{"id":952,"date":"2013-07-02T14:26:09","date_gmt":"2013-07-02T18:26:09","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blog.beliefnet.com\/truthsyoucanuse\/?p=952"},"modified":"2013-07-02T14:26:09","modified_gmt":"2013-07-02T18:26:09","slug":"are-you-two-faced","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/truthsyoucanuse\/2013\/07\/are-you-two-faced.html","title":{"rendered":"Are You Two-Faced?"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"are<\/a><\/p>\n

The Hebrew languages contains an array of hidden meanings and insights. Rabbi Daniel Lappin probed many of these in his book Hidden Treasure<\/i>.<\/p>\n

One of the most intriguing is the word for face, panim<\/i>. It is in the plural form. The \u201cim\u201d ending in Hebrew is the equivalent of adding an \u201cs\u201d in English. Yet face is not a plural word. It is singular. We only have one face.<\/p>\n

Or Do We?\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

Perhaps the Hebrew pluralized form conveys something about human nature. Perhaps we can understand \u201cface\u201d as\u00a0more\u00a0than a physical attribute. It is our way of experiencing of the world.<\/p>\n

We can both love and hate. We give and take. We smile and we frown.\u00a0To be \u201ctwo-faced\u201d–or three-faced or four-faced–is not to be duplicitous. It is to be human.\u00a0<\/i><\/p>\n

How God Made All of Us Two-Faced<\/strong><\/p>\n

A stunning exploration of this idea is found in the work of the most important Orthodox Jewish thinker of the twentieth century, Joseph Soloveitchik. Soloveitchik pointed out that the Bible contains two accounts of the creation of human beings.<\/p>\n

In the first telling we read \u201cGod said, \u2018Let us make man in our image and likeness. Let him dominate the fish of the sea, the birds of the sky, the livestock animals, and all the earth, and every wild animal that walks the earth.\u2019\u201d (1:26)<\/p>\n

This story highlights our dominance and majesty. We resemble God, and we dominate the natural world.<\/p>\n

In Genesis chapter two, however, we read, \u201cGod formed man out of the dust of the ground and breathed into his nostrils a breath of life. Man became a living creature… God took man and placed him in the Garden of Eden to till and to tend it.\u201d\u00a0\u00a0(2:7,15)<\/p>\n

Here we find no reference to having been created in the image of God. We are not given dominion over the earth. Our primary task is \u201cto till and tend it.\u201d<\/p>\n

Two Sides of One Truth<\/strong><\/p>\n

On the literal level, each of these cannot be true. On a spiritual and psychological level, however, they can be.<\/p>\n

Each of us has a strong creative side, and a contemplative sacred side. Part of us wants\u00a0 bigger, faster, stronger. The other part wants gentler, slower, more relaxing.<\/p>\n

Part of us prepares endlessly for the future. The other savors the moment. Part of us wants control. The other part wants to be held in the hands of God.\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n

Soloveitchik\u2019s insight is that the two creation stories in Genesis reflect two aspects of the same person. What seems like the creation of two separate being is really a story about the complexities of us all.<\/p>\n

Our greatest challenge is to bring them into balance.\u00a0Only then we can find harmony and happiness.<\/p>\n

To get free weekly spiritual inspiration from Rabbi Moffic,\u00a0click\u00a0here.\u00a0<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The Hebrew languages contains an array of hidden meanings and insights. Rabbi Daniel Lappin probed many of these in his book Hidden Treasure. One of the most intriguing is the word for face, panim. It is in the plural form. The \u201cim\u201d ending in Hebrew is the equivalent of adding an \u201cs\u201d in English. Yet…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":507,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[24,387,69,238,17,386,388],"class_list":["post-952","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized","tag-balance","tag-creation","tag-god","tag-happiness","tag-love","tag-soloveitchik","tag-two-faced"],"yoast_head":"\nAre You Two-Faced? - Truths You Can Use<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"noindex, nofollow\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Are You Two-Faced? - Truths You Can Use\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"The Hebrew languages contains an array of hidden meanings and insights. Rabbi Daniel Lappin probed many of these in his book Hidden Treasure. 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His book, What Every Christian Needs to Know About the Jewishness of Jesus was a 2015 best-seller. His upcoming book of devotions\u2014Shalom for the Heart\u2014takes short biblical passages and show they way they can help us make better choices and live with fewer regrets. With Rabbi Moffic, you will find an open, accessible guide to life\u2019s deepest truths. A husband and father, he graduated from Stanford University in 2000, and was ordained a rabbi in 2006. He leads a congregation in suburban Chicago. 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