Self-Righteousness
„The passion for justice and the moral inclination, when they grow greatly in a person's heart, sometimes turn into a kind of sickness that destroys much good.”From Shemonah Kevatzim I, 51
Rav Kook describes here a delicate situation: the desire for justice, when it takes over, becomes something destructive and weakening. Why does it weaken? Because it does not let a person breathe. Instead of seeing the light and the good, one is constantly occupied with seeking flaws, correcting, rebuking, resenting. The inner feeling becomes troubled, tense, and threatened, until justice itself weakens the joy of the soul. And when there is no joy, faith and love also vanish. And when these vanish, justice becomes cold, rigid, and hurtful. It does not lift a person but wears him down; it does not build society but dismantles it. True justice must grow out of an inner light, out of joy and inner peace. Only then does it repair and not weaken, illuminate and not darken.
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From the community archive of Mishpetei HaRav Kook — studying Rav Kook's teachings since 2011.