Parashat Emor: Restraining the Anger
In this week's portion, Parashat Emor, we learn about controlling an important character trait- anger. The son of Shelomith, daughter of Dibri, who, in a fit of emotional turmoil and a struggle within the camp, lost control of himself and blasphemed the Name of G-d. Blasphemy is one of the fundamental Seven Noahide Laws. However, the blasphemer did not commit any physical act, he expressed a curse only by speech, so why was he punished severely for a transgression that does not involve physical deed?
The story of the blasphemer teaches us a critical lesson about the human psyche: Anger is a destructive trait. The Sages of the Talmud warned against it. "Whoever falls into anger is as if they have worshipped idols" Why? Because at the moment of anger, a person forgets that there is a Creator to the world. When someone harms us, or when something does not go as we planned, the natural tendency is to be angry at the external cause.
"One who is angry—even the Divine Presence is not important before him" (Nedarim 22b). Anger blinds a person's eyes from seeing theDivine Providence, to the point where they are capable of uttering words they would never dream of saying during normal times. The spiritual root of the trait of anger is a lack of awareness of G-d’s infinite presence in every detail and moment of our lives.
Unlike a flesh-and-blood craftsman who builds a tool and sets it down (like a carpenter who builds a table and the table exists by its own power afterwards), in the creation of the world the power that constitutes must be present within the creature at every moment. When a person curses the Name, he performs a destructive action from a logical and spiritual perspective. He uses his mouth, his tongue, the air in his lungs, and the power of thought – all of which are given to him at that very moment by the Creator – to rebel against Him. This rebellion is in fact a rebellion against life itself.
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Maimonides (Laws of idolatry chapter 2:1) rules that the prohibition of idolatry also includes belief in the unity of Hashem and not attribute any independent power to any other creature. Anger is the result of the mistaken thought that there is another power in the world besides G-d. He Blessed Be He does not have any "partners" in running the world. The goal is to reach a refined belief that every detail in the world is led only by G-d. For Noahides and for Jews as well, the commandment not to blaspheme the Name is a fundamental law. Mastery over anger is the "fence" that protects this commandment. If one encounters a moment of anger, he should try to pause for a second and remember: it is only a test aimed to elevate me, "There is none besides Him".
Sources: Leviticus 24:10–23. Tractate Nedarim 22b. Igeret HaKodesh (Tanya), Epistle 25. Laws of idolatry chapter 2:1.
Rabbi Moshe Bernstein is the author of the books:
Light Onto the Nation: A Guide to the Seven Noahide Laws
Light Onto the Torah Portions: Insights on the Torah Portions for Noahides 2 volumes.
Stories of Faith for Noahides: Inspiring Stories for Noahides from the Righteous of all Generations.
Serving G-d with Joy: A Guide for Jews and Bnei Noah to Serving the Creator with Joy
Thank you very much for this wonderful summary. I quite enjoy how this summary focuses on one detail of the Parashat, namely the blasphemer, and also focuses entirely on one of the very likely underlying causes of his behaviour, namely anger. Just last Sunday I asked a calm person that rarely ever shows any outward signs of discomfort during tense situations what they do when they feel frustrated. Their reply was that they "think of something else". The Rabbis at NoahideAcademy.org all seem to be very well mannered, calm, and controlled – I assume that is due to them being involved in spiritual activities, such as prayers and Torah study, for a big chunk of their time. I personally try to fit in some short time for prayer and Torah study every day , as much raising a family with children and my work allow it. I also suspect that if I reduced my work commitments, and instead increased my time dedicated to spiritual activities, I could also deal better with moments of frustration in my own life. As I have got older, I have become less inclined to make a lot of big changes in my life in a short amount of time, so I will have to see how I can incorporate this lesson in my life. Another important lesson from your summary is that everything comes from Hashem, so I guess we should focus on G'd, think about Him, and consult Him in every moment of our lives, even while involved in mundane activities.