I want to explore a specific type of haughtiness- everybody's natural belief that they are better than those around them and their natural desire to dominate. This is the trait that underlies all competition in our lives. When we compete we are involved in a battle of the egos where we try and exert our superiority. This post will not be a thorough investigation of the area but rather a quick outline of the general characteristics of such a person guided by Shlomo Hamelech:
טז שֶׁשׁ-הֵנָּה, שָׂנֵא יְהוָה; וְשֶׁבַע, תועבות (תּוֹעֲבַת) נַפְשׁוֹ.
יז עֵינַיִם רָמוֹת, לְשׁוֹן שָׁקֶר; וְיָדַיִם, שֹׁפְכוֹת דָּם-נָקִי.
יח לֵב--חֹרֵשׁ, מַחְשְׁבוֹת אָוֶן; רַגְלַיִם מְמַהֲרוֹת, לָרוּץ לָרָעָה.
יט יָפִיחַ כְּזָבִים, עֵד שָׁקֶר; וּמְשַׁלֵּחַ מְדָנִים, בֵּין אַחִים.
16. There are six things that the Lord hates, and they stem from a seventh which is an abomination of His soul;
17. Haughty eyes, a lying tongue, and hands that shed innocent blood;
18. a heart that thinks thoughts of violence; feet that hasten to run to evil;
19. [one who] speaks lies with false testimony and incites quarrels among brothers.
There are six general principles defining this type of haughty person
Method of action: He lies (17) and he gives false testimony (19). He lies about himself and his own qualities- i.e. he tries to bring himself up and make himself better than those around him by presenting himself as not who he really is.
He gives false testimony- meiri explains that this is not necessarily in court- but in general he will also lie to destroy those around him- by bringing them down and destroying their reputation.
Full expression of his character: he sheds inoccent blood(17)-The full expression of his character is a murderer who seeks to destroy those around him. Underlying all of his haugtiness there is an actual drive to destroy anybody that challenges him. Though for most people the full expression isn’t realized, the character of trying to dominate partakes of the same qualities as that of a murderer's.
Where his energies lie: All his energies lie in thoughts of violence. He is completely preoccupied with how he can destroy those around him and how he can dominate them. His thoughts will be spent on elaborate planning and deception. The haughty person is not stupid.
He is overly self confident: his feet hasten to run to evil(18) -He is completely confident in everything he does - Hitler famously said "I follow my course with the precision and security of a sleepwalker." When a person has such an aggrandized view of his greatness and is so intent on dominating those around him he will not have any doubts about his right and will to dominate.
He breaks all identification with people: He is so focused on dominating others that he breaks all identification with people. He has no respect for any type of relationship including the relationship between brothers. Thus, he would not be bothered if he causes strife between brothers (19), spouses, or parents and children.
Wednesday, February 29, 2012
Thursday, February 9, 2012
You Can't Have it All -Part 1
תּוֹעֲבַת יְהוָה, עִקְּשֵׁי-לֵב; וּרְצוֹנוֹ, תְּמִימֵי דָרֶךְ.
20. Those who are perverse in heart are an abomination of the Lord, but He desires those who are persistent in their way.
When a chacham commits his energies to some goal or ideal he should understand that choosing this path will exclude him from being able to pursue a different one. For example, someone who is committing himself to a life of learning cannot simultaneously live a life in pursuit of physical pleasure where he is constantly out partying. He must understand that in order to achieve anything he must be willing to abandon certain lifestyles.
However, there exists a fantasy in most of us that we can have it all; we can have the chachma, the party lifestyle, the athlete lifestyle etc… Thus, even when we commit our energies to specific goals, our hearts cause us to stray from them because of this fantasy.
I have learned, that one way of breaking down fantasies is to delve into the fantasy to show why the fantasy is impossible and will only bring unhappiness. The more I review these ideas the weaker the fantasy becomes:
Breaking Down the Fantasy
There are two reasons for why the fantasy can never be realized. The first reason is that some of the paths themselves are mutually exclusive. A person cannot pursue a life of chachma and a life of instant gratification because any intellectual endeavor requires patience and hard work which are incompatible with a life centered on finding immediate pleasure. Achieving the status as the best athlete requires a preoccupation with the body that cannot concurrently exist with a preoccupation with understanding the mind.
The second reason why a person must abandon some lifestyles is that practically a person has limited energy and simply can't do it all. A person needs to decide where to invest his energies and where to withdraw. Otherwise, he will spread himself too thin, never achieving the results that he desires in any area.
