There are four kinds of temperaments: Easy to become angry, and easy to be appeased: his gain disappears in his loss; Hard to become angry, and hard to be appeased: his loss disappears in his gain; Hard to become angry and easy to be appeased: a pious person; Easy to become angry and hard to be appeased: a wicked person.
This Mishna lists four different types of people as they relate to anger. Following a similar structure to the previous Mishna related to property and acquisitions, there are two variables: how easily one gets angered and how quickly afterwards one can be appeased. These variables yield four outcomes: one pious manifestation, one wicked, and two in the middle, with altering pros and cons. Through the commentaries we can cull four essential lessons as it relates to understanding anger.
NORMALIZING ANGER
Emotions historian Barabara Rosenwein tracks approaches to anger throughout history and identifies two strands. Some, like the Stoics, argued for the complete expiration of anger. Aristotle preached the middle path even when it comes to anger, arguing that there is a proper context to feel and express anger. Taking a passive approach in response to injustice would be inappropriate. Getting angry, with Aristotle’s careful caveat that it is “at the right person, in the right amount, at the right time, for the right purpose, and in the right way” is praiseworthy and noble. These two strands are found as well within rabbinic sources. Even though Maimonides indicates that anger is an emotion we should strive to not experience internally, other commentaries point out that there is no category in this Mishna of somebody who does not get angry at all. Even the pious person is someone who gets angry infrequently and is easily appeased when they do. Rabbienu Yonah points to the fact that it is appropriate to get angry about certain situations, for example, in response to idol worship.
Others, like Abarbanel, highlight that it is impossible to never get angry. Anger is a normal human emotion that everyone, even as Rabbi Samuel de Uceda points out, the great Moses, experienced. According to psychologist Paul Ekman a universal emotion that is ubiquitous across countries, cultures, and time periods. Understanding this concept helps us normalize and validate, without necessarily excusing, feelings of anger. This acknowledgment itself is often an important first step to change.
DIFFERENT TYPES
Another message gleaned from the Mishna is the fact that people differ in the frequency and duration that they experience anger. Having the self-awareness and social awareness as to where everyone fits within this framework is important for personal growth and effective relationships.
Drs. Raymond DiGiuseppe and Raymond Chip Tafrate in their book Understanding Anger Disorders delve into the nuances of anger for the purposes of more effective psychological treatment. They note that besides differences in frequency and duration, people can also differ in the intensity they feel the anger, the potential triggers for anger (they list 10 factors), the thoughts related to anger, and behavioral manifestations of anger (they list 20 possibilities). They created an Angers Disorders Scale, which includes five domains (provocations, arousal, cognition, motives, and behaviors) with 17 subscales delineating the details of anger, with 13 clusters of patterns. The more detailed the diagnosis the better the treatment capabilities.
Focusing in on the middle clusters from our Mishna, “Easy to become angry, and easy to be appeased” is judged worse than “Hard to become angry, and hard to be appeased.” Why is higher frequency with less duration worse than lower frequency but longer duration? Commentaries provide numerous explanations. Anger can cause damage even if brief. There can potentially be economic or material consequences. There are also relational ramifications. There is a limit to how many times one can continue apologizing for brief outbursts. Others will also begin to fear the anger and consequently avoid the angry person or “walk on eggshells” around them.
Rabbi Yehudah Aryeh Leib Alter in his Sefat Emet provides two keen insights. He says that someone who gets angry easily but is easily appeased may not realize they have a problem. Assuming that because they calm down so quickly there is no real consequence, they will not feel the motivation for change. Additionally, it is easier to control anger before it is felt or experienced. Someone who constantly becomes aroused with anger will have a harder time implementing strategies for change.
MORAL JUDGMENT
The third factor that becomes clear through this Mishna is that someone who is constantly angry and not easily appeased is labeled with the moral judgement of wicked. This label assumes there is potential for control and subsequently a person is held responsible if he or she is unable to manage the anger. Importantly, this label doesn’t necessarily mean the person is totally wicked and unredeemable. In fact, the person can be pious in other traits that are independent of anger. The judgement is within the domain of anger.
Why would someone be called wicked for being angry? What sin are they committing? Rabbi Shimon ben Zemach Duran suggests that the wicked label is not specifically aimed at the emotion of anger, but from the potential illicit behavioral manifestations of the anger. Rabbi Chaim Palagi associates the label with the fact that someone who is angry will likely get into a lot of arguments. Yet, Abarbanel assumes that the anger itself is morally problematic, regardless of if it leads to another sin. Getting angry frequently and not being easily appeased is a severe character flaw that deserves to be judged.
COGNITION
Yet, this judgment is not meant as a pessimistic and deterministic fact. Rather, there is an expectation and possibility of change and improvement. The fourth main lesson from this Mishna provides a strategy for anger control. The word used to introduce the four categories of anger is “deiot,” which is understood by Rabbi Yosef Chayun as referring to the broader concept of personality. Rabbi Solomon ben Isaac Levi in his Leiv Avot writes that anger is the most formative and influential of the traits. That is why it alone is used to describe deiot, the entirety of the personality. Alternatively, Rabbi Duran connects deiot to the concept of daat - knowledge, thinking, and rationality. Taking a cognitive approach to the emotions, he assumes that anger results from incorrect thinking, and therefore can be fixed through better thinking. This approach resonates with the general approach of cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT). It is through the identification, challenging, and replacing of cognitive distortions or irrational beliefs that emotional change can take effect. Abarbanel also notes that deiot is referencing the rational mind and writes that not only does anger result from irrational thinking but leads to even more irrational thinking.
In all, this Mishna serves as a brief overview of anger, helping us be aware of its dangers, pervasiveness, variations, and treatment. Equipped with this knowledge, we are expected to continuously improve and aspire towards piety, experiencing anger infrequently, and in the off chance we become angry, being easily appeased. In doing so, we will have better relationships and improved emotional health.
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