A Time For Introspection: Put Out The Fire!

We find ourselves in a special time between Pesach and Shavuot. During this time, we have a special Mitzvah to count 49 nights beginning from the second night of Pesach until the holiday of Shavuot. This period is called the Sefirat Ha’omer, or counting of the Omer. Our Sages teach us that this time is conducive to introspection and self-improvement, especially in the arena of our emotions. That being so, we will revisit an issue manifest in varying degree amongst most of the population: Anger.

We live in a competitive and stressful world. Yet, our Rabbis have taught us how detrimental anger can be and the lengths we must take to avoid it. The Talmud even likens one who loses his temper to one who bows to idols of wood and stone. On this passage, the Zohar asks the obvious question: what is the connection between idolatry and anger? Would the Talmud not have found it sufficient to just inform us that getting angry is detrimental to our spirituality? The Zohar’s explanation for the Talmud’s comparison sheds much light on the nature and consequence of this character trait.

The Torah teaches us that when a person gets angry, his supernal (cognitive) soul leaves him. A spiritual ‘vacuum’ then results, which is immediately filled with a negative Force from the side of Tumah (impurity). This exchange is what the Torah warns against when it states “ There should not be found in you a foreign god, you shall not bow to a strange god (Tehillim 81: 10)”. The kind of ‘strange god’ referred to by the verse is actually a negative force which animates and directs a raging mind devoid of rational thought. As our Rabbi’s taught, all who get angry are likened to idolaters.

Therefore, a basic incumbency on all Jews is to learn how to control their anger. Because what benefit can there be for the person who works hard to refine his soul with Torah and Mitzvoth if he is inclined to lose his mind in a fit of anger?      

Anger is a fire which can burn away the physical and spiritual gain for which a person toils. The Talmud teaches us that if a prophet loses his temper, he also forfeits his ability to prophesize. Similarly, if a scholar loses his temper, he forfeits his wisdom. We see this with Moshe Rabeinu himself. The Torah tells us that he got angry at Aharon Hacohen and his sons regarding their service in the Mishkan until he was corrected by his brother regarding the Law. The Talmud tells us that the reason Moshe forgot the law was because he became angry!

To further understand these concepts, imagine a parent who strikes his child in anger. Who is responsible for the counterproductive behavior? It is the parent who allowed his temper to blind him. As a result, the parent is inundated with a negative force which further stokes his temper until he takes it out on his child, Chas Ve’Shalom. An ill-tempered parent is relieved of the Commandment of childrearing and education.

Another sad reality of anger is that when the person does eventually calm down, he doesn’t necessarily regain what was lost. The Zohar explains that once the above-mentioned soul leaves, it takes much repentance and many confessions to retrieve. Even more unfortunately, there is actually no guarantee that the lost soul will even return! The person may receive new spiritual influx based on his repentance, but it is not certain that the original soul returns. This is the great danger and loss resulting from anger.

There is a parable which demonstrates the effects of anger. A pot which boils over first burns the pot handles, and then burns the stovetop and eventually the floor. Similarly, the angry person initially loses his cognitive soul. The immediate aftermath is that his family suffers, and then his friends, and so on. The Rabbi’s therefore warn us that all who get angry are met with all kinds of Hell (Nedarim 22a). For these reasons, the Torah commands us to stay away from even slight forms of anger. May G-d help us achieve peace and stay away from anger, Amen.

 By BJL Staff