Jewish Temperament

According to Chassidus, each of the four temperaments can be described entirely with a single overarching term, which for the Guardian is contraction. As such, when we dig deeper into the Guardian’s personality, we discover that this specific term describes its every aspect. The many aspects of personality are divided in Chassidus into three primary categories; those being intellect, personal disposition (i.e., with regard to oneself), and relational disposition (i.e., in the context of others). So, in short, if we were to categorize the Guardian, we would find that his intellect, personal disposition, and relational disposition are all contractive.

The Guardian’s intellect is Binah — contractive intellect. Binah starts with an existing entity, which it breaks down into a multitude of small fragments. Binah sets the boundaries to the reach of an idea, determining where the idea applies, and where the idea doesn’t apply. In attempting to understand the forest, Binah inspects it tree by tree, until the entire vastness of the forest is documented. Binah, when separated from intellectual pursuits, describes what Keirsey calls logistical intellect, that is, intellect of organization: “Guardians can be enormously creative in seeing to it that the right people have the right supplies in the right place at the right time to get the job done.”

The Guardian’s personal emotion is Gevurah — contractive personal disposition. With Gevurah we try as much as possible to limit the attention we call to our individuality, with less and less need to creatively reform ourselves or our surroundings. Because Guardians are so defined by their Gevurah, they try not to make a splash, preferring to leave things just the way they were yesterday. Guardians want to know that they are safe in every way, and that everything is in its proper place, lest something suddenly blow up in their face. In this way, Guardians are consistently concerned, about their health, their families or jobs, community standards; anything that has a possibility of deteriorating into something uncomfortable, and even worse — dangerous. Guardians therefore respect authority unquestioningly, and in most cases act themselves as the pillars of society, ever mindful to uphold its standards and values.

The Guardian’s relational emotion is Hod — contractive relational disposition. Being that it is contraction within the context of others, Hod loses much of the intensity of Gevurah, instead becoming submissive. This quality brings humility, gratitude, and socialness. Because of Hod, Guardians pride themselves in being dependable, consistently coming through for others. Guardians like to ensure they belong to a community, a society, or an institution, in which they can lend a helping hand to those in need. Guardians are considered to be the most sociable of all the temperaments, always willing to go the extra mile for a friend, without so much as a mention of the discomfort it might cause them.

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The Guardian in Judaism

Hero: Yitzchak Avinu

Symbol on the Merkavah: Ox

Davening Meditation: During davening, the Guardian meditates on the perfect state of G-d’s spirituality and how the Neshama was at one time unified with that perfection. When we reflect upon how far the Neshama has fallen and its inability to touch G-dliness, we are awakened with a sense of yearning, thirst, and urgency to bring our Neshama back to its origins. This meditation inspires us to be as unified with G-d as we can on this earth, through learning Torah and accomplishing mitzvos, aware of our humble state and submitted to G-d’s will.

Divine Purpose: The Guardian is best at humble servitude. The famous terms eved Hashem (servant of G-d) and kabolas ol (accepting the “yoke” of G-d’s work), describe the Guardian’s role perfectly. Guardians set the standard for proper behavior, they keep it and enforce it religiously. The Guardian views life as a ladder; we start at the bottom rung and work our way up step by step, slowly but surely. The more Divine work the Guardian humbly accepts upon himself, the more worthy and deserving he becomes. The more mitzvos the Guardian accomplishes, the more Torah he learns, the closer becomes to G-d. And it doesn’t stop with the Guardian himself, but the Guardian teaches others the proper way, and raises them up step by step as well, transforming them into better people and bringing them closer to G-d.

Learning Torah through remez: what this piece of information teaches us about other information. Guardians like the practical parts of the Torah, including halachah, mishnayos, history, aggadah, and midrash. Many Guardians are especially fond of gematriot and other hidden associations. Due to their general tendency to follow rules, Guardians are especially diligent in their studies. As a result, Guardians can become very well-versed and knowledgable, retaining a lot of the information they learn. The method of the Guardian is to understand all the little bits and pieces until they’ve gathered all the information on the subject. Consequently, they ask questions, sometimes sharp and precise, to uncover the relationships between different laws or facts, and to determine when multiple facts or laws contradict or coincide. Guardians are generally able to resolve philosophical ideas (e.g. R’ Chaim Brisker’s method in Gemara) mainly through kabolas ol, and only when they are told the ideas. However, a thorough and intuitive comprehension of philosophical ideas and arguments does not come naturally to the Guardian.

Vocation: Much of Judaism is about following rules, and that’s right up the Guardian’s alley. Diligent Guardians who have had successful years in Yeshiva might stay in education, especially becoming a menahel, mashgiach (dean or principle), or even doing office work. Many Guardians continue active learning in kolel, as an elementary-school teacher, maggid shiur, or even as a rosh yeshiva. Guardians who become teachers generally excel at keeping their charges disciplined and focus on integrating students successfully into a functioning society.
Guardians do want security, though, especially financial security, which leads many Guardians to go into business, specifically in office work and clerical jobs (records, inventory, accounting, etc). Many Guardians will become bankers, managers, executives, brokers, and so on. Being financially secure is especially good for the Guardian’s mental and emotional well-being, and it also feeds into their desire to be beneficent, helping others as much as they can.
Shlichus (or kiruv) can be a good opportunity for anyone, Guardians included. However, when establishing a new institution in a new place, beware of the first few years, during which Guardians have an especially difficult and stressful experience: being away from family, friends, and community; having zero financial security (which doesn’t mean money available rather a reliable income); and uncertainty in the future. It is significantly less stressful for the Guardian to accept a position within an existing and established institution, maybe a desk or teaching job, receiving a regular check.