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Gary S. Creditor I have two different starting points for this sermon: 1. When I was in eighth grade in public school, every morning we had the New York Times delivered to us and each of had to cut open the chord and put it on the desks. We then spent the first fifteen to twenty minutes of class reading important articles. Each week one of us was responsible to report on the "Man of the Week." We also had to find any spelling errors or words that we didn't know. The Newark Star Ledger and Newark Evening News were no match for the New York Times. It was an adjunct textbook in my public school curriculum. 2. I was a fan of the TV show Perry Mason. I didn't miss too many episodes. Regardless of plot, they always got to the court room where the witness placed his hand on the Bible and was asked the following question that everyone can repeat: "Do swear to tell the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth, so help you, God?" While I don't know who were the scriptwriters, this verse comes right out of tomorrow's Torah portion. Its importance is already self-evident. I. I thought of these two beginnings while contemplating the shameful and disgraceful episode of Jayson Blair and the New York Times, which has come to the public's attention this past week. Nationally and internationally, this newspaper was the source of knowledge in world affairs, local news, science, and even sports. If it appeared in the New York Times it had the veneer of verisimilitude. You sounded like you knew what you were speaking about. It was true and so, you were true, or right. In light of this young man's frequent acts of journalistic fraud widespread fabrication and plagiarism trust in this newspaper, and, guilty by association, all newspapers and media, has been shaken. While every written and spoken word, including this sermon, comes from the writer's or speaker's own person, how do we have accurate information to form conclusions and opinions that shape our world and bring us to action? From my favorite detective series now reincarnated Sergeant Friday says: "The facts ma'am. Just the facts." Where do we get the facts? What is the foundation of our knowledge? The movie Forest Gump illustrated the ease at which the historical record can be corrupted. And now, the most venerable and esteemed printed media has been so blatantly blindsided and its readers and truth so obviously undermined. II. Our Jewish tradition has many core teachings about truth, seven of which I would like to share with you.
III. So the matter is clear. Jayson Blair ruined his career, damaged The New York Times, brought misgiving upon 375 otherwise honest and esteemed colleagues, and raised in us doubts about the truth. Yet what he did is so simple, given the computer age and DSL. Our children and grandchildren have to write school papers. Rabbi Rosin and I write sermons. Many in the congregation write and speak as the core of their livelihood. What do we tell our children about honest research which takes longer and maybe doesn't get the highest grade? How do we conduct ourselves? Do we site our sources accurately? Do we say that we are quoting, even if we don't seem so prestigious? Do we obey copy write laws even if it costs us? Do we buy pirated editions of software? Do we use shareware without paying the fair price? Can we look ourselves in the mirror and see integrity, veracity and reliability? Can people believe us when we write and/or speak? Conclusion I close with this Hasidic Tale: May we be the sowers of truth. May we teach that truth to our children and grandchildren too. |