Keep ’em Separated

Gevurah used for Good (Levi), Gevurah Used for Bad (Bullying)

Yaakov mentions that his sons Shimon and Levi have used their abilities for destruction, and says that they should live scattered around Israel[1]. How will this solve their inclination to destroy what they see as major problems in their environment?

The middah (concept/quality) of gevurah can be understood to mean the urge to attack or the ability to hold oneself back from attacking[2]-to be a true samurai/martial artist: one who has the power and ability to attack but holds themselves back. “Attacking” means to confront or rail against something that is incorrect, within in ones surroundings.

When too much gevurah is concentrated in one place, there will be too much attacking; also, the elimination of incorrect entities in a given environment will be done in an incorrect way (for example, when Shimon and Levi for wipe out the city of Shechem or lead the charge against Yosef). When the middah is utilized properly, it can stop true injustice and major breakdowns in society (as when Levi refuses to worship the Golden Calf or when Pinchas eliminates Zimri).

People who embrace a stricter approach to observance can be understood to be utilizing gevurah to enhance their lives; they are taking extra caution to eliminate what they see as potential hazards in their environment.

As a general concept this is commendable (see “Strict or Lenient?” at the bottom of this page). However, just as it is possible for people who are not careful to have a harmful lack of gevurah in their lives, so do people who are being extra careful run the risk of overly concentrating gevurah and misusing it (snobbery, harassing others). It can happen that a minority of people who are embracing gevurah separate themselves by misusing this powerful middah. This is why Shimon and Levi-and students in a class, for example- needed to be separated; then their abilities can be utilized properly and more carefully. Conversely, people who are more connected to the outside world need to remember that they need to make healthy boundaries and do acts of self-discipline in order to keep themselves connected to their faith.

May we all balance our middot to become properly balanced people.

–IB