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by Rabbi Moshe Chaim Luzzato zt'l
Chapter 19 - The Divisions of Piety
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Abbreviations used in this translation:
SR - Rabbi Yechezkel Sarna (1890–1969) (from hebrewbooks.org/41769)
ER - Rabbi Avraham Erlinger (from hebrewbooks.org/52042) (with author's permission)
SP - Rabbi Yosef Spinner (from hebrewbooks.org/51471) (with author's permission)
CS - Rabbi Moshe Chaim Shalenger (with author's permission)
MB - Mesilas Yesharim im Biruim (with author's permission)
NE - Netiv Eliezer by Rabbi Eliezer Lopian (with author's permission)
NH - Nefesh HaMesilah (with author's permission)
OG - Oros Genuzim by Rabbi Dovid Tzvi Hoffman (with author's permission) download
SO - Shaarei Orah, Vaadim by Rabbi Avigdor Miller (excerpts with book author's permission)
LS - Leket Sichot Mussar by Rabbi Yitzchak Isaac Sher (1875–1952) (Vol.2, Kuntras Mesilat Yesharim, with permission of Slabodka Rosh Yeshiva (R.Shmuel Zacks), Bnei Brak. download hebrew original)
- Min - (level 1) for basic commentaries as relating to the plain meaning (Pshat).
- Med - (level 2) elaborates more into the theme.
- Max - (level 3) deeper in, including mystical excerpts from the Orot Genuzim commentary (Sod).
- Max+ - (level 4) more commentaries for those familiar with the text.
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*** CHAPTER 19 - THE DIVISIONS OF PIETY ***פרק 19 - בבאור חלקי החסידות
- Acts of Kindness
- Fear of G-d
- Honor
- Love of G-d
- Clinging
- Joy
- Jealousy
- Intention
- Good of the Generation
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There are three primary divisions of Piety. The first relates to deed, the second to manner of performance, and the third to intent. The first division of deed itself further divides into two subdivisions. The first between man and G-d and the second between man and his fellow. The first subdivision of the first division, namely, piety in deed between man and G-d, its matter is for a person to fulfill the mitzvot in all their fine details to the furthest extent of one's ability. Our sages, of blessed memory, called these "the remnants of a mitzva". They said: "the remnants of the mitzvot prevent divine punishment" (Sukkah 38a). For even though the body of a mitzvah is fulfilled without them and one has already discharged his obligation, nevertheless, this is sufficient for the general masses of the Jewish people. But those who are Pious must only increase fulfillment in the mitzvot and not omit any detail whatsoever of them. |
חלקי החסידות הראשונים ג', הא' במעשה, הב' באופן העשיה, הג' בכונה. החלק הא' במעשה אף הוא יתחלק לב' חלקים, הא' במה שבין אדם למקום, והב' במה שבין אדם לחבירו. החלק הא' שבא' הוא במעשה שבין אדם למקום, וענינו קיום כל המצות בכל הדקדוקים שבהם עד מקום שיד האדם מגעת, ואלה הם שקראום חז"ל שירי מצוה, ואמרו (סוכה ל"ח): שירי מצוה מעכבים את הפורענות כי אע"פ שגוף המצוה נשלם זולתם וכבר יצא בזה ידי חובתו, הנה זה לכל המון ישראל, אך החסידים אין להם אלא להרבות בהשלמתם ולא למעט בהם כלל. |
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CHESED - KINDLINESS The second subdivision of the first division, namely, piety in deed between man and his fellow, its matter is great beneficence, namely, that one always does good to others and never harms them. This applies to the body, possessions, and spirit of one's fellow. |
החלק השני שבא' הוא במה שבין אדם לחבירו, וענינו גודל ההטבה שיהיה האדם לעולם מטיב לבריות ולא מריע להם, וזה בגוף, בממון, ובנפש. |
MB - "never harms them" - because one who harms them is not just lacking in benefiting them and in Chasidut. But rather, it is mamash (actually) the opposite of G-d's will.
| Body: that one strives to help all men however he can, and lighten the burden that is upon them. As we learned: "bearing the yoke with one's fellow" (Avot 6:6). If his fellow is about to be struck by some bodily harm and he can prevent it or remove it, he should exert himself to do so. | בגוף, שיהיה משתדל לעזור כל אדם במה שיוכל ויקל משאם מעליהם, והוא מה ששנינו (אבות פ"ו): ונושא בעול עם חבירו ואם מגיע לחבירו איזה נזק בגופו, והוא יוכל למנוע אותו או להסירו, יטרח כדי לעשותו. |
| Possessions: to assist him with whatever means he can and to prevent damages from befalling him however he can. It goes without saying that the pious person will distance all possibilities of damages to individuals or the public that may arise from his own part. | בממון, לסייעו באשר תשיג ידו, ולמנוע ממנו הנזקין בכל מה שיוכל, כל שכן שירחיק הוא כל מיני נזקין שיכולים לבוא מחמתו, בין ליחיד בין לרבים. |
| And even though there is no immediate likelihood of damage, since it may potentially lead to this, he will remove it and dispose of it. Our sages, of blessed memory, said: "the possessions of your fellow should be as precious to you as your own" (Avot 2:12). | ואפילו שעתה מיד אין היזקן מצוי כיון שיכול לבוא לידי כך יסירם ויעבירם, ואז"ל (אבות פ"ב): יהי ממון חבירך חביב עליך כשלך. |
| Spirit: to strive to bring however much contentment to his fellow as he can. This applies to matters of honor or any other area. If he knows that he can do something to his fellow that will give him contentment, it is a mitzvah of Piety to do so. It goes without saying that he will he not cause him any pain of any kind whatsoever. | בנפש, שישתדל לעשות לחבירו כל קורת רוח שיש בידו, בין בעניני הכבוד, בין בכל שאר הענינים, כל מה שהוא יודע שאם יעשהו לחבירו הוא מקבל נחת רוח ממנו, מצות חסידות הוא לעשותו, כל שכן שלא יצערנו בשום מיני צער כלל, יהיה באיזה אופן שיהיה. |
CS - "matters of honor" - to make him feel important in his own eyes and in the eyes of others.
MB - "matters of honor" - that which he chooses honor out of all the others, we will say this is because it is the deepest feeling of the soul and the most fundamental [good] he can bestow to his fellow.
MB - "of any kind whatsoever" - it is not clear what he is coming to add here. Perhaps we can say that he is coming to add all sorts of small feelings of pain that only one who truly thinks on the feelings of his fellow can detect, such as feelings of discomfort, lackings or the like. We see a lot of this in stories of Tzadikim (righteous people) who perceived the subtlest pain of their fellow Jews and strove to prevent the matter. This is an important point. Don't think kindness is only on tangible things.
SR - "mitzva of Piety" - the general matter of Chasidut (piety), i.e. to be a Chasid, is not a matter beyond the letter of the law. Rather, it is a positive Biblical commandment, among the traits of "you shall go in His ways" (a commandment to emulate G-d's attributes), since Chasidut is one of the ways of G-d, as written: "the L-ord is righteous in all His ways, and Chasid in all His deeds" (Tehilim 145:17). (Translator - i.e. every person should try to have some handle in this. Just that perfection in Piety requires perfection in the previous traits first.)
| The general matter of all this is "acts of kindliness", which our sages, of blessed memory, greatly emphasized to us on its great worth and our obligation in it. Included in this is to "pursue peace", which is the general beneficence between every man and his fellow. | וכלל כל זה הוא גמילות חסדים אשר הפליגו חז"ל בשבחה ובחובתינו בה, ובכלל זה רדיפת השלום שהוא ההטבה הכללית בין כל אדם לחבירו. |
SR - "pursue peace, which is the general beneficence between man and his fellow" - this is an insight (Chidush) into "pursue peace" (rodef shalom) - do not say it refers only to resolving disputes and the like. Rather, all beneficent acts are called generally "pursuing peace".
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I will now bring you proofs on all this from the words of our sages, of blessed memory, even though these things are evident and do not require the support of proofs. In the chapter "Bnei HaIr" (Megilah 27b): "Rabbi Zakkai was asked by his disciples: 'in virtue of what have you merited such long life?' He replied: Never in my life have I made water within four cubits of a place where prayer is said, nor have I called my fellow by a nickname, nor have I missed making Kiddush on the [Sabbath] day. I had an old mother who once sold her headdress so as to bring me [wine for] the Kiddush". We see from here an example of piety with regard to the fine points of the mitzvot. For he was already exempt from acquiring wine for Kiddush since he did not have enough [money] to such an extent that his mother needed to sell her own headdress. For him to do so was thus out of the trait of Piety. |
ועתה אביא לך ראיות על כל הדברים האלה מן החז"ל, אע"פ שהדברים פשוטים ואין צריכים לחיזוק ראיה. בפרק בני העיר (מגילה כ"ז) אמרו שאלו תלמידיו את ר' זכאי, במה הארכת ימים? אמר להם: מימי לא השתנתי בתוך ד' אמות של תפלה ולא כניתי שם לחבירי, ולא בטלתי קידוש היום. אימא זקנה היתה לי פעם אחת מכרה כיפה שבראשה והביאה לי קידוש היום. הרי לך פה מן החסידות במה שנוגע אל דקדוקי המצות, כי כבר פטור היה מן הדין מהבאת יין לקידוש, כיון שלא היה לו, עד שהיתה צריכה אמו למכור כיפה שבראשה, אמנם ממדת חסידות היה עושה כן. |
SR - "who once sold her headdress" - it appears the piety was the mother's, not his. The answer is that if he had omitted to fulfill the mitzva of Kidush even one time in his life, he would not have allowed his mother to sell her headdress to buy wine. This demonstrates just how much he would be moser nefesh (sacrifice of himself) all the days of his life in order to buy wine for Kidush. Thus it says his "old mother" to teach that she was old and witnessed how much he was moser nefesh for this mitzva. Therefore, she sold her headdress so that he would not annul this mitzva that time... Although it seems her piety was greater than his, since she sold her headdress, but in truth it is not so. His piety in being so meticulous in guarding this mitzva all of his days was ten times greater than her piety which was only one time. The Talmud continues there: "when she died, she left 300 barrels of wine. When he died he left 3000 barrels of wine to his sons". Thus his reward was ten times hers.
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With regard to the honor of his fellow, he would not call his fellow a nickname, even one which is not derogatory as Tosfot explained there. There, Rav Huna also tied a reed string around his garment because he had sold his waistband to buy wine for Kiddush. Also there, "Rabbi Eliezer ben Shammua was asked by his disciples: "In virtue of what have you merited such a long life? He replied: Never in my life have I made a shortcut through a synagogue, nor have I walked over the heads of the holy people (his students).." Behold this trait is regarding showing respect to the synagogue and showing respect to other people, to not step over their sitting place so as not to appear to be degrading them. Also there: "Rabbi Peridah was asked by his disciples: In virtue of what have you merited such a long life? He replied: Never in my life did anyone arrive before me at the house of study, nor have I said the blessing before a Kohen, nor have I ever eaten meat of an animal from which the priestly portions had not been taken. |
ובמה שנוגע לכבוד חבירו שלא כנהו אפילו כנוי שאינו של גנאי וכדפירשו התוספות שם. ורב הונא גם כן קשר גמי על לבושו, לפי שמכר המיינו לקנות יין לקידוש היום. עוד שם שאלו תלמידיו את ר"א בן שמוע במה הארכת ימים? אמר להם מימי לא עשיתי קפנדריא לבית הכנסת, ולא פסעתי על ראשי עם קודש. הנה זה המדות בענין כבוד בית הכנסת ובענין כבוד הבריות, שלא לפסוע על גב מסיבתן שלא ליראות כמבזה אותן. עוד שם שאלו תלמידיו את ר' פרידא במה הארכת ימים? אמר להם מימי לא קדמני אדם לבית המדרש, ולא ברכתי לפני כהן, ולא אכלתי מבהמה שלא הורמה מתנותיה. |
CS - "before me at the house of study" - I always came first before everyone.
