Everyone is for world peace. But within the miniature universe that is man, ‘‘World Wars’’ are raging. How can we hope to create a harmonious universe if we are forever battling our own selves?

Skeptic: If you’re so smart, why ain’t you so rich? If it’s as simple as all that, why hasn’t it already happened?

Believer: The Talmud has an axiom that says: ‘‘A prisoner cannot release himself from prison.’’ This basic truth applies to every aspect of reality: in physics, a river cannot climb higher than the elevation of its source; in philosophy, an argument is only as strong as the axioms it is based on; in psychology, the mind can relate to something only in the context of self. Etc., etc., etc. The bottom line is, no entity can transcend what it itself is.

Everyone is for world peace. But within the miniature universe that is man, ‘‘World Wars’’ are raging all the while: conflicts between mind and heart, between conviction and habit, between our spiritual aspirations and our selfish, material desires. How can we hope to create a harmonious universe if we are forever battling our own selves?

Skeptic: You know, I’m afraid that behind the philosophical tone of your words lurks a self-righteous preacher, lambasting lust and greed as the undoing of humanity. You’re assuming that man’s base and selfish drives are what stand in the way of a better world. But I don’t think that we can be so quick as to do away with them—they might prove to be not quite as dispensable as you would like to think.

Look, earlier, you referred to the collapse of communism as an example of the ultimate supremacy of right over might. But do not forget that there is another side to the story—the economic side. I would say that the undoing of communism was not so much its G-dlessness, its violations of human rights or its corruption of power, as its inability to function economically. In terms of natural resources, the Soviet Union was arguably the richest country in the world. So why was it unable to feed its own people? Because it had neutralized the most powerful–if not the only– incentive that drives the human animal (yes, animal) to do anything: the drive for self-advancement.

On paper, communism is beautiful—almost messianic in its idealism and perfection. Everyone giving it their all for the common good. Each contributing according to his abilities and receiving according to his needs. No greed, no jealousy, no exploitation. Compare this with our society: everyone grabbing as much as they can for themselves, slaving and flattering and bullying their way to the top, all for the sake of satisfying their vanity and their material appetites—and if the sight of human suffering makes us somewhat uncomfortable, we agree to some minor curbs on our greed and to provide a ‘‘safety net’’ for its victims. And yet, as our experience has undeniably shown, a system which runs contrary to the ‘‘base and animalistic’’ drives of man just won’t work. No one will do anything. Worse still, it becomes the environment in which the most horrendous atrocities are committed in the name of the highest ideals. On the other hand, a society such as ours, in which the dominant elements are individuality and self-interest, is the soil in which justice and equality may take root and flourish, albeit imperfectly. Your holy books might not agree with this, but, ultimately, ‘‘lust and greed’’ is what drives the machinery of civilized existence.

Believer: Let me tell you a story that is related in the Talmud. Once, the sages of Israel decided to make an all-out effort to eliminate the evil inclination. They all gathered at the Holy Temple in Jerusalem and fasted for three days and three nights, praying that the world be cleansed of its animalistic nature. G-d acquiesced to their request. The evil inclination, in the form of a lion of fire, was handed over to them as their captive. For three days it was held in a cage of lead. The result? The world ground to a halt. Men and women felt no inclination to marry. Chickens stopped laying eggs. No one showed up for work in the morning. So instead of killing the lion, as originally planned, the sages blinded it in one eye and set it free.

Skeptic: That’s exactly my point: there is no escaping our basic natures. So all this talk of a selfless utopia is not only a naive fantasy—it is a dangerous one as well. We basically have two choices. We can try to suppress the animal in man, as many authoritarian regimes and ideologies have attempted to do, with disastrous results. Or, we can accept our limitations. We can accept that man will always act in self-interest, and respect each other’s right to do so. We can accept that there will always be injustice and suffering in the world, and seek to minimize it.

Believer: So that’s all we can do—seek to lessen evil?

Skeptic: What other approach is there? How else would you deal with the human ego without throwing out the baby with the bathwater?