Abandoning this Fantasy
One of the the things that makes it difficult to abandon the fantasy that "I can have it all", is the pain a person will experience when he imagines the lifestyle that he must give up. This pain will be magnified because instead of having a realistic perspective on the abandoned lifestyle, a person will only imagine the positive things associated with the lifestyle.
For example, if someone has to decide whether he should give up his pursuit of the "basketball player" lifestyle, he will immediately feel pain because his mind will naturally be drawn to consider the exciting games, the fans cheering, the proud parents that he won't be experiencing. In his mind he will ask himself "how can I bear to give these things up?". At this moment the full days of practices, the hard work, the pain of losing etc. won't come into his mind. Every lifestyle has drawbacks, but a person's imagination completely ignores that.
In other words, the person always has a very distorted imagination of what a lifestyle will be like. But once this person dedicates his life to basketball, he will inevitably experience the pains first hand and will discover that the lifestyle that he has dedicated his life to is not all that what he imagined it to be.
The key is to recognize the negative aspects of lifestyles before experiencing them i.e. when you are thinking about whether to pursue the lifestyle or when you are feeling the pain of letting the lifestyle go. Hopefully, this will let you make a more intelligent decision about where to invest your energies and not to let the conflict that you're fantasies create, cause you to make a wrong decision.
20. Those who are perverse in heart are an abomination of the Lord, but He desires those who are persistent in their way.
When a chacham commits his energies to some goal or ideal he should understand that choosing this path will exclude him from being able to pursue a different one. For example, someone who is committing himself to a life of learning cannot simultaneously live a life in pursuit of physical pleasure where he is constantly out partying. He must understand that in order to achieve anything he must be willing to abandon certain lifestyles.
However, there exists a fantasy in most of us that we can have it all; we can have the chachma, the party lifestyle, the athlete lifestyle etc… Thus, even when we commit our energies to specific goals, our hearts cause us to stray from them because of this fantasy.
I have learned, that one way of breaking down fantasies is to delve into the fantasy to show why the fantasy is impossible and will only bring unhappiness. The more I review these ideas the weaker the fantasy becomes:
Breaking Down the Fantasy
There are two reasons for why the fantasy can never be realized. The first reason is that some of the paths themselves are mutually exclusive. A person cannot pursue a life of chachma and a life of instant gratification because any intellectual endeavor requires patience and hard work which are incompatible with a life centered on finding immediate pleasure. Achieving the status as the best athlete requires a preoccupation with the body that cannot concurrently exist with a preoccupation with understanding the mind.
The second reason why a person must abandon some lifestyles is that practically a person has limited energy and simply can't do it all. A person needs to decide where to invest his energies and where to withdraw. Otherwise, he will spread himself too thin, never achieving the results that he desires in any area.
Abandoning this Fantasy
One of the the things that makes it difficult to abandon the fantasy that "I can have it all", is the pain a person will experience when he imagines the lifestyle that he must give up. This pain will be magnified because instead of having a realistic perspective on the abandoned lifestyle, a person will only imagine the positive things associated with the lifestyle.
For example, if someone has to decide whether he should give up his pursuit of the "basketball player" lifestyle, he will immediately feel pain because his mind will naturally be drawn to consider the exciting games, the fans cheering, the proud parents that he won't be experiencing. In his mind he will ask himself "how can I bear to give these things up?". At this moment the full days of practices, the hard work, the pain of losing etc. won't come into his mind. Every lifestyle has drawbacks, but a person's imagination completely ignores that.
In other words, the person always has a very distorted imagination of what a lifestyle will be like. But once this person dedicates his life to basketball, he will inevitably experience the pains first hand and will discover that the lifestyle that he has dedicated his life to is not all that what he imagined it to be.
The key is to recognize the negative aspects of lifestyles before experiencing them i.e. when you are thinking about whether to pursue the lifestyle or when you are feeling the pain of letting the lifestyle go. Hopefully, this will let you make a more intelligent decision about where to invest your energies and not to let the conflict that you're fantasies create, cause you to make a wrong decision.
Wednesday, January 25, 2012
Making Decisions
One area that I struggle with, is being secure in a decision that I have made. Before making a decision I am indecisive, but the act of deciding will do no good to quell my doubts. I immediately begin feeling that had I made the alternative decision I would have been better off. I change my mind only to discover myself in the same state of doubt.