CS - "blessing before a Kohen" - although a Talmid Chacham (Torah scholar) comes before a Kohen Am Haaretz (unlearned), Rabbi Freida was accustomed to let a Kohen Talmid Chacham bless before him even if the kohen was less important than him, in order to honor him.
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Also there: "Rabbi Nehunia was asked by his disciples: In virtue of what have you merited such a long life? He replied: Never in my life have I sought honor through the degradation of my fellow, nor has the curse of my fellow gone up with me upon my bed". This was explained there by illustration: "Rav Huna was once carrying a spade on his shoulder. When Rav Hana bar Hanilai wanted to take it from him, Rav Huna said to him: 'if you are accustomed to carry in your own town, take it, but if not, I do not wish to be paid honor through your degradation'". Hence, even though the implication of "honoring oneself through the degradation of one's fellow" is that one tries to put down his fellow in order to increase one's own honor. But the pious will not consent to degrade him even if the fellow himself comes and willingly desires this. Similar to this Rabbi Zeira said: "Never in my life have I been impatient with my household (i.e. I never became angry - CS), nor have I walked ahead of one greater than myself, nor have I meditated on the Torah in filthy alleys, nor have I walked four cubits without Torah or Tefilin, nor have I slept in the Beit Hamidrash (house of Torah study), either a long or a short nap, nor have I rejoiced in the downfall of my fellow, nor have I called another person by his nickname" (ibid). Here we have examples of acts of piety in all the ways we mentioned above. Our sages, of blessed memory, further said (Bava Kama 30a): "Rabbi Yehuda said: 'he who wishes to become pious, let him fulfill the matters of Berachot (blessings)' (this is for those things between man and his Maker), some say 'let him fulfill the laws of damages' (this is for those things between man and his fellow), and some say 'let him fulfill the matters of Pirkei Avot' (which include matters from all the divisions of piety). |
ואמרו עוד שאלו תלמידיו את ר' נחוניא במה הארכת ימים? אמר להם מימי לא נתכבדתי בקלון חבירי, ולא עלתה על מטתי קללת חבירי. ומפרש התם, כי הא דרב הונא דרי מרא אכתפיה, אתא ר"ח בר חנילאי וקא דרי מיניה, א"ל אי רגילת דדרית במאתיך דרי, ואי לא אתייקורי אנא בזילותא דידך לא ניחא לי, (תרגום: כגון רב הונא שנשא מעדר על כתפו בא ר"ח בן חנילאי ליטלו ממנו כדי לכבדו, אמר לו ר"ח: אי רגיל אתה לשאת כך בעירך קח, ואם אין אתה רגיל, להתכבד בבושתך איני רוצה). הרי שאע"פ שמשמעות בקלון חבירו הוא המשתדל לבזות חבירו, כדי שעל ידי זה ירבה כבודו, הנה לחסידים לא יאות לקבל כבוד, אפילו אם חבירו הוא הבא ומתרצה בזה, אם יהיה זה בזיון לחבירו. וכענין זה אמר רבי זירא מימי לא הקפדתי בתוך ביתי ולא צעדתי בפני מי שגדול ממני, ולא הרהרתי במבואות המטונפות, ולא הלכתי ד' אמות בלא תורה ובלא תפילין, ולא ישנתי בבית המדרש לא שינת קבע ולא שינת עראי, ולא ששתי בתקלת חבירי ולא קראתי לחבירי בחניכתו (בכינויו). הרי לך מעשי חסידות מכל הדרכים שזכרנו למעלה. ואמרו עוד ז"ל (ב"ק ל'): אר"י האי מאן דבעי למהוי חסידא לקיים מילי דברכות וזה למה שבינו לבין קונו. ואמרי לה: לקיים מילי דנזקין וזהו למה שבינו לבין חבירו. ואמרי לה: לקיים מילי דאבות ששם נכללים ענינים מכל החלקים. |
| Behold acts of kindliness are of great primary importance to the Chasid (pious). For the term "Chasidut" itself comes from the term "kindliness" (Chesed). And our sages, of blessed memory, said (Pirkei Avot 1:2): "on three things the world stands..", and one of whom is "acts of kindliness". Likewise, they counted them as one of those things which a person "eats of its fruits in this world while the principal [reward] is reserved for him in the World to Come." | והנה גמילות חסדים הוא עיקר גדול לחסיד, כי חסידות עצמו נגזר מחסד ואז"ל (אבות פ"א): על ג' דברים העולם עומד ואחד מהם ג"ח. וכן מנוהו ז"ל עם הדברים שאוכל פירותיהן בעולם הזה והקרן קיימת לו לעולם הבא. |
CS - "acts of kindliness are of great primary importance to the Chasid" - i.e. exerting oneself in benefiting others is one of the central matters that is incumbent on the Pious to engage in.
MB - even though acts of kindliness are an obligation on every person, nevertheless, it is not specified which acts are included and how much to strive in them. While the Chasid excels in this entire area.
Likutei Etzot, Erech Simcha - "primary importance" - it is a very great matter to bring joy to the hearts of other people. For most people are full of sufferings, worries and various troubles, and they are unable to say over what is in their hearts. When a person comes with a smiling face, he can literally revive them, and this is a very great thing. For when one merits to bring joy to a person, he mamash (actually) sustains and imbues life to a soul of Israel.
Chesed is the central Pillar
Or Hatzafon 1:107 - (the centrality of Chesed) In Pirkei Avot "on three things the world stands: on Torah, Avodah (temple service/prayer), and gemilut chasadim (acts of kindness" (Avot 1). On the other hand, in Avot d'Rebbi Natan (ch.4) it says: "the world was created only with chesed, as written 'the world is built on kindness' (Tehillim 89:3)". This implies that it is sufficient for the world to stand on chesed alone.
The answer is that the essence and purpose of Torah and avodah is chesed, as they said: "the Torah begins and ends with chesed", for the Torah reveals that G-d's will is in chesed. Likewise regarding Avodah (temple service) it says "For kindness I desired, and not sacrifice" (Hosheah 6:6). Chesed is the primary foundation which the world rests on. The proof is that how could the world endure before the giving of the Torah and before the building of the temple? Hence, chesed is the essence and purpose of everything.
| Our sages further taught: "Rabbi Simlai expounded: 'the Torah begins and ends with acts of kindnesses'" (Sotah 14a). | ואמרו עוד (סוטה י"ד): דרש ר' שמלאי תורה תחלתה גמילות חסדים וסופה גמילות חסדים (בתחילת התורה עשה ה' לאדם ולאשתו כותנות עור, ובסוף התורה קבר את משה). |
OG - the Talmud continues there: "it begins with an act of kindness as written: "and the L-ord, G-d made for Adam and for his wife garments of skins and clothed them" (Gen.3:21), and it ends with an act of kindness, as written: "and G-d buried Moses in the valley" (Devarim 34:6).
We can learn from here that the intent in acts of kindness is not specifically for big and important things, but rather, even a small act of making a garment for his fellow or burying him in the ground after his death. Things which do not entail such great toil and do not require such great monetary expense (i.e. for burying someone in an ownerless valley). Nevertheless - there is chesed here. The Rambam wrote in his introduction to tractate Avot that he who gives a small amount of charity many times is greater than he who gives a large amount one time. Thus a person can easily perform acts of kindness to others with all sorts of small acts.
Additionally, the Talmud teaches us that even the Holy One Himself, blessed be He, toiled in these small acts of kindness. From this we can learn that an honorable person should not say to himself: "it is not proper for me to toil in a kindness like this or that since it is only a small kindness. It is enough for me to toil in big acts of kindness and let others toil in the small ones". Our sages answer us: "go and learn from that which the Holy One, blessed be He, toiled in acts of kindness, even in things which do not seem to be for kavod shamayim (honor of Heaven). For the very act of making an effort to assist your fellow is itself a mitzva, and on it the world stands, and there is nothing more honorable than this.
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Rava expounded: "whoever has these three traits is surely of the seed of Avraham our forefather: mercy, shame, and benevolence" (Yevamot 79a). R. Eleazar stated, acts of kindness are greater than charity, for it is said (Hoshea 10:12): "sow to yourselves according to your charity, but reap according to your kindness (Chesed)" (Sukkah 49b). Our Rabbis taught: "in three respects are acts of kindness (Gemilut Chasadim) superior to charity: charity can be done only with one's money, but acts of kindness can be done with one's person and one's money. Charity can be given only to the poor, acts of kindness are both to the rich and the poor. Charity can be given to the living only, acts of kindness can be done both to the living and to the dead alike" (Sukkah 49b). They further said: "'And he shall give you mercy, and have mercy upon you' (Devarim 13:17) - anyone who is merciful to others, will be shown mercy by Heaven" (Shabbat 151b). This is obvious, for the Holy One, blessed be He, repays measure for measure (Sanhedrin 90a). Thus he who has mercy and does kindness with others, will also be shown mercy when he is judged and pardoned of his sins with kindliness. For such pardoning is justice, since it corresponds measure for measure to his practice. This is what our sages, of blessed memory, taught: "who is forgiven iniquity? he who overlooks transgression [committed against himself]" (Rosh Hashana 17a). But he who is not willing to overlook transgression [against himself], or act with kindliness, justice dictates that he too will be dealt with only strict justice. Now see - who is there and is there anyone who could stand up if the Holy One, blessed be He, were to hold him up to strict justice?! King David prayed saying: "do not enter into judgment with Your servant, for no living being can be found vindicated before You" (Tehilim 143:2). But he who does kindness will receive kindness, and the more he does, the more he will receive. David would exult in possessing this good trait, striving to do kindness even to those who hated him, as written "but when they were sick, my clothing was sackcloth; I afflicted my soul with fastings.." (Tehilim 35:13), and "if I have repaid the one who did evil to me.." (Tehilim 7:5). |
ואמרו עוד (יבמות ע"ט): דרש רבא כל מי שיש בו ג' מדות הללו, בידוע שהוא מזרעו של אברהם אבינו, רחמן, וביישן, וגומל חסדים. ואמרו (סוכה מ"ט): אמר ר"א גדולה גמילות חסדים יותר מן הצדקה, שנאמר זרעו לכם לצדקה וקצרו לפי חסד. ואמרו עוד (שם): בג' דברים גדולה גמילות חסדים מן הצדקה: שהצדקה בממונו וג"ח (גמילות חסדים) בין בגופו בין בממונו. צדקה לעניים ג"ח לעניים ולעשירים. צדקה לחיים ג"ח בין לחיים בין למתים. ואמרו עוד (שבת קנ"א): ונתן לך רחמים ורחמך כל המרחם על הבריות מרחמין עליו מן השמים. וזה פשוט, כי הקב"ה מודד מדה כנגד מדה, ומי שמרחם ועושה חסד עם הבריות, גם הוא בדינו ירחמוהו וימחלו לו עונותיו בחסד, שהרי מחילה זו דין הוא, כיון שהיא מדה כנגד מדתו, והוא מה שאמרו ז"ל (ר"ה י"ז): למי נושא עון למי שעובר על פשע. ומי שאינו רוצה להעביר על מדותיו, או אינו רוצה לגמול חסד, הנה הדין נותן שגם עמו לא יעשו אלא שורת הדין, ראה עתה מי הוא זה ואיזה הוא שיוכל לעמוד אם הקב"ה עושה עמו שורת הדין, ודוד המלך מתפלל ואומר (תהלים קמ"ב): ואל תבוא במשפט את עבדך כי לא יצדק לפניך כל חי. אמנם העושה חסד יקבל חסד, וככל מה שירבה לעשות כך ירבה לקבל, ודוד היה מתפלל במדתו זאת הטובה שאפילו לשונאיו היה משתדל להיטיב, זהו מה שכתוב (שם ל"ח): ואני בחלותם לבושי שק עניתי בצום נפשי. ואמר (שם ז'): אם גמלתי שולמי רע וגו'. |
OG - (Kabalistic) "measure for measure" (mida keneged mida) - this is the attribute of the Holy One, blessed be He, to repay measure for measure. Thus our sages teach us here. The Ramchal teaches us in his books that G-d implanted this matter in His Sefirot. For he who strengthens himself in one of the nine levels set forth in the Mesilat Yesharim, such as the trait of Chasidut (Piety) explained here, then, the Sefira of Chesed receives great lights of Shefa (spiritual flow), in the merit of this person. It transmits this Shefa to the Sefirot after it, namely, Gevura, Tiferet, Netzach, Hod, Yesod, and Malchut. When Malchut receives these lofty shefas, (since it does not transmit further down for it is last in the world of Asiyah in which we reside), immediately the Malchut rouses shefa of powerful lights towards above, to the Sefirot above it, from sefira to sefira until the lights of Malchut reach the Keter, and from there to the Ein Sof, blessed be He, through spiritual worlds.
