Three Types of People: The Tzadik, the Rasha, and the Inbetweener
Jewish tradition recognizes three categories of people in the world, the Tzadik, the Rasha, and the Beinoni. From various sources, we unpack what it means to be an inbetweener and how we get the wrong idea about spiritual growth.
An ancient teaching tells us there are three categories of people in the world; they are:
- Tzadik (צַדִּיק) righteous
- Rasha (רָשַׁע) wicked
- Beinoni (בֵּינוֹנִי) in-betweener
Three Categories Defined
Tzadik
A Tzadik is a righteous person; someone whose good deeds and merits outweigh their sins.
Rasha
A Rasha is someone whose sins outweigh their merits. Generally, these are people who commit sins with little to no concern for repentance or spiritual development as their evil inclination¹ gets the better of them.
But hold this thought, as there is some nuance we will explore in a moment.
Beinoni
The third category, the Beinoni, stands between the other two. At times, this person's sins might tip them toward the Rasha, and in another moment, they are on the side of good again.
In Mishneh Torah 3:1, Maimonides tells us that these three categories also apply to communities, towns, nations, and the world. Put simply, a person, as well as a nation, will be judged by the sum of their spiritual health.
Who Can Live?
While most people would consider themselves a good person, a teaching² in the Talmud rattles this assumption.
Rabbah, one of the great masters of the Babylonian academy, was discussing this idea with his students when he declared to them:
"I am a beinoni."
His students were shocked.
"Master, if this is so, how can anyone else live?" replied his student.
If Rabbah, by all accounts a Tzadik, is only an intermediate, where does that leave the rest of us?
We see a similar exchange in the Gospel:
"Now as Jesus was starting out on his way, someone ran up to him, fell on his knees, and said, “Good teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?” Jesus said to him, “Why do you call me good? There is only One who is good.. - Matthew 19:16-18
To this teaching, his students were astonished, saying:
"Then who can be saved?!"
In neither case are the teachers displaying false humility. In both of these stories, the students seem shocked to find they're lower on the scale than they believed.
The Battle of the Soul(s)
What distinguishes us as either a Tzadik, Rasha, or Beinoni is how well we do in the development of our soul³.
Every human soul is a spark of the Creator. This spark is our pure Neshamah⁴. The lower level of the soul - the Nefesh⁵ - tends to steer us away from spiritual growth.
Where the Neshamah wants to seek G_D and do what is right, the Nefesh impedes and intervenes. These two souls contend for control of the body and emotions, which, by default, steer towards selfishness⁶.
This is why spiritual growth is not something accomplished through passivity.
Who Is a Tzadik?
With this in mind, we can better understand a Tzadik as one in whom the evil inclination has been subdued, and even recruited to aid in good works.
The Rasha is one in whom the Nefesh and evil inclination still hold the upper hand.
And the Beinoni is the one who has learned to avoid sinning, but may still feel its pull at times. For them, temptations may still arise, but the in-betweener has learned to prevent those temptations from becoming actions.
Being a Beinoni does not mean someone is not a good person. On the contrary. For the Beinoni, life is a spiritual battlefield. This is likely why Rabbah considered himself in the camp of the in-betweener.
The Oath
It is therefore a good plan to always consider ourselves a work-in-progress. In fact, this was the advice given to our soul shortly before entering into life as a newborn⁷.
In the final moments as we transition from the World of Souls into Earth, the Angels give us a few instructions:
"... Be righteous and do not be wicked. And even if the entire world says to you, You are righteous, consider yourself wicked." - Niddah 30b
In short, always look for opportunities for continual improvement, and consider ourselves a little lower than our ego would like to believe.
Where That Leaves Us
The good news is that each decision and every moment provides an opportunity to level up:
"Now, the rank of beinoni is one that is attainable by everyone; each person should strive after it if they have not yet attained it and should not think it beyond their reach, for every person can, at any time or hour, be a beinoni..."⁸
Through this, we learn that these levels are not static and we are not defined by our past mistakes. It is assumed that we will err, but repentance helps us reorient ourselves back to the Creator.
Each of us carries the potential to become righteous, if only for that moment, and moments are what a life is made of. If we stack enough positive decisions consecutively, we can create a powerful new trend that gets easier with time.
Thus, the struggle is not to avoid falling off the spiritual path; the struggle is the spiritual path.
Want to Learn More?
James - The Hidden Orchard
James - The Hidden Orchard
Notes:
¹ The Evil Inclination - The Yetzer Hara
² Berakhot 61b
⁴ Neshamah
⁵ Nefesh
⁶ The language of the Tanya seems to equate the Nefesh to the Animal soul (nefesh habahamit). The Neshamah corresponds to what is called the Divine soul (Nefesh elokit).
⁷ The Preexistence of the Soul
⁸ Tanya Chapter 14
