There’s a story in the Talmud – the most important text of Judaism – of how the members of the great synagogue were weeping, praying and fasting together, seeking to know God’s will, when a little scroll fell into their midst. They opened it and on it was only one word, Ameth, which is the Hebrew word for truth. Now Ameth was spelt with only three Hebrew letters because ancient Hebrew, when written, had no vowels. The first letter was aleph, which is the first letter of the Hebrew alphabet; the second was min, which is the middle letter of the alphabet; and the third was tau, which is the last letter of the Hebrew alphabet. That assembly of rabbis immediately got the message: truth is the beginning, the middle and the end of what God requires of us.