When God created the world, He put forces of duality into effect, like the masculine and feminine. Our purpose here on earth is to perfect these forces and elevate them.

But this world has a particular talent for distortion.

And no force embodies this idea quite like the power of the masculine.

From a historical or sociological perspective, masculinity is about power, domination, and strength. And while these elements have helped shape our world and society’s progression- when unchecked they have also led to destruction, devastation and ego-driven chaos.

Because in reality, this is not real masculinity, but the distortion of it.

Chassidic thought explains:

While the masculine and feminine are polarities, when they play their roles right, they come together in a harmonious, balanced fit. The masculine is called the “mashpia” or “giver” and the feminine is called the “mekabel” or receiver.

Interestingly, the act of sex most vividly portrays this idea. The male appendage is external and outward, compared to the anatomy of the female, which is more inward, deep and concealed. The masculine enters and gives to the feminine which receives.

But don’t assume that the masculine “giver” takes the dominant, more active role and the “receiver” just passively accepts.

It is actually the feminine act of receiving that activates the giving. The giver cannot give unless the receiver fully, actively accepts what is being given, making both roles and intertwined and interdependent.

The masculine naturally drives to influence, impact, and provide. It wants to affect the world and have its presence felt. But without the acceptance of the feminine and the softening of the masculine, it becomes unbridled and destructive.

This rough state of standalone masculinity is what we often see today. Unrestricted, this instinct to influence can go haywire. Subsequently, the standards by which many measure manliness is through power, aggression, dominance and control.

But Judaism teaches a better way.

King David was a paradigm of masculinity. Not only was he a king with endless riches, resources and beautiful wives – he was a warrior. Essentially, the ultimate of what we think a man should be. And yet, God forbade him from building the Temple, precisely because, however justified, his hands had shed blood.

Instead, it was King David’s son Solomon who was chosen for the task. Solomon was a man of peace, who chose wisdom over material wealth. He was openly emotional, scholarly and just. It was that softer, kinder influence he chose to give the world. And so it would be he who built God’s temple, which fused the masculine and feminine, spiritual and physical.

Just as in the spiritual realm, where the masculine needs feminine activation to realize its full potential – our physical world is the same.

In Judaism’s Messianic era, where the world is redeemed and balance is restored, masculinity will not be measured by erecting skyscrapers, bedding women, or winning battles. Men will “beat their swords into plowshares.” They will thirst for knowledge and Godliness, not power.

True masculinity in Judaism is inward, not outward. Masculine strength is the ability not to dominate the world, but to conquer what’s within. Many think that femininity is antithetical to and fundamentally undermines masculinity. Judaism believes the opposite, that a sprinkling of femininity, of softening the masculine, is exactly what activates masculinity and brings out its real potential.

Masculinity is powerful in whatever form it takes. The question is whether that power will benefit and “give” to the world – or upend it.