A simple way to understand truth

 

 

Many years ago Hashem helped me see a simple soul body dichotomy which I think lies behind, well just about all human interaction, neurosis, behavior etc.

 

Pain	Pride
Pleasure	Shame

 

We all know that the pleasure pain system motivates most of our animal instincts, for like a animal governed instinctually we are attracted to say a cup of coke as it tastes good, gives us a caffeine and sugar high and according to someone who is in a position of know, other chemicals that also give us a high which is why so many people are addicted to all sorts of behaviors that give them pleasure.

 

On the other hand, of course we are afraid of bees, as we know they can hurt us, there are literally millions of things we stay away from based on experience, learnt behavior, fear of the unknown etc. Think of a few.

 

But unlike an animal, humans have a second system and that is shame.

 

Shame is in fact usually more of a motivator than pain.

 

Hence men will work hard or as one soldier in world war two told me that they would go into battle literally against the Nazis with a good chance of getting killed but no one wanted to be ashamed that he wasn’t going in.

 

Peoples biggest fear isn’t death but public speaking, so shame is literally a greater fear than death which is why when addicts hit rock bottom suddenly they look at themselves in the mirror and see a person who is shameful, then and usual only then, they are willing to change their life.

 

In other words, we can either be operating like children under the pleasure pain system, which is why children must be educated in this manner, and shame wouldn’t work on a two year old, or we enter into the more adult system called the pride shame system.

 

However there is also a fundamental flaw to the shame system for the shame system allows society as Einstein says – coming from Nazi occupied Germany – Never follow the state if its against your conscience.

 

As the Rebbe also who witnessed the rise of the delusional evil of Nazis in an otherwise highly cultured Germany, the Germans were programmed through centuries of manipulation (as I believe the Japanese are, hence their similarities) to not think but to blindly follow their kings Kaisers leaders etc.

 

In fact one of the main inventions America imposed on Germany was a syllabus which helped the younger generation not be robots but to actually think.

 

Hitler himself said Lucky for leaders (meaning like himself) that people don’t think.

 

In other words, the shame pride pain pleasure system all have a fundamental flaw, they are thoughtless, they all are reactionary systems to the environment around you.

 

Hence the barbarity of nations – we can witness this today in the Arabs whose evil is no less, perhaps more than, Nazi Germany with a massive barbaric culture of educating their children to commit suicide to restore Arab honor by killing Jews and others.

 

So what is the solution to this conundrum?

 

The solution is Judaism.

 

Yep Judaism.

 

Judaism is the one religion which says that in order to do good one must be ready to suffer.

 

Judaism is the only religion that has literally have thousands of years of martyrdom only for being good.

 

To suffer for God is a very hard sell, but it was adhered to in the holocaust, in the Spanish inquisition, by Chanukah, Purim etc. etc.

 

Why?

 

Because if you are not willing to endure shame or pain for your ideal, as Abraham and every Jewish leader subsequent to him did, well then you have no ideals.