Jonny Schneeweiss and I came up with 4 strategies for avoiding conflict after a decision has been made:
Strategy 1: Our experiences are shaped by the way we psychologically relate to our decisions. We can either relate to a decision as permanent, one that will be carried through till the end, or as a decision that can be reevaluated and changed at any point. These perspectives applies to all sorts of decisions including schools, careers, spouses etc…
A person who has the perspective that the decision is permanent will approach conflicts or unhappiness with the intention of figuring out how to adapt and thrive given the current circumstances. He will place all his energies on figuring out ways to be happy in the environment that he is in.
A person with the alternative perspective, who relates to the decision as one that can be changed at any time, will not be thinking about adaptation, but rather about the alternatives. His energies will be diverted away from figuring out ways to be happy in his current situation, which will in turn cause him more unhappiness. Not only will he not be adapting to his situation but he will also be placing himself in more conflict because he will begin to foster fantasies associated with the alternative choices.
If I decide that I want to go on the trip I immediately begin fantasizing about sitting in front of a warm fire with my family, cozy, reading my favorite novel. If I decide not to go I immediately imagine all of the exciting adventures that I am missing out on.
If I get married and psychologically relate to it as something that is permanent, then in cases of conflict I will spend my energies on adapting to the situation. However, if I view it as something that I can back out of at any moment my energies will be spent on thinking, “do I really want to be in this kind of marriage? Maybe I could be out single traveling year round!” My energies are not being spent on making myself happier in the situation that I already am in.
The underlying assumption of this strategy is that we can control our attitudes. We can make the conscious decision to approach an experience in a specific way. This is not completely true but we should work on our attitudes to the extent that we can.
In summary: the grass is always greener on the other side. So stop looking at it and focus on dealing with your own grass.
The next three strategies are more relevant for smaller life decisions:
Strategy 2: A person should realize that re evaluating a decision is a painful state in itself. When re-thinking a decision a person should first think; “do I really want to be in this painful state of indecisiveness? Or, can I adapt to the circumstances that I am already in? Most people are only aware of the states that they are deciding about, but are not aware of all the pain they cause themselves through the decision to place themselves in a state of limbo. Really being aware of that painful experience in its own right can help a person change his mind less often after having made a decision. This sounds like it could lead to an infinite regress but in practice a person will find that this can be an effective strategy particularly for minor decisions.
Strategy 3: Oftentimes the consequences of the decision are not that significant. One thing that helps settle the mind is mentally focusing on what things will be like after the consequences of the decision have worn off. A person will sometimes find that its not even worth worrying about the decision since the indecisiveness brings more conflict than anything else.
When I am torn about what food I should have for dinner, stuck with many desirable choices in front of me, I can remember that in thirty minutes I will be full and my decision won’t have mattered any more. When I am torn about whether I should go on a trip or not I remind myself that it won’t really matter as soon as the trip is over. Yes I will have different experiences depending on my choices, but how significant will these experiences be? Will it really matter?
This does not mean that one shouldn’t think about the consequences of minor decisions. But keep them in perspective.
Strategy 4: Practice with smaller decisions. In situations where the consequences are not so great, it sometimes pays just to force oneself to stick to the decision that one has already made. Make it a habit to stick through a decision and this will help you acquire a peace of mind after you’ve made a decision.
Jonny Schneeweiss and I came up with 4 strategies for avoiding conflict after a decision has been made:
Strategy 1: Our experiences are shaped by the way we psychologically relate to our decisions. We can either relate to a decision as permanent, one that will be carried through till the end, or as a decision that can be reevaluated and changed at any point. These perspectives applies to all sorts of decisions including schools, careers, spouses etc…
A person who has the perspective that the decision is permanent will approach conflicts or unhappiness with the intention of figuring out how to adapt and thrive given the current circumstances. He will place all his energies on figuring out ways to be happy in the environment that he is in.
A person with the alternative perspective, who relates to the decision as one that can be changed at any time, will not be thinking about adaptation, but rather about the alternatives. His energies will be diverted away from figuring out ways to be happy in his current situation, which will in turn cause him more unhappiness. Not only will he not be adapting to his situation but he will also be placing himself in more conflict because he will begin to foster fantasies associated with the alternative choices.
If I decide that I want to go on the trip I immediately begin fantasizing about sitting in front of a warm fire with my family, cozy, reading my favorite novel. If I decide not to go I immediately imagine all of the exciting adventures that I am missing out on.
If I get married and psychologically relate to it as something that is permanent, then in cases of conflict I will spend my energies on adapting to the situation. However, if I view it as something that I can back out of at any moment my energies will be spent on thinking, “do I really want to be in this kind of marriage? Maybe I could be out single traveling year round!” My energies are not being spent on making myself happier in the situation that I already am in.
