה, ולא מנעל של מתה במקום מנעל של שחוטה, ולא יסרב בחבירו שיאכל אצלו והוא יודע שאינו אוכל, וירבה לו בתקרובת והוא יודע שאינו מקבל, יפתח לו חביות שהוא צריך לפתוח אותן למכרן כדי לפתותו שבשביל כבודו פתח, וכן כל כיוצא בזה. אפילו מלה אחת של פיתוי ושל גניבת הדעת אסורה, אלא שפת אמת ורוח נכון ולב טהור מכל עמל והוות:
It is forbidden to deceive people, even a non-Jew. For example, one should not sell a gentile the meat of an animal which has not been ritually slaughtered as if it were ritually slaughtered meat, nor a shoe made from the hide of an animal which has died of natural causes as if it were made of the hide of a slaughtered animal. One should not press his colleague to share a meal with him when he knows that his colleague will not accept the invitation, nor should he press presents upon him when he knows that his colleague will not accept them. He should not open casks supposedly for his colleague which he must open for sale, in order to deceive him into thinking that they have been opened in his honor. The same applies with all matters of this sort. It is forbidden to utter a single word of deception or fraud. Rather, one should have only truthful speech, a proper spirit and a heart pure from all deceit and trickery.
The concept of “one’s inside is like his outside” is manifest in Halacha –the Torah’s legal system. There are obvious implications with regard to business transactions, but this concept extends to the social and interpersonal realm as well. Even if no money is exchanged and there is nothing to be refunded, one can act in a way that leads to a misrepresentation of his intentions. We are prohibited from engaging in this deception.
Why is this quality related to a true Torah scholar? Perhaps there is an additional element here, beyond how we are perceived by others. The description that “one’s inside is like his outside” could also refer to one’s personal relationship to truth, describing how a person’s actions indicate what they believe to be true and valuable. If one relates to his ideas and philosophy as having a reality to them, they will naturally manifest in his actions. The Torah scholar’s actions are a manifestation of his perception of truth, there is no disconnect.
The Princeton philosopher Harry Frankfurt discusses some of our modern challenges in relating to truth. He highlights that sometimes people are entirely indifferent as to whether something is actually true or false. They look at speech and actions only in terms of their utility. It is not they deliberately lie or deceive, but they are indifferent to truth, denying that it has any import on how they operate. He explains that issues with truth arise:
“whenever circumstances require someone to talk without knowing what he is talking about…stimulated whenever a person's obligations or opportunities to speak about some topic are more excessive than his knowledge of the facts that are relevant to that topic. This discrepancy is common in public life, where people are frequently impelled -- whether by their own propensities or by the demands of others -- to speak extensively about matters of which they are to some degree ignorant…The lack of any significant connection between a person's opinions and his apprehension of reality will be even more severe, needless to say, for someone who believes it his responsibility, as a conscientious moral agent, to evaluate events and conditions in all parts of the world.”
A Torah scholar may find himself in a position where he is called upon to share his opinion with others. But this position could also be a pitfall. If the scholar and expert is not careful, he can be lulled into venturing opinions outside his area of expertise. Over time this can lead to a distorted relationship to truth. The best approach for the wise is sometimes silence. As Rebbe Akiva states in Pirkei Avot (3:16), and which the Rambam incorporates in the prior Halacha (Deot 2:5) to the one quoted above, “Silence preserves wisdom”. Silence is golden. Only a vessel that is gold inside and out, only a person whose commitment to truth permeates his thoughts, speech, and actions, can considered a true Torah scholar.
References
Maimonides, M., Touger, E., Kaplan, B., Abramson, Z., & Silverstein, S. (2007). Mishneh Torah. New York: Moznaim Pub. Retrieved from: https://www.chabad.org/library/article_cdo/aid/682956/jewish/Mishneh-Torah.htm
Rosenberg, A. (1980). A new English translation of the Hebrew Bible text and Rashi, with a commentary digest. New York: Judaica Press. Retrieved from: https://www.chabad.org/library/bible_cdo/
Steinsaltz, A., In Weinreb, T. H., In Schreier, J., & Hotsaat Koren (Jerusalem),. (2017). Koren Talmud Bavli, the Noe edition: Talmud Bavli. Retrieved from: https://shas.alhatorah.org/
This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit bentorah.substack.com
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By Ben TorahThe first vessel described in the process of the construction of the Mishkan is the Ark which contained the Torah.
שמות כה – (יא) וְצִפִּיתָ֤ אֹתוֹ֙ זָהָ֣ב טָה֔וֹר מִבַּ֥יִת וּמִח֖וּץ תְּצַפֶּ֑נּוּ וְעָשִׂ֧יתָ עָלָ֛יו זֵ֥ר זָהָ֖ב סָבִֽיב:
Shemot 25 – (11) And you shall overlay it with pure gold; from inside and from outside you shall overlay it, and you shall make upon it a golden crown all around.
תלמוד בבלי – יומא עב:
מבית ומחוץ תצפנו אמר רבא כל תלמיד חכם שאין תוכו כברו אינו תלמיד חכם.
The verse states concerning the Ark: “From within and from without you shall cover it” (Exodus 25:11). Rava said: This alludes to the idea that any Torah scholar whose inside is not like his outside, i.e., whose outward expression of righteousness is insincere, is not to be considered a Torah scholar.
