Some years ago, there was a person who got quite irritated with me for trying to view other people and situations in a positive light.
Knowing that the only way to prove their point to me was by quoting Torah, chapter and verse, the individual triumphantly quoted the below verse, thinking that I was checkmated.
After G-d had destroyed the world by bringing a flood, leaving only Noach and his immediate family alive, Hashem reassured Noach that this was not going to ever repeat itself.
God said to Himself, " I will never again curse the soil because of humanity, for the inclination of a person's heart is evil from his youth, (i.e., from birth). Never again will I strike down all life as I have done.
In other words, since Almighty G-d placed evil in the heart of humans in the first place, He won’t use it as a reason to bring decimation to the world.
As I was reading the above verse in this week’s Torah parsha Noach I imagined hearing my friend's voice (who has since passed away) reverberating from Heaven.
‘You see, I am right! Man is evil from birth. It’s an uphill battle for humans to act correctly and kindly. Rabbi Kantor stop being such a believer in the innate goodness of others’.
I was never so happy to have the Kehot Interpolated Translation of the Torah as I was when I came to this verse.
Based on Rashi’s commentary the verse reads a few words differently.
for the inclination of a person's heart is challenged by his evil inclination from his earliest youth, i.e., from birth.
These words of interpretation ‘challenged by his evil inclination’ - presented by the foremost Torah commentary Rashi - are not more than a few words in quantity, yet they speak volumes in terms of our approach to human nature. They frame the Torah psychological outlook in the clearest manner. The practical implications are transformative.
Here is what I mean.
People, especially in their younger years, sometimes ask themselves, ‘Am I evil if I have thoughts and urges to do something immoral?’
The answer is:
No.
An emphatic NO.
You are human.
There is a fascinating story told about Rabbi Chaim of Sanz (Polish chassidic master, 1793–1876) that makes this point.
Rabbi Chaim once sought an honest man in the marketplace. First he stopped Yossel and asked, “Yossel! If you found a wallet on the street, what would you do?”
“Of course, I would return it to its owner!” replied Yossel.
“Yossel, you are a fool!” exclaimed the rabbi. “Now stay here.”
And the rabbi called over another man.
“Feivel, if you found a wallet on the street, what would you do?”
“Rabbi, you know me,” answered Feivel. “I would probably keep it for myself. I need the money badly, and I’m not such a good Jew.”
“Feivel, you must repent! In the meantime, stand here!”
And he called over another man.
“Laibel, if you found a wallet on the street, what would you do?”
Laibel began to tremble.
“Answer me, Laibel, what would you do?”
“Rabbi,” Laibel spoke, his eyes to the ground, “I really don’t know what I would do! I don’t know who would win inside me, my yetzer tov (good inclination) or my yetzer hara (evil inclination)!”
“Laibel,” the rabbi replied, “you are an honest man!”
My dear friend, this is a story from the past, let me ask you honestly, in your very own contemporary life. Have you ever had such a moment?
When you knew in your mind what was right, yet in your heart you were pulled in a different direction?
These scenarios are probably not foreign to you.
Like the fellow who enters the bakery and is asked by the salesperson ‘what would you like’? The hungry man eyes the cream puffs and donuts eagerly and says I’d love these calorie laden choices but will take a low fat rye bread please’.
The wisdom of experience helps us identify the various voices within us.
Just because we are pulled in a particular direction does not mean we are defined by that urge.
What one needs to know, and we need to share this over and over with the younger generation.
At your core you are good. You are created in the Divine Image.
‘So why is it that I am tempted to do the wrong things and sometimes I act on those temptations’ you ask?
G-d has already answered that for us.
The inclination and urge to do something wrong is implanted by G-d into the human being precisely for the challenge that it provides.
And every person is given a ‘challenge’ commensurate with what it takes to make choosing G-d a struggle.