The underlying assumption of this strategy is that we can control our attitudes. We can make the conscious decision to approach an experience in a specific way. This is not completely true but we should work on our attitudes to the extent that we can.
In summary: the grass is always greener on the other side. So stop looking at it and focus on dealing with your own grass.
The next three strategies are more relevant for smaller life decisions:
Strategy 2: A person should realize that re evaluating a decision is a painful state in itself. When re-thinking a decision a person should first think; “do I really want to be in this painful state of indecisiveness? Or, can I adapt to the circumstances that I am already in? Most people are only aware of the states that they are deciding about, but are not aware of all the pain they cause themselves through the decision to place themselves in a state of limbo. Really being aware of that painful experience in its own right can help a person change his mind less often after having made a decision. This sounds like it could lead to an infinite regress but in practice a person will find that this can be an effective strategy particularly for minor decisions.
Strategy 3: Oftentimes the consequences of the decision are not that significant. One thing that helps settle the mind is mentally focusing on what things will be like after the consequences of the decision have worn off. A person will sometimes find that its not even worth worrying about the decision since the indecisiveness brings more conflict than anything else.
When I am torn about what food I should have for dinner, stuck with many desirable choices in front of me, I can remember that in thirty minutes I will be full and my decision won’t have mattered any more. When I am torn about whether I should go on a trip or not I remind myself that it won’t really matter as soon as the trip is over. Yes I will have different experiences depending on my choices, but how significant will these experiences be? Will it really matter?
This does not mean that one shouldn’t think about the consequences of minor decisions. But keep them in perspective.
Strategy 4: Practice with smaller decisions. In situations where the consequences are not so great, it sometimes pays just to force oneself to stick to the decision that one has already made. Make it a habit to stick through a decision and this will help you acquire a peace of mind after you’ve made a decision.
Friday, January 20, 2012
Tricks of the Yetzer Hara
these ideas are based on a shiur given by Rabbi Markowitz
Mishlei Chapter 7 Verses 6-18
6. For from the window of my house, through my lattice I gazed,
7. and I saw among the simple-I discerned among the youths-a lad devoid of
sense,
8. crossing the street next to her corner, and he walks on the way to her house.
9. In the twilight, in the evening of the day, in the pitch darkness of the night.
10. And behold a woman [was coming] toward him, the nakedness of a harlot
with her heart besieged.
11. She is bustling and rebellious; her feet do not dwell in her house.
12. Sometimes [she is] in the street, sometimes in the squares, and she lurks at
every corner.
13. She takes hold of him and kisses him; brazenly she says to him,
14. "I had to bring peace-offerings; today I paid my vows.
15. Therefore, I have come out toward you to look for you, and I have found you.
16. I have bedecked my couch with covers, with superior braided work of Egypt.
17. I fanned my couch with myrrh, aloes, and cinnamon.
18. Come, let us take our fill of lovemaking until morning; let us enjoy ourselves
with amorous embraces.
These Pesukim outline three ways in which we get seduced by our yetzer hara:
1) Linking a good action to the bad action that the emotions desire to do. The woman seducing the simpleton tells him: “I had to bring peace offerings; today I paid my vows”. By tying an evil action to a mitzvah he is able to rationalize away any guilt that he may feel. He acquires a feeling of righteousness which causes his conscience to give him more leeway to do what he desires.
For example, in college settings people often say to themselves: “I worked hard today and did a lot of good. I’ll just give myself this one small reward”. They will then go and completely give in to their temptations.
2) Making an action more sophisticated can tie it to a more elaborate fantasy and it brings a person away from what the action really is. The woman in the pesukim tells him: “I have bedecked my couch with covers, with superior braided work of Egypt. I fanned my couch with myrrh, aloes, and cinnamon”. We often masquerade base pleasures to convince ourselves that we are really involved in something that is not as bad.
Here’s an example. Most people would feel guilty about mugging someone on the street. Yet, when salespeople deceive their customers about their products they are also stealing from them. But since the action can be masqueraded as “I’m just doing my job of being a good salesman” they do not feel the guilt associated with stealing.
3) Falling into a desire by giving in to it in a small way. The woman in the pasuk begins by kissing him, a seemingly minor and unimportant show of intimacy. But the “unimportant experience” diminishes the severity of the action in one’s mind. He begins viewing it as the norm. Slowly, this norm will shift as he begins to give in more to the emotion.
