Rabbi Gershon Schusterman – Los Angeles, CA
It was just two days before Rosh Hashanah and the Hayom Yom was being read aloud in our shul. The text was, “…as the familiar adage expresses it, ‘G-d does not remain a debtor.’ For every good thing a Jew does, G-d repays him generously—with children, vitality and abundant sustenance;” to which someone muttered to himself, but loud enough for everyone to hear, “Yeah, right! No good deed goes unpunished!” A smattering of laughter was heard and everyone moved on.
I find a sense of cynicism affecting—and infecting—the attitude of more than a handful of my Anash friends. When I ask, “Why the attitude?” I’m answered, “We call ’em as we see ’em.”
Cynicism is the belief that altruism is dead and that people are motivated solely by self-interest. As a result, cynics are distrustful of human sincerity and integrity. A further result is that even when someone does something which is obviously good, the cynic will seek to impugn it by attributing it to nefarious motives.
It is clear that when a someone of our community has a cynical outlook as his default position, it is damaging — to him and to those around him.
I’m not saying that every cynic articulates, even to himself, what I say here. I believe, however, that it is all inherent in the cynic’s worldview.
We all know that people are flawed. “A person is born as a wild donkey’s colt” (Iyov 11:12). We are saddled with a yetzer hara, nefesh habehamis and ego. From such inauspicious beginnings, we should not expect perfection.
We start out defective. We all know how difficult it is to modify, let alone change, our proclivities.
As we judge ourselves, so should we judge others. Since we tend to cut ourselves a lot of slack, we should be as empathetic in judging others.
The work-in-progress-person—let’s call him the realist—strives for excellence. When he falls, he picks himself up and strives again. “Even the tzadik falls seven times… and gets up” (Mishlei 24:16) to continue striving, perhaps to fall again. Progress is often two steps forward and one step back. The cynic, on the other hand, were he to strive, would strive for perfection. Inasmuch as perfection is unattainable, he ceases to strive or doesn’t strive at all.
There’s a war going on and we are the battlefield. The two forces—good and evil—are fighting over us, each trying to persuade us to join its side, trying to conquer us. The battle it is not even evenly matched. The “other side,” has the advantage of brute strength. But “our side” compensates by our steadfast belief in the ultimate truth of our cause and our absolute faith in our ability to win the battle. These translate as optimism, joy and alacrity, which keep us in the ring and enable us to fight on and, ultimately, win the battle. This is the battle of our lives, because it is the battle for our lives.
On the battlefield the commanding officer is respected and heeded, even though one might find him wanting in many respects. Personal criticism is out of place when the focus must be on the critical business at hand — to keep the momentum of the battle going forward.
Likewise, even as we see failure in others and in ourselves, we cannot allow that to demoralize us and abandon the battle. We cannot afford to expend our energy to criticize others or to wallow in self-criticism and self-pity. We must remain focused on our mission.
The cynic, however, has abdicated the battlefield. With a pithy quip and a well-placed sneer he proclaims: This is not a battle I care to fight. Only a fool would commit to this cause. Not only has the cynic himself gone AWOL, he discourages the weak-kneed from joining the battle. Where one should be bolstering those who are fighting the noble war, the cynic demoralizes them. Who benefits from this? The adversary. In aiding and abetting the enemy, the cynic is guilty of sedition.
The cynic attests, perhaps unwittingly, that he himself is not to be bound by any standards. He denigrates those who aspire to grow and strive for excellence, even though they know that they will not be perfect. The cynic says, in effect, “Perfection is impossible, and striving for excellence is self-serving.” So why aspire to anything at all? What is left? Nihilism! That nothing matters!
Listen to what Elisha ben Abuya (a.k.a. Acher), the ultimate cynic, said: “Since I won’t make it to the world-to-come, I might as well eat, drink and be merry in this world (Chagiga 15a).”
Cynicism is admitting defeat even before going to battle. The cynic is proclaiming his impotence. He is displaying abject cowardice. The courageous, however, fight on even when the outlook for victory seems bleak. Their conviction in the truth of their cause drives their determination to persevere and leads, ultimately, to victory.
Cynicism is like a callus on one’s heart. A callus is the body’s defense to avoid pain. When there is repetitive abrasion, the body hardens the skin in that area so that it becomes insensitive and the person does not feel the pain. But what can one say when the callous is built up around one’s heart?