Then in exchange, the Ein Sof (G-d) returns shefa of blessing, according to the principle of "measure for measure". These lights of Shefa pass through Keter to the Sefirot: Chachma, Binah, Daat, and Chesed. For Chesed is the one who started this process and now the shefa is returned to it multiplied many, many times over. Then, from the Sefira of Chesed, all this Shefa shines to the servant of G-d who toiled in acts of kindness. And not only does he merit the Shefa of Chesed and Rachamim but even the people of his generation also receive in his merit (see Daat Tevunot chelek 2, pgs 28-29).
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Included in this matter is to not cause pain to any creature, even animals, and to show mercy and concern towards them. Likewise scripture states: "the righteous man knows the soul of his beast" (Mishlei 12:10) (Rashi-what his beast needs), and according to some of our sages (Shabbat 128b), to cause pain to an animal is a Biblical prohibition, while to others it is at least a Rabbinical prohibition. The general principle of the matter is that mercy and benevolence must be permanently fixed in the heart of the Chasid (pious person), and that his aspiration always be to bring contentment to his fellow creatures and not cause them any pain, etc. |
ובכלל הענין הזה שלא לצער לשום בריה אפילו בעלי חיים ולרחם ולחוס עליהם, וכן הוא אומר (משלי י"ב): יודע צדיק נפש בהמתו, וכבר יש שסוברים (ב"מ ל"ב): צער בעלי חיים דאורייתא, ועל כל פנים דרבנן. כללו, של דבר הרחמנות וההטבה צריך שתהיה תקוע בלב החסיד לעולם, ותהיה מגמתו תמיד לעשות קורת רוח לבריות, ולא לגרום להם שום צער וכו'. |
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FEAR OF G-D The second division of piety relates to manner of performance. This too divides into two areas which, however, contain many details. These two primary areas are fear and love - the two pillars of true service of G-d, without which it cannot at all be established. |
החלק הב' מן החסידות הוא באופן העשיה, והנה גם זה נכלל בב' ענינים, אמנם תחתיהם נכללים פרטים רבים, וב' הראשיים הם היראה והאהבה, ב' עמודי העבודה האמתית שזולתם לא תכון כלל. |
CS - "two pillars.." - for without them, the religious service is out of habit and rote or out of selfish motives of reward and punishment - and is not considered true service of G-d. see also "the Way of G-d" part 4, chapter 3
ER - "pillars of true service" - thus besides that fear and love are mitzvot of the Torah.. It is clear from Rabeinu's words that all mitzvot require these two matters of fear and love, that the manner of their performance is through imbuing them with fear and love of G-d..
MB - "it cannot at all be established" - in the Tikunei Zohar (Tikun 10): "Torah or mitzva which is without fear and love [of G-d] does not ascend (poreach) on high".
| Included in fear [of G-d] is submission before G-d, to feel shame in approaching His service, honoring His commandments, His blessed Name, and His Torah. | בכלל היראה יש ההכנעה מלפניו יתברך, הבושת בקרוב אל עבודתו, והכבוד הנעשה אל מצותיו אל שמו יתברך ואל תורתו. |
SR - "submission before G-d" - the pious Rabeinu Bachye layed down an entire section on this, namely the Gate of Submission (Duties of the Heart, Gate #6). The Ramchal did not elaborate in places where others already did so before him, as we explained earlier (in ch.8, see there).
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Included in love [of G-d] is joy, clinging, and jealousy. We will now clarify them one by one. The primary aspect of fear of G-d is fear (awe) of His exaltedness. A person must think when he is engaged in prayer or performing a mitzva, that it is before the King of kings that he is praying or performing the mitzva. This is what the Tanna exhorts us saying: "when you pray, know before Whom you are praying" (Berachot 28b). |
ובכלל האהבה השמחה, הדבקות, והקנאה, ועתה נבארם אחד אחד. הנה עיקר היראה היא יראת הרוממות שצריך האדם לחשוב בעודו מתפלל או עושה מצוה, כי לפני מלך מלכי המלכים הוא מתפלל או עושה המעשה ההוא, והוא מה שהזהיר התנא (ברכות כ"ח ב): וכשאתה מתפלל דע לפני מי אתה מתפלל. |
SR - "when engaged in prayer" - even though prayer is an obligation to everyone, nevertheless, its [complete] fulfillment is in the level of Chasidut. For some things [in prayer] are only of the Mishnat Chasidim, while others are for everyone. Hence, the possibility of fulfilling prayer wholly (b'shelemut) is only for the Chasidim...
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In order to reach this fear, a man must reflect on and contemplate well three things: first, that he is actually (mamash) standing before the Creator, blessed be He, engaging in a give and take with Him, even though a man's eye does not see Him. You will observe that this is the most difficult for a person to form a true image in his heart because his senses do not at all aid in this. However, he who is of sound intellect can establish in his heart the truth of the matter, with a little contemplation and attention, how he comes and quite literally engages in a give and take with G-d, blessed be He, pleading before Him, and beseeching Him, while G-d, blessed be His Name, lends ear to him, gives attention to his words, just like when a man speaks to his fellow and the fellow attentively listens to his words. |
והנה ג' דברים צריך שיסתכל האדם ויתבונן היטב, כדי שיגיע אל זאת היראה: האחד שהוא עומד ממש לפני הבורא יתברך שמו ונושא ונותן עמו, אף על פי שאין עינו של אדם רואהו, ותראה כי זה הוא היותר קשה שיצטייר בלב האדם ציור אמיתי, יען אין החוש עוזר לזה כלל. אמנם מי שהוא בעל שכל נכון, במעט התבוננות ושימת לב, יוכל לקבוע בלבו אמיתת הדבר, איך הוא בא ונושא ונותן ממש עמו יתברך, ולפניו הוא מתחנן ומאתו הוא מבקש, והוא יתברך שמו מאזין לו מקשיב לדבריו, כאשר ידבר איש אל רעהו ורעהו מקשיב שומע אליו. |
MB - "three things" - i.e. regarding prayer, the thought of "before the King of kings..." includes three points, and through all of them, the proper fear will come.
MB - "actually standing" - it is not an analogy or imagination but rather "actually standing". And it is not just standing but rather standing to "engage in a give and take, to plead and beseech".
MB - "difficult for a person to form a true image of this" - it seems this is our service (avodah), that we form this image in our heart, not an image of physical likening (hitgashmut) but rather an image of this matter of standing before Him.
MB - "pleading" (lehitchanen) - it is not just a request but rather a striving to find favor (chen) in the eyes of the one beseeched, and automatically He will then fulfill the requests. Thus, he did not write "pleading Him" (ito hu mitchanen), but rather "pleading before Him", for he strives to find favor in His eyes..
MB - "lends ear" (maazin) - it is not just haphazard listening but rather an act, that He gives attention to listen.
MB - "gives attention" - (makshiv) this is greater than "lends ear".
MB - "just like when a man" - perhaps the emphasis is that he is one on one [with G-d], not like a public audience where one person out of a 100 people present speaks.
LS - the primary matter of the service of prayer is the feeling of standing before G-d. This is the primary Kavana (intent) which we are under duty during the prayer. That we feel ourselves as if we are standing in the palace of the King and speaking to Him face to face, as the words of the Rambam:
"what is meant by [proper] intention? One should clear his mind from all thoughts and envision himself as standing before the Shechina (Divine Presence)" (Tefila 4:15).
The matter of intent in the meaning of the words (kavana perush hamilot) is only coming to make it easier on a man to attain this feeling of standing before G-d. However, it is not a simple matter to properly attain this feeling in one's heart. Go and see how our sages were lenient and said that only the kavana (intent) in the first blessing of the Avot (of the Amidah prayer) is required. However, certainly each person according to his grasp of the greatness of G-d, if he directs his heart properly to sense this wondrous feeling.
Behold there is power in this feeling to grant him a lofty feeling of Yirat Haromemut (fear of the exaltedness of G-d), to recognize that the great King, blessed be He, observes all of his matters and thoughts, and His glorious majesty is over him always.
(see original Hebrew here for better understanding)
Yesod V'Shoresh HaAvodah 1:3 - to explain what is Yirat Haromemut (fear of G-d's greatness), behold your eyes can see all of the fear and shame which a person feels to approach a great man, one very famous for his Chasidut and Perishut (Separation from this world) in Torah study. For his fear and awe weighs on people less than him and they experience fear and shame to approach him. How much more so to eat before him and speak to him on some matter. And certainly this great man will not punish him nor strike him viciously nor anything else due to his great Chasidut. Why then are you afraid? Why has dread befallen your face and you fear to approach him? This is due to nothing other than your knowing and recognizing his loftiness and greatness in Torah and his great Chasidut and Perishut (Separation). Due to this, the shame and fear of approaching him befalls you. And certainly, the will and yearning of every man is to draw close to him as much as possible and speak to him. But the great barrier is the shame and fear on their faces to approach him. This fear is Yirat Haromemut...
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After one has established this in his knowledge, he must then contemplate on G-d's exaltedness, blessed be He, that He is exalted and elevated over all blessing and praise, over all forms of perfection that our minds can possibly imagine and comprehend. He must also contemplate on the lowliness of man and his baseness due to his physical nature and grossness, and all the more so due to all the sins he committed in his life. |
ואחר שיקבע זה בדעתו, צריך שיתבונן על רוממותו יתברך, אשר הוא מרומם ונשגב על כל ברכה ותהלה, על כל מיני שלימות שתוכל מחשבתנו לדמות ולהבין. ועוד צריך שיתבונן על שפלות האדם ופחיתותו, לפי חומריותו וגסותו, כל שכן לפי החטאים שחטא מעודו. |
MB - "he must then contemplate on G-d's exaltedness.." - this is the second point.
