Jewish Temperament

The Menorah

by Zalman

This week’s parsha, Beha’alotecha, opens with the command to Aharon:

בְּהַעֲלֹתְךָ אֶת הַנֵּרֹת, אֶל מוּל פְּנֵי הַמְּנוֹרָה יָאִירוּ שִׁבְעַת הַנֵּרוֹת
When you “lift” the lights of the Menorah, the seven lights should shine in the direction of the middle branch.

The Alter Rebbe explains in Likutei Torah that the Menorah represents the Jewish People, as expressed in their mission: to bring G-d’s light into this world. Consequently, the seven lights represent seven ways the Jewish People bring light into the world. Not surprisingly, the seven ways also correspond to the seven emotional Sefirot, from Chessed to Malchus. The seven methods to bring G-d into this world:

Chessed is the path of love and generosity. With Chessed, we learn to appreciate the wonders of the stimulating world around us. We come to recognize its Creator and attempt to become closer to Him. We spread His light generously to everybody and anybody who might be impacted by it. And we show people the excitement of living a higher life.

Gevurah is the path of intensity. In this path, we come to revere and respect the Creator of our awe-inspiring universe. We grow little by little, we take step after step, to become a more worthy and deserving recipient of G-d’s light. We are exacting in our performance of our duties and we influence others to become better as well.

Tiferes is the path of simplicity. Those who follow this path bring light primarily by studying Torah assiduously. We recognize the great gift G-d gave us in the form of the Torah, we realize how unified we can be with G-d through its study, and we try to ensure that others are learning Torah as well.

Netzach is the path of perseverance. In this path, we firmly resolve to spread G-dliness in the world, and we see it through to the end. We dig deep into our energy reserves, and there is not a single obstacle, even in this mundane world, that can stop us.

Hod is the path of submission. The followers of this path submit wholly to G-d, much like a servant to a master. We relinquish all of our wills and desires we may have, and trust completely in G-d, in the same manner that we fulfill His wishes to the fullest.

Yesod is the path of harmony. In this path, we bring harmony to heaven and earth, to the mundane and G-dly. We don’t view the world as an obstacle to G-d’s plan, rather the fulfillment of it, through revealing His presence within the physical. We draw from the power of the Torah, and apply it to the seeming lowliness of the world, to create a new phenomena: a world that reveals G-d.

Malchus is the path of pride. In this path, we realize that we are G-d’s children, and as such, we are royalty. We recognize that as princes, we must behave as befits people of our stature. We use our position to influence others positively, yet we employ calm and reasoned methods so that our words are received properly.

The Rebbe zy”a in Likutei Sichos emphasizes that although there are great differences between the seven paths, they all share the same purpose: to bring G-d’s light into the world. We are “workers of light”, and we must never forget our purpose.

June 8, 2012

Priestly Blessings

by Zalman

In this week’s Parsha, Naso, we learn about the ברכת כהנים, the priestly blessings. Traditionally, the priests are instructed to bless the Jewish People daily. Nowadays this generally occurs on holidays. The priestly blessings include three specific blessings:

יְבָרֶכְךָ ה’ וְיִשְׁמְרֶךָ — May G-d bless you and protect you.
יָאֵר ה’ פָּנָיו אֵלֶיךָ וִיחֻנֶּךָּ — May G-d shine His countenance toward you and favor you.
יִשָּׂא ה’ פָּנָיו אֵלֶיךָ וְיָשֵׂם לְךָ שָׁלוֹם — May G-d lift His countenance toward you and grant you peace.

The בעל הטורים, a commentary on the Torah, correlates these three blessings to the forefathers: Avraham, Yitzchak, and Yaakov. It becomes clear, then, that these three blessings are also related to temperament.

The first blessing is the blessing of Avraham, the Artisan. It says in the verse “וה’ ברך את אברהם בכל” — G-d blessed Avraham with everything. In a similar vein, the commentaries explain that the first blessing, יברכך, refers to acquiring — and retaining — physical possessions.
Artisans, concrete as they are, seek physical stimulation in all things. Artisans have a tendency to acquire tangible things they can touch, feel, smell, taste. To an Artisan, the more they have, the more they own, the more they can touch, the bigger their world is. In Sefirot as well, the Artisan sits on the right path, the path of expansion, expanding their world at an ever-increasing pace.
In the first blessing of the priestly blessings, we receive the ability to influence as many physical items as possible, connecting them to G-d and imbuing them with G-d’s presence.

The second blessing is that of Yitzchak, the Guardian. A little known story about Yitzchak is that when he was being sacrificed by his father on the altar, his soul departed from the sheer trauma of the event. G-d had to bring the “shine” back to his eyes, bring his life back to him, so he could continue his mission in the world. That is the reference in the second blessing of G-d’s countenance “shining” toward us. On a more practical level, the commentaries explain, the second blessing alludes to spiritual growth, represented by both the “shining” light as well as “favor” mentioned in the blessing.
Guardians, explains Keirsey, have naturally low self-confidence. Fitting cleanly with the left path of the Sefirot, they don’t feel like they are very deserving without actually earning it. Many Guardians, in fact, would much rather begin at the bottom rung than at the top rung, if only to be able to climb the ladder and personally attain a level of authority and respectability. To a Guardian, self-worth is a life-long Avodah (labor), becoming ever-more respectable with their hard work.
In the second blessing, we receive the blessing of the Guardian: a life-long personal and spiritual ascent toward becoming more and more deserving of G-d’s countenance and His favor.

