As soon as the sordid story involving Dominique Strauss-Khan and the chambermaid at the Sofitel hotel in New York City came to light, friends emailed saying they hoped that Strauss-Khan was not Jewish. Yet, this is not the first high-profile and powerful Jew to be caught up in scandal. The former President of Israel Moshe Katsav was also accused and then convicted of a similar crime against women.
In all of these cases it is always his word against her’s. Ultimately it is only the two people who know what actually happened, thus, being absolutely certain of guilt is impossible. Nonetheless, both of these men were married and in the case of Strauss-Khan the incident took place with a woman he had no prior relationship with. Even if it was consensual as Strauss-Khan’s lawyers claim, there are major questions left unanswered. What type of man enters into intimate encounters with random woman? Why do the most powerful men seem powerless to control their carnal urges.
One of the most compelling wisdom teachings about the disastrous potential of the human bestial instinct is found in the Talmud. Rabbi Shimon ben Levi said: ‘Man’s evil desire gathers strength against him daily and seeks to kill him…if God would not help man, he would not be able to prevail against the evil desire ‘ (Kiddushin 30a and Sukah 52a). This can be interpreted to mean that without being in touch with our inner divine aspect we are unable to overcome our animalistic instincts.
Many addicts will agree. Speak to an addict who has tried to quit using will power alone. No matter how many time they try and how much their addiction destroys their life they are often unable to stop. This is a truth about the human condition. There are aspects of ourselves that we are too weak to overcome using our own will power or intellectual compulsion.
Unfortunately, many people, especially men, feel that admitting this is a sign of weakness. They do not have the humility to concede that they–in common with all of humanity–have a frailty. This becomes even more acute with powerful men who are so accustomed to asserting their will that they are unable to accept that there are areas that they are intrinsically unable to control. They therefore rationalize their bad behavior, deceiving themselves into believing that they are in full command.
It takes great humility and, ironically, inner strength to realize and accept the timeless truth stated by Rabbi Shimon ben Levi more than eighteen hundred years ago. There are aspects that we as humans need divine help to overcome. But as the Talmud states, ‘God cannot coexist in the same world as an egoist ‘ (Sotah 5a).
The man who considers himself very powerful, the arrogant man, dare I say, pushes God and his own inner divine aspect out of his life, mistakenly thinking he can do it all using his intellect and will power. This then sets him up for an inevitable moral downfall. As the Talmud states in the name of great sage Rabbi Yochanan, ‘An arrogant man will end up stumbling into severe carnal immorality ‘ (Sotah 4b).
It is ironic that men as intelligent as Strauss-Khan don’t realize this simple truth. Hopefully he comprehends it now–a little too late. The lesson, however, should not be lost on the rest of us.