D.Abraham
09-16-2003, 12:29 PM
"Nitai HaArbeli said: Distance yourself from a bad neighbor; and do not bond with a degenerate person; and do not abandon [the expectation of] difficulties."
Ethics of the Fathers 1:7
Is the human being inherently good or evil? This is one of the classic debates in the history of philosophy and religion.
The non-Jewish concept of Original Sin, for instance, assumes the latter, i.e. a person is destined for hell, unless s/he does something to alter that course, because the first man's sin made human nature inherently sinful.
By contrast, the Talmud teaches: "All Israel have a portion in the World to Come," i.e. a person is destined for the place of True Reward -- unless he or she does something to lose it.
The Torah is centered on the idea that the human being is endowed with a deposit of divinity1 and made in "God's image." This doesn't contradict Genesis 6:5, for instance, which says, "And God saw the great evil of man in the world, and that the entire impulse of the thoughts of his heart were evil all day." First, the verse doesn't say that the "heart" itself was evil, but only the "impulse of the thoughts" of the human heart. In other words, side-by-side with this natural spirituality (i.e. the "heart" fashioned in the "Divine Image") is an impulse for evil.
This impulse may be very strong and capable of overcoming the good to a great extent, but not enough to supplant and entirely eclipse the original state in which the human being was created, namely "in the Divine Image." Ultimately, an impulse can be repulsed; an inherently evil nature cannot2.
This misconception about the Torah stance on human nature is pervasive. Famed mythologist Joseph Campbell, for instance, declared in his books and to millions of viewers on television that the Bible emphasizes the "castration" of human nature. According to him, by declaring that God came down on Sinai and gave humanity laws and statutes, the outlook of the Bible demonstrates that it sees human nature as inherently evil. Otherwise, why else would the Deity feel the need to impose laws that repress human nature? This, Campbell claimed, was one of the most destructive philosophies Western Civilization had ever imbibed. It resulted, according to him, in the West's history of war, rape, pillage, domination, etc. -- in general, to use his term, in the "castration" the evil it called nature.
Unfortunately, Campbell seems to have confused "castration" with "circumcision." There is a difference, you know.
Nature -- including human nature -- cannot be trusted if it is unchecked.
The Torah does indeed display a certain degree of mistrust toward nature. Generally, nature -- including human nature -- cannot be trusted if it is unchecked. Like the ground that was cursed after Adam's sin, it will grow "thorns and thistles" if it remains uncultivated. However, this doesn't mean to imply that nature is inherently evil and therefore we must seek to "castrate" it. To the contrary, just as thorn and thistles can be cleared to allow the earth to give forth fruit, the very idea of circumcision implies that nature is inherently good; it's just that it has a "foreskin" around it. It has something superficial and external to it that does not allow the true creative pulse within to manifest itself in a fully positive way.
The spiritual may have certain advantages over the physical, but the physical, too, after all is said and done, is a creation of God just the same. ("In the beginning the Creator created heaven and earth.") As a creation of God it is not an obstacle but a potential vehicle for the divine. It can even be formed into a Temple, a "Dwelling for the Divine Presence." And therefore even the earthly must have a natural goodness to it that can be harnessed in a productive way.
Castration implies the earthly potential is inherently evil and must be destroyed. Circumcision -- the Torah's true stance -- implies the natural state is essentially good. Castrate -- and the good as well as the bad is eliminated. Circumcise -- and the inherent good will shine.
Given this introduction we can now turn to the simple profundity of Nitai HaArbeli's above teaching.
TURN FROM EVIL, DO GOOD.
Nitai HaArbeli begins: "Distance yourself from a bad neighbor and do not join with an evil person." The underlying assumption in this statement is that human nature is profoundly good. That's why the main thing for moral and spiritual self-improvement is withdrawal from negative influences. Avoiding the negative, including the negative impulse within your own being,3 clears the path for our inherent goodness. By contrast, Yehoshua ben Perachiyah, in the previous Mishnah, emphasized the positive: "Make yourself a rabbi and acquire a friend." He felt one's primary focus should be to surround oneself with positive influences. He agrees with the essential goodness of man, and that "evil" is only caused by the environment one is raised in, but that it's not enough to clear out the "thorns and thistles" of negative influences and impulses. One has to create and nurture a counterforce, an impulse for good -- a habit-reinforced instinct to do good -- to repulse the impulse to do bad.
King David wrote: "Turn away from evil and do good." (Psalms 34:15, 37:17). This would seem to support the view of Nitai HaArbeli: first one has to "turn away from evil" and then "do good." However, the Chidushei HaRim, a great Chassidic master, interpreted this verse in a novel way. He said: "How does one turn away from evil? By doing good." In other words, sometimes by focusing so much on the negative one can get bogged down in it. It's like a person kicking mud to this side and that but never getting out of the mud. Therefore, don't necessarily wait to rid yourself of evil before pursuing good. Do the good, bypass the evil temporarily, and deal with it at a later date after you've built up a momentum for the good.
Nevertheless, Nitai HaArbeli thinks otherwise. In the Talmud one who tries to do something good without first ridding himself of the evil is likened to a person immersing in a ritual bath (to cleanse himself of spiritual impurity) while holding a rodent (something that causes spiritual impurity). Doing good without first ridding oneself of the bad inhibits the most important tool in the struggle to attain spiritual excellence and wholeness: the inherent good of the soul, the "Divine Image" in which we are all made. By emphasizing avoidance of the negative, he demonstrates his great faith in the natural goodness of the soul and its ability to carry the person to the heights of moral and spiritual greatness.4
Con't. P.II (next->)
Ethics of the Fathers 1:7
Is the human being inherently good or evil? This is one of the classic debates in the history of philosophy and religion.