The third blessing belongs to Yaakov, the Idealist. Just as it says in the blessing that G-d will “lift His countenance”, so is the expression used that Yaakov “lifted his feet” to travel to his uncle. In the third blessing, we ask G-d to reach higher than even His name, to draw down the greatest blessing of all: peace. In fact, Rashi states that Yaakov specifically requested this particular blessing, after a lifetime of struggles, asking G-d for tranquility.
Keirsey calls Idealists “harmonizers”. Interestingly, Idealists live a most struggling life, always trying to bridge the gap between the way they perceive themselves and their need to be authentic. Idealists often berate themselves for negative thoughts and feelings they might have toward others, and in fact, feel pain whenever and wherever cruelty is to be found. If an Idealist were to be given a single wish that they could make come true, they would almost certainly wish for peace.
With the third blessing, we receive the ability to harmonize; for ourselves, for our families and friends, and peace and harmony for the world over. And as harmony goes, we need to reach deeper than the two sides to bring them peace. In the case of the priestly blessings, in order to bring harmony between the first blessing — physical possessions, and the second blessing — the spirituality of G-d’s countenance, we must reach even deeper than spirituality, into G-d Himself, to achieve true peace and harmony. And in Avodah, this refers to studying Torah, the harbinger of peace, along with the G-dly teachings of Chassidus.

And what of the Rational‘s blessing? Well, what do you think? Offer your thoughts in the comments.

June 7, 2012

Jewish Temperament Theory

by Zalman

Over the past century, as the fields of the behavioral sciences exploded in breadth and reach, there has been a relatively quiet revolution growing parallel. The underlying premise behind this revolution is that there are a specific number of personality types, and every person is born to be a single type. Once we understand which type a given person is, most, if not all, of his behaviors, attitudes, and even thinking methods, can be explained by his temperament, and at times even anticipated.

This is the study of human temperament.

Loosely speaking, this revolution was widely popularized by Isabel Briggs-Myers’ Myers-Briggs Type Indicator. Once it was published, people the world over were clamoring to find out “who they were”. More recently, Myers’ work was brought to a completely new level, in structure and application, by a preeminent psychologist, David Keirsey. In his book, Please Understand Me II, Keirsey not only polished the theory and made it more understandable and accessible, he also made it more scientific. While Myers had 16 types, Keirsey divided them into 4 basic types. While Myers based her Indicator on the theoretical work of Carl Jung, Keirsey based his work on 60+ years of observing people. While Myers tried to deduce thought and emotion, Keirsey established observable phenomena. And, most importantly, while Myers’ types fluctuate in their applicability, Keirsey’s remain consistent throughout the spectrum.

After studying the work of Dr. Keirsey, it becomes eminently apparent that the ideas he lays forth are to be found within the depth of Chassidic wisdom. Here, we will attempt to uncover many of the relationships between sage Chassidic teachings and modern-day personology.

It starts with the four temperaments: Artisan, Guardian, Idealist, and Rational. Each of these types are extremely different in every aspect of personality, from intellect to language; from interests to orientation; from self-image to values. We will explore the four types in depth, but for now, let’s suffice with a short list of descriptive words for each.
The Artisan is described by Keirsey as being tactical, optimistic, artistic, audacious, excited, impulsive, and generous.
The Guardian is considered logistical, dependable, beneficent, respectable, concerned, authoritative, and grateful.
The Idealist is diplomatic, mystical, empathic, benevolent, authentic, enthusiastic, intuitive, and romantic.
Finally, the Rational is strategic, pragmatic, relativistic, ingenious, autonomous, purposeful, resolute, calm, and abstract.

Chassidic doctrine is punctuated by Kabbalah’s famous 10 Sefirot, from Chochmah to Malchus. However, if we were to compact the sefirot into what are called kavim, or paths, we would discover that there are but four general categories:
The right path, expansion, represented by Chochmah, Chessed, and Netzach.
The left path, contraction, represented by Binah, Gevurah, and Hod.
The center path, unification, represented by the Da’as, Tiferes, and Yesod.
Malchus, abstraction, also in the center, without its own distinct qualities to speak of.

When viewing the Sefirot in this light, the correlations become obvious (compare the following terms with those describing the temperaments above):
The Artisan expands, like the right path of the spectrum, which include Chochmah (expansive intellect), Chessed (expansive personal disposition), and Netzach (expansive relational disposition). Some terms to describe these sefirot would be: creative, generous, optimistic, competitive, and audacious.
The Guardian contracts, representing the left path of the Sefirot, which include Binah (contractive intellect), Gevurah (contractive personal disposition), and Hod (contractive relational disposition). Words that describe these sefirot might include: logistical, respectable, concerned, beneficent, and grateful.
The Idealist, representing the center path, unifies with Da’as (unifying intellect), Tiferes (unifying personal disposition), Yesod (unifying relational disposition). These sefirot may be described with words like: intuitive, mystical, kind, empathic, and romantic.
The Rational represents Malchus, which is not as much a path as it is a single abstract point. Malchus also represents expression, primarily through speech, and can be described with words such as: abstract, purposeful, and relativistic.

It can be seen, then, that with Chassidus, we have a wealth of relevant information on personology that we may not have seen before. Everything described here is yet brief. And as we explore these themes even more in depth, we find more and more correlations between Chassidic teachings and the modern understanding of temperament. Not only that, but Chassidus also adds a level of purpose and meaning to an otherwise dry, if accurate, study of personality. With Chassidus we understand the purpose of knowing ourselves, and the consequent self-improvement journey we should embark on once we find out.