How to Make a Mensch

What makes a good person?

I have been thinking about this a lot lately, as I check my news feed each morning and as I find myself harboring less lovely thoughts. It turns out that the world of Jewish camping has a really solid answer.

Jewish camping, not unlike Christian camping, seems to exist to serve, shape, and nurture the faith and full humanity of campers. I recently attended a conference with other church camp folks, and one of my colleagues shared the treasure below, which he had discovered earlier from a Jewish friend at an interfaith gathering of camp leaders:

In Judaism, the word "mensch" describes an upstanding member of society, a person of integrity and honor, and the word comes from the Yiddish word for "good person." This chart, like a recipe for decency, serves well for reflection and self-assessment. It seems as important as ever to try to take stock of how we are doing - not just in camp or even church/synagogue circles but on the widest scale possible - as cultivators of things like integrity, community mindedness, forgiveness, and joy. Are we engaged in practices that make misery or more mensches who help and heal?

Making a mensch isn't easy, a truth reflected in the quote near the top of this periodic table. Rabbi Salanter basically says it's nice to turn dirt into a living thing (a golem), but bringing an animate creature up to the next level of mensch-ness is really impressive. 

I was pleased to learn that within Judaism mensches come in a variety of shapes and sizes, some more inclined toward justice and others focused on wisdom. In other words, this periodic table is akin to the roster of elements, allowing for diversity without boring or even dangerous uniformity. The medieval rabbi and philosopher Maimonides taught that moderation or a "middle path" between extremes serves us well, rather than entrenching ourselves at polar opposites. Hasidism lifts up a concept that I find intriguing: different circumstances call for different attributes, requiring flexibility and deep attention in any given setting. 

I intend to post copies of this periodic table in a few conspicuous locations, at least one in my office and another somewhere at home. At the very least, I trust it will provoke me to work on my various weak spots. How would my relationships change if I focused more on patience and pursuing peace? What would our political scene look like if our leaders demonstrated that they were "whole and at peace," and what if they led the way in embodying a healthy "appreciation of opposition"? Can you carve out more space intentionally for wonder and kindness? "Balance and Inner Beauty" is a single attribute with which I could wrestle for the rest of my life. What catches your eye?

The attribute in the little blue box in the lower right corner also caught my eye as a kind of warning about a trait that humans don't really understand. Whether we get it or not, too many of us too frequently act as if we claim a "Majesty" as something in our DNA, something to lord over others. This feels like the kind of attribute that we regularly warp, puffing ourselves up into permission to mistreat others based on who they love or where they were born. 

On the other hand, out of all of these attributes, perhaps majesty is our ultimate ideal - once we are able to see it simultaneously in self and other. Jesus, the Buddha, and a few others mastered this dynamic. Rabbi Akiva (see the same webpage linked above), who was born about 15 years after the Crucifixion, differed from Jesus by saying that the most central text in the Torah was not "love your neighbor as yourself." Important sure, but not as essential as Genesis 5:1 which reminds us that we all are made in the image of God, male and female and blessed. Mensches evidently see the world through such a lens, and I plan to work toward doing the same.

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