Timeless Torah

How often have you been asked the question, "Why do the Orthodox think that they are the only group that has access to the truth? Aren't there many paths to the truth? And shouldn't every man seek G-d in his own heart, in his own way?"
Truth, by definition, is absolute and unequivocal. To speak of different truths is a contradiction in terms. Nonetheless, truth can have many faces...

and manifestations.
Still faces and manifestations are only expressions of truth. If one desires the truth itself, one must surrender all individual conceptions and inclinations and relate to the truth solely on its' terms. Let me illustrate.
Imagine a world in which musical instruments and the very concept of music is unknown. Suddenly, a wormhole in space opens up and a piano falls in front of a group of people. Surprised, they contemplate the piano.
One individual slightly braver than the rest approaches and carefully touches it, "It's a piece of wood," he declares.
Someone else, a cabinetmaker by profession, examines it more closely, "It's a piece of furniture," he says.
A third fellow, the engineer in the group, looks under the hood, sees all the wiring and announces, "It's obviously some sort of machine."
Are they saying the truth? At first glance, they are. A piano is indeed a piece of wood, a crafted piece of furniture and a musical machine. But they grasped only an outermost edge, a face of the truth, if you will. This was not because their reasoning was faulty. It was because the piano belongs to a realm that lies beyond the parameters of their reality. So they perceived not the piano for what it is, but the piano as it exists in their respective realities - the world of chemistry, the world of cabinetmaking, the world of engineering. They were looking at it from the bottom up.
As all three stood around, the wormhole opened up a second time. Who should fall through this time but the piano player himself, "Who are you?" he was asked. "A musician," he replied. When their uncomprehending looks made him realize that they had no idea what he was talking about, he began playing a melody.
Here was a new perceptive: One from the top down. How different from those below seeking for the solution by drawing on their own experience to decipher the significance of the object before them.
The Talmud relates that Rav Yosef would celebrate Shavuot with a particular enthusiasm because, "Were it not for this day how many Yosef's are there in the marketplace!"
Simply understood, Rav Yosef's words express his joy on the day that the people of Israel were distinguished from all the other many Yosef's out there.
There is, however, a deeper significance to the Rabbi's words. The marketplace of which he speaks is a spiritual market, populated by seekers of G-dliness and truth. How many Yosef's are there? Many.
Every individual is unique, with his own particular mindset, character, and spiritual persona; it follows that there would be many approaches in humanity's striving for meaning to life. The fact that there are many Yosef's does not mean that they are all on the wrong track. But these are all quests from the bottom up, generated, and defined by the human condition. Everything human is finite, while G-d is infinite. Obviously, the finite and the infinite are from two different worlds, more different, from each other, to grossly understate the fact, as carpentry and music. So the most sublime human discoveries only touch upon the edge of the divine truth.
But on Shavuot, the Torah fell from heaven, allowing man a glimpse from the top down, as in His Torah and His truth.
On Shavuot, the many Yosef's of the marketplace, seeking spirituality were given the opportunity to hear the Divine Will- surely music to our earthly ears.
Do we the Orthodox know the truth? Study G-d's Torah like Rabbi Akiva for twenty four consecutive years, and you tell me.