MB - "that our minds can possibly imagine and comprehend" - He is not grasped by our imagination nor by our understanding. Therefore there is no need to elaborate on this matter. We must say that He is beyond us, and as the Nefesh HaChaim explains in Shaar 2, ch.22 that we have no grasp at all whatsoever of His essence.
MB - "He must also contemplate on the lowliness of man" - this is the third point.
"lowliness" (shiflut) - this is the opposite of exaltedness. "baseness" - this is the opposite of Shelemut (perfection). this is a greater deficiency than shiflut.
"due to his physical nature" - from the aspect that he is physical and not spiritual (which is a lowly and deficient thing).
"due to all the sins he committed" - even if now he does not sin, but previously he acted against G-d's will, blessed be He.
| When he contemplates all of this, it will be impossible for his heart to not fear and for him to not quiver while he speaks his words before Him, blessed be He, and utters His Name, and strives to find His favor. This is what scripture says: "Serve G-d with fear, and rejoice in trembling" (Tehilim 2:11), and "G-d is revered in the great council of the holy ones and feared by all around Him" (Tehilim 89:8). | כי על כל אלה אי אפשר שלא יחרד לבו ולא ירעש בעודו מדבר דבריו לפניו יתברך, ומזכיר בשמו ומשתדל להרצות לו, הוא מה שאמר הכתוב (תהלים ב'): עבדו את ה' ביראה וגילו ברעדה, וכתיב (שם פ"ט): אל נערץ בסוד קדושים רבה ונורא על כל סביביו. |
MB - "When he contemplates all of this" - all these three matters mentioned - he will fear and quiver.
SP - "while he speaks" - i.e. all the time he is speaking.
MB - "utters His Name" - this is more awesome than just speaking to Him.
MB - "and strives to find His favor" - it is not merely speaking and uttering His Name, but an intent to be pleasing before Him. i.e. despite all these aforementioned deficiencies, he still strives to be pleasing before Him.
MB - "the great council of the holy ones" - we see from here that the very grasping of the truth of G-d's existence/greatness brings fear. Although this verse speaks of angels, who recognize His greatness more than human beings, nevertheless we can learn from them that it is proper to be thus despite that we don't grasp the truth like an angel.
| For the angels are closer to Him due to lacking physical bodies. Thus it is easier for them to conceive of His exalted greatness. Therefore His fear weighs upon them more strongly than upon human beings. However, king David would praise G-d (even though he was not an angel - SP) saying: "I shall prostrate myself to the Temple of Your holiness in fear of You" (Tehilim 5:8), and scripture says: "and he was afraid before My Name" (Malachi 2:5), and "my G-d, I am ashamed and blush to lift up my face to You" (Ezra 9:6). | כי המלאכים להיותם יותר קרובים אליו יתברך מפני הגוף החומרי קל להם יותר לדמות שבח גדולתו, על כן מוראו עליהם יותר ממה שהוא על בני האדם, ואמנם דוד המלך עליו השלום היה משבח ואומר (שם ה'): אשתחוה אל היכל קדשך ביראתך, וכתיב (מלאכי א'): מפני שמי נחת הוא, ואומר (עזרא ט'): אלהי בושתי ונכלמתי להרים אלהי פני אליך. |
MB - "however, king David" - although it is not applicable for us to be like angels, nevertheless we are not entirely outside of this realm.
| However, this fear must first grow strong in one's heart and afterwards its effects will also manifest in the limbs of the body, namely, a bowed head and prostration, lowering of the eyes and clasping of the hands, as a lowly slave before a great king. Likewise, they said in the Gemara "Rava clasped his hands and prayed, saying, 'I am like a slave before his Master'" (Shabbat 10a). | ואולם היראה הזאת צריך שתתגבר בלב בתחלה, ואחר כך תראה פעולותיה גם באיברי הגוף הלא המה: כובד הראש וההשתחואה שפלות העינים וכפיפת הידים כעבד קטן לפני מלך רב, וכן אמרו בגמרא (שבת י'): רבא פכר ידיה ומצלי, אמר כעבדא קמי מאריה. |
SP - the author's words needs examination. He starts with the thought of "know before Whom you stand and continues on contemplating three matters, and ends with "his heart to not fear and for him to not quiver".
Thus it seems there are two aspects to fear. One, the "thought of fear", where there is observing and contemplating three matters, namely, "give and take with Him", "His exaltedness", and the "lowliness of man". The second aspect is the fear itself which comes as a consequence of the "thought of fear", namely, "his heart fears and he quivers while he speaks his words before Him, blessed be He"... see also ch.21 and "the Way of G-d" part 4-2:5.
ER - According to this, the fear should fill a person always. Why does Rabeinu write this only during prayer or doing a mitzva?... The answer is that here we are talking only about the trait of Piety, where a person has not yet reached this level of "Fear of Sin", where every second, he is full of fear of sin as will be explained in chapter 24.
Alei Shur 1:27 - In Bava Kama 3: "what is Maveh? Maveh denotes man. For it is written: 'The watchman said: The morning comes, and also the night - if you will inquire, inquire' (Isaiah 21:12). Hence, "Mave" is derived from the term "Bayu" which is prayer. "Mave" is he who prays. This is the definition of a man - that he prays. For prayer is an act which defines man more than any other act. Acts of warfare, building homes and even social orders, we find also by animals. But to rise up to the Creator and sustainer of all the worlds and to speak with Him face to face and say: "You" - this is the portion of man.... Most of a man's opening up (hitpatchuto) in the spiritual depends on prayer..
| We have spoken till now on submission and shame. We will now speak on the matter of honor. | והנה דברנו עד עתה מן ההכנעה ומן הבושת, ונדבר עתה מענין הכבוד. |
SP - "submission and shame" - contemplating the greatness of G-d mentioned earlier brings to submission, while contemplating the lowliness of man brings to shame. Humility corresponding to His exaltedness and shame corresponding to man's lowliness.
OG - (Kabalistic) the author teaches us here two fundamental principles:
1. "fear of G-d" and "love of G-d" - the two mitzvot are the pillars of the Mesilat Yesharim.
2. "Fear" always precedes "love", for this is the correct order in the service of G-d.
Let us explain..
Chesed, Din, and Rachamim are the foundations of the creation of the world. The ten Sefirot were set on this foundation by the Holy One, blessed be He.
The order of these three primary [foundations] begins with Chesed. For G-d created the world only from the power of the foundation of Chesed - "the world is built on Chesed" (Tehillim 89:3). Immediately after Chesed comes the foundation of "Din" (justice), for in order to bestow good which is without the "bread of shame" (i.e. the shame which comes from receiving free, unearned Chesed), G-d thus constricted the lights of Chesed and formed the laws of nature. Likewise, He created the Satan who is the angel of death and is the evil inclination. All this in order that man stand up to the trials, and if he chooses truth and good, and is not enticed by the evil inclination, he will merit the good of G-d without shame.
After these two foundations of Chesed and Din, G-d formed the foundation of Rachamim (mercy), so that through its power, it is possible to save also he who did not stand up to Din and needs Rachamim.
The nine upper sefirot are all built on these foundations:
Chachma=Chesed, Bina=Din, Daat=Rachamim
Chesed=Chesed, Gevura=Din, Tiferet=Rachamim
Netzach=Chesed, Hod=Din, Yesod=Rachamim
Corresponding to these ten sefirot, Rabbi Pinchas ben Yair layed down the nine traits through which a person can ascend them from level to level, and according to their order. Here is their order from above to below.
The Gate of Holiness:
Holiness=Chachma, Fear of Sin=Bina, Humility=Daat
The Gate of Piety:
Piety=Chesed, Purity=Tiferet, Separation=Gevura
The Gate of Righteousness:
Cleanliness=Yesod, Zeal=Netzach, Watchfulness=Hod
Note that the order from below to above is the order of ascent in the service of G-d, as Rabbi Pinchas ben Yair set. This is because the closer the sefira is to Keter and to the Ein Sof, blessed be He, the loftier it is. Thus the servant of G-d can climb to it only at a later time. On the other hand, the lower the sefira, the further it is from the source of Shefa (divine flow). Therefore, it is nearer to man and is closer to its neighbor in the service of G-d.
In the Torah, G-d transmits to us through Moshe Rabeinu that fear of G-d precedes love of G-d, as written: "And now, O Israel, what does the L-ord, your G-d, demand of you? Only to fear the L-ord, your G-d, to walk in all His ways and to love Him, and to serve the L-ord, your G-d, with all your heart and with all your soul," (Devarim 10:12) - "fear" precedes "love".
King David also received this important principle from his Rabbis on the order of ascending the levels. In two places he repeats to us: "turn from evil and do good" (Tehilim 34:15, and 37:27) - first turn from evil out of fear of G-d which is always first, and only after one has strengthened himself in "fear of G-d", he can turn to strengthening himself in the mitzvah of "love of G-d".
According to this: The trait of Watchfulness comes before the trait of Zeal. The trait of Separation comes before the trait of Piety. The trait of Fear of Sin comes before the trait of Holiness...
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HONOR Our sages, of blessed memory, have already exhorted us on the honor and dignity of a mitzva. They expounded (Shabbat 133b): "'this is my G-d, and I will beautify Him' (Shemot 15:2) - beautify yourself before Him in [the fulfillment of] mitzvot. Thus, make beautiful Tzitzit, beautiful Tefilin, a beautiful Sukkah, a beautiful Torah scroll, [and write it with fine ink, a fine reed, and a skilled penman, and wrap it about with beautiful silks]...". They also said: "A person should spend an extra third to beautify a Mitzvah. Up to this extra third, is on him, above a third, the Holy One, blessed be He, returns the money to him (in this world)" (Bava Kama 9b). Thus, the intent of their words is quite clearly spoken, that the performance of the mitzva by itself is not enough. Rather, one must also honor and beautify it. This comes to exclude the view of those who, in order to make things easier for themselves, will claim: "honor is only for human beings who are seduced by such vanities. But the Holy One, blessed be He, is not concerned for such things, for He is above these things and elevated above them. As long as the mitzva is done correctly, this is sufficient." |
הנה כבוד המצוה ויקרה, כבר הזהירונו עליו חז"ל ואמרו (ב"ק ט'): זה אלי ואנוהו, התנאה לפניו במצות, ציצית נאה, תפילין נאה, ספר תורה נאה, לולב נאה וכו', וכן אמרו הידור מצוה עד שליש, עד כאן משלו מכאן ואילך משל הקב"ה. הרי דעת שפתותיהם ז"ל ברור מללו, שאין די בעשות המצוה לבד, אלא שצריך לכבדה ולהדרה. ולהוציא ממי שלהקל על עצמו יאמר אין הכבוד אלא לבני האדם המתפתים בהבלים אלה, אך הקב"ה אינו חושש לזה, כי הוא מרומם מדברים האלה ונשגב מהם, וכיון שהמצוה נעשית לאמתה די בזה. |
NE - even though they are correct that He is elevated above these things, nevertheless, we are under duty to honor Him.
MB - "in order to make things easier for themselves" - this is the entire motivation why he says this, not because he truly thinks this.