To live is more than to exist. Being fully alive is to experience both joy and pain. If one strives to avoid pain at all costs, one risks avoiding the joys of life as well. In life, and in Chassidic life in particular, growth is fundamental. An open and sensitive heart is the fertile soil in which development takes place. When one’s heart is hardened, it is like parched earth in which nothing grows, except thorns.
The antithesis and antidote to cynicism is temimus—whole-hearted, optimistic and joyous devotion which is fundamental to Jewish life, as the Torah exhorts us, tamim tihiye im Hashem Elokecha, to be whole-hearted with G-d, your G-d (Devarim 18:13). This is what we should be considering the days before Yom Kippur.
Abridged from the N’shei Chabad Newsletter (Tammuz 5715) and reprinted with their permission
Its just that golus is getting too hard.
The problem is opening our eyes. Cynics see a tamim and scream farfrumpt. These people who only live their whole lives to serve the Rebbe are made fun of for upholding the Torah.
For articulating that! It was needed! (Sigh of relief)
i think people just had enough of galus. when the rebbe said it should be b’tov haneereh v’hanigleh, it means kepshuteh, only revealed good
its true. its difficult. but we can do what we can, and what we can do is incredible. the fact that we are doing is incredible. just to be alive and open-hearted to experiencing both joy and pain. we cant do anything about not having these role models. we can try to glean what we can from whatever videos and articles and writings there are. more than that we cant do. but there is so much we can do, and using what we cant do as an excuse not to do what we can is only “fooling a fool” and… Read more »
I just sat down to make my evening’s cheshbon hanefesh, but decided to rest for a few minutes first, and I went onto col. This is the article that came up… The best article I have read in a while…very inspiring and an eye opener..maybe Hashem was sending me a message what my Teshuva should be about tonight. Thank you Rabbi Shusterman for being the Shliach.
agreed with everything that was said in fact, generally something that bothers me as well. The way to alleviate it is by being a living example of someone who strives towards temimus. even arguing with this overall viewpoint although seemingly insufficient or even unhelpful, can have positive results. dvarim hayotzim min halev.. Think a line needs to be drawn between bitterness and cynicism. Both stem as a result of some”thing”. But there is a difference. Bitterness is not chutzpa. Cynicism is. (many times.) When deciding how to react, its important to know where the person is coming from. Another point… Read more »
This is definitely a thought-provoking, and expressive article, which endeavors to dig beneath the cynical person’s facade and reveal what is truly lying underneath. I would like to extend my thanks to Rabbi Schusterman for the time he put into writing it. However, I humbly believe that the direction which he turned to ‘diagnose’ the cynic who had made the comment in Shul, is an incorrect one. The comment made, in my humble opinion, did not sound like someone who is “giving up” on the battle of good vs evil, nor does it sound like he is “hardening his heart”… Read more »
Cynicsm or planting seeds of doubt is the amelek that is found in each and everyone of us. It is an attitude of coldness and cools us off to kedusha.
It’s about time “harmless cynicism” is exposed for what it really is:
A seditious treason in support of the enemy of all that is good.
In the words of Rabbi Nachman of Breslov:
“Ein licho od dovor she’oker es ho’odom ligamri miMeno Yisbarech umikol hamidos tovos, kimo ha’midoh ho’ra hamiguneh shel leitzonus.”
“There is no other thing which uproots people entirely from Him, may He be Blessed, and from all good traits, as the terrible and repugnant trait of frivolity [the mother of cynicism].”
The author has nailed this issue right on the head.
pretty inspiring
ואם לא ירא לבבו כלל מזה יכול לבוא לידי קלות ח”ו”
What the Rabbi Schusterman is saying is technically accurate. HOWEVER…. we need to “walk the walk”. Where is the tears of joy we used to see when an older Chosid would Daven? Where is the Chosid that wouldn’t forgo the most minute hidur and would never dream of even learning during Krias H’Torah, never-mind talking? Where is the Chosid that drips with Torah ,Chassidus & Rebbe? Perhaps a living example of a Tamim is the antidote to cynicism, not the “concept” of a Tamim.
That sounds like another hYom yom from the end of last week
Thanks for refocusing us Rabbi Schusterman
Such are the articles that bring us closer to the Geulah!