Facts and their Interpretations

-

There are facts and there are interpretations of facts. We often confuse the two.  And the truth is that we interpret facts based on our own feelings.  The Torah teaches us a powerful message about this relating to the Great Flood.  Hashem decides to destroy the world with the exception of a family and one or seven pairs of each living species.  Then after the flood, when Noach brings offerings in gratitude to Hashem, He makes a covenant never again to destroy the entire world. 


What is uncanny is that the reason that Hashem used to destroy, is the same reason He made a covenant to never again destroy. The words in each case are almost identical.   (Genesis 6):


5 The Lord saw that the evil of man was great in the earth, and every imagination of his heart was only evil all the time.


Then in chapter 8, after the flood, Hashem states in the covenant:

 

21And the Lord smelled the pleasant aroma, and the Lord said to Himself, "I will no longer curse the earth because of man, for the imagination of man's heart is evil from his youth, and I will no longer smite all living things as I have done.

 

So which is it?  Is the evil imagination of humanity a reason to destroy or to swear never to destroy?  This is one of the messages we can learn from these passages. The fact is that humans have an evil inclination. The interpretation and outcome can go either way. 

 

Now it seems ridiculous to say that the Creator of everything changes His mind or somehow is affected by moods.  Chassidus explains that Hashem is infinite, and He envelops His light and the life-force that comes to the world in different “vessels.”  There is a vessel of Chesed - kindness, and a vessel of Gevurah - judgment. Before the Flood, there was judgment due to the complete corruption of the world. So the interpretation of humanity’s evil inclination was from that perspective; - there needs to be a clean slate and a new start. After the Flood, however, when humanity showed a different side that recognized Hashem’s sovereignty and brought offerings, the Divine light shone in the vessel of mercy. From that perspective, the evil inclination is a reason Hashem gives us a break. We sin because of our inclination, not because we are intrinsically evil.  Our essence is good. Notice that the first verse says “evil all the time.”  The later verse says, “evil from his youth.”  This is a recognition of the fact that our essence is part of Hashem and is therefore pure goodness. Evil is picked up as we navigate the pressures of the world. 

 

So next time someone does something that makes you mad or that you think is a bad thing, it is a good idea to stop and think:  Is this my interpretation?  Do I really know the other person’s intention?  Maybe the person is going whatever they are doing because of a completely different reason than I think. Nine times out of ten this will avoid conflict and hard feelings, and I bet that nine times out of ten the good interpretation will turn out to be true.


Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Breaking Ground

-
Image
“Ma Tovu Ohalecha Yaakov…” – How goodly are your tents, Jacob, your dwelling places, Israel.  These famous words are the evil prophet Bilaam’s reluctant blessing to the Jewish people.  There are several ways to explain his blessing.  He saw how the opening of the tents were placed so as to ensure privacy, and he was moved by the modesty that is one of the hallmarks of the Jewish people.  Another explanation is that he was foreseeing the synagogues and Torah study halls of the future.   I want to venture a guess that he would also be impressed by the way we open our homes to guests.  Hachnasat Orchim – bringing guests into the home –  is a value that we have going back to our forefather Avraham.  It is one of the pillars of the great Mitzvah of Gemilut Chasadim, acts of kindness.  Another crucial part of that Mitzvah is Bikur Cholim – visiting (or caring for) the sick.  How great is it then when both of these Mitzvot are bundled together! I am therefore gratified that this week, the wee
Read more

Sacrifice for Shabbat

-
  One of the things, our Sages said, that helped the Jews in Egypt merit the Exodus from Egypt, was Shabbat observance. This merit will also help bring the redemption from our current exile. In honor of the Parsha Vaera, where we read about the beginning of the process of redemption, I would like to reprint a story that was published today by Rabbi Mordechai Lipskier.  He wrote that he heard the story from Rabbi Moshe Raitport, who heard it first hand. A few years ago, a woman called the Shomrei Hadas Funeral Chapels in Brooklyn to arrange her husband’s funeral. “Before going ahead with the arrangements, I have a request to make. May I tell you a story?” This woman had gotten married in the early 1940s in Brooklyn. It was difficult for a Shabbat observer to hold down a job, so like many other Jews, her husband was pink-slipped from one job after the next. (They would often take a job on Monday, and when they refused to come on Shabbat, they were fired.) Their struggle worsened as the f
Read more

All’s Well That Ends Well

-
  I was in New York for almost a week, for the annual Chabad emissary convention.  The energy was amazing.  The power of unity was palpable, as Rabbis from around the world shared the incredible outpouring of support for Israel that we are experiencing among the entire spectrum of our people.  (Over 1,000 Rabbis joined via live telecast from Israel, because they did not want to leave their posts.)   Together we mourned our brothers and sisters who were so brutally murdered, injured and captured by our enemies.  Together we prayed and resolved to encourage each other and Jews around the world to stand strong and proud, to defy all our enemies and continue to build Judaism and Jewish life.  Together we honored our heroic soldiers who are literally giving their lives to protect our people, and together we committed to support our people in Israel and around the world with all the power that the Rebbe vested in us, as Chabad does.   We heard moving stories about our colleagues’ efforts, wo
Read more