Other than the very best and worst of us, we humans are morally, psychologically, and existentially complex and incongruous beings. But given that “the imaginings of a man\u2019s heart are wrongful from his youth” (Genesis 8:21) along with the fact that \u201cGod created man in His image\u201d (Genesis 1:27) and that \u201cGod the Lord (Himself)\u2026 breathed into his nostrils the soul of life\u201d (Genesis 2:7), our complexity is understandable [1].<\/p>\n
Our complexity could also be said to be the natural course of things, given that \u201cGod saw all that He had made,\u201d when He created the whole of the universe, and He determined that \u201cbehold it was very good\u201d en toto<\/em>, notwithstanding — or perhaps for the reason that — the day and life itself was comprised of both \u201cevening and\u2026 morning\u201d, light and darkness, good and evil (Genesis 1:31).<\/p>\n In any event, we\u2019re taught that our goodness is a product of the promptings of our yetzer hatov<\/em>, while our wrongfulness comes from the promptings of our yetzer harah<\/em> [2]. \u00a0And while the yetzer harah<\/em> is inborn, the yetzer hatov<\/em> doesn\u2019t take effect until one is of bar- or bat-mitzvah age and thus more mature and reflective [3]. Don\u2019t make the mistake of assuming that the yetzer harah<\/em> is all wrong, though; it\u2019s in fact a \u201cnecessary evil\u201d for without it much good wouldn\u2019t come about [4].<\/p>\n We\u2019ll see next what Ramchal adds to that.<\/p>\n Notes:<\/p>\n [1]\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 In fact, it\u2019s those very best and worst of us we\u2019d spoken of who are harder to explain, other than to depict the worst of us as aberrations and the best of us as exceptions.<\/p>\n [2]\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 See Berachot<\/em> 61a.<\/p>\n [3]\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Kohelet Rabbah<\/em> 9:14.<\/p>\n [4]\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 See Breishit Rabbah<\/em> 9:9.<\/p>\n (c) 2011 Rabbi Yaakov Feldman<\/p>\n Feel free to contact me at feldman@torah.org<\/a><\/p>\n ———————————————————-<\/p>\n AT LONG LAST! Rabbi Feldman’s translation of Maimonides’ “Eight Chapters” is available here<\/a> at a discount.<\/p>\n You can still purchase a copy of Rabbi Feldman’s translation of “The Gates of Repentance” here<\/a> at a discount as well.<\/p>\n Rabbi Yaakov Feldman has also translated and commented upon “The Path of the Just” and “The Duties of the Heart” (Jason Aronson Publishers).<\/p>\n Rabbi Feldman also offers two free e-mail classes on www.torah.org entitled “Spiritual Excellence<\/a>\u201d and \u201cRamchal<\/a>\u201d.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Other than the very best and worst of us, we humans are morally, psychologically, and existentially complex and incongruous beings. But given that “the imaginings of a man\u2019s heart are wrongful from his youth” (Genesis 8:21) along with the fact … Continue reading