Personality Types as a Path to Self-Improvement
The majority of parshat Tetzaveh focuses on the garments of the Kohanim. The first pasuk of this section (28:1) starts with Hashem commanding Moshe: "V'atah hakreiv elecha et Aharon achicha - Bring close to you Aharon your brother." The peshat is that Hashem instructs Moshe to separate Aharon and his sons from Bnei Yisroel and bring them close to him to annoint them as the "kohanim."
Is there a deeper message here?
Rabbi Meir (the Second) of Premishlan offers an interesting drash interpretation of the pasuk. He observes that Moshe and Aharon had different personalities. Whereas Aharon was extroverted and mixed comfortably with people ("ohev shalom, v'rodef shalom"), Moshe tended to be more introverted and reclusive (consider that Moshe was a shepherd before assuming his role as leader of Bnei Yisroel, and was very hesitant to assume such a role at the outset).
What Hashem is instructing Moshe in the pasuk, says Rabbi Meir, is to strive to emulate Aharon's outgoing personality since it is important for a leader to mix socially with his constituents instead of being withdrawn ("Draw close to yourself Aharon's outgoing social attitude.").
What is intriguing about this interpretation is that it anticipates personality type systems developed years later in which individuals are categorized according to temperament (Hafoch ba v'hafoch ba, d'kula ba).
Of these, the Meyers-Briggs system is perhaps the most famous. It consists of four pairs of opposing personality traits - each designated by a letter. The four pairs are: Extrovert (E) vs. Introvert (I); Sensing (S) v. Intuitive (N); Thinking (T) v. Feeling (F); and Judging (J) v. Perceiving (P). According to psychologists, each individual's personality is comprised of a combination of these traits, and it is that combination (for example, ESFP or INFP) that causes individuals to perceive and react to situations differently than others. In essence, different people (say, a husband and a wife, or a supervisor and an employee) are compelled to react differently to the same situation due to their different personality traits.
Realizing the existence of personality traits can help one become more tolerant and accepting of how others react to certain situations because you realize that they aren't being "irrational" or "unreasonable," but simply are reacting in a manner consistent with their personality type. That is, people act a certain way because they are predisposed to do so, and not because they are intentionally being hurtful or difficult.
The idea is perhaps best reflected in the admonition of Pirkei Avos: "Do not judge a person until you stand in his shoes." While commonly interpreted to warn individuals against judging a person's reaction to life circumstances which they have not experienced themselves, it can also be read to admonish against criticizing a particular person's reactions until you understand "the shoes they are wearing," i.e., the set of personality traits that cause them to act as they do.
From the standpoint of mussar, understanding personality types is also key for self-improvement. That is, improving one's middos first requires understanding one's core personality traits - i.e., one's good and bad middos.
As Rav Shlomo Wolbe writes in Alei Shur, trying to improve one's middos without first recognizing one's strengths and weaknesses is like tyring to cure a sick person without first ascertaining the nature of his illness. Only once core strengths and weaknesses are determined, can a person focus on fixing his shortcomings.
For example, an "introverted" person may initially find it hard to maintain a strong drive for "chesed" because of their discomfort with getting involved with others. However, if they realize that their lack of motivation for chesed stems from an inclination towards introversion, they can make an effort to cultivate the middos necessary for chesed.
Returing to Rabbi Meir's interpretation, the pasuk above becomes a roadmap for self-improvement. Specifically, we have Hashem identifying introversion as a core aspect of Moshe's personality (the first step), and then instructing Moshe to cultivate Aharon's midda of extroverson (second step) as a necessary ingredient of leadership.
Indeed, Rabbi Meir's thoughts are quite comforting. Rather than chastising us for our shortcomings, Hashem is telling us, "to the contrary, this is how I made you - this is who you are." But knowing who we are does not free us from the obligation to address our flaws, and attempt to overcome them and improve as individuals. This is the challenge of life itself. To mold our raw character traits into exemplary behavior.
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