This Dvar Torah is dedicated with gratitude to the brave men and women of the IDF who were Moser Nefesh (devoted themselves) to defending the Jewish People and Eretz Yisrael (the Land of Israel), and to the Chatufim (hostages) and their families, who endured so much suffering with unimaginable strength and faith.
May Hashem heal all their wounds and grant them many years of good health and spiritual fulfillment.
Sin and the Transformation of Human Nature
A major theme of Parshat Bereishit is sin and punishment. This goes not only for Adam and Eve, but for their son Cain as well. The first couple had not existed for very long before they transgressed and were expelled from the Garden of Eden.
The consequences of this violation were drastic, bringing about a fundamental transformation of human nature. After they ate from the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil, Adam and Eve were no longer in the state in which they had been created. Their psychological makeup was fundamentally altered.
A superficial glance at the narrative confirms this point. The Torah attests that “They were both naked, the man and his wife, and were not ashamed” (Genesis 2:25). Yet as soon as they indulged the forbidden fruit, they instantaneously experienced shame and sought to cover themselves.
This development requires analysis, for, if Man was created without the capacity for shame, why would it suddenly emerge as a result of prohibited eating? We must therefore assume that human nature was categorically changed as a result of the terrible deed.
How so?
Rambam’s Analysis: The Birth of Conscience
Maimonides (Rambam) takes up this matter at the beginning of his philosophical masterpiece, Guide for the Perplexed. The following is my understanding of the Rambam along with pertinent rabbinical statements.
According to the Rambam, Hashem created the human in a pristine state. His nature had two elements: animalistic because he had instinctual appetites, and a “divine” soul that enabled him to reason and acquire knowledge. Man could be accurately defined (in the words of Aristotle) as a rational animal.
In that state, he was not subject to feelings of shame, for he lacked the faculty to generate those reactions. Psychology calls this entity that was absent in Adam the superego, which is responsible for numerous emotions such as guilt, regret, and depression.
After Adam and Eve’s disobedience, this new mental faculty was implanted in mankind, and they were embarrassed to be naked. What made this necessary?
The contemporary understanding regards the faculty of conscience, which emanates from the superego, as vital to moral behavior. If it were to be removed or neutralized, there would be nothing to restrain people’s nasty impulses. So why was this mechanism not included in man’s psyche from the outset?
From Reason to Instinct: The Internalization of the Evil Inclination
The Rabbis say that as a result of the sin, a change took place in man’s sexual instinct. At his inception, the “evil inclination” was external, but because of man’s violation, it became internalized.
Originally, all of man’s psychological energy was directed toward the world of ideas. His primary occupation in the Garden of Eden was the study of G-d’s Creation. This is attested by Scripture:
“The L-rd G-d formed from the ground all the animals of the field and all the birds of the heavens, and He brought them to man to see what he would name it. Whatever the man called a living creature, that became its name” (Genesis 2:19).
Adam was wholly absorbed in the study of nature. He did not experience an intrinsic longing for sexual gratification. This instinct was external; it required an outside stimulus to “activate” it.
Instead, his essential innate desire was for knowledge, toward which the bulk of his energy was directed. Carnal indulgence was on a much lower level of intensity, and therefore man’s desires were subordinate to his reason. He was able to control his impulses with his mind and without the counterforce of conscience.
All that changed when “man began to give way to desires which had their source in his imagination and to the gratification of his bodily appetites...” (Maimonides, Guide for the Perplexed, Part 1, Chapter 2).
After the transgression, the strength and disposition of man’s instinctual makeup fundamentally changed. Now the “evil inclination” was internalized, and the impulse for the good was externalized. His primary yearning was for physical gratification, while the desire for knowledge required a stimulus to activate it.
In his new psychological configuration, the capacity of reason was insufficient to control the newly empowered instinctual forces. Indeed, at that point, man would have descended to the level of a beast, using his intelligence exclusively for the purpose of obtaining animalistic gratification. His purpose, to function according to reason and perfect his soul by obtaining wisdom and performing righteous deeds, would have been rendered impossible, and there would be no reason for this being to exist.
Hashem, in His mercy, intervened and added to man’s nature a powerful emotional force to impede his instinctual lusts. This would “even the psychological playing field,” so to speak, making it possible for him to suppress his instincts and engage in study, which is meant to be his primary vocation.
The Limits of Conscience and the Need for Torah
It would appear from this account that conscience is not the highest expression of man’s uniqueness. The popular maxim “Let conscience be your guide” is founded on that misconception. Were that the case, Hashem would not have had to give us a Torah with very specific moral and ethical directives. He could have gathered the whole world on Mount Sinai and simply proclaimed, “I am the L-rd your G-d and I command you to let conscience be your guide.”
He did not do so, however, because our conscience is very subjective and does not necessarily correspond to objective moral truth. Some of the worst atrocities of history were committed by very religious people of conscience.
The great mistake that people make is to believe their conscience and operate by the dictum that, if it feels right, then it must be right.
The true role of conscience and the proper approach to righteous behavior is found in the story of the first sin. Only knowledge of Hashem’s Will, contained in His Torah, can determine correct behavior. We should strive to internalize this knowledge until it becomes embedded in our conscience. Then we will have both the wisdom and emotional disposition to do the right thing.
May Hashem assist us in this endeavor.
Shabbat Shalom.
Questions? Comments?
Please reach out to Rabbi Mann on WhatsApp at 050-709-2372 or by email at rebmann21@aol.com.
Alternatively, contact Mitch Rosner on WhatsApp at 054-426-3419 or by email at mitchrosner@gmail.com.