There's More to Life Than the Fur Coat

No, this isn’t a PETA essay or an Occupy Wall Street manifesto.

It’s a commentary on life, on what living should look like, and on what attitudes bring us the most inner peace.

Many of us work hard to upgrade our personalities, attitudes and habits. At the same time, we need to remember that none of us lives in a vacuum.

One can pursue self-betterment in a self-absorbed way, oblivious to the moral state of one’s surroundings. Or, one can approach personal development in a more broad-hearted way, seeking to better one’s self and one’s environment; a rising tide should lift all boats.

There’s an old Chassidic metaphor in this vein: When one is feeling cold in an un-heated house, there are two possible remedies: One can don a fur coat. Or one can kindle the fireplace and heat the house.

Similarly, one can take care to warm one’s own soul, or one can [also] try to brighten one’s environment. In Chassidic jargon, the former type of behavior is referred to as the ‘Tzaddik in peltz’ (Yiddish for: a righteous person in a fur coat) syndrome. That's when someone’s doing just fine……for himself.

Noah, who was certainly a G-dly person, is seen in this light. He remained spiritually unscathed by the immorality of his time; yet he didn’t impact his society. The moral people were saved on his famous ark; but it was just him and his family. That’s it.

The man apparently didn’t manage to convince anyone on the block, anyone at work, anybody else, to rise above the world’s immorality. He was spiritually warm, because he’d totally absorbed himself in his conceptual fur coat. But the world was none the better for it.

Torah thinking goes in a different direction. It has us being pro-active, engaging the world and improving it. That’s what we’re created to do; each of us in our own way.

From what I can tell, this is also the best way to find happiness. I think that people find their purest contentment when they’re doing something to help others, without self-serving motives, and without hope of a quid pro quo. Just unadulterated goodness.

So share the warmth. If a thought inspires you, if a Mitzvah moves you, share it with a friend.

You’ll feel lighter.