Does Life Need a Subject Line?

Here's a question for you. If I were to ask what has been, and still is, the most instrumental factor in achieving your goals; your personal drive, or outside factors (or a blend of both), what would be your answer?

These two categories, broadly defined as the ways we move ourselves forward in our lives, or the ways we are pushed forward, have their counterpart in the theological terminology of Kabbalah and Chasidus (Chasidic thought).

For example, the ways that our spiritual excitement is powered by a top-down model of inspiration that comes to us from a unique moment, such as Kol Nidre, a unique place, such as the Kotel, or a personal interaction, like an encounter with the Rebbe; versus an "inside out" spirituality, supported by the adrenaline of its own "original" (notwithstanding how inherently tricky it can be to define originality) spiritual platform that wells up from and is fostered from within, typically a byproduct of deep meditative concentration during prayer, or study.

The former is called the "Milmala Lemata" model (that which flows from above to below); the latter, the reverse, "Milmata Lmala" (that which rises upward of its own volition from "below to above").

These paradigms of personal spiritual growth are of course not limited to the spiritual. This week's Torah portion captures the tension that often arises between these modalities, particularly as it manifests itself in the complexities of parent-child dynamics.

The parent is frequently a symbol for the "above to below" paradigm and the child a symbol for the reverse.

In cataloging the offspring of Isaac (offspring is also interchangeably used as a trope for "achievement") the text first says "these are the offspring of Isaac, the son of Abraham," meaning the achievements of Isaac are pedigree driven, essentially powered by the external and overwhelming presence of Abraham. The second part of the verse—"Abraham gave birth to Isaac"—seems to suggest that though Abraham was the father, the emphasis is on Isaac's birth into the originality of his own being.

What seems like an unnecessary stating of the obvious (if Isaac was Abraham's son isn't it clear enough that Abraham was his father?) contains deep wisdom. One highlights the parent while the other accentuates the child. One pays homage to roots, the other celebrates the quest for originality.

The biblical way of acknowledging and holding the tension between originality and repetitiveness is soothing in its refusal to elevate one over the other. In doing so, it helps us realize that benefiting from much-needed assistance need not be synonymous with defeat, whilst also acknowledging that not all short-term inspirations are valid stand-ins for cultivating more stable and consistent inner motivational methods.