For example, taking a paper clip seems harmless. So the emotions will build on that. Once the person is able to excuse the minor infraction its just a matter of degree.
If your not constantly involved in chachma then the yetzer hara will just appear and pull you without you even realizing it. A person really feels like he is in control of his behavior but often the desires take hold, and are really the ones in control.
The only thing you can do is be involved in chochma and that will provide you more control over your psyche. It will train you to detect when your yetzer hara is influencing you and will let you develop strategies to avoid its pitfalls.
Mishlei Chapter 7 Verses 6-18
6. For from the window of my house, through my lattice I gazed,
7. and I saw among the simple-I discerned among the youths-a lad devoid of
sense,
8. crossing the street next to her corner, and he walks on the way to her house.
9. In the twilight, in the evening of the day, in the pitch darkness of the night.
10. And behold a woman [was coming] toward him, the nakedness of a harlot
with her heart besieged.
11. She is bustling and rebellious; her feet do not dwell in her house.
12. Sometimes [she is] in the street, sometimes in the squares, and she lurks at
every corner.
13. She takes hold of him and kisses him; brazenly she says to him,
14. "I had to bring peace-offerings; today I paid my vows.
15. Therefore, I have come out toward you to look for you, and I have found you.
16. I have bedecked my couch with covers, with superior braided work of Egypt.
17. I fanned my couch with myrrh, aloes, and cinnamon.
18. Come, let us take our fill of lovemaking until morning; let us enjoy ourselves
with amorous embraces.
These Pesukim outline three ways in which we get seduced by our yetzer hara:
1) Linking a good action to the bad action that the emotions desire to do. The woman seducing the simpleton tells him: “I had to bring peace offerings; today I paid my vows”. By tying an evil action to a mitzvah he is able to rationalize away any guilt that he may feel. He acquires a feeling of righteousness which causes his conscience to give him more leeway to do what he desires.
For example, in college settings people often say to themselves: “I worked hard today and did a lot of good. I’ll just give myself this one small reward”. They will then go and completely give in to their temptations.
2) Making an action more sophisticated can tie it to a more elaborate fantasy and it brings a person away from what the action really is. The woman in the pesukim tells him: “I have bedecked my couch with covers, with superior braided work of Egypt. I fanned my couch with myrrh, aloes, and cinnamon”. We often masquerade base pleasures to convince ourselves that we are really involved in something that is not as bad.
Here’s an example. Most people would feel guilty about mugging someone on the street. Yet, when salespeople deceive their customers about their products they are also stealing from them. But since the action can be masqueraded as “I’m just doing my job of being a good salesman” they do not feel the guilt associated with stealing.
3) Falling into a desire by giving in to it in a small way. The woman in the pasuk begins by kissing him, a seemingly minor and unimportant show of intimacy. But the “unimportant experience” diminishes the severity of the action in one’s mind. He begins viewing it as the norm. Slowly, this norm will shift as he begins to give in more to the emotion.
For example, taking a paper clip seems harmless. So the emotions will build on that. Once the person is able to excuse the minor infraction its just a matter of degree.
If your not constantly involved in chachma then the yetzer hara will just appear and pull you without you even realizing it. A person really feels like he is in control of his behavior but often the desires take hold, and are really the ones in control.
The only thing you can do is be involved in chochma and that will provide you more control over your psyche. It will train you to detect when your yetzer hara is influencing you and will let you develop strategies to avoid its pitfalls.
Wednesday, December 28, 2011
Money
Mishlei Chapter 11 Verse 18:
רָשָׁע--עֹשֶׂה פְעֻלַּת-שָׁקֶר; וְזֹרֵעַ צְדָקָה, שֶׂכֶר אֱמֶת
A wicked man earns false wages, but he who plants charity [receives] a true reward.
There are two types of fantasies regarding money.
1) The fantasy of the ego; an attachment to the power and greatness that can be achieved through a person's wealth.
2) The fantasy of pleasure; the belief that the money will afford the person unlimited pleasure.
A person steeped in either fantasy will never be satisfied by his money because he will never be able to achieve either fantasy. The irony is that the wicked person places so much importance to money and its power that in the end the money will be worthless to him.
The person who gives charity, and is able to part with his money, distances himself from either fantasy and instead relates to it in a practical way. He is able to view the money not just as a an object for obtaining his next yacht but also as an object for obtaining necessities in life (as the person taking the charity relates to it). By downplaying its importance (in the fantasy framework) he is able to appreciate it for what its true worth is.