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The truth, however, is that the L-ord, blessed be He, is called "the G-d of honor" (Tehilim 29:3), and we are under duty to honor Him, even though He does not need our honor and it is neither important nor significant to Him. Nevertheless, he who diminishes this honor to G-d when he was able to increase it is considered a sinner. This is what the prophet Malachi rebuked the Jews with the word of G-d saying: "If you offer a blind [animal] for a sacrifice, is it not evil? Were you to offer it to your governor, will he accept it from you or will he show you favor?" (Malachi 1:8). |
אמנם האמת הוא שהאדון ברוך הוא נקרא אל הכבוד (תהלים כ"ט), ואנו חייבים לכבדו, אע"פ שאינו צריך לכבודנו ולא כבודנו חשוב וספון לפניו. ומי שממעט בזה במקום שהיה יכול להרבות, אינו אלא חוטא. הוא מה שהנביא מלאכי מתרעם על ישראל בדבר ה' (מלאכי א'): וכי תגישון עור לזבוח אין רע הקריבהו נא לפחתך הירצך או הישא פניך |
MB - "sinner" - he emphasizes that the obligation is not a mere enhancement which does not carry any punishment for refraining from it. Rather, it is an actual (mamash) obligation.
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Our sages, of blessed memory, exhorted us to conduct ourselves in the opposite manner in the divine service. For instance, regarding water which became uncovered, that one must not filter them with a strainer to permit their use [for temple purposes]. They gave the reason: "when was this permitted? [answer:] For mundane use. But was this ever permitted for Temple use!? It is disqualified from the verse 'Were you to offer it to your governor, will he accept it from you or show you favor?'" (Malachi 1:8)". Observe, what defect is there in strained water which are already permitted for mundane use? But even so, they are forbidden for temple use because it is not honorable. They further said in Sifri (Devarim Piska 68): " 'and all your choice vows' (Devarim 12:11) - one should bring only from the choicest." |
ואולם חז"ל הזהירונו להתנהג הפך זה בעבודה, ואמרו (סוכה נ'): בענין מים שנתגלו שלא יסננם במסננת, מטעם אימור דאמרי להדיוט, לגבוה מי קאמר?! לית ליה הקריבהו נא לפחתך?! ראה נא מה חסרון יש במים שנסתננו, וכבר מותרים הם להדיוט, ואפילו הכי אסורים הם לגבוה משום שאינו דרך כבוד. ואמרו עוד בספרי (דברים י"ב): וכל מבחר נדריכם, דהיינו שלא יביא אלא מן המובחר. |
ER - the Rambam writes in Isurei Mizbeach 7:11
In this way, one who desires to gain merit for himself, subjugate his evil inclination, and amplify his generosity should bring his sacrifice from the most desirable and superior type of the item he is bringing. For it is written in the Torah [Genesis 4:4]: "And Hevel brought from his choicest flocks and from the superior ones, and G-d turned to Hevel and his offering." The same applies to everything given for the sake of the Almighty. It should be of the most beautiful and highest quality. If one builds a house of prayer, it should be more beautiful than his own dwelling. If he feeds a hungry person, he should feed him from the best and most tasty foods of his table. If he clothes a poor man, he should clothe him with his choice garments. If he consecrates something, he should consecrate the best of his possession. And so [Vayikra 3:16] states: "All of the superior quality should be given to G-d."
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We also find by Kayin and Hevel (Bereishis Raba 22:5): "Hevel brought from the first born of his sheep and of their fats". While, as they explained, Kayin brought from among the worst of the fruits of the land. What was the result? "and the L-ord turned to Hevel and his offering, but for Kayin and his offering He paid no heed" (Bereishis 4:5). It is further written: "But cursed be the deceiver who has in his flock a male, yet he vows and sacrifices to the L-ord a blemished one. For I am a great King [says the L-ord of Hosts]" (Malachi 1:14). |
וכבר מצאנו קין והבל, הבל הביא מבכורות צאנו ומחלביהן, וקין הביא מן הפסולת מפרי האדמה כפי' ז"ל, ומה עלה בהם (בראשית ד'): וישע ה' אל הבל ואל מנחתו ואל קין ואל מנחתו לא שעה. ואומר (מלאכי א'): וארור נוכל ויש בעדרו זכר ונודר וזובח משחת לה' כי מלך גדול אני. |
SR - from Rabeinu's words, we learn what was the error of Kayin and those who offered a blind animal as a sacrifice. Their intent was not to degrade, chalila. rather, they erred in their outlook. They claimed it was not honorable for G-d to be honored through these things, but the view of our perfect Torah is not so.
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Our sages, of blessed memory, exhorted us in many places against the disrespect of Mitzvot. They said: "whoever holds a Torah scroll which is uncovered, will be buried naked [i.e. devoid of the mitzva]" (Shabbat 14a), because of the disrespect to the mitzva. The order of offering the first fruits (Bikurim) are a guide for us to see what is "Hidur Mitzva" (beautifying a mitzva). We learned: "an ox with horns overlaid with gold and with an olive crown upon its head walks before them..." (Bikurim 3:3). And later on there: "the wealthy brought their first fruits in baskets of gold, while the poor used baskets of willow branches" (Bikurim 3:8). And "there are three elements in first fruits: the first fruits themselves, the additions to the first fruits, and the decorations of the first fruits..." (Bikurim 3:10). Thus we see just how much it is proper to add on to the body of the mitzva itself in order to beautify it. From here we learn to apply to all the other Mitzvot of the Torah. They further said (Shabbat 10a): "Rava would don a cloak and pray, saying: 'prepare to meet your G-d, O Israel' (Amos 4:12)". They further said on the verse: " 'then Rivkah took the finest clothes of Eisav her older son' (Gen 27:15) - Rabban Shimon ben Gamliel says: 'I served my father.. but when Eisav served his father, he would only do so while wearing royal clothing'" (Bereishis Raba 65:16). Behold, if this is so for flesh and blood, how much more so, for the King of kings, the Holy One, blessed be He, that one who stands before Him to pray should wear honorable clothing, and sit before him as one who sits before a great king. |
וכמה דברים הזהירונו ז"ל שלא יהיו מצות בזויות עלינו, וכבר אמרו (שבת י"ד ; מגילה ל"ב): כל האוחז ספר תורה ערום נקבר ערום מפני ביזוי המצוה. וסדר העלאת ביכורים יהיה לנו לעינים לראות מה הוא הידורן של מצות, שכך שנינו (בכורים פ"ג): השור הולך לפניהם וקרניו מצופות זהב ועטרה של זית בראשו וכו', עוד שם העשירים מביאים בכוריהם בקלתות של זהב והעניים בסלי נצרים כו', עוד שם ג' מדות בבכורים: בכורים, תוספת בכורים, ועיטור בכורים וכו', הרי לנו בהדיא כמה ראוי לנו להוסיף על גופה של מצוה כדי להדרה, ומכאן נלמוד לכל שאר מצות שבתורה. ואמרו (שבת י'): רבא רמי פוזמקי ומצלי אמר (עמוס ד'): הכון לקראת אלהיך ישראל. עוד ארז"ל (ב"ר פס"ה): על הפסוק "בגדי עשו בנה החמודות", אמר רשב"ג אני שמשתי את אבא כו', אבל עשו כשהיה משמש את אביו לא היה משמש אלא בבגדי מלכות. והנה א"כ לבשר ודם, קל וחומר למלך מלכי המלכים הקב"ה שהעומד לפניו להתפלל ראוי הוא שילבש בגדי כבוד, ויושב לפניו כמו שיושב לפני מלך גדול. |
SR - "sits" - just like standing needs to be with honor and awe, so too the sitting.
NE - "should wear honorable clothing" - like we find by the priests in their temple service. For a Kohen who is missing a priestly garment is invalidated from performing the temple service. For he lacks the proper preparation, and the clothing a person wears influence his feelings and thoughts. Therefore, it is very strict. And from here we can learn to other matters.
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Included in this category is honoring the Sabbath and Festivals. For whoever gives much honor to these, certainly brings gratification to his Maker, who thus commanded us: "you shall honor it" (Isaiah 58:13). Once it has become established to us as truth that honoring the Sabbath is a mitzva, there are many different ways to honor it. But the general principle is that any action which shows importance to the Sabbath, we should do. |
והנה בכלל זה יש כבוד השבתות ויום טוב שכל המרבה לכבדם, ודאי עושה נחת רוח ליוצרו, שכן צונו וכבדתו. וכיון שכבר התאמת לנו שכבודו מצוה, הנה מיני הכבוד רבים הם, אך הכלל הוא שכל מעשה שבו נראה חשיבות לשבת צריכים אנו לעשותו. |
MB - "any action which shows importance to the Sabbath, we should do" - he did not write "all actions", for the intent is not that every Chasid must do all actions possible. Rather, each person according to his way, understands which action demonstrates honor of the Sabbath. This is clear from the continuation to one who studies it carefully.
This does not mean that in the home of the Chasid, there was not more than one matter of honoring the Sabbath. Rather that the Chasid himself need not do all of them. Things like this depend on the "weighing of piety" or some simpler calculation, and this is not the place to elaborate. (See the Shmirat Shabbat K'Hilchato Chelek 2, ch.42, Footnote 195 in name of R. S.Z. Auerbach).
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Therefore the early sages occupied themselves in the preparation of the Sabbath, each sage according to his own way: "Rabbi Abahu used to sit on an ivory stool and fan the fire. Rav Safra would roast the head of an animal. Raba salted fish. Rav Huna would light the lamp. Rav Papa plaited the wicks. Rav Chisda cut beets. Rabbah and Rav Joseph chopped wood. Rav Nachman bar Isaac carried things in and out, saying: 'If Rav Ammi and Rav Assi visited me (the Gedolei Hador - CS), would I not carry thus for them?'" (Shabbat 119a). Notice, the comparison of Rav Nachman which contains a model for us to learn from. For he would contemplate what he would do for a person he wishes to honor and then would do a similar thing for the Sabbath. On this matter it was said: "a person should always be clever in the fear of Heaven" (Berachot 17a) - to know and deduce one thing from another, and to devise new ways of bringing gratification to his Maker in every possible manner. |
על כן היו החכמים הראשונים עוסקים בהכנות השבת, איש איש לפי דרכו (שבת קי"ט), ר"א הוה יתיב אתכתקא דשינא ומנשב נורא, רב ספרא מחריך רישא, רבא מלח שיבוטא, רב הונא מדליק שרגא, רב פפא גדיל פתילתא, רב חסדא פריס סלקא, רבה ורב יוסף מצלחו ציבי, רב נחמן מכתף ועייל מכתף ונפיק, אמר אלו מקלעין לי ר' אמי ור' אסי מי לא מכתפינא קמייהו? ותראה היקשו של רב נחמן שיש לנו ממנו מקום לימוד, כי הנה היה מתבונן מה היה הוא עושה לפי דרכו לאדם שהוא חפץ לכבודו, וכזה עצמו היה עושה בשבת. ועל דבר זה נאמר (ברכות י"ז): לעולם יהא אדם ערום ביראה לדעת ולהתבונן דבר מתוך דבר, ולחדש המצאות לעשות נחת רוח ליוצרו בכל הדרכים שאפשר |
MB - "devise new ways of bringing gratification to his Maker" - this is an important emphasis we did not see until now, namely, that the intent in the many acts of honor was in order to bring gratification to his Maker. Even though honor is a consequence of fear, nevertheless the will to show great honor comes from a person's will to bring gratification to his Maker.
