Home Page -Foreword - Introduction - One
The Commitment at Birth - Two The Role of Shabbos - Three The Tzadik - Four Humanity’s Five Categories - Five Body Versus Soul - Six The Body Can Complement The Soul - Seven The Soul and Body of a Tzadik Eight The Five Parts of the Soul - Nine The Image of God
Ten to Twenty Six – NOT ON THE WEB YET.
Lesson Four
Humanity’s Five Categories
There are five types of individuals within
mankind.
Tzadik
Gamur, a total Tzadik, lacks an
evil inclination. The part of the
personality that is usually expressed as a drive for physical urges and evil
behaviors has been transformed[1]
and it now only seeks virtue.
Tzadikim called malakhim, angels, belong to this group because the Tzadik Gamur is as dedicated as an
angel. Celestial beings do not have an urge to violate God’s commands. A Tzadik
Gamur also has no urge for sin. In
the final prophetic work, Malachi
wrote, “Siftey kohen yishmaru daas
vitorah yivakshu mipihu ki Malakh Hashem Tzivakos hu”[2](“The
lips of the Kohen preserve wisdom and Torah is sought from his mouth for he is
a Malakh- an angel - of the God of
Hosts”.) Literally, Malakh means a messenger.
We are all God’s messengers, sent to accomplish the mission of living a
life with God, observing His commandments, learning His Torah, and thus
sanctifying His world.[3] Unfortunately, we too often ignore our
calling. A true Tzadik lives with a constant awareness of mission, as a result Malachi named him a Malakh, a constant Messenger.[4]
Tzadik Sheeno Gamur, an imperfect Tzadik, is primarily attracted to
morality. He also possesses a weak drive for evil and sin. His desire for the holy is supreme and he
consistently chooses virtue. Since
within his heart the advocate for holiness is loudest it is said to rule over
the evil inclination. Such an
individual is also called Tzadik vira lo,
a Tzadik whom evil is his, (literally
a Tzadik who suffers),[5]
he has some rah, evil, but lo, it is his since he controls it.
A Beinoni, a middle of the road type, is
drawn equally to the ungodly and the Heavenly yet never follows the call of evil. Externally, he is perfect for all his deeds
are Mitzvos. Internally, this man’s
body is a battleground with two forces, one angelic the other demonic,
wrestling for supremacy. With the help
of God and his own efforts he always acts with virtue.[6] While he may succeed in overcoming
lowliness, he is constantly aware that the physical within is a sleeping giant,
primed to arise with virulent intensity.
The Beinoni’s task is to
remain vigilant and avoid complacency. He is called “Oveid Hashem” “The one who works for God” and not “Eved Hashem”
“The Servant of God” since he is in the throes of a struggle and has not fully
achieved spiritual heights in a permanent manner.[7]
Then there
are two types of Rishoim - evil
doers. Rasha vitov lo, is a sinner, who due to sins he has committed has
enhanced his lust for physical pleasures.
Materialism is more enticing for him than the moral, but he maintains a
residual advocate for holiness. As with
the Beinoni his inner life is a
combat area with two armies battling over the small city (his body). Most of his deeds and desires are sinful,
yet the good advocate inevitably resurfaces for a moment and causes regret for
the misdeed, and his life is filled with guilt. This class contains most of mankind.[8]
Rasha vira lo, or Rasha Gamur, is the polar opposite of a Tzadik Gammur, he is all bad with no desire to perform good deeds.[9] Hitler, may his name be obliterated, was
part of this class. He had no regrets
or contrition for his misdeeds.
Apparently, he obliterated his inner advocate for good. The ancient king Pharoh of Egypt was also
such a villain, as a result of his many decisions to adopt evil behaviors God
punished him with forfeiture of his innate advocate for the holy, essentially
he lost the ability to do good.[10]
Now it may be understood why Rabbah called
himself a Beinoni. Rabbah constantly performed Mitzvos yet he
claimed that his essential core, his desires, still needed refinement. Abaye argued that Rabbah’s remarkable
achievements indicated a magnificent internal state and Rabbah had little (Tzadik Sheeno Gamur) or no (Tzadik Gamur) desire for evil.
Ramifications of the Different Levels of Virtue
Every Jew
can reach the level of Beinoni. God has given man free choice. While our physical nature pulls us to
laziness, haughtiness, anger, and desire we can overcome these vices. We personally, may not reach a point where
we emotionally abhor evil, but we can reach a level of perfection in deed.[11]
Consideration of the meaning of the Beinoni concept can serve as a source of
succor and support. We should never
feel guilty about harboring desires for evil or lusts after temptation. We may have been created with the potential
of a Beinoni and do not have an
innate ability to reach the level of a Tzadik,
who is not even attracted to misdeed.
Man’s purpose is to provide pleasure to the Divine through living a life
of Torah. God may not want of us to be
a Tzadik. He might desire that we serve Him in the context of battle. This service may be even more beloved to Him
than the service of a Tzadik for it
entails effort.
It is
important for all to study the characteristics and nature of a Tzadik since there are moments when a Beinoni can temporarily become a Tzadik, such as, when overcome with love
towards God. If we think about the
awesome size of the universe, when we focus and repeatedly meditate about the
wisdom of the microscopic creations and how they were all created for our
enjoyment, a passionate love of the Creator will fill our heart. At the height of passion, we may reach the
level of Tzadik. The material is repulsive, God’s infinite
love and generosity fill us with a burning passion to come close to Him, to
cleave to Him and feel Him in every fiber of our being.
