What is the seal of the Holy One blessed be He? Rav Beivi said in the name of R. Rueven [that it is] truth (אמת). What [is meant by] truth? Rav Bon said: “that He is a living G-d and an eternal king.” Reish Lakish said: “Alef (א) is the first letter of the alphabet, mem (מ) is in the middle and tuf (ת) is the last.”
Jerusalem Talmud, Sanhedrin 1:1
The name HaShem (YKVK) is expressive of truth (אמת). Truth is something that doesn’t change—it is just as true in the beginning, the middle or the end. It is equally and unequivocally true, no matter how it is being expressed. This is G-d’s attribute of truth; He is always true, at all times and no matter the way in which He is being expressed.
For I, HaShem (YKVK), have not changed; and you, the sons of Yaakov, have not reached the end.
Malachi 3:6
The true and ultimate expression of G-d is not subject to change, and for a person to experience redemption—which is derived from the experience of this attribute—he cannot be subject to change either.
This then, is the litmus test for a person to know whether or not he has left his personal Egypt and is truly experiencing a redemptive state. If the individual doesn’t experience change, he can know that he is experiencing redemption; if he does undergo swings in his service of G-d, he can know that he is not yet there.
If the individual serves G-d with the same energy and devotion and total nullification to G-d’s will, no matter what he is doing, then he can know that he has been emancipated from his personal exile. If he learns Torah with the same devotion as he performs mitzvos, and with the same vigor that he serves G-d through elevating the mundane aspects of his life, then he can be sure that he is experiencing HaShem (YKVK). If not, then he may have reached tremendous heights—as did the Patriarchs—but he is still in exile.
Were he still to be held back by his own limitations, there would be certain things that he would enjoy more, and modes of service that he would relate to more. However, when he experiences “My true attribute,” the attribute of HaShem (YKVK), then all that he does is with the same vigor and submission to G-d.
