The ancient rabbis grappled with this question, and their answers, tucked away in texts like Bereshit Rabbah, offer a fascinating glimpse into the human condition.
The passage in Bereshit Rabbah 14 focuses on the verse in Genesis describing God forming humanity. But it lingers on a single word: "formed" – Vayitzer in Hebrew. The rabbis, with their beautiful and intricate way of reading scripture, see in this word an allusion to something profound: our two inclinations, the yetzarim.
The yetzer hatov, the good inclination, and the yetzer hara, the evil inclination. Now, "evil" can be misleading here. It’s not necessarily about being malicious. Think of the yetzer hara more as the drive, the impulse, the raw energy within us. It can lead us astray, sure, but it's also the engine of ambition, creativity, and even survival.
The rabbis then pose a piercing question: If we have these two opposing forces constantly at play within us, why aren't we constantly overwhelmed? Imagine an animal, they say. If an animal possessed these two inclinations, and saw someone approaching with a knife, ready to slaughter it, the fear alone would kill it! Why doesn't the same happen to us?
Rabbi Ḥanina bar Ida offers a powerful explanation, drawing on the prophet Zechariah: "He forms [yotzer] the spirit of man within him" (Zechariah 12:1). This teaches us, he says, that our soul is bound up – tzerura – within us.
Think of it as a protective binding, a sacred container.
Because of this binding, this tzerura, we don't easily succumb to the overwhelming pressures of life. If it weren't so, the text suggests, whenever we experienced anguish, we would simply shed our soul and cast it off!
Wow.
It’s a remarkable idea, isn't it? That something – some divine act of "binding" – keeps us anchored, prevents us from dissolving into despair. It suggests a resilience woven into the very fabric of our being. The Zohar, the central text of Kabbalah, also emphasizes the complexity of the human soul and its connection to the divine. This notion of a soul intricately bound within us resonates deeply with the Kabbalistic understanding of the interconnectedness of all things.
As Ginzberg retells it in Legends of the Jews, this inherent resilience is a testament to God's profound care for humanity, ensuring our survival amidst the constant push and pull of our inner conflicts. As we find in Midrash Rabbah, these teachings are not just ancient wisdom; they offer a timeless perspective on the human condition.
So, the next time you feel overwhelmed, remember this teaching. Remember the tzerura, the binding. Remember that within you lies a strength, a resilience, that has been there all along. You are held. You are bound. You are not so easily broken.