Aim To Be A Tzadik

As I walk through the services of today I often hear, "don't aim to be a Tzadik, you'll never reach it," and "just try to do what you can. Its too much pressure for anyone and unrealistic." One Rabbi who would want to remain anonymous even told me, "we are so far from the Torah today that we couldn't begin to understand its meanings." My heart genuinely ached in that moment and I wondered who hurt him so deeply? I later replied in text message, because that's what we do these days we text the Rabbi, "The Torah is eternal as is It's truths." It is not the individual who is not capable of understanding the Torah and with the tradition of controlling the individual through societal norms and shaming ending; now is the perfect time to aim to be a Tzadik.

I was first struck with the true meaning of having the heart of the Tzadikim when I saw the picture "German policemen humiliating Rabbi Moshe Yitzhak Hagermann, on 'Bloody Wednesday' in Olkusz, Poland, 31/07/1940" in color from the Yad Vashem Photo Archives. In the picture Rabbi Hagermann is standing next to the bodies of what are contextually Jews that the "police" behind him had beaten and terrorized. Noticeable is that all of their feet and bodies are in a neat line, none of them lying on each other indicating they were forced to line up like that. Noticeable are their dress shoes still on their feet and the glint on them suggesting they were recently shined. Once you can get past the odd horror of the "civility" of the scene you notice their hands bound behind their backs and then something out of place; bare feet. Still in line stands Rabbi Moshe Yitzhak Hagermann in his bare feet, tallit, and tefillin. Through an 80 year old photograph his face portrays deep concentration and his body shows calm as he prays. When I first saw this photograph the story said that he was saying kaddish over the bodies of the dead and then was executed. Researching to be accurate in this article it reads that he was forced to pray by the Germans and then everyone was sent home that day. The outcome of the day doesn't change how that picture affected me. I saw it and thought, "tell the truth, even if it gets you killed; they were probably going to kill you anyways." The strong figure in the aging photograph is a call to be our authentic selves and authentic in our hearts no matter the situation we find ourselves in. The alternative is to be ruled and coerced by societal shame.

The first time the Torah talks about shame is in the Garden of Eden when Adam and Eve had eaten from the tree of knowledge and suddenly became ashamed of their nudity. That very primal emotion has been exploited by every totalitarian state, persons and groups seeking unbridled power, and cults alike. I say "alike" because they are all very much so alike. They have a foundation of self serving goals that can only be fully realized by making the Adam and the Eves of the world go against what the right thing to do is by defining societal norms and tricking everyone into compliance. The most effective weapon is shame which has the following characteristics:

1. Has a strong role in pride and inferiority. (Scheff, 2000)

2. "Shame is dependent upon the role of a social matrix which is external to the individual," (Bates & LaBrecque, 2020) yet is "key in the development of the superego among ... societies."(Firth, 1936)

3. The guiding emotion concerned with placement in society and the need to belong.

American culture has openly touted that the individual's responsibility is to conform to societal norms or else. The "else" is a purposefully unpredictable consequence meant to allow the human mind to mull over the worse case scenario and render the individual frozen in fear. Fear is a status the body doesn't like and to get out of it, the individual begins to toe the line. Some individuals wanting long term relief adapt these societal demands as their own beliefs convincing themselves that others "know best" and it is better to not question. The societal beliefs are then firmly ingrained into the next generation through another series of shaming as the young child grows up. Here the child is taught that any act outside of what "society wants" will result in shame upon themselves, shame upon the family, shame upon the community, and even G-d will be ashamed of them. Erving Goffman, inline with many other sociologists, remarked that "the fear of social degradation shaped an individual's sense of self and significantly influenced one's behavior." (Bates & LaBrecque, 2020) Schools are built on it: sit still, don't talk, ask to get water, don't disappoint, get good grades, do as we say, fit in, "kids need to learn how to socialize." Corporations depend on it: "don't make waves", the expectation of answering emails and phone calls after work hours, fear of filing complaints and becoming "tainted", suffering harassment and exhaustion just to fit in with the "team." Enter the Tzadik, or at least one in training.

The definition I give here of Tzadik and Tzadikim is purposefully general, because while I write this from my Jewish perspective, Tikkun Olam (in Heaven as it is on Earth) is well served by everyone connecting to their inner higher power, white light, one energy, etc. A Tzadik is one who's heart only genuinely wants and pines for that which G-d the source of everything wants. It is said that in their purest form the Tzadikim never even consider "sin" or straying from the mark. So in tuned are they with the light that darkness can't invade. That is who we should all aim to be. We should aim every day through prayer, mindfulness, action, reading, meditation, focus, or what every you call it to align our hearts with that of the One. To align ourselves to Keter, Chokhmah, Binah, Chesed, Gevurah, Tiferet, Netzach, Yesod, and Malkuth until it becomes our natural unflinching ways. Live consciously bounded by Wisdom, Understanding, Kindness, Strength, Joy, Humility in Victory, Patience in Defeat, Steady in our Foundations, and Grounded in our ways so we are hard to trick and confident in the joy we build within. It is thought that a Tzadik is born and cannot be groomed or made, but just as shame and societal atrocities are handed down through the generations so too is the perfection of the human heart. I say aim every day to have your heart naturally aligned with that of the El-h-m and every night say your prayers of T'shuvah and repent. Let your actions in your home and as you travel along your ways reflect that of the Creator and let your children learn from your example and to teach it to their children not out of shame, but out of love. Let them learn to do the right thing and tell the truth no matter who they face; who probably mean them harm anyways.

I am not sure which version of Rabbi Moshe Yitzhak Hagermann's story I like better; no not "like" but uplifts. I am not sure which version of Rabbi Moshe Yitzhak Hagermann's story uplifts me more. Is it the version where a man, a human, is about to meet his fate and the one thing he can do is to secure an easier passage back to the One by saying Kaddish over their bodies. Calmly asking the savage "civilized society" members if he may fulfill his commitment with Ha--em the proper way before they do what they had always planned to do? Or am I more uplifted by the story of the enemy of all morality thinking they are humiliating Rabbi Moshe Yitzhak Hagermann by making him dress in his prayer garments, not realizing that they equipped him with the strongest of weapons and he skillfully utilized his weapon to ensure all the abused and violated in the picture lived that night. Either way I will strive everyday to purify my heart and actions and align with the path Ha--em outlines for me. Trusting in his will and having full faith in her kindness. I vow daily to have no "price," no ego for the Yetzer Hara to sow its seed of deceit. I vow to stand up for injustice and tell the truth even if it gets me killed. A life not lived honestly was never truly lived.

*Any misuse of holy words and principles is accidental. I took great care when writing this to research the kosher spelling of sensitive names. Please don't let my human errors detract from the divine message within.