Our sages said it, “whoever has a greater ‘good inclination’, is given a more potent ‘evil inclination’”
Growing up ‘down under’ in Australia ‘horse racing’ was a topic we heard about. There was no way you could avoid it. Melbourne Cup Day is a major public holiday centered around a 3,200 meter handicap race for the top horses. As a child I wanted to understand what the word handicap meant in horse races. The riders and the horses all looked perfectly fit and in shape. Who was handicapped.
It was explained to me that this is what handicap means in the context of horse racing.
Every horse is born with a certain level of stamina, strength, agility and speed. If you figure out which horse is stronger you can predict the winner. The whole fun and uncertainty of the race is lost.
Here is where a handicap is introduced. If a horse is really strong, he is given additional weight to carry to try and even out the racing abilities of the horses. When the race is more balanced, the outcome is no longer predictable. It now becomes exciting and compelling to watch the race. Who will win?
We are created by G-d with a mandate to serve Him.
Hashem wants us to put forth effort.
If one is created with a very strong inclination to be a ‘goody goody’ then the outcome of them living a good life and choosing the right thing is almost predictable. For this very reason the naturally born saint cannot really get credit for living a well balanced life, that is the way he or she was created.
Hashem judges us based on effort.
This is why Hashem inserts a challenge. An inner voice that tries to woo the person away from the proper path.
No, Hashem doesn’t want us to stumble, G-d forbid. Hashem wants us to put forth effort. For our own benefit. To overcome the challenges and thus show our inner strength. To taste and savor the sweet taste of success.
Another poignant analogy from horse racing is the hurdles along the way. The hurdles of various heights and depth that the horse jumps over are not to make it fall or trip, rather to make it gather up strength and jump higher than it would usually have jumped.
We all pray that we should be spared real temptation and challenge. It would be great to expend all of our energy only on climbing higher and higher in our quest to serve Hashem.
Yet, when one does hit a bump in the road, when there is a hurdle in front of you that looks insurmountable, remember that if Hashem gave you extra weight to carry, or something you must jump over, He also gave you the ability to do so.
This is the way I wish it always worked. But I want to address the times when it doesn’t seem to work so neatly.
I want to speak to the person who is reading these words and thinking:
"Rabbi, it sounds beautiful. But I have been given hurdles that I simply cannot jump over. I have tried. I have struggled. And I have not succeeded."
To that person, I want to share something deeply moving from a letter of the Rebbe.
The Rebbe addresses a situation in which a Jew desperately wants to fulfill Hashem's will but finds himself in circumstances that make it impossible.
Not merely difficult.
Impossible.
There are things that are simply beyond human ability.
Like jumping from the ground to the roof.
The Rebbe pointed out that not only is that person not held guilty for failing to accomplish the impossible – if it was indeed beyond his control - but Hashem treasures his efforts in trying to fulfil the mitzvah and rewards the sincere desire to do His will.
Think about that.
The person did not clear the hurdle.
The obstacle remained.
The mitzvah was not performed.
Yet in Hashem's eyes, that person was not a failure.
Dear Friends,
We must always strive to do our very best. We should never underestimate the extraordinary strength that Hashem has placed within us.
But neither should we presume to know the limits of another person's strength.
And if someone has genuinely been given a burden beyond their capacity, Hashem knows that too.
He knows how hard they tried.
He knows the tears that nobody saw.
He knows the battles they fought, even when they did not emerge victorious.
And just as He does not judge a person for failing to accomplish what was truly beyond their ability, so should we not judge our fellow.
May Hashem bless each and every one of us with the sweetest challenges possible.
(Here is an example of what I mean. My brother-in-law married off two kids last year one week apart. He admitted that it was challenging and tiring and budget-draining. Yet he also shared that it was the greatest blessing in the world. He would repeat it gladly anytime).
And may Hashem bless us with the strength to keep moving forward, and above all, with a life of revealed goodness, kindness and blessing.
Shabbat Shalom!
Rabbi Yosef Kantor