Who is man?
Is he the one who flew an airplane into the Twin Towers?
Or is he the one who gave up his life trying to save people?
I don’t think this is a mere philosophical musing. How we understand the nature of man affects if we hope or despair about our fate. And if we despair and see doom and gloom as the nature and irrevocable future of man – is it possible for this to not affect our life decisions? To get married, to bear children, to build for a distant future that we will never see requires courage and strength; belief and hope.
Many times I want to lose faith in man but the Torah doesn’t let me. Torah looks at man with suspicion yet with admiration; it doubts his intentions but believes in his aspirations. It has been said that the most tragic figure in the Torah is G-d; He gives the very essence of Himself to creation only to be continuously disappointed by man’s choices. Yet one can sense and clearly see that G-d never loses hope in man. He remains steadfast in His faith.
So who is man? With all that’s going on in the world, it’s hard to be positive. But the Torah casts a rope of hope.
2021