By Rabbi Dovid Sapirman, Dean, Ani Maamin Foundation
“How do we know that we are right and everyone else is wrong?” This is another common question. After all, we are a tiny percentage of the human race. How can we claim that we have the only truth, and eight billion others are mistaken?
I usually give a simple response: “Do you know what those other people say about themselves?” A simple description of their belief systems is enough. With common sense, it is clear that they are empty, devoid of any substance.
Eleven years before the Churban, a group of exiles was taken to Bavel. Yirmiyahu Hanavi sent them a letter instructing them how to respond to the overtures of idolators. “Tell them that idols do nothing, and Hashem is the Creator of Heaven and Earth. When they are visited upon, they will perish.”
The simple meaning of this pasuk is that the idols will someday disappear. But Radak quotes the Kuzari: “When you study them carefully, you will see there is nothing there, like a forgery that is apparent upon examination. But as for matters related to Hashem—however you look, you find it as gold.” These words are as true today as they were then, and as they were in the time of Yirmiyahu. If one takes the time to investigate the claims of various religions and philosophies, they find falsehoods, inconsistencies, and assorted nonsense.
The ancient historian Josephus records a story that appears to have been well-known in his time. About 500 years earlier, the navi Daniel served as a high-ranking official in the court of Daryavesh I, the Persian emperor. Daryavesh was insistent that Daniel worship his idol. It was alive, he claimed. Every night the priests would set before it trays of food, then lock the doors to the temple. In the morning, the trays were empty. Surely the idol had eaten the offerings!
Daniel requested to see this supernatural event with his own eyes, so Daryavesh took him to the temple, where he saw the priests place trays of food before the idols and lock the doors. But Daniel then had an unusual request: he asked Daryavesh to have a servant spread ashes across the temple floor. Daryavesh consented. The next morning the offering had once again been eaten—but there were footprints in the ashes on the temple floor.
The emperor summoned the priests. “Tell me the truth, and I will spare your lives,” he said. Faced with execution, the priests admitted that they had a secret entrance to the temple. Every night, they brought their families to eat all the food. With a little bit of investigation, the falsity of the idols was clear.
So too will happen with the ideologies of our day. While they have perpetrated a hoax upon mankind, the illusion collapses when questioned. In the coming weeks, this column will explore a few such examples. Recognizing the absolute falsehood of others can strengthen our belief in the truth of our Torah.
