Wednesday, March 20, 2019

Was Omni a “Wicked Man”?







We read in the Book of Mormon:

1 Behold, it came to pass that I, Omni, being commanded by my father, Jarom, that I should write somewhat upon these plates, to preserve our genealogy—
2 Wherefore, in my days, I would that ye should know that I fought much with the sword to preserve my people, the Nephites, from falling into the hands of their enemies, the Lamanites. But behold, I of myself am a wicked man, and I have not kept the statutes and the commandments of the Lord as I ought to have done.
3 And it came to pass that two hundred and seventy and six years had passed away, and we had many seasons of peace; and we had many seasons of serious war and bloodshed. Yea, and in fine, two hundred and eighty and two years had passed away, and I had kept these plates according to the commandments of my fathers; and I conferred them upon my son Amaron. And I make an end.
(Omni 1:1-3)

The fact that one of the authors of the Book of Mormon, for which one of the books are named, admits being a “wicked man” has long been a target for attack by Book of Mormon opponents. 

However, if we examine this passage from a Jewish perspective, it makes perfect sense. 

The Talmud records a Jewish tradition which states that at the time a soul is sent into the world, an oath is administer to the soul by Elohim, as follows:

Be righteous and be not wicked;
and even if the whole world tells you that you are righteous,
regard yourself as if you were wicked.
(b.Niddah 30b)

The Tanya, a book written by the founder of the Chabad movement laying out the foundation for Hasidic Judaism, comments much about this passage in the Talmud.

Drawing from another passage of Talmud, the Tanya lays out five kinds of men:

We find in the Gemara [of the Talmud] [b.Berachot 7a] five distinct types—a righteous man who prospers, a righteous man who suffers, a wicked man who prospers, a wicked man who suffers, and an intermediate one (Benoni). It is there explained that the "righteous man who prospers" is the perfect tzaddik; the "righteous man who suffers" is the imperfect tzaddik. In Raaya Mehemna [in the Zohar] (Parshat Mishpatim) it is explained that the "righteous man who suffers" is one whose evil nature is subservient to his good nature, and so on. In the Gemara (end ch. 9, Berachot) it is stated that the righteous are motivated by their good nature,... and the wicked by their evil nature, while the intermediate men are motivated by both, and so on. Rabbah declared, "I, for example, am a Benoni" Said Abbaye to him, "Master, you do not make it possible for anyone to live," and so on.
(Tanya Chapter 1)

After some analysis of terms, the Tany goes on to say:

And as for the general saying that one whose deeds and misdeeds are equally balanced is called Benoni, while he whose virtues outweigh his sins is called a Tzaddik, this is only the figurative use of the term in regard to reward and punishment, because he is judged according to the majority [of his acts] and he is deemed "righteous" in his verdict, since he is acquitted in law. But concerning the true definition and quality of the distinct levels and ranks, "Righteous" and "Intermediate" men, our Sages have remarked that the Righteous are motivated [solely] by their good nature, as it is written, "And my heart is a void within me," that is, void of an evil nature, because he [David] had slain it through fasting. But whoever has not attained this degree, even though his virtues exceed his sins, cannot at all be reckoned to have ascended to the rank of the Righteous (tzaddik). This is why our Sages have declared in the Midrash, "The Almighty saw that the righteous were few, so He planted them in every generation,..." [for,] as it is written, "The tzaddik is the foundation of the world."
(Tanya Chapter 1)

So the Tanya teaches that the true definition of a “righteous” man (a Tzadik) is one who has no influence from his evil inclination at all.  It does not even occur to this rare type of man to sin.

Later, in Chapter 13 the Tanya states:

Yet, inasmuch as the evil in the [heart's] left part of the benoni is in its innate strength, craving after all the pleasures of this world, not having been nullified in its minuteness in relation to the good, nor having been relegated from its position to any degree— except in so far as it has no authority and power to diffuse itself throughout the limbs of the body, because the Holy One, blessed be He, "Stands at the right hand of the poor man," helping him and irradiating his divine soul— such a person is likened to a "wicked man." In the words of our Sages, "Even if the whole world tells you that you are righteous, in your own eyes regard yourself as if you were wicked"— not as actually wicked. But one should consider oneself to be an "intermediate" person and not accept the world's opinion which would have him believe that the evil in him has been dissolved by the good, which is the category of a tzaddik. Rather should he consider himself in his own estimation as if the very essence of the evil is in its full strength and might, in the left part, as from birth, and that nothing of it has ceased or departed; on the contrary, with the passing of time it has gained strength, because the man has indulged it considerably, in eating and drinking and other mundane pursuits.
(Tanya 13)

In other words, the intermediate man, who struggles to do the right thing, should not be misled by those who tell him he is a Tzadik (a righteous man) but should instead regard himself as if he is a wicked man, always on the alert against his evil inclination.

Now let us go back to what Omni says about himself in the Book of Omni:

2 Wherefore, in my days, I would that ye should know that I fought much with the sword to preserve my people, the Nephites, from falling into the hands of their enemies, the Lamanites. But behold, I of myself am a wicked man, and I have not kept the statutes and the commandments of the Lord as I ought to have done.
(Omni 1:2)

Notice that Omni not only regards himself as if he were wicked, but he says: “I have not kept the statutes and the commandments of the Lord as I ought to have done.”  If Omni were truly a wicked man, why not simply say “I have not kept the statutes and the commandments of the Lord”, why add the phrase: “as I ought to have done.”? 

Omni is not an apostate, he recognizes that he ought to keep the statutes and commandments.  So what does he mean by “as I ought to have done”?

Again we read in the Tanya:

all the good that the nations do, is done from selfish motives. So the Gemara comments on the verse, "The kindness of the nations is sin,"— that all the charity and kindness done by the nations of the world is only for their own self-glorification, and so on.
(Tanya Chapter 1)

The Tanya teaches, based on the Talmud and the Tanak (Old Testament) that if we keep the Torah with wrong mindset, for selfish motives, that in itself is sin. 

So when we look at Omni’s statement from a Jewish perspective, we actually see a man who is engaged in the personal struggle between right and wrong, and who struggles internally with the question of whether or not he is keeping the Torah as he ought to, without any selfish motives of self-glorification etc.  Omni regards himself as if he is wicked, less he be misled into believing that his evil inclination has been dissolved. 














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