The Midrash teaches us that when God, so to speak, consulted in Heaven as to whether to create humans, four representatives presented their views to the Almighty. This Midrash is an instructive way to begin to understand the role of Midrash generally in rabbinic writing.
The rabbis generally seek to express deep philosophic ideas,
conundrums and contradictions that we constantly face in daily life in a manner
that, on the surface, appears as a story or a fable: oversimplified and almost
naïve in presentation. Each student of Midrash must ferret out its intended
deeper message and its relevance to our lives, society and situation. This is
because Midrash is a living document, pointing towards current guidance and
thought—not a book of stories about the past.
But let us return to the debate in heaven as to whether
humans should have ever been created in the first place. Truth and Peace
objected. Said Truth, since humans tended not to tell the truth, they could
never be trusted and therefore had no useful function. Peace agreed. There
would never be a time in human history when war, violence and dispute were
absent. So, again, there would be no constructive purpose in creating such
beings and in having them populate the world only for them to destroy one
another.
The Midrash continues by saying that God, so to speak,
considered all four protagonists and their arguments. They were evenly balanced
at two against two. In order to reach a decision, He threw Truth down to earth
so that now the “vote” was two to one in favor of creating humans, which He
then proceeded to do.
The great Rabbi Menachem Mendel Morgenstern (Halperin) of
Kotzk asked: “If God was only looking to break the tie vote, so to speak, why
did he throw down Truth? He could just have easily thrown down Peace. With
Truth remaining alone, the vote would still be two to one.” He then answered: “Truth
can never be outvoted. No matter what the vote is, no matter how many speak
against it, Truth remains at its core, which is eternally true. Peace may be
compromised and manipulated. Not so Truth. It is a value that is all or
nothing. Something which is ninety-nine percent true is still not Truth. It
does not adjust to ever changing mores, fads or current correctness. So, Truth
had to be disposed of before a vote could be taken.”
The Jewish people have always been outnumbered. God promised
us that we would be a small people numerically—and that promise has certainly
been fulfilled. The human race consists of billions of people who disagree with
us and outvote us regularly. Sometimes they do this peacefully, but most of the
time with hostile intent. Other faiths have, for centuries, attempted to
convince us that the majority rules and that, since they prevail, we should
give up and join them. But we have not wavered as a nation in our belief in truth
as revealed to us by God at Sinai. We cannot be outvoted as we represent Truth
in its essence and sincerity. And that is the secret of the creation of humans
and the existence of Judaism throughout the ages.
Shabat shalom, Rabbi Berel Wein
