Occasionally, someone remarks that the biographies we have of our great Torah personalities may actually be counterproductive. They are portrayed as being superhuman, so perfect, that one despairs of reaching their level of spirituality. This is a mistake. I was fortunate to know some of the Torah personalities whose lives are described in these biographies. These people were not superhuman, but rather great human beings.

A father took his son, who was taking violin lessons, to a concert by the virtuoso, Pinhas Zuckerman. After the concert, the father asked the son, “Do you think you will ever play like Pinhas Zuckerman?” The son said, “No, but I’m going to practice more.” This is how we should look at these biographies. We may not be able to achieve the spirituality of the Chafetz Chaim, but we should be inspired by his example.

The Torah places enormous emphasis on emes (truth). The prophet says, “ Hashem, your G-d is truth” (Jeremiah 10:10). The Talmud says, “The seal of Hashem is emes (Shabbos 55a). Because of the latter, some people are reluctant to use the word emes in conversation, considering it one of the names of Hashem. Instead, they use the Yiddish word, vurheit, for “truth.”

The fact that truth is identified with Hashem gives it its supreme importance. The more truthful one is, the closer one is to Hashem. The more one strays from the truth, the more distant one is from Hashem.

There are many precautionary laws that the sages decreed to protect a person from transgressing a Torah prohibition. For example, the Torah forbids eating meat cooked with milk. The sages extended this prohibition to include fowl as well, and not only when they are cooked together, but also when eaten together. Furthermore, they mandated a waiting period after eating meat before one may eat dairy foods. In regard to Shabbos, the sages prohibited transacting as a precaution, because one is likely to record a transaction, and writing is a Scriptural prohibition. All precautionary laws were established by the sages.

There is only one precautionary law that is written in the Torah. The Torah says, "“You shall not lie” (Leviticus 19:11), but also says “Keep your distance from falsehood” (Exodus 23:7). Not only does the Torah forbid lying, but adds a precautionary law, to distance oneself from lying,. I.e., not to act in a way that may lead one to lie. One of the commentaries said, “If you think you may ever have to deny having done something, then don’t do it”! That will be “distancing oneself from falsehood.” Inasmuch as this is the only one of the 365 Scriptural prohibitions for which the Torah prescribes a precautionary law, we can see the enormous emphasis the Torah places on truth.

King David says, “Who will dwell in Your tent?…One who speaks the truth in his heart” (Psalms 15:1). The Talmud gives an example of this. The sage, Rav Safra, was praying, and someone offered him 80 gulden for an item he was selling. Rav Safra could not interrupt his prayer and remained silent. The customer, assuming that Rav Safra rejected the price, offered him 100 gulden. After he finished praying, Rav Safra sold him the item for 80 gulden. “When you offered me 80 gulden, I agreed to the price, but was unable to tell you. I must keep my unspoken word” ( ).

Rebbe Elimelech of Lizensk said, “I am certain of being admitted to Gan Eden. The Heavenly Tribunal will ask me, ‘Melech, did you learn Torah properly?’ I will say, ‘No.’ They will ask, ‘Melech, did you daven (pray) properly?’ I will say, ‘No.’ They will ask, ‘Melech, did you give adequate tzedaka?’ I will say, ‘No.” They will say, ‘He tells the truth. Let him enter Gan Eden.’ ”

The Seer of Lublin said, “I prefer a rasha (wicked person) who believes he is a rasha to a tzaddik who believes he is a tzaddik. Why? Because the rasha knows the truth, whereas the tzaddik is lying to himself. No person should think of himself as a tzaddik.”

There was a man known as “Reb Yosef, the truthful one,” because he was widely respected for his impeccable integrity. One time he was approached by a person who said, “I have some contraband merchandise, and if I am found with it, I may be sent to Siberia for life. If I put it in your house, the police will never suspect you.”

Reb Yosef wanted to save the person from lifelong imprisonment, but did not want to compromise his integrity. “How much is your merchandise worth?” he asked. “Fifty rubles,” the man said. Reb Yosef said, “Wait here.” He borrowed fifty rubles, an appreciable sum, bought the merchandise, and set fire to it. He saved the man from imprisonment without compromising himself.

Rebbe Refael of Bershid was a champion of truth. When he heard that one of his children had lied, he sat shivah for him (seven days of mourning), as if he had deserted the Jewish faith.

One man was suspected of a crime, whose punishment was lifelong exile to Siberia. The judge said that if the two great rabbis, Rebbe Moshe of Savran and Rebbe Refael of Bershid would testify to the person’s honesty, he would dismiss the charges. Although the person was less than honest, Rebbe Moshe felt that it was permissible to testify in his behalf, because otherwise he would be exiled for life and his family would be destitute. Rebbe Refael could not make peace with this, yet he knew that his refusal to testify would be taken as proof that the person was dishonest.

Rebbe Refael prayed tearfully all night, and died amidst his weeping. He was thus spared from having to say an untruth.

Rebbe Refael’s wife bought a silver-plated candelabra for Shabbos. Rebbe Refael said, “You should not have spent so much money,” The wife said, “It was not expensive. It is not real silver, just silver-plated.” Rebbe Refael said, “Then it is a falsehood. You must get rid of it.”

Rebbe Yisrael of Salant delivered a lecture on the Talmud, and someone in the audience raised a question about a point he had made. Rebbe Yisrael though for a few moments, then excused himself and stepped down form the pulpit. He explained, “I had three responses to this man’s question, each of which would have satisfied him. However, in my heart I knew that they were not true, so I discontinued the lecture.”

Rebbe Yechezkel Levenstein was a close friend of Rebbe Yitzhak Sher, and when the latter died, it was assumed that Rebbe Levenstein would deliver the eulogy. Rebbe Levenstein refused, and later explained. “I lost a dear grandchild just three weeks ago. I was afraid that during the eulogy, I might think of my grandchild and cry. People would assume that I am crying for Rebbe Yitzhak Sher, and that would be dishonest of me.”

A chassid asked his Rebbe for a beracha for hatzlacha. The Rebbe said, “You must promise to always tell the truth.” The chassid promised and the Rebbe blessed him.

One time, the chassid was bringing some contraband merchandise into the country. The border guards asked him, “What kind of merchandise do you have here?” Remembering his promise, the chassid said, “Contraband, of course!” The guards laughed and waived him through.

It may appear to a person that he stands to gain by lying and to lose if he tells the truth. Even if there may be a short term gain by lying, the ultimate loss will far outweigh the temporary gain.

Let us remember, “ Hashem, you G-d is truth,” and strive to be close to Hashem.