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For when we recognize G-d's great loftiness above us, any connection to Him which He grants us should be deemed by us to be a tremendous honor. Since despite all of our lowliness, He in His great goodness and humility chose us to bestow honor on us and give us His holy words. We should then, at the very least, honor them with all our strength and demonstrate the extent of their esteem to us. You will observe that this is the true fear of G-d, Yirat Haromemut (fear of His exaltedness) which we mentioned. Honor out of this type of fear is near to the feelings of intense love which endears [the service of G-d], as I will explain further with G-d's help. This is not so for the "fear of punishment" which is not the primary fear and which does not lead to these good traits. Let us return to the matter of [honoring] the Sabbath. Our sages said: "Rav Anan wore [black] overalls" (Shabbat 119a), i.e. he would wear a black garment on friday so that the honor of the Sabbath would be more recognizable when he donned fine [Shabbat] clothing. Hence, not only the actual preparation for the Sabbath is included in [the mitzvah of] honor, but even its contrast when it serves to augment the honor of Sabbath is also included in the Mitzva. Thus, they prohibited one to fix a meal before the Sabbath due to the honor of the Sabbath (Gitin 38b), and other similar prohibitions. Further included in fear is honoring the Torah and those who study it. We learned explicitly: "Whoever honors the Torah, is himself honored by the people" (Avot 4:6). And our sages, of blessed memory, said: Rabbi Yochanan said: Why did Achav merit royalty for twenty-two years? - Because he honored the Torah, which was given in twenty-two letters, as it is written (Melachim 2-20:9), "And he sent messengers to Achav... it shall be, that whatever is the desire of your eyes, they shall put in their hand, and take it away... And he said to the messengers of Ben-Hadad, Tell my lord the king, all that you did send for to your servant at the first I will do; but this thing I may not do." Now what is meant by 'whatever is the desire of your eyes'? Surely the Scroll of the Torah!" (Sanhedrin 102b). |
להראות היות מכירים גודל רוממותו עלינו, אשר על כן כל מה שיתיחס לו יהיה נכבד עלינו כבוד גדול, וכיון שהוא ית' בטובו הגדול עם כל שפלותנו רצה בענוותו לחלוק לנו כבוד ולמסור לנו דברי קדושתו, לפחות בכל כחנו נכבדם, ונראה היקר אשר להם אצלנו. ותראה שזאת היא היראה האמיתי שהיא יראת הרוממות שזכרנו שבה תלוי הכבוד המתקרב אל חיבוב האהבה, וכמו שאכתוב עוד בס"ד, מה שאין כן יראת העונש שאינה העיקרית ואין מעלות המדות האלה נמשכות הימנה. ונחזור לענין השבת, הנה אמרו (שבת קי"ט): רב ענן לביש גונדא, דהיינו שהיה לובש בגד שחור בערב שבת, כדי שיהיה ניכר יותר כבוד השבת בלובשו בו בגדים נאים. נמצא שלא לבד ההכנה לשבת הוא מכלל הכבוד, אלא אפילו ההעדר שמכחו יבחן יותר מציאות הכבוד, גם הוא מכלל המצוה, וכן אסרו לקבוע סעודה בערב שבת מפני כבוד השבת, וכן כל כיוצא בזה. ובכלל היראה עוד כבוד התורה ולומדיה, ובהדיא שנינו (אבות פ"ד): כל המכבד את התורה גופו מכובד על הבריות. ואז"ל (סנהדרין ק"ב): אמר ר"י מפני מה זכה אחאב למלכות כ"ב שנה, לפי שכבד את התורה שנתנה בכ"ב אותיות שנאמר וישלח מלאכים אל אחאב וגו', והדבר הזה לא אוכל לעשות. |
ER - it seems that since he was a wicked person and our sages said of him that he has no portion in the World to Come (Sanhedrin 90a), therefore he received his reward in this world. Thus, others who honor the Torah do not receive this reward for it is reserved for them in the World to Come. Hence, whoever honors the Torah, even a wicked person, is himself (Gufo) honored, i.e. even if it is impossible for him to merit the true honor in the World to Come, nevertheless, [at least] his body (Gufo) is honored [in this world].
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They further said: "if a man was carrying [a sefer Torah] from one place to another, he should not put it in a saddle-bag and place it on his donkey and ride on it. Rather, he should carry the scroll on his lap" (Berachot 18a). It was also forbidden to sit on a bed which a Torah scroll lies upon (Moed Katan 25a). Likewise, they said: "it is forbidden to throw out holy writings, even Halachot (laws) and Agadot" (Eruvin 98a, Rambam Hilchot Sefer Torah ch.10). Likewise, they forbade putting books of the Prophets and Writings on top of the Five Books of Moses (Megilah 27a). These are things that our sages, of blessed memory, forbade on the entire congregation of Israel. But the Chasid should learn from them and add on them in various ways for the honor of the Name of the Eternal, his G-d. |
ואז"ל (ברכות י"ח): היה הולך ממקום למקום (וספר תורה עמו), לא יניחנו בשק ויניחנו על החמור וירכב עליו, אלא מניחו בחיקו כו'. ואסרו עוד (מו"ק כ"ה): לישב על המטה שספר תורה עליה. וכן אמרו (עירובין צ"ח): אין זורקין כתבי הקודש ואפילו הלכות ואגדות. ואסרו (מגילה כ"ז): להניח נביאים וכתובים על גבי חומשים, הן אלה דברים שאסרו חז"ל לכל עדת ישראל, והחסיד יש לו ללמוד מאלה ולהוסיף עליהם כהנה וכהנה לכבוד שם ה' אלהיו. |
NE - the whole matter of honoring the mitzva is to imprint in our hearts importance and greatness of the mitzva and through this we will come to honor our Master who commanded them.
NE - Although this chapter deals with Chasidut. He emphasizes that everything must spring from and cultivate the true fear, namely, Yirat Haromemut (fear of the greatness of G-d).
Honoring the Torah and those who study it, and honoring the books, implants in one's heart not only awe of He who gave the Torah, but also to those who transmit it in every time and place. For they are like the messengers to pass over the Torah to the next generation. Likewise, honoring the books esteems what is written in them. For even the "keilim" (vessels) for the mesirah (transmission) of the Torah are elevated above his other objects. This certainly enters and implants in one's heart the importance of Torah learned from them! Through this, he will put to heart to contemplate the matters and seek ways to fulfill them. (we saw with our own eyes many times, the holy trembling of Rabeinu [Lopian] when he mentioned one of the Gedolei HaDorot (great Torah scholars) he merited to see, and with what awe he took in his hands the holy books which he studied from.)
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Included in this category is the cleanliness and purity required for the words of Torah - to not study the Torah, in filthy places nor with unclean hands, even if this is only in thought. Our sages already abundantly warned us on this in many places (ex.Yoma 30a). Regarding those who study the Torah, scripture states: "you shall rise before an elder and respect the face of the learned" (Vayikra 19:32). From which we learn all ways of honors that it is possible to confer to Torah scholars, which are certainly proper for the Chasid to do. Our sages of blessed memory expounded (Ketuvot 103b): " 'he honors those who fear G-d' (Tehilim 15:4) - this refers to Yehoshafat King of Judah, who, whenever he saw a Torah scholar, would rise up from his throne, hug him, kiss him, and say to him: 'Rebbi, Rebbi, my teacher, my teacher'". When Rebbi Zeira was weak from his studies, he would sit at the entrance of the Beit Midrash (house of Torah study), to perform the mitzva of standing up for Torah scholars. All these are things which the Creator, blessed be He, has shown us that He desires in, and has reavealed to us His exalted judgment in this. Since it is so, one who wishes to bring gratification to his Maker should walk in this path, and increase strategies for doing what is just before the blessed G-d. Also included in this area is honoring the synagogue and the house of study (Orach Chaim 151). For not only must one refrain from acting frivolously there, but he should act with all kinds of honor and fear in all of his conducts and actions. Whatever he would not do in the palace of a great king, he should not do in them. |
ובכלל זה הניקיון והטהרה הצריכה לדברי תורה שלא לעסוק בה אפילו בהרהור במקומות המטונפים, ולא בידים שאינם נקיות, וכבר הרבו חז"ל להזהיר על זה במקומות רבים. ובענין לומדי תורה, הנה מקרא כתוב מפני שיבה תקום והדרת פני זקן, ומינה ילפינן לכל מיני כבוד שאפשר לעשות להם שראוי ודאי לחסיד שיעשהו. וכבר אז"ל (כתובות ק"ג): ואת יראי ה' יכבד, זה יהושפט מלך יהודה, שכיון שהיה רואה תלמיד חכם היה עומד מכסאו ומחבקו ומנשקו ואומר לו רבי רבי מורי מורי. ורבי זירא כשהיה חלש מלימודו, היה משים עצמו על פתח בית המדרש, לעשות מצוה כשיקום מלפני התלמיד חכם (ברכות כ"ח). כל אלה דברים שכבר רואים אנחנו היות הבורא, יתברך שמו, חפץ בה וגלה דעתו העליון בזה. וכיון שכן מי האיש החפץ לעשות נחת רוח ליוצרו, הנה בדרך זה ילך ויוסיף לקח בתחבולותיו ולעשות הישר לפניו יתברך שמו. ובכלל זה כמו כן כיבוד בית הכנסת ובית המדרש שאין די שלא ינהג בהם קלות ראש, אלא שינהג בהם כל מיני כבוד ומורא בכל מנהגיו ובכל פעולותיו, וכל מה שלא היה עושה בהיכל מלך גדול לא יעשה בהם. |
OG - there is no doubt that the Holy One, blessed be He, does not lack anything nor does He need anything from the world He created or from human beings. For the Holy One, blessed be He, created everything for the good and the needs of human beings. Only that He created man in His image - "in the image of G-d, He created man" (Bereishis 1:27). It is explained in the book Nefesh Hachaim (Gate 1, ch.1-4) that it is impossible for man to be as his G-d. Therefore, perforce, the explanation is that in a certain aspect G-d created man in the image of G-d.
It is explained there that just like the Holy One, blessed be He, is the source of life for the entire creation, and even the angels and the sarei haumot (chief angels over the nations) - all of them act through a power of life which G-d continuously bestows to them, every second, every moment, from the day they were created. And all the more so for the lower creations, inanimate objects, plants, animals, and human beings - they live and act due to the divine power, for He is the "baal hakochot kulam" (Source of all powers).
Besides Him, there is no independent power. But to human beings, the Holy One, gave a special spiritual power, that through their deeds, they will draw down, even on the spiritual worlds, powerful divine flow which decides their fate. From these upper worlds, this deciding divine flow descends to the earthy worlds. This can be flow which brings good and blessing or G-d forbid, also the opposite. After the sin of Adam, the Holy One, blessed be He, left this special power to the descendants of Avraham, Yitzchak, and Yaakov. This is the intent of the verse: "So G-d created man in His own image; In the image of G-d, He created man" (Bereishis 1:27).
Therefore, the Ramchal contends here with the view of the wise sage who toils in Torah and fulfills mitzvot but who maintains that it is superfluous to increase honor to the Holy One, blessed be He. For He has no need for such things, since He is so exalted.
The Ramchal answers this sage that we are undoubtedly obligated to honor the Holy One, blessed be He, through all means available to us, even beyond the letter of the law. Not because He needs this, but rather, because the whole purpose of creation is for us to exert ourselves - we human beings - to draw close to G-d with all our hearts and souls. Through this, we will merit the true and complete good. On this he brings the rebuke of the prophet Malachi: "If you bring to G-d an offering with a blemish, such as a blind animal, is this not evil? If you were to send such a gift to an important nobleman of the nations, would he accept this gift? Or would he find favor with you? Behold, certainly, he would become furious with you..."
