ספר בראשית

‎Midrash Rabbah 8,5 relates that at the time when G’d was about to create the ‎physical universe containing man, Truth objected, saying that man would be a corrupt being; as a ‎punishment, i.e. means of educating Truth, G’d condemned Truth to descend to earth and “live” ‎there.‎In order to comprehend the meaning of the Midrash we need to remember that lying, the ‎opposite of truth- is a sin which is in a category by itself, as people known to be liars will find it ‎difficult if not impossible to be accepted in society even in this imperfect world where most people ‎indulge in one sin or another. If someone desecrates the Sabbath, this will not be held against him ‎by most of his peers who feel that it is a matter between him and G’d. If someone deliberately ‎hurts others bodily, or even commits murder, the courts will punish him accordingly. In other ‎words, there is a built in incentive on this earth for people not to commit murder, etc., as they ‎know they will pay a heavy price when found out. Lying, because it is difficult for the courts to deal ‎with, is dealt with by consensus of one’s peers who will shun the company of known liars. Sending ‎‎“truth” to earth was G’d’s way of providing incentives for potential liars to be truthful, as otherwise ‎they would be ostracised by their peers.‎ ‎[In other words, rather than seeing in the Midrash above a “punishment” for truth having ‎opposed the Creator, our author sees in it an acknowledgment by G’d that “Truth” in opposing the ‎creation of the human species had a valid point, and He appointed “Truth” to be active on earth in ‎order to minimize the potential danger to the whole species if too many people were to make lies ‎their way of life. Ed.] The message of the Midrash is that without “Truth” the human ‎species would not survive for long.‎