Tzadikhood
is also relevant due to ibbur neshama,
soul impregnation, which occurred to Pinchas. According to the Zohar, the Bible’s Pinchas was impregnated
with the souls of Nadav and Avihu[12]
as a reward for his bravery that saved the Jewish nation. The Torah, therefore describes him as “Pinhas ben Elazar, ben Ahron hakohen.”
The seemingly misplaced comma after the word Elazar indicates that
Pinchas was the son of Elazar by virtue of his own soul and also the son of
Ahron the High Priest due to the souls of Nadav and Avihu (Ahron’s sons who had
died earlier) that had entered his body. [13]
The
Talmud’s lesson[14] about the
prenatal oath is understandable in light of the different spiritual levels of
the Tzadik, Beinoni, and Rasha. The commitment of the young soul to be a Tzadik, is to strive towards the
internal wholeness of the Tzadik Gamur. “Even if the entire world calls you a Tzadik, see yourself as a if you were a Rasha” means that one should never
assume that they have reached the level of Tzadik. Even when every act, feeling, and thought,
is pure, see yourself as a Beinoni,
with lusts and desires as virulent as those of a Rasha, and this way you see yourself “as if” you were evil but not
actually a Rasha. This perspective
will ensure that you do not grow complacent or arrogant, while allowing you to
maintain a healthy self esteem.
To
discover the route to fulfillment of the pre-natal oath we must study the Godly
and physical souls within man.
Home Page -Foreword - Introduction - One
The Commitment at Birth - Two The Role
of Shabbos - Three The Tzadik - Four Humanity’s Five Categories - Five Body Versus Soul - Six The Body Can Complement The Soul - Seven The Soul and Body of a Tzadik Eight The Five Parts of the Soul - Nine The Image of God
Ten to Twenty Six – NOT ON THE WEB YET.
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[1] As King David said “Libi challal bikirby” “My Heart is empty within me.” David was saying that he had successfully emptied the stone part of his heart. The desire for sin, that is unfeeling of the spiritual, is referred to in the Talmud as the stone heart.
[2] Malachi 2
[3] C.f. Sfas Emes to parshas Shelach (5631)
[4] R. Tzadok Hakohen of Lublin, Sikhas Malakhey Hashareis, p.5
[5] The reason why in this world such a Tzadik might suffer is due to the fact that his essence is not fully pure; there is still some evil that he harbors within.
[6] According to the Tanya the primary way to succeed in this struggle is by means of love for God. In his system, true love of God can only emerge from intellectual inquiry in the mind. Think about the greatness of God, consider how relative to God nothing exists, realize that God is the source for your life. These meditations will give birth to love God. (Tanya chapter 13). The Tanya also describes other methods by which one can become a Beinoni. R. Tzadok Hakohen in Sichas Malakhey Hashareis, pg. 7-8 explains that virtue can succeed to gain the upper hand, by means of shame in the presence of God. Internalize an awareness of constantly standing before the Infinite. This attitude causes one to be ashamed of sin and a devotee of the internal voice for Mitzvah.
[7] Tanya Chapter 15
[8] Tanya Chapter 11
[9] Tanya end of Chapter eleven.
[10] Maimonides, Laws of Return 6:3
[11] Tanya Chapter 14
[12] Zohar parshas Pinchas page 213b, see also the writings of the Ari, Shaar Hagilgulim Hakdama 32 that Pinchas really had four different souls within him, he was born with one soul, then he received the soul of Nadav and Avihu, later on he received the soul of Eliyahu Hatishbi, and the soul of Eliyah from Binyamin.
[13] Another example of ibbur neshama is found in the writings of the Meor Enayim (Rabbi Menachem Nachum Twersky of Chernobyl, 1730-1797).
The Meor Enayim explained that the reason why there is a powerful urge to share good news is ibbur neshama. At the moment when one brings good tidings, the soul of Elijah the prophet, the Mevaser Tov, the person who will bring the news of the ultimate redemption, enters into one’s soul.
Using this principle one can understand why Serach Bas Asher was counted as two individuals in the count of the members of Jacob’s family that went down to Egypt (see Midrash Rabba on parshas Vayigash, 94:9). Since she brought the good news of Joseph’s survival to Jacob she had two souls, her own and the soul of Elijah, two souls cause her to be counted as two. Perhaps it was this soul of Elijah within her that caused her to enter Heaven alive as Elijah did. (The Targum Yonatan, parshas Vayigash, writes that Serach entered Heaven while still alive.)
Serach’s added soul teaches an important lesson about exile. Exile is not a permanent state. At the onset of Jewish subjugation a member of the community harbored the soul of Eliyahu the harbinger of redemption. Thus the light of redemption started to glow with the beginning of exile to comfort the Jews and inform them that their salvation was already set in place and it only had to be activated. The full spelling of the letters of Serach’s name Sin, yud, nun, + resh, yud, shin, +ches, yud, taf, yields the same gimmatriah value (1288) as the phrase “Yitaka bishofar gadol uvau haovdim” “(On that day) It (the ultimate redemption) will be heralded through a great shofar and the lost ones will come (to God’s home in Jerusalem).” This correlation further indicates that Serach had the soul of Eliyahu who like the great shofar sounds the call of the ultimate return to Israel. (Emunas Etecha, Parshas Vayigash, 5756)
[14] Tractate Niddah page 30b