To summarize, it is a big error among all sorts of servants of G-d who think large expenditures on Hidur Mitzva is superfluous in G-d's eyes. Rather, the opposite is correct. G-d gave man enormously powerful spiritual powers. He is under duty to utilize them for the perfect service of G-d. Only by going beyond the letter of the law, to not be satisfied with kosher Tefilin, but rather to diminish his own personal needs and spend his choicest money on Tefilin Mehudarot. In this way, he will merit to true closeness to G-d and will bring down great spiritual flows as G-d hopes from him.
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LOVE OF G-D Let us now speak on the matter of love [of G-d]. Its branches are three: joy, clinging, and jealousy. The matter of love of G-d is that a person actually yearns and lusts for closeness to G-d, blessed be He, and chases His holiness as one chases something he desires intensely. This is to the extent that merely mentioning His Name, speaking of His praises, and occupying himself with the words of His Torah or divinity literally becomes a delight and pleasure, as one who strongly loves the wife of his youth or his only son, so that even speaking of them gives him gratification and pleasure. This is as scripture states: "[Is Ephraim my dear son? Is he my delightful child?] For whenever I speak of him, I will remember him still" (Yirmiyahu 31:19). |
ונדבר עתה מענין האהבה, וענפיה הם ג': השמחה, הדביקות, והקנאה. והנה ענין האהבה הוא שיהיה האדם חושק ומתאוה ממש אל קרבתו יתברך ורודף אחר קדושתו, כאשר ירדוף איש אחר הנחמד ממנו חמדה עזה, עד שיהיה לו הזכרת שמו יתברך ודבור בתהלותיו והעסק בדברי תורתו ואלהותו יתברך, שעשוע ועונג ממש כמי שאוהב את אשת נעוריו או בנו יחידו אהבה חזקה, אשר אפילו הדיבור בם יהיה לו לנחת ותענוג, וכענין הכתוב (ירמיה ל"א): כי מדי דברי בו זכור אזכרנו עוד. |
CS - "whenever I speak of him" - these are G-d's words to the Jewish people. Rabeinu brought them as a proof that it is the nature of a lover to delight in his beloved, even for merely verbally mentioning his beloved. Likewise, the Metzudot commentary explains there: "whenever I speak of him - I do not stop immediately until I speak of him for a long time, as a father speaks of his beloved son.. for he delights in mentioning his name".
ER - "chases His holiness" - i.e. it is not enough that his heart longs and desires. Rather, he also needs great effort in deeds, to the point of "chasing", as we say in our prayers: "u'bmitzvotecha tirdof nafshi" (let my soul chase your commandments), and like those who chase after honor who do not rest until they attain every additional small honor. So too, it is proper to chase after the honor of Heaven, and to attain the qualities of Holiness which Rabeinu will explain in chapter 26.
MB - "actually yearns and lusts" - like one who lusts for physical things, which is a real tangible feeling.
MB - "for closeness to G-d" - he yearns and lusts to be in a state of closeness.
MB - "and chases" - i.e. in his deeds. this is an act which results from the aforementioned feelings - that he wants to fulfill his yearning and lust.
MB - "His holiness" - instead of saying that he pursues G-d, for that is impossible, he says he pursues G-d's holiness. That is already in our ability to attain..
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Certainly, one who loves his Creator a true love, will not forgo His service for any reason in the world, unless he is actually forced. He will not need any persuasion nor enticement to serve Him. Rather, on the contrary, his heart will lift him and rush him to it, unless there is some actual accident that prevents him. |
והנה ודאי שמי שאוהב את בוראו אהבה אמיתית, לא יניח עבודתו לשום טעם שבעולם, אם לא יהיה אנוס ממש.והנה ודאי שמי שאוהב את בוראו אהבה אמיתית, לא יניח עבודתו לשום טעם שבעולם, אם לא יהיה אנוס ממש. ולא יצטרך רצוי ופיתוי לעבודה, אלא אדרבא לבו ישיאהו וירצהו אליה אם לא יהיה עיכוב גדול שימנעהו |
NH - "rush him" - Love of G-d leads a person to overcome the difficulties and trials in the service of G-d. As long as he is not completely forced, he will certainly fulfill the mitzva and certainly will not need any persuasion or enticement. Rather, his heart and desire will rush him to fulfill the mitzvot.
MB - "actual accident" - not halachicaly an accident, but rather an actual - he is unable.
NE - In order to love, one must feel loss and lacking of its absence. Therefore, it is proper to aspire to seek His closeness in every deed to the extent that the mentioning itself [of His Name] strengthens his desire and longing to draw closer to the blessed Creator. This is what the Ramchal wrote in chapter 1: "When you look further into the matter, you will see that true perfection lies only in clinging to G-d". Therefore, he should exert himself to not forgo any mitzvah or matter in the service of G-d. Through this, the love will become part of one's nature.
OG - "will not forgo His service" - he who is careful (medakdek) with Rabeinu's words in describing the love of G-d commensurate with the level of Piety will understand that the Ramchal's view is firm that the straight path leading to clinging to G-d is to be a servant of G-d who fulfills His mitzvot and toils in the holy Torah diligently day and night. Therefore he writes: "will not forgo His service for any reason in the world, unless he is actually forced". Hence, his words are quite clear that one must not pause from his study nor from fulfilling G-d's mitzvot for any reason in the world, unless he is actually forced (oness mamash). I emphasize this since some tend to err due to his words at the end of ch.26 which tend to imply he holds that one can reach the trait of holiness, the peak rung on the ladder of ascent, even without attaining greatness in Torah. He writes there: "one who out of necessity must engage in a humble trade can be just as complete a Chasid as one whose mouth never pauses from Torah study...".
I quote here the words of Rabbi Yechezkel Sarna zt"l , Rosh Yeshiva of Chevron, who wrote in his final words in his commentary on the Mesilat Yesharim on these words. Anything I add here will only diminish from his razor sharp words : "be careful, be exceedingly careful not to err in his words to think his view is like those who mistakenly claim that piety does not depend on greatness in Torah..."
| Behold, this is the precious trait which the Pious men of old, the lofty holy ones had merited to attain. As king David said: "As a hart cries longingly for the water brooks, so does my soul cry longingly to You, O G-d; My soul thirsts for G-d, for the living G-d; when shall I come and appear before G-d?" (Tehilim 42:2-3), and "My soul yearns, yes, faints for the courts of the L-ord" (Tehilim 84:3), "My soul thirsts for You; my flesh longs for You..." (Tehilim 63:2). All this due to his powerful yearning to the blessed G-d. | הנה זאת היא המדה הנחמדת אשר אליה זכו החסידים הראשונים קדושי עליון, וכמאמר דוד המלך עליו השלום (תהלים מ"ב): כאיל תערוג על אפיקי מים כן נפשי תערוג אליך אלהים צמאה נפשי לאלהים לאל חי מתי אבוא וכו', ואומר (שם פ"ד): נכספה וגם כלתה נפשי לחצרות ה' וגו', (שם ס"ג): צמאה לך נפשי כמה לך בשרי וגו'. כל זה מתוקף התשוקה שהיה משתוקק לו יתברך. |
MB - "faints" (kalta) - a term of lust, as if the man faints due to the intensity of lust (Radak there), i.e. he feels that his soul will faint if he does not attain it.
| This is likewise as the prophet said: "to Your Name and to Your remembrance is the lust of [our] soul" (Isaiah 26:8), and "my soul yearns for You in the night; my spirit within me seeks You" (Isaiah 26:9). And David himself said: "when I remember You on my bed, through the night watches I meditate about You" (Tehilim 63:7). Thus he described the pleasure and delight he experienced when speaking of and praising G-d, blessed be His Name. Likewise he said: "I will delight myself in Your Commandments, which I love" (Tehilim 119:47), and "Your testimonies are my delight..." (Tehilim 119:24). | וכענין מה שכתב הנביא (ישעיה כ"ו): לשמך ולזכרך תאות נפש, ואומר: נפשי אויתיך בלילה אף רוחי בקרבי אשחרך. ודוד עצמו אומר (תהלים ס"ג): אם זכרתיך על יצועי באשמורות אהגה בך, ביאר העונג והשעשוע שהיה לו בדברו בו ובשבחיו יתברך שמו, ואומר (שם קי"ט): ואשתעשע במצותיך אשר אהבתי, ואמר (שם): גם מצותיך שעשועי וגו'. |
ER - "my soul yearns for You in the night" - at night, the time of rest, when a man is free from his distractions, he thinks on what his heart wants and on what is the true desire in his heart.
CS - Rabeinu brought many verses to describe the love of G-d of the "the Pious men of old, the lofty holy ones". It seems that besides his intent to awaken the reader to the feelings of love felt in the heart through the strong and diverse expressions uttered by these sages who loved G-d, there is also some mussar to learn from these specific verses:
1. "As a hart cries longingly... my soul thirsts for G-d" - natural love, like the analogy of thirst.
2. "My soul yearns, yes, faints for the courts of the L-rd" - the desire for closeness to the places where the divine presence is revealed (gilui hashraat haShechina).
3. "my flesh longs for You" - the spreading of the love of the soul also to the physical side of man.
4. "to Your Name and to Your remembrance is the lust of [our] soul" - remembrance of G-d arouses the yearning to Him.
5. "my soul yearns for You in the night.. I meditate about You" - times of solitude and quiet arouses the feelings of love and meditation on G-d.
6. "I will delight myself in Your Commandments... Your testimonies are my delight" - toiling in G-d's Mitzvot leads to delighting in love of Him.
LS - we learn from the words of the wise man that the longing and desire to closeness to G-d, the yearning to Him, blessed be He, these things are not ways to attain the love of G-d. Rather, they themselves are the essence of this mitzva and the manner of fulfilling it from man's side. The perfection of this level is where one is "love sick" (as the Rambam writes in Hilchos Teshuva 10:3), which is the peak of the emotional and tangible love. But in order to attain this level one must first acquire the intellectual love, by recognizing that He is our Father in Heaven, who loves us and bestows good to us always, and by contemplating His greatness and many kindnesses, until one's heart awakens to feel a powerful yearning and thirst of soul to merit closeness to Him. Then remembering Him and toiling in His Torah becomes as a delight and a true pleasure. The entire holy Megilah, the holy of holies, "Shir HaShirim" is a parable for the yearning of Keneset Yisrael to their Father in Heaven, and their desire and longing to find the Love of their soul. The foundation and essence of this love is summarized in a few words: "How fair and how pleasant you are, O love with delights" (Shir 7:7). For thus the delight of drawing close to one's beloved is the content of the love and the essence of this mitzva.
(see original Hebrew here for better understanding)
| This love certainly must not be a "love which depends on something" (Avot 5:16). Namely, that one should love the blessed Creator, not because He bestows good to him and grants him wealth and success. Rather, it should be like the love of a son for his father, which is actually (mamash) a natural love, to which the son's nature compels and forces him to this. As scripture states: "is He not your Father, your Master?" (Devarim 32:6). | והנה זאת ודאי שאהבה זאת צריך שלא תהיה אהבה התלויה בדבר, דהיינו שיאהב את הבורא יתברך על שמטיב אליו ומעשירו ומצליח אותו אלא כאהבת הבן לאביו שהיא אהבה טבעית ממש שטבעו מכריחו וכופהו לזה, כמאמר הכתוב (דברים ל"ב): הלא הוא אביך קנך. |
CS - "forces him" - As Rabeinu wrote earlier (ch.1) a powerful analogy: "Until he is drawn towards the blessed G-d like iron is drawn to a magnet".
