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.