Believer: You are assuming that there is nothing more to the human ‘‘I’’ than meets the eye. That the ‘‘self’’ is intrinsically selfish. I disagree. I believe that there is a higher ego implicit in the quest for self-fulfillment which so dominates our lives.

Skeptic: Selfishness is selfishness, no matter what form it takes. No matter how ‘‘sublime’’ a person may think his individual goals are, they will inevitably conflict with the individual goals of others.

Believer: Not quite. As I said, ultimately, our ‘‘selfishness’’ can be shown to be not quite as selfish as its most outward, superficial expressions may suggest. But I’m afraid I’d have to subject you to a long speech on chassidic psychology before I could explain.

Skeptic: I’m listening.

Believer: Chassidic teaching explains our inner conflicts in terms of two souls which each of us possesses: the ‘‘Animal Soul’’ and the ‘‘G-dly Soul.’’ The Animal Soul is the essence of physical life; it focuses exclusively on self, its every act and desire motivated by the quest for self-fulfillment and self-enhancement. The G-dly Soul is its diametric opposite: it is driven not by ego but by a quest for transcendence and self-negation—the drive to fulfill the purpose of its creation and thereby connect to the all-pervading reality of its Creator. This makes for the perpetual struggle of life: the struggle between substance and spirit, between self-assertion and self-nullification. Any thought, desire, or act of man stems from either of his two souls, depending upon which has gained mastery over the other and is asserting itself through the person’s behavior...

Skeptic: Sounds like your basic religious theology: the old dichotomy between good and evil, the cosmic struggle between G-d and Satan...

Believer: Not exactly—remember that Judaism sees evil as a non-entity, akin to the non-phenomenon of darkness. So evil is not a counter-force to good, only the (temporary) concealment thereof. Notice that I said nothing about evil, only about self versus selflessness...

Skeptic: But aren’t you saying that selfishness is the source of all evil?

Believer: Yes, selfishness is often the source of evil, but it can also serve as the source for good. Left to its own devices, the self-oriented drives of man tend to the most immediate and superficial of gratifications, to the utter disregard of anyone or anything else—even his own long-term good. But when the G-dly Soul dominates the mind with its perception of the divine truth, the Animal Soul is also affected. The ‘‘selfishness’’ in man can then be refined and re-directed as a positive force.

In Deuteronomy 30:20, we are told ‘‘To love the Lord your G-d... for He is your life.’’ The Animal Soul loves its own life. When it recognizes that ‘‘He is your life,’’ that G-d is the source and sustainer of its very being, its entire perception changes. The very same ego which craved the most base and material of pleasures is now drawn to attach itself to the Almighty, out of the realization that such an attachment would constitute the ultimate enhancement and perfection of self. So it will devote itself to the fulfillment of the divine purpose for creation, sacrificing its present material expressions of selfhood for the promise of a higher and more fulfilling existence.

This, to me, is the meaning of the Talmud’s story about the attempted assassination of the ‘‘evil inclination.’’ The objective must be not to kill the ego, but to temper its extremes so that its essence may be revealed and re-directed; to strip away its external, negative expressions and uncover the positive force at its core. In the quest for material gain, men and nations may (and inevitably will) clash over conflicting interests. But when humanity uncovers its true self, the pursuit of self-fulfillment becomes a harmonious endeavor. For while each one of us has his own unique mission in life, these are all complimentary parts of the overall divine plan.

Skeptic: You’re making the prospect of a perfected world seem even more hopeless than I say it is. If man has to wait until he achieves inner harmony and perfection before attempting to improve matters on the global scale, the human race would not survive long enough to allow him to do so...

Believer: I’m not saying that we cannot do anything to change our world before we’re all perfect. On the contrary: the more we achieve harmony between men and nations, all the more does our world become a place that is conducive to unifying our splintered selves. What I am saying is that what we do achieve on an inter-personal level must be ugmented by our inner makeup. For what is ‘‘the world’’ if not us? What is ‘‘humanity’’ if not the sum total of its individual members? Since our relationships with others are based on who and what we are, they can never be perfect and enduring so long as we are plagued with conflict within. We may make great advances in world peace and the alleviation of suffering, but soon the selfish and ugly side of man will rear its head. In order to create a harmonious world in the absolute and eternal sense, we must bring unanimity of purpose to our internal worlds.