MB - "natural love" - it does not depend on any external reason such as His greatness or the like. Rather it is a natural matter. It seems this is essentially part of man's nature, only that it is hidden and dormant. This is also implied in the continuation of his words.
MB - "his nature forces him" - this is an explanation of natural love, that man's nature itself, namely his natural state, has this love. Therefore it must already exist within him.
MB - "is He not your Father" - from the verse we see this comparison to a father is not a mere analogy. Rather, the natural love of G-d stems from G-d's truly being our Father.
| The test of this type of love comes during times of difficulties and troubles. As our sages, of blessed memory, said (Berachot 54a): " 'You shall love the L-ord your G-d with all your heart and with all your soul [and with all your might]' (Devarim 6:5): 'with all your soul' - even if He takes your soul. 'with all your might' - with all your possessions." | ומבחן האהבה הזאת הוא בזמן הדוחק והצרה, וכן אז"ל (שם ו'): ואהבת את ה' אלהיך בכל לבבך ובכל נפשך אפילו נוטל את נפשך, ובכל מאודך בכל ממונך. |
NH - the love of G-d should be natural, not dependent on something. This is discernable in times of difficulties and troubles. If his love does not depend on anything, he will have the strength to stand up to the difficulties and troubles.
MB - "the test.." - his intent can be explained in two ways. Or his intent is to give us a measuring stick to test if we have already acquired this trait. Or, he wants to explain the end perfection of this trait, and he explains it by way of a test.
| However, in order that the troubles and distress not become difficulties and impediments to the love of G-d, a person should console himself with two understandings, one is suitable to everyone, and the second is for the wise who possess depth of understanding. | אמנם כדי שלא תהיינה הצרות והדוחקים קושי ומניעה אל האהבה, יש לאדם להשיב אל עצמו ב' תשובות: הא' מהן שוה לכל נפש, והב' לחכמים בעלי הדעה העמוקה. |
MB - "however.." - after explaining what is true love of G-d which does not change even in times of troubles and difficulties, he explains how a man reaches this level.
MB - "one is suitable to everyone" - every jew can reach this matter. In truth, it is a Halacha in the Shulchan Aruch (O.C. 222:2), that one must make a blessing (thank G-d) even on the bad.
NE - "two understandings" - Rabeinu explains here what he wrote in chapter 1: "For all matters of this world, whether for the good or for the bad, are trials for a man..". There he explained the blessing through the trials ("If he will be valiant, emerging from the battle victorious on all fronts...") But afterwards, he mentions the troubles of this world ("How many sorts of distress and sicknesses, pains and burdens..."), which he uses as proof that the purpose of the creation of man was not for this world.
Now, he brings here two ways so that a person will not fall, G-d forbid, due to the difficulties. The first stems from recognizing that G-d is all merciful (kulo rachamim), and all His deeds are only for the good... The second way stems from the intense love recognizable in the creation which is evident to all who contemplate it. Then, our feelings of love will pierce through out of fiery longing.
| The first understanding: "All that G-d does is for the good" (Berachot 60b). For even this pain and difficulty which appears to one's eyes as evil, is in truth nothing but true good. It is analogous to a doctor which must cut away flesh or amputate an infected limb so that the rest of the body may heal and not die. Even though the act appears at first to be cruel, it is really an act of true mercy, in order to eventually benefit him in the end. The patient will not cease to love the doctor due to this act. Rather, on the contrary, he will love him even more. | הא' היא כל מאי דעבדין מן שמיא לטב (ברכות ס'), וזה כי אפילו הצער ההוא הדוחק הנראה בעיניו רעה, איננו באמת אלא טובה אמתית, וכמשל הרופא החותך את הבשר או את האבר שנפסד כדי שיבריא שאר הגוף ולא ימות, שאף על פי שהמעשה אכזרי לכאורה, אינו אלא רחמנות באמת להטיבו באחריתו, ולא יסיר החולה אהבתו מהרופא בעבור זה המעשה, אלא אדרבא יוסיף לאהבה אותו כן הדבר הזה. |
MB - "all that G-d does is for the good" - in truth, this is the foundation of all foundations. It is our first understanding of G-d, and from this principle Rabeinu begins his books "the Way of G-d", Daat Tevunot, and Klach Pitchei Chachma.
MB - "analogous to a doctor" - the main answer is that all of G-d's deeds are absolute good, and the analogy is not coming on this. Rather, the analogy comes to show how this knowledge causes love to come out of even something which appears bad.
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So too here, when a person considers that all of what the Holy One, blessed be He, does with him, whether to his body or to his possessions - is for his own good. Even though he does not see nor understand how this is for his good, nevertheless, there is no doubt that it is indeed for his own good. Then, one's love for G-d will not become weakened from all difficulties and sufferings. Rather, on the contrary, it will intensify and increase in him always. But those of true understanding do not need even this reason. For they are not to be motivated by their own interests at all. Rather, all of their aim is to increase the honor of His Name, blessed be He, and to bring gratification to Him. The more the impediments against them increase, so that they will require more strength to overcome them, the more they will strengthen their hearts and rejoice to demonstrate the strength of their faith. They are as a military general, distinguished for his bravery, who always chooses the most difficult battle, to demonstrate his prowess in emerging victorious. |
כשיחשוב האדם שכל מה שהקב"ה עושה עמו לטובתו הוא עושה, בין שיהיה בגופו, בין שיהיה בממונו, ואף על פי שהוא אינו רואה ואינו מבין איך זה הוא טובתו, ודאי טובתו הוא, הנה לא תחלש אהבתו מפני כל דוחק או כל צער אלא אדרבא תגבר ונוספה בו תמיד. אך בעלי הדיעה האמתית אינם צריכים אפילו לטעם הזה, כי הרי אין להם לכוין עצמם כלל, אלא כל תפלתם להגדיל כבוד השם יתברך ולעשות נחת רוח לפניו, וכל מה שיתגברו עיכובים נגדם עד שיצטרכו הם יותר כח להעבירם, הנה יאמץ לבם וישמחו להראות תוקף אמונתם, כשר צבא הרשום בגבורה אשר יבחר לו תמיד במלחמה החזקה יותר להראות תקפו בנצחונה. |
MB - "increase in him always" - there is here an important emphasis. For he should not have added the word "always". Rather he is coming to emphasize that a man who thinks thus will automatically have a love of G-d which will always increase more and more, since in all situations he sees the good of G-d.
SR - "But those of true understanding do not need even this reason" - i.e. due to their love of G-d. But the first outlook by itself is also needed even for those of true understanding for Rebbi Akiva himself is the one who says this and likewise Nachum Ish Gam Zu.
ER - "not because He bestows good to him" - behold the Chovot Halevavot is full of rousing one from the aspect of gratitude to G-d on everything, in all situations and times. All this is not a contradiction to Rabeinu's words. For certainly one is obligated to rouse himself from this aspect and it is proper to use these thoughts to open and awaken oneself through this to love and fear of G-d. But the perfection of this trait is where the love is not due to this, but rather becomes a part of his nature.
NH - they don't need the first reason for all their matter and aspiration is to increase the honor of G-d and to bring gratification to Him. Thus for them, the difficulty and trouble is a wondrous opportunity to increase the honor of Heaven and fulfill His mitzvot despite the difficulty. They rejoice on the difficulties like a general..
MB - "they are not to be motivated by their own interests at all" - he who is focused on himself looks at the situation and all that happens according to how it affects him. Therefore, he needs to be strengthened that all of what G-d does is the best for him so that his love does not diminish for having bad done to him. But he who thinks only on G-d sees the situation only according to how it affects his service of G-d. Therefore he sees a great opportunity in the difficult situation and nothing else.
| This matter is familiar by every lover of flesh and blood who will rejoice when given an opportunity to show the subject of his love just how powerful is the extent of his love to his beloved. | וכבר מורגל זה הענין בכל אוהב בשר ודם שישמח כי יזדמן לו מה שיוכל להראות בו אל אשר הוא אוהב עד היכן מגיע עוצם אהבתו. |
All that G-d does is for the good
Kovetz Sichot 1:150 - the Talmud says that Avraham and Sarah, Yitzchak and Rivka were barren. In Yevamot 64, Rabbi Yitzchak said: "why were our forefathers barren? Because the Holy One, blessed be He, lusts for the prayers of the righteous".
Hence the Holy One, blessed be He, creates a cause which brings a person to a situation of "and Yitzchak beseeched.." (Gen.25:21, Rashi- much and implored in prayer). A person is under duty to use the causes which befall him, to fulfill the purpose for which they were given. If a person softens his heart, cries bitterly and prays to G-d, a closeness is formed. This is the whole matter of prayer. It is not just a mitzva to recite the order of the prayer. Rather the essence of prayer is to establish in a person the recognition that there is nothing but Him "ein od milvado". Everything was given by G-d and to Him we turn our requests since everything depends only on Him. And when we turn to Him with a pure heart, indirectly, this awakens an elevation of soul and closeness to Him.
This is the essence of prayer - to throw all our needs to Him, for everything depends on Him - to thank and praise Him on what we have, for we received this from His hand. This recognition brings elevation of the soul and builds one's faith. Likewise, the Ramban (end of parsha Bo), emphasizes that the purpose of prayer is faith, see there. Therefore, G-d gives troubles and sufferings to bring one to pray thereby strengthening his recognition and faith in the Creator. According to this, it is evident that one must rejoice in sufferings.
He whose life flows quietly and smoothly - he is the wretched one, for he lacks the causes which bring to perfection (shelemut) and closeness to G-d. King David said: "Even when I walk in the valley of death, I will fear no evil for You are with me; Your rod and Your staff - they comfort me" (Tehilim 23:4). Your staff - sufferings. Your rod - Torah. These two matters are the consolation and guarding in one's crossing the "valley of death", and they form a situation of "for You are with me".
In light of this, we will also understand what seems difficult on the matter of prayer. We pray on the fulfillment of our wishes for a happy life, without trouble, mishap, or blemish. But why should we ask the Creator to change our situation? If we suffer, it is not an accident, but rather, it is the will of G-d. If so we must accept the things as they are since this is the will of G-d, and believe that "all that G-d does is for the good" And even though we don't understand the good side in this. Nevertheless certainly the matter is for our good", as the Mesilat Yesharim writes.
And that which the Mesilat Yesharim writes that the men of understanding do not even need this reason, etc. If so, why should we pray to fill our lackings and why did the forefathers pray for their defects? Likewise, Chana poured out her soul before G-d to grant her a son. But according to what we explained the entire purpose of the lacking and defect is in order to bring a person to pray, to feel his trouble and beseech to remove it from He in whose hands the matter depends. This is the will of G-d in forming this defect - that the matter brings to an awakening and a closeness to the Almighty. If the person uses it as a push to grow, then there is no more need for the defect. The will of G-d was to the new situation formed, a situation which no longer requires the cause of the defect to rouse him. Therefore, the Holy One, blessed be He, will then heal him from his defect.
Translator - "her breasts will satisfy you at all times" - a metaphor for the Torah which shines divine light on one who studies it (see "the Way of G-d" Part 4 sec.Torah). This is what Rabeinu continues "Rebbi Eliezar ben Pedat sat