The Source of Evil - Bo

"And G‑d said to Moses, 'Come to Pharaoh'…"—Exodus 10:1.

When G‑d summoned Moses to confront Pharaoh, G‑d did not say to him, "Go to Pharaoh," but rather, "Come to Pharaoh," as if to say that He, G‑d, was already there and by approaching Pharaoh, Moses was actually approaching G‑d.

Therein, G‑d revealed to Moses the secret of Pharaoh's power and the power of all evil—that, in essence, it is truly nothing more than the audacious misappropriation of the power of G‑d. In other words, the source of evil is the independent ego and the ultimate independence of ego is not the rejection of G‑d but the belief that G‑d's power is one's own.

"Come, enter the essence of evil and confront it in its source"After all, who was Pharaoh—tyrant, dictator, killer of children and oppressor of slaves? All of these were but manifestations of Pharaoh—particular character defects, if you will. But the essence of Pharaoh – that which made all of these other behaviors possible – was nothing more or less than the worship of self, as Pharaoh so outrageously exclaimed (Ezekiel 29:9), "I created myself."

Thus, G‑d told Moses "Come to Pharaoh," as if to say, "Come, enter the essence of evil and confront it in its source, as it really is. You will find that I am there already, for I am the power that evil so audaciously claims as its own."

So it is with us. Our inner Pharaoh is the ego that claims G‑d-like powers. He may be called by various names such as self-control, will-power or intelligence, but his message is always the same. He insists that he has our addiction under control. By the time we realize that this Pharaoh's claims are untrue, his domination over us is already complete. We stand face to face with evil, and it seems that there is nothing that we can do.

But then G‑d beckons us, "Come. Come face the obsession as it really is. The ego is not as powerful as it claims, but to the contrary, completely powerless. When you can see this – that the power of ego is nothing but a complete and total lie – it is then, and only then, that you will see true power, the power of G‑d."

By Rabbi Ben A.

Rabbi Ben A. is the most famous anonymous rabbi. Using his pen name, Ben A. draws from his personal experience in recovery to incorporate unique chassidic philosophy into the practice of the 12 Steps.
The idea of this article is based on the teachings of the Lubavitcher Rebbe.

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4 Comments

Ed Cambridge, England October 31, 2010

OK to quote you? Dear Rabbi,

I also enjoyed your article. I'm a Xtn blogger and friend of Israel, and have quoted it in a song-blog about the light and darkness in Hallowe'en, linking the quote to your post - it's above the 5th song down. If you object to being quoted in this context please tell me, and I'll remove it. Reply

Susan T. blank January 30, 2009

There is nothing besides Hashem.
I loved the line: I am the power that evil so audaciously claims as its own.
It's all G-d. May we be blessed in our journeys of coming back to Him. Reply

Rabbi Ben A. January 26, 2009

Answer to Roxie I once heard Chuck C. (alright a recording of Chuck C.) say that there's been a lot of debate in AA about the difference between "defects of character" in Step 6 and "shortcomings" in Step 7. Chuck wanted to get right to the bottom of it so he asked Bill W. himself. Bill said, "Oh that? They mean the same thing. It's just that I learned somewhere that you shouldn't use the same word over again right away."
My answer to your question is pretty much the same.
The only qualification I would like to make is that the word "sin" has to be used carefully. Firstly, the word has heavy moralistic implications. It just sounds preachy and I try not to use it often. The second point is that a sin is different than a character defect because a sin -- at least in the Jewish sense -- is a behavior, not just an urge or a proclivity. Now, mind you, behavior does not necessarily mean "action." Behavior can include speech and even willful thought. But the point is that it's not a sin to want to do wrong. It's a character defect. When you express that desire (whether in action, speech or willful thought) then it can be deemed a sin.
In other words, when we act, speak or think in a way that is not aligned with G-d's will for us, we are expressing our character defects. You can call it "sin" or you can just call it "not living right" or whatever you want.
In the program we are not so much concerned with the behaviors as we are with the character defects that cause them. Like Joe and Charlie say in relation to the Fourth Step, it doesn't matter how many times you did such-and-such or where and when. The real concern is, "Why?"
In other words, to put it real simple, a person "sins" (read: behaves improperly) because of a particular character defect and he has a particular character defect because of his obsession with himself. When you trace everything back to its root, it's all self-obsession.
So, in terms of what I wrote about Pharaoh (which is, by the way, not my original idea but something that great Jewish thinkers have been saying for centuries), you can break it down like this:
Why did Pharaoh _______ (enslave the Hebrews, order babies to be thrown in the Nile, etc.)?
Because of a character defect. (Fear, self-seeking, etc.)
Why did he have those character defects?
Because he was obsessed with himself. ("I created myself."
This, by the way, is the same idea as Kurtz expresses in the title of of his book on AA, "Not G-d" -- that the alcoholic's sickness is that he attributes G-d-like powers to himself. Recovery thus requires admission of the opposite. Reply

Roxie January 26, 2009

Sin Hello Rabbi Ben A.,
Interesting article. Great writing.
You said:
"All of these were but manifestations of Pharaoh—particular character defects, if you will. But the essence of Pharaoh – that which made all of these other behaviors possible – was nothing more or less than the worship of self, as Pharaoh so outrageously exclaimed (Ezekiel 29:9), "I created myself."
Are these character defects or sin? Or both?
Also, could you please explain your use of "G-d" without the "o"?
If you are willing, I'd like to post your response on my blog.
Thank you.
Roxie Reply

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