The non-Jewish concept of Original Sin, for instance, assumes the latter, i.e. a person is destined for hell, unless s/he does something to alter that course, because the first man's sin made human nature inherently sinful.
By contrast, the Talmud teaches: "All Israel have a portion in the World to Come," i.e. a person is destined for the place of True Reward -- unless he or she does something to lose it.
The Torah is centered on the idea that the human being is endowed with a deposit of divinity1 and made in "God's image." This doesn't contradict Genesis 6:5, for instance, which says, "And God saw the great evil of man in the world, and that the entire impulse of the thoughts of his heart were evil all day." First, the verse doesn't say that the "heart" itself was evil, but only the "impulse of the thoughts" of the human heart. In other words, side-by-side with this natural spirituality (i.e. the "heart" fashioned in the "Divine Image") is an impulse for evil.
This impulse may be very strong and capable of overcoming the good to a great extent, but not enough to supplant and entirely eclipse the original state in which the human being was created, namely "in the Divine Image." Ultimately, an impulse can be repulsed; an inherently evil nature cannot2.
This misconception about the Torah stance on human nature is pervasive. Famed mythologist Joseph Campbell, for instance, declared in his books and to millions of viewers on television that the Bible emphasizes the "castration" of human nature. According to him, by declaring that God came down on Sinai and gave humanity laws and statutes, the outlook of the Bible demonstrates that it sees human nature as inherently evil. Otherwise, why else would the Deity feel the need to impose laws that repress human nature? This, Campbell claimed, was one of the most destructive philosophies Western Civilization had ever imbibed. It resulted, according to him, in the West's history of war, rape, pillage, domination, etc. -- in general, to use his term, in the "castration" the evil it called nature.
Unfortunately, Campbell seems to have confused "castration" with "circumcision." There is a difference, you know.
Nature -- including human nature -- cannot be trusted if it is unchecked.
The Torah does indeed display a certain degree of mistrust toward nature. Generally, nature -- including human nature -- cannot be trusted if it is unchecked. Like the ground that was cursed after Adam's sin, it will grow "thorns and thistles" if it remains uncultivated. However, this doesn't mean to imply that nature is inherently evil and therefore we must seek to "castrate" it. To the contrary, just as thorn and thistles can be cleared to allow the earth to give forth fruit, the very idea of circumcision implies that nature is inherently good; it's just that it has a "foreskin" around it. It has something superficial and external to it that does not allow the true creative pulse within to manifest itself in a fully positive way.
The spiritual may have certain advantages over the physical, but the physical, too, after all is said and done, is a creation of God just the same. ("In the beginning the Creator created heaven and earth.") As a creation of God it is not an obstacle but a potential vehicle for the divine. It can even be formed into a Temple, a "Dwelling for the Divine Presence." And therefore even the earthly must have a natural goodness to it that can be harnessed in a productive way.
Castration implies the earthly potential is inherently evil and must be destroyed. Circumcision -- the Torah's true stance -- implies the natural state is essentially good. Castrate -- and the good as well as the bad is eliminated. Circumcise -- and the inherent good will shine.
Given this introduction we can now turn to the simple profundity of Nitai HaArbeli's above teaching.
TURN FROM EVIL, DO GOOD.
Nitai HaArbeli begins: "Distance yourself from a bad neighbor and do not join with an evil person." The underlying assumption in this statement is that human nature is profoundly good. That's why the main thing for moral and spiritual self-improvement is withdrawal from negative influences. Avoiding the negative, including the negative impulse within your own being,3 clears the path for our inherent goodness. By contrast, Yehoshua ben Perachiyah, in the previous Mishnah, emphasized the positive: "Make yourself a rabbi and acquire a friend." He felt one's primary focus should be to surround oneself with positive influences. He agrees with the essential goodness of man, and that "evil" is only caused by the environment one is raised in, but that it's not enough to clear out the "thorns and thistles" of negative influences and impulses. One has to create and nurture a counterforce, an impulse for good -- a habit-reinforced instinct to do good -- to repulse the impulse to do bad.
King David wrote: "Turn away from evil and do good." (Psalms 34:15, 37:17). This would seem to support the view of Nitai HaArbeli: first one has to "turn away from evil" and then "do good." However, the Chidushei HaRim, a great Chassidic master, interpreted this verse in a novel way. He said: "How does one turn away from evil? By doing good." In other words, sometimes by focusing so much on the negative one can get bogged down in it. It's like a person kicking mud to this side and that but never getting out of the mud. Therefore, don't necessarily wait to rid yourself of evil before pursuing good. Do the good, bypass the evil temporarily, and deal with it at a later date after you've built up a momentum for the good.
Nevertheless, Nitai HaArbeli thinks otherwise. In the Talmud one who tries to do something good without first ridding himself of the evil is likened to a person immersing in a ritual bath (to cleanse himself of spiritual impurity) while holding a rodent (something that causes spiritual impurity). Doing good without first ridding oneself of the bad inhibits the most important tool in the struggle to attain spiritual excellence and wholeness: the inherent good of the soul, the "Divine Image" in which we are all made. By emphasizing avoidance of the negative, he demonstrates his great faith in the natural goodness of the soul and its ability to carry the person to the heights of moral and spiritual greatness.4
Con't. P.II (next->)