It is late Wednesday night and once again I am exhausted from a packed day in Budapest. The day started at SSG where I had the distinct privilege and pleasure to learn Torah with Hungarian teenagers. It was a challenge to 
engage the entire class due to the language barrier. However, in each of the three classes that I taught, there were a group of students who were not only engaged but were clearly thirsty for Torah. One could easily see the joy that they had in being engaged in an authentic Torah discussion.
That afternoon, after hearing an engaging and informative presentation from my esteemed colleague, Mr. Monroe, about how history is often rewritten in a misleading fashion, we visited three sites in Budapest where this has been done. Specifically, WWI, WWII and the spread of communism into Hungary are presented in a way that makes Hungary the victim, when in reality, Hungary was a willing participant and, thereby, partially responsible for all of these horrific events.
The afternoon was depressing to say the least, as one realizes that an entire generation of young people in Hungary are being taught falsehoods about their country. What should one’s response be to this perversion of history?
Upon further reflection upon the day’s events, I very much think that my experience in the morning is the answer to my question from this afternoon. The only way to counter falsehood is with truth; the only way to counter darkness is with light. Torah is referred to as Torat Emet-the Torah of truth. Furthermore, our Sages tell us that words of truth are recognizable. Undoubtedly, this is even more so in a world filled with falsehood. Perhaps, this was the excitement that I saw this morning in the students at SSG-the recognition of truth when they heard the holy words of Torah.
We need to be more truthful in our lives, more truthful in our relationships, more truthful when it comes to money, more truthful when it comes to college admissions, and most importantly more truthful to ourselves. We cannot allow ourselves to be discouraged by the falsifiers of history and the cheaters and counterfeiters of the world, but instead, we must remember that a little bit of light can push away a great deal of darkness.
Our job is to be that little bit of light.
Layla Tov,
Rabbi Furman
