Understanding Humanity
By zevi770 · January 22, 2012
We humans are a composite of good and evil.
The truth is, look at the overall history of humanity…
What would it be? incredible saints, incredible sinners, and lots of people who are everywhere in-between.
In order for us to leave the in-between level, and get to saint level we must be aware that all people can be, as both Jewish mysticism, namely the Tanya, and psychology, namely Freud, attest – we can become saints or we can descend into the most heinous of crimes.
What is fundamental to become a saint, is the oath that our souls are forced to swear prior to coming into bodies on earth, that we will be saints but we always consider ourselves as sinners!
The entire Tanya is dedicated to answering such a weird oath.
If you are a saint, why consider yourself a sinner, and doesn’t G-d want us to be happy good people?
The answer is very important, for self-definition affects your behavior.
If you consider yourself a saint, you are probably a sinner; and if you consider yourself a sinner, you are probably a saint!
In other words, we must realize – and this Tanya’s answer – that within us is both God and the devil, the Yetzer Hara, a demon focused on evil and though our truth is really God, nonetheless this devil is wily, and will trick us into narcissistic anger, ego etc. if we do not actively engage in our Godly soul.