The Chimp and You
By Dovber Chaiton
We dare not make light of a horrific incident, but perhaps the story of the domesticated chimp from Connecticut is the story of our very own lives.
It is well known that Rabbi Levi Yitzchok of Berditchev was the best advocate of Jewish piety, notwithstanding the observance of those he advocated for. He once claimed to G-d that had he put holiness and spirituality on the streets and physicality and crudeness in the books, He would have had a nation of only righteous people.
Let’s now imagine that we were born into a world bereft of any social common practice. A world where manners were unheard of and the gentleness and sophistication of humans made for intriguing viewing on National Geographic. In short we would have a world where nobody knew better than having primitiveness as a standard.
When we are born our world isn’t so different from the world we just described. However with education and the observance of others we learn the art of living a life with etiquette and decorum. It would be fair to say that most people are- to put it bluntly- domesticated animals and unfortunately many of us never lose that instinct.
This is however where our similarities with animals have the possibility of taking a new track. There are two ways of treating a wall riddled with graffiti. The first option would be to simply paint over it. If you buy better paint the ugly graffiti will be hidden for longer, but after all someday he will poke his ugly head through the paint. The more tedious way of doing it would be to thoroughly remove the graffiti and then re-coat the surface.
We have the same options in taking control over our own emotions. We could coat our habitual natures with facades of cultivation. While being an easy and prompt way of dealing with our habits, as G.B. Shaw proved in Pygmalion, it nevertheless leaves a gap for our true habits to get in. Here, is where the parable of the Graffiti comes up short. For the point is not to annihilate our bad habits and replace them with others, it is rather to take the habit and elevate it. As Chassidic philosophy re-iterates many times it is not about changing your natural emotions, it’s about changing the nature of our emotions.
It seems strange that the path of discerning ourselves from Travis the Chimp from Connecticut would be so arduous. Yet with some introspection it makes perfect sense.
We all acknowledge that something we work tirelessly for has far greater value to us than to something which comes for free. A hard earned salary may not provide the same joy as a gift, but in the long run it definitely provides a far deeper sense of satisfaction. With that in mind, we have to think long and hard. What sort-of price tag are we going to put on our very own character? Could there be something which is worth more?
Dovber Chaiton has studied at Yeshivot is South Africa and Israel. He is currently a Shliach at the Coral Springs Mesivta in Florida.
