Emes is a fascinating word because many aspects of truthfulness are suggested in the word itself. The Gemara notes that emes is comprised of the first, middle and last letters of the Hebrew alphabet (aleph, mem, taf). This connotes that stability arises from truthfulness. Similarly, each of the letters in the word emes has two legs/feet on which it rests, implying that truth stands on a solid foundation. By contrast, the letters that make up the word sheker (falsehood) come from the end of the aleph-bet (shin, kuf, reish) and all rest on a single point. This shows the volatility of falsehood.
We can also learn about truth from the two words encompassed in the word emes: em (mother) and mes (death). As human beings, our scope of emes is what we can see during our lifetime, from when our mother brings us into the world until our death. Because of this, we can’t always appreciate the truth of Hashem’s ways. Only Hashem, who is everlasting and has eternal knowledge, can know the complete and perfect emes.
Since real truth is unique to Hashem, the word emes is considered Hashem’s seal or signature. One way that we see this is by looking at the safei teivos (final letters) of the first three words in the Torah (Bereishis Bara Elokim). They spell the word emes, and are Hashem’s way of “signing” the Torah (just as authors often hint to their name in the opening of their book).
Analyzing the word emes is a start to revealing the fundamental importance of the value of truth.
