A Discussion With My Rabbi

Today, I was at my synogogue learning with a rabbi and several young kids.

“‘Who is wise?’” The rabbi read. After we shared our opinions over who might be classified as wise, he continued: “‘A wise person is someone who can learn from any person.’”

I thought about the wise people I know, and realized he was right, but I also realized just how difficult that is. Also…

“Wait, everyone?” I asked. “As in, every single person?”

“Yep.”

“So, like…passersby on the street?”

He shrugged. Guess we’ll never know. Next: “‘Who is strong?’”

Again, we were stumped. “A person who’s resilient?” I guessed.

He shook his head. “It says here, ‘A person who can resist his evil inclinations.’ Someone who can repress the parts of his personality that pose difficulties.”

He got some questions on that and explained, “For example, Avoda Zara is an example of resisting evil inclinations.” (Worshipping idols.) “Since most people aren’t terribly inclined to worship idols nowadays, the new Avoda Zara is anger.”

“But anger is a natural emotion,” I argued. “Does it mean staying angry, or acting on that anger?”

“Acting on anger,” he said. “It’s okay to get angry, but you can’t act on that anger.”

He went on, “‘Who is rich?’ And no, this doesn’t mean wealthy.” He laughed at that.