Jewish Life #17 Bereishith Serie-02.

The Nature of Man: part 1
 
We are mortal; therefore, make every day count.
We are fallible; therefore, learn to grow from each mistake.
We will not complete the journey; therefore, inspire others to continue what we began.[1]
 
Life has many contradictions and paradoxes. According to Rabbi Joseph B. Soloveitchik, a person’s life manifests itself through two aspects of human nature which can be described by two typological categories of humanity.[2] Based on the two accounts of the creation of man in the first book of the Bible, Rabbi Soloveitchik portrays two aspects or types of man, two human ideals: Majestic Man and Covenantal Man.
 
According to Rabbi Soloveitchik, it is preeminently the Jewish Bible which is concerned and preoccupied with human contradictions, for example, with human smallness as well as greatness, humanity’s hopes and despair, and its victories and failures. 
 
In this Blog we’ll describe the first human ideal, the archetype of Majestic Man. For references and an in-depth analyze, see my upcoming book a Life of Meaning and Joy: in Search of Social Identity Man (Pomerantz, Q4 2024). 
 
 
Creative Man Seeking Dignity
In the first place, man is a creative and majestic personality who espouses a practical-utilitarian approach to the world. He is guided by the quest for dignity, attained by control over his environment. Derived from the first chapter of book of Genesis (Bereshit), man is a social being and creates a ‘natural work community’ by displaying a positive attitude toward the development of civilization: man’s likeness to God [imitatio Dei] expresses itself in man’s striving and ability to become a creator. Natural man is blessed with a great drive for creative activity and immeasurable resources for the realization of this goal, the most outstanding of which is his intelligence. He wants to dominate the natural forces, directed by his desire to better his own position vis-à-vis his environment. God has given him the mandate to do so, to subdue and control nature. He is man-natura. His creative nature is willed and directed by his Maker. 
 
In Bereshit 1 (verses 27–28) we read: “And God created man in His image, in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them. And God blessed them, and God said to them, ‘Be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth and subdue it, and rule over the fish of the sea and over the fowl of the sky and over every living thing that moves upon the earth.’”
 
Rabbi Soloveitchik says, “Only when man rises to the heights of freedom of action and creativity of mind does he begin to implement the mandate of dignified responsibility entrusted to him by his Maker.” In Tehillim 8:6–9 we read: “For You have set them just below God and crowned them with glory and splendor. You made them rulers over Your handiwork; You set it all beneath their feet – all flocks and herds, beasts of the field, birds of the skies, and fish of the sea – whatever travels the paths of the seas.” To be human means to live with dignity. Dominating and exercising control is part of being human. God allowed man to consider himself master and lord of his environment. He is a productive, creative being. As mentioned, this quest for dignity is embedded and inextricably linked to man’s responsibility. As Rabbi Soloveitchik states: “Only the man who builds hospitals, discovers therapeutic techniques, and saves lives is blessed with dignity.”
 
A creative and majestic personality is a man of loving-kindness and justice, a creative, this-worldly-oriented partner of God. This man-type freed himself from a slave-bondage state unto a man-master state in which freedom is linked to responsibility and actions. Man must therefore strive to become subject (nosei) and not object (nisa), one who influences one’s surroundings rather than one who is influenced, one who creates and is not created, one who acts and is not acted upon, one who controls his environment rather than being controlled by it.
 
This creative personality loves building. Above all, he loves to build beautiful things. He is a creative aesthete, a social artist filled with majesty and dignity. He is a societal work partner acting within a communal framework. The natural community is a work community, in which man needs a work partner, allowing him to triumph over nature. The work community is based on the shared interests of its participants. 
 
The deeds and products of this creative social worker are, of course, always visible to others. His creative output is revealed and public, like the sun in nature that causes things to reveal themselves. He is public man (homo revelatus). He is the man of the marketplace. 
 
The creative social worker is aware of the fact that his actions must take shape in the here and now. He is a realist. He creates a culture, a civilization. He is capable of the daily renewal of his actions to make the world a better place, just as God Himself, in His goodness, renews daily, permanently (for Jews, excluding Shabbat), the work of creation.
 
Having said this, such a man’s success does depend on his ability to connect his actions to his knowledge. His hands must respond to his head. In Judaism, this refers to the importance of studying. Abstract thought must be linked to practice. The ability to both study and act is the ideal in Judaism [a good example of practicing the theory of Integrated Diversity, see Blog #2). 
 
In a next English- Blog of this Beresith-serie, we will portray the second human ideal, the archetype of Covenantal Man.
 
 
[1] Sacks (2020b), p. 307, Life-Changing Ideas, nos. 54–56.
[2] All references in: Soloveitchik, J. B. Confrontation and Other Essays. Maggid Books, 2015; Soloveitchik, J. B. The Lonely Man of Faith. Maggid Books, 2018. In detail, including page etc., in my new upcoming book (A Life of Meaning and Joy: in Search of Social Identity Man. Pomerantz, Q4 2024. 

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