רָשָׁע--עֹשֶׂה פְעֻלַּת-שָׁקֶר; וְזֹרֵעַ צְדָקָה, שֶׂכֶר אֱמֶת
A wicked man earns false wages, but he who plants charity [receives] a true reward.
There are two types of fantasies regarding money.
1) The fantasy of the ego; an attachment to the power and greatness that can be achieved through a person's wealth.
2) The fantasy of pleasure; the belief that the money will afford the person unlimited pleasure.
A person steeped in either fantasy will never be satisfied by his money because he will never be able to achieve either fantasy. The irony is that the wicked person places so much importance to money and its power that in the end the money will be worthless to him.
The person who gives charity, and is able to part with his money, distances himself from either fantasy and instead relates to it in a practical way. He is able to view the money not just as a an object for obtaining his next yacht but also as an object for obtaining necessities in life (as the person taking the charity relates to it). By downplaying its importance (in the fantasy framework) he is able to appreciate it for what its true worth is.
Making Mistakes
Chapter 12 Verse 13
יג בְּפֶשַׁע שְׂפָתַיִם, מוֹקֵשׁ רָע; וַיֵּצֵא מִצָּרָה צַדִּיק.
13. Because of the transgression of the lips there is an evil snare, but the righteous comes out of trouble.
Everyone occasionally is negligent in their speech, and speaks in ways that could cause conflict; however the tzadik and the ish rah will respond differently to their mistakes. The ish rah does not want to admit his mistake so he stands by what he said, ignoring the possible conflicts that it may cause in his relationship with others as long as his ego remains intact. He views social interactions as a competition, where making and admitting a mistake is equivalent to losing. The tzadik does not view social interactions as competitions or ego battles, and will be able to admit and address (apologize for) his mistake, successfully avoiding possible conflicts
יג בְּפֶשַׁע שְׂפָתַיִם, מוֹקֵשׁ רָע; וַיֵּצֵא מִצָּרָה צַדִּיק.
13. Because of the transgression of the lips there is an evil snare, but the righteous comes out of trouble.
Everyone occasionally is negligent in their speech, and speaks in ways that could cause conflict; however the tzadik and the ish rah will respond differently to their mistakes. The ish rah does not want to admit his mistake so he stands by what he said, ignoring the possible conflicts that it may cause in his relationship with others as long as his ego remains intact. He views social interactions as a competition, where making and admitting a mistake is equivalent to losing. The tzadik does not view social interactions as competitions or ego battles, and will be able to admit and address (apologize for) his mistake, successfully avoiding possible conflicts
Friday, November 18, 2011
It's All About How You Chase
Mishlei Chapter 12 Verse 11
יא עֹבֵד אַדְמָתוֹ, יִשְׂבַּע-לָחֶם; וּמְרַדֵּף רֵיקִים חֲסַר-לֵב.
11. He who tills his soil will be sated with bread, but he who pursues empty things is devoid of sense.
A person who has an understanding of systems and knows how to apply principles to the particulars of his life situation, will be able to discern which pursuits are worth his diligence and hard work and which ones are fantasies that will not bring him satisfaction. Thus, he will till the soil for bread because 1) he realized that tilling the soil is the only way to get bread 2) he understands that bread will give him satisfaction. However, a person who does not have understanding of underlying principle will not be able to distinguish between pursuits that can be fulfilling and those that cannot(fantasies). He will be a rodef, always chasing some new fantasy(possibly with equal diligence as the man of understanding), but always either coming up feeling empty and unsatisfied (if its a fantasy) or being unable to come up with a rational plan to achieve his goal(if it happens to be a worthwhile pursuit).
יא עֹבֵד אַדְמָתוֹ, יִשְׂבַּע-לָחֶם; וּמְרַדֵּף רֵיקִים חֲסַר-לֵב.
11. He who tills his soil will be sated with bread, but he who pursues empty things is devoid of sense.
A person who has an understanding of systems and knows how to apply principles to the particulars of his life situation, will be able to discern which pursuits are worth his diligence and hard work and which ones are fantasies that will not bring him satisfaction. Thus, he will till the soil for bread because 1) he realized that tilling the soil is the only way to get bread 2) he understands that bread will give him satisfaction. However, a person who does not have understanding of underlying principle will not be able to distinguish between pursuits that can be fulfilling and those that cannot(fantasies). He will be a rodef, always chasing some new fantasy(possibly with equal diligence as the man of understanding), but always either coming up feeling empty and unsatisfied (if its a fantasy) or being unable to come up with a rational plan to achieve his goal(if it happens to be a worthwhile pursuit).
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