King Solomon said at the end of Koheles [Ecclesiastes],
סוף דבר הכל נשמע את האלקים ירא ואת מצותיו שמור כי זה כל האדם
which roughly translates as 'At the end of it all, after everything has been said, fear G-d, heed His commandments, for that is the whole person'.
King Solomon was a wise man. Scriptures describes him as the wisest person that has ever lived, he was given Divine wisdom that was all-encompassing. What did he mean by 'for that is the whole person'? Is that then the whole person? Is that all there is to man? Reading Koheles one will soon see that there is a whole lot more under the sun!
One of my clients asked me, does life always always have to be a struggle? Surely the Torah way of life should flow naturally, the natural expression of the soul should be a delight. Why therefore the feeling of pushing uphill, constantly tripping, having to get up and start again? Why indeed?
Looking at the characteristics of man outlined in Sefer Yetsiroh - used today in modern psychological astrology (or astro-psychology) - one will immediately notice that man's inherent constitution involves a certain negativity. Of the various facets that form his natural make-up are what might be called 'negativities': a tendency to laziness or to procrastinate, a tendency to anger or even to fight.
A person has innate tendencies that need to be expressed. But more than that, he needs to push against something in order to grow. Without adversary or challenge, man would be a shapeless spiritual blob, jelly on a plate, without form, character, or any permanence.
The Torah provides for a person everything he needs to advance spiritually, to grow healthily, utilising all his natural tendencies. The struggles are needed. They are part of healthy growth.
This is what King Solomon meant by saying 'that is the whole person'. Fearing G-d, being aware of G-d and heeding His commandments, in short, the Torah way of life, though perhaps initially not a 'pleasure ride', provide for all of a person's components and tendencies, fulfilling him, giving him a feeling of purpose, in a way no other system can.
סוף דבר הכל נשמע את האלקים ירא ואת מצותיו שמור כי זה כל האדם
which roughly translates as 'At the end of it all, after everything has been said, fear G-d, heed His commandments, for that is the whole person'.
King Solomon was a wise man. Scriptures describes him as the wisest person that has ever lived, he was given Divine wisdom that was all-encompassing. What did he mean by 'for that is the whole person'? Is that then the whole person? Is that all there is to man? Reading Koheles one will soon see that there is a whole lot more under the sun!
One of my clients asked me, does life always always have to be a struggle? Surely the Torah way of life should flow naturally, the natural expression of the soul should be a delight. Why therefore the feeling of pushing uphill, constantly tripping, having to get up and start again? Why indeed?
Looking at the characteristics of man outlined in Sefer Yetsiroh - used today in modern psychological astrology (or astro-psychology) - one will immediately notice that man's inherent constitution involves a certain negativity. Of the various facets that form his natural make-up are what might be called 'negativities': a tendency to laziness or to procrastinate, a tendency to anger or even to fight.
A person has innate tendencies that need to be expressed. But more than that, he needs to push against something in order to grow. Without adversary or challenge, man would be a shapeless spiritual blob, jelly on a plate, without form, character, or any permanence.
The Torah provides for a person everything he needs to advance spiritually, to grow healthily, utilising all his natural tendencies. The struggles are needed. They are part of healthy growth.
This is what King Solomon meant by saying 'that is the whole person'. Fearing G-d, being aware of G-d and heeding His commandments, in short, the Torah way of life, though perhaps initially not a 'pleasure ride', provide for all of a person's components and tendencies, fulfilling him, giving him a feeling of purpose, in a way no other system can.