Rav Aryeh Leibowitz
Failure to engage and develop the neshama is sometimes a result of laziness or
apathy. But more often, it
results from man focusing his attention and energy elsewhere. To succeed as a “human being,” man
must dedicate his primary attention towards his spiritual neshama. He must develop his intellect and
character. He must chose to
engage in proper behavior. If
one replaces these foci with a pursuit of other less elevated accomplishments
he fails as a human being and defaults on his elevated status in creation.
Indeed,
human beings share many pursuits with the less elevated living creatures.
Man is often occupied with the consumption of food and drink, the development
of the physical body, and the pursuit of other carnal pleasure. These
pursuits, as important as they are for survival, cannot reflect man’s exalted
position in creation. When a man is dedicated to pursuits such as these
he is not only failing to utilize his elevated capabilities, but he is actually
defaulting on his own humanity, and in a sense he becomes – or, perhaps
“remains” – an animal.
As we have noted, man
can certainly use his intellect to accomplish “animalistic” pursuits in a
“better” fashion. His intellect can sophisticate his eating habits, or
his other mundane pursuits. But in such cases, man is using his intellect
to engages (or indulge) and develop his lower properties. Instead man
should be using his lower forces to assist him in achieving the goals of his
elevated neshama.
This is the crucial question that man must clarify for himself: Am I using my neshama in tandem with my guf to make myself a better animal, or am
I using them to make myself a better human?
In this vein, Kind David
wrote “Man is precious, yet if he does not understand, he is like the beasts
that perish.” (Tehillim 49:21) Explains the Malbim: “Man is
precious” and exalted, yet he often fails to recognize his own
exaltedness. Instead, “He exchanges [his elevated potential] for vanity
and worthlessness.” When this occurs, so then man is “Like the beasts
that perish” – as he is denigrated to the level of the animals, and “Just as
one dies, so too the other dies” (Koheles 3, 19)
Yet, many human
beings often find themselves, at least occasionally, not only engaging in the
interests of the guf and in those pursuits shared with the
lower animal kingdom, but overly indulging in such interests and
pursuits. Often one even feels a sense of identity with these interests
and pursuits, and looks toward them for a sense of identification or as a way
of fulfilling his potential. At such times, man must grab hold of his
humanity. He might ask himself: Am I acting in accordance with my exalted
position in creation? Are my pursuits reflective of my elevation, or am I
merely living life as a sophisticated animal?
A story is told of a
young man who approached his spiritual mentor and asked for advice in religious
growth. The mentor told him that he has a simple regiment for him.
“Whenever a plate of meat is brought before you, do not eat it
immediately. First think to yourself: This animal is a living creature,
just as I am. What merit do I possess that I can consume this animal?
In what way am I more elevated?”
In a similar vein, R.
Shlomo Ephraim Luntschitz (Kli Yakar, d. 1619) suggests that only an individual
who had distinguished himself from the animal kingdom is permitted to eat their
meat. Only when man clearly operates above the animal kingdom, can he
claim dominion over it.[1]
[1] We
saw earlier that the purpose of each creation level is to provide for the level
above it. Animals can only be used to
service the human species when the two groups occupy distinct levels. When the differentiation is blurred, man
loses his elevated status and cannot turn to the animal kingdom for food.
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