There's a fascinating story in Ginzberg's Legends of the Jews that tackles this very question, and it involves none other than Moses himself.
So, picture this: An Arabian king commissions a portrait of Moses, the great leader of the Israelites. He also consults with experts in physiognomy—that's the ancient practice of judging character from facial features. These experts, poring over the portrait, paint a rather unflattering picture of Moses's character. They see all sorts of negative traits supposedly written on his face.
But when the king finally meets Moses in person, he's astounded. The man before him is the very image of the portrait! The likeness is undeniable. This throws the king into a quandary: who is right? The portrait, or the experts' reading of it?
He turns to Moses, relaying the whole bizarre situation and his utter confusion. And Moses's response? It's pure gold.
He acknowledges that both the artist and the experts are skilled in their respective fields. Then he drops a bombshell. "If my fine qualities were a product of nature," he says, "I were no better than a log of wood, which remains forever as nature produced it at the first." In other words, if Moses's goodness was just something he was born with, it wouldn't be anything special.
But here's the kicker: Moses confesses, "By nature I possessed all the reprehensible traits thy wise men read in my picture and ascribed to me, perhaps to a greater degree even than they think." Wow. He admits that, by default, he was prone to all those negative qualities.
But, and this is a HUGE but, he didn't let nature dictate his destiny. Moses continues, "But I mastered my evil impulses with my strong will, and the character I acquired through severe discipline has become the opposite of the disposition with which I was born."
Think about that for a moment. Moses is saying that through sheer willpower and self-discipline, he transformed his character. He actively fought against his negative inclinations and forged himself into the leader, the man, we know from the Torah.
And the reward for this incredible effort? "Through this change, wrought in me by my own efforts, I have earned honor and commendation upon earth as well as in heaven."
This story isn't just a quirky anecdote about Moses. It's a powerful message about our potential for change. It challenges the idea that we're simply prisoners of our nature or our circumstances. It suggests that, with conscious effort and unwavering determination, we can reshape our character and become the people we aspire to be. It shows us that Zohar" target="_blank" rel="noopener" class="source-link">tikkun atzmi, personal rectification, is always possible.
So, what does this mean for us today? Perhaps it's a reminder that we all have the capacity to overcome our flaws and cultivate virtues. Maybe it's an invitation to examine our own "evil impulses" and consider how we can master them. Or perhaps it's simply a comforting thought that even the greatest among us, like Moses, had to struggle and strive to become the best versions of themselves.