Is There Room for Self-Expression in Judaism?

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Among the world religions, Orthodox Judaism has the most rules, by far. Most everything we do has particular restrictions and obligations tied to it, down to the most mundane physical routines like washing our hands and getting dressed. Such a comprehensive code of laws aims to model us on every level, from the way we think down to our most impulsive instincts, to be like the Divine. In a system this rigid, is there any room for self-expression? Does Judaism encourage, or even acknowledge, the expression of individuality?

What Self?

Before we can understand self-expression, let’s first discover what the self is. We each have talents, inclinations, personalities, preferences, passions, and much more, that in tandem define our individuality. As the Gemara says: Just as no two faces are alike, so are no two minds alike¹. In his introduction to Hilchot Deot, Rambam lays out the various modes of human form.

But surely, none of these things are our own. Our raw personality was gifted to us from Hashem right along with our bodies, and they belong to us no more than our facial features do. Sure, the human ego craves the pleasure of approval even when entirely undeserved, but our more sensitive faculties understand that expressing ourselves deeply would require a self that we have, at least somewhat, truly acquired.

A true self would have to be something earned, something worked on. The naked substance is all His; the process of refining and expressing it correctly is what we come to claim as our own.

Bracing for Impact

There is more to be said about the necessity of honing the self beforing honoring its desire for expression. Pouring our gifts into the open universe would be an entirely aimless exercise, much like pouring gasoline right over the engine of a car instead of within its designated filler. Without a pipeline to discipline the fuel and navigate it, there can be no impact. This is also true of the physical world, where 118 individual elements comprise everything in the known universe. Their power does not lie in their unique characteristics alone; it depends entirely on the laws of physics, the cosmic system that governs each of their existences and the interplay among them that creates the world we know.

Halacha gives us the opportunity to own our gifts. When the right formula is correctly applied, raw talent becomes a personal superpower that only you could have given the world. It becomes a contribution that is wholly unique and significant, the truest self-expression.

Meaningful realization of the self necessarily requires a framework. Great athletes don’t receive awards for wins they incur in their backyards. The triumphs that count happen in a competitive playing field, where rules and seconds determine the stakes. Nobody wants to hear a great singer shout their voice in the streets; we appreciate when they hone their act, controlling the notes and maximizing the effect.

System of Unity

This model is what Rav Dessler calls seder l’shem achdut ha’peula – order for the sake of a unified objective. He refers to a system wherein multiple unique and independent parts cooperate effectively to achieve a singular result. Each component must conform to the greater plan with absolute loyalty and exactitude in order for it to function, not only as a whole but also individually, because a single screw out of place renders all of the parts utterly useless. We rely on the unique contribution of each piece to achieve the goal, but they must all follow the greater system for any achievement at all to take place.

The Halachic system follows precisely this model. Six hundred thousand root Jewish souls², each ordained with unique attributes, must play by a complex set of directions in order for the ultimate sheleimut to be achieved. Kol Yisrael areivim zeh bazeh³ means we are all collaborators, with a shared responsibility to each other to do our best for the collective tafkid. When all of us meticulously follow the guidelines, our individual purposes shine in the absolute sense, fully expressed and acquired as our own. Paradoxically, the negation of ego required to toe the line of halacha is necessarily what reveals our uniqueness.

A Place for Everyone

It is an observable fact that those who follow halacha are not people of dull uniformity. Jewish leaders over the ages, masters of halachic conformity, have been individuals of fiery passion, men and women of vastly ranging inclinations and contributions. There is nothing remotely monotonous or cookie-cutter about the robust discussions these great people handed down to us, and there is no end to the scope of interests and ideas they engaged in.

Today, orthodox communities create individuals who are decidedly colorful. We are artists and accountants, speakers and seekers, intellectuals and creatives. We come in shades of introverted and extroverted, run the gamut from vivacious to earnest, and feature the full range of emotional, social, and psychological differences. We span the political spectrum from end to end.

This is the intended result of the halachic system, to properly refine and aim our unique nefesh to achieve the most potent delivery of our gifts and talents. The magnificent kaleidoscope we create when we are all true to ourselves and true to the word of Hashem is ayin panim la’Torah, the seventy facets of the One Truth. Our uniqueness is not only recognized by Judaism, it is the central, pre-supposed component upon which all else is exercised.

And Everyone in Their Place

So our individuality is meant to be acknowledged and lived, developed through the guidelines of a halachic framework. How do we discover what we are meant to manifest in this world?

Rabbi Akiva Tatz compares this to someone who finds himself on a worksite with a hard hat, a bag of supplies, but no directions. All our laborer must do is open the bag and review its contents, and he will immediately know what he was assigned to do. Cables, pliers, connectors, and switches means he’s the electrician; primer, paints, brushes and rollers tell him he’s meant to paint.

Everyone’s package points them toward a task. Every one of our attributes should be actualized by giving it right back to Hashem, sent out into the world to express Him. The Baal Hachareidim gives us the most beautiful direction for this with the final words of his touching piyut, Bilvavi.

“Bilvavi mishkan evneh, l’hadar kevodo. Ulemishkan mizbeach asim, lekarnei hodo. Uleneir tamid ekach li, et aish ha’akeidah, ulekorban akriv lo et nafshi hayechida.”

In my heart I will build a mishkan, to glorify Your honor, and in it I will place an altar to the rays of Your splendor. And for the eternal light I will give the fire of the binding, and as a sacrifice I will give my unique self.

Inspired by the teachings in Identity and Individuality