Core Word
Translation	Transliteration	Hebrew
truth	emet
the first letter of emet and the first letter of the Hebrew alphabet	alef
the middle letter of emet and the middle letter of the Hebrew alphabet	mem
the final letter of emet and the final letter of the Hebrew alphabet	tav
abundant in goodness and truth	rav chesed ve-emet
Speak the truth.	Dabru emet
Blessed is the Judge of truth, the “righteous Judge.”	Baruch Dayan ha-emet.

A lovely midrash points out a lesson in the Hebrew spelling of the word emet , truth. Its first letter, alef , opens the Hebrew alphabet; its middle letter, mem is the middle letter of the alphabet; and its final letter, tav, is the final letter of the Hebrew alphabet. Hence, said the Rabbis, emet is the beginning, the middle and the end of all things.

The Sages of the Talmud considered the concept of emet so important that they called it the “seal of God.” Indeed, when setting forth the attributes of God, Exodus 34:6 states that God is rav chesed ve-emet, abundant in goodness and truth. The Rabbis saw emet , truth, as one leg of the tripod that sustains the world, the other two being din , justice, and shalom , peace. Between nations, as between people, truth must prevail lest the whole world collapse into chaos. And individuals who engage in self-deception, persistently lying to themselves, can very often bring about the collapse of their private worlds.

The prophet Zechariah, speaking the word of the Lord, proclaimed to the people (8:16-17): “Speak the truth ( Dabru emet ) to one another; render true and perfect justice in your gates. And do not contrive evil against one another, and do not love perjury, because all those are things I hate.”

Any Jew who has ever mourned a relative or friend knows the words emet from the benediction, Baruch Dayan ha-emet , Blessed is the Judge of truth or the “righteous Judge.” It expresses the Jew’s submission to God’s will at the moment of deepest sorrow.

Adapted from Edith Samuel, Your Jewish Lexicon (New York: UAHC Press, 1982), 42-43. (Now back in print and available solely through Amazon.com)