Skeptic: So all the good that we do is hypocritical?

Believer: That’s the second time you brought up the subject in our discussion. What’s so terrible about hypocrisy?

Skeptic: Surely you don’t think that hypocrisy is a virtue...

Believer: At times it is. Say that I hate someone with a passion. Should I be a hypocrite and act decently toward him, or should I have the ‘‘integrity’’ to smash my fist into his jaw? If I fall in love with a woman who happens to be married to someone else, should I seduce her, or should I hypocritically restrain my inner feelings? If I find a wallet stuffed with cash, should I return it to its owner, or should I be true to my deep-seated desire to keep the money?

Let me tell you a story that’s told of the founder of Chabad Chassidism, Rabbi Schneur Zalman of Liadi. Once, a certain individual was condemned before Rabbi Schneur Zalman as a hypocrite. ‘‘He considers himself a chassid,’’ the Rebbe was told, ‘‘and has assumed all sorts of pious customs and practices. He acts like this real holy fellow. But it’s all superficial—internally, his mind and heart are as coarse and unrefined as ever.’’ ‘‘Well,’’ said the Rebbe, ‘‘in that case, may he meet the end that the Talmud predicts for such people.’’The ‘‘informers’’ were taken aback. They had only wanted to warn the Rebbe about this individual; but now, what sort of calamity had the Rebbe called down upon him? So Rabbi Schneur Zalman explained to them what he had meant. In the final mishnah of the tractate Pe’ah, the Talmud discusses the criteria for a pauper to be eligible to receive charity. The section concludes with the warning: ‘‘One who is not in need, but takes... one who is not lame or blind but makes himself as such, will not die of old age until he is indeed as such.’’ ‘‘In the same vein,’’ said the Rebbe, ‘‘one who makes of himself more than he is in matters of righteousness and piety will eventually find that these traits have become ingrained in his character and in his very being.’’

Skeptic: Make up your mind. Do we first try to perfect the world, or do we first deal with our inner selves...

Believer: Since when is life such an orderly enterprise? We must work on both fronts. We must strive to build a better world, regardless of where we stand in the development and perfection of our inner selves. At the same time, we must realize that only when we have achieved harmony within will our external efforts be met with complete and eternal success.

Skeptic: But isn’t that like trying to simultaneously build a building and dig its foundation?

Believer: In a way, it is. But ultimately, the true foundation is already in place. Gàd created a world that is, in essence, perfect and harmonious, and forged the soul of man in His image. So only a negative act can be hypocritical– indeed every negative act is hypocritical–whereas our positive deeds are always consistent with what we truly are. The challenge is to overcome the divisive drives and tendencies that superimpose our true, intrinsic will and to express this will on all levels, in our character and behavior.

Skeptic: Still, you’re building the second floor before the first.

Believer: That’s the way we human beings are structured. At times a ‘‘second floor’’ rises out of the foundation and the ‘‘first floor’’ is filled in later. A person may do something which is totally ‘‘out of character’’ for him but which, in truth, reflects an even deeper will that has yet to be developed as a conscious thought or feeling.

In Judaism, this is more than a philosophical or psychological principle—it also translates into a pragmatic approach to life. It even has legal implications. For example, Maimonides, the famed 12th-century codifier of Torah law, writes in the second chapter of his Laws of Divorce: ‘‘If the law mandates that a person grant his wife a divorce and he refuses, a Jewish court, in any time or place, may beat him until he says ‘I am willing’ and writes the writ of divorce (get). This is a valid divorce, although according to Torah law, a divorce must be granted willingly. For in truth, this individual wishes to be of Israel and wishes to observe all of the commandments and to avoid all of the transgressions of the Torah; only his evil inclination has overpowered him. So if he is beaten so that his evil inclination is weakened and he says ‘I am willing,’ he has divorced willingly.’’

Skeptic: What it boils down to is that you’re telling me what my true self is. But what if I’m perfectly satisfied with the me that I know? Why should I fight the way that I am now?