Rava states that a Torah scholar whose “inside is not like his outside” is not a true scholar. This statement has an intuitive appeal, but upon closer examination requires further explanation. What does it mean that one’s inside is not like his outside? Why did he not simply say that any person whose inside is not like his outside is not a scholar?
The Rambam incorporates this statement into his laws of character development:
רמב"ם דעות ב
(ו) אסור לאדם להנהיג עצמו בדברי חלקות ופיתוי, ולא תהיה אחת בפה ואחת בלב, אלא תוכו כברו, והענין שבלב הוא הדבר שבפה. ואסור לגנוב דעת הבריות, אפילו דעת הגוי:
A person is forbidden to act in a smooth-tongued and luring manner. He should not speak one thing outwardly and think otherwise in his heart. Rather, his inner self should be like the self which he shows to the world. What he feels in his heart should be the same as the words on his lips.
כיצד, לא ימכור לגוי בשר נבילה בכלל שחוטה, ולא מנעל של מתה במקום מנעל של שחוטה, ולא יסרב בחבירו שיאכל אצלו והוא יודע שאינו אוכל, וירבה לו בתקרובת והוא יודע שאינו מקבל, יפתח לו חביות שהוא צריך לפתוח אותן למכרן כדי לפתותו שבשביל כבודו פתח, וכן כל כיוצא בזה. אפילו מלה אחת של פיתוי ושל גניבת הדעת אסורה, אלא שפת אמת ורוח נכון ולב טהור מכל עמל והוות:
It is forbidden to deceive people, even a non-Jew. For example, one should not sell a gentile the meat of an animal which has not been ritually slaughtered as if it were ritually slaughtered meat, nor a shoe made from the hide of an animal which has died of natural causes as if it were made of the hide of a slaughtered animal. One should not press his colleague to share a meal with him when he knows that his colleague will not accept the invitation, nor should he press presents upon him when he knows that his colleague will not accept them. He should not open casks supposedly for his colleague which he must open for sale, in order to deceive him into thinking that they have been opened in his honor. The same applies with all matters of this sort. It is forbidden to utter a single word of deception or fraud. Rather, one should have only truthful speech, a proper spirit and a heart pure from all deceit and trickery.
The concept of “one’s inside is like his outside” is manifest in Halacha –the Torah’s legal system. There are obvious implications with regard to business transactions, but this concept extends to the social and interpersonal realm as well. Even if no money is exchanged and there is nothing to be refunded, one can act in a way that leads to a misrepresentation of his intentions. We are prohibited from engaging in this deception.
Why is this quality related to a true Torah scholar? Perhaps there is an additional element here, beyond how we are perceived by others. The description that “one’s inside is like his outside” could also refer to one’s personal relationship to truth, describing how a person’s actions indicate what they believe to be true and valuable. If one relates to his ideas and philosophy as having a reality to them, they will naturally manifest in his actions. The Torah scholar’s actions are a manifestation of his perception of truth, there is no disconnect.
The Princeton philosopher Harry Frankfurt discusses some of our modern challenges in relating to truth. He highlights that sometimes people are entirely indifferent as to whether something is actually true or false. They look at speech and actions only in terms of their utility. It is not they deliberately lie or deceive, but they are indifferent to truth, denying that it has any import on how they operate. He explains that issues with truth arise:
“whenever circumstances require someone to talk without knowing what he is talking about…stimulated whenever a person's obligations or opportunities to speak about some topic are more excessive than his knowledge of the facts that are relevant to that topic. This discrepancy is common in public life, where people are frequently impelled -- whether by their own propensities or by the demands of others -- to speak extensively about matters of which they are to some degree ignorant…The lack of any significant connection between a person's opinions and his apprehension of reality will be even more severe, needless to say, for someone who believes it his responsibility, as a conscientious moral agent, to evaluate events and conditions in all parts of the world.”
A Torah scholar may find himself in a position where he is called upon to share his opinion with others. But this position could also be a pitfall. If the scholar and expert is not careful, he can be lulled into venturing opinions outside his area of expertise. Over time this can lead to a distorted relationship to truth. The best approach for the wise is sometimes silence. As Rebbe Akiva states in Pirkei Avot (3:16), and which the Rambam incorporates in the prior Halacha (Deot 2:5) to the one quoted above, “Silence preserves wisdom”. Silence is golden. Only a vessel that is gold inside and out, only a person whose commitment to truth permeates his thoughts, speech, and actions, can considered a true Torah scholar.
References
Maimonides, M., Touger, E., Kaplan, B., Abramson, Z., & Silverstein, S. (2007). Mishneh Torah. New York: Moznaim Pub. Retrieved from: https://www.chabad.org/library/article_cdo/aid/682956/jewish/Mishneh-Torah.htm
Rosenberg, A. (1980). A new English translation of the Hebrew Bible text and Rashi, with a commentary digest. New York: Judaica Press. Retrieved from: https://www.chabad.org/library/bible_cdo/
Steinsaltz, A., In Weinreb, T. H., In Schreier, J., & Hotsaat Koren (Jerusalem),. (2017). Koren Talmud Bavli, the Noe edition: Talmud Bavli. Retrieved from: https://shas.alhatorah.org/
This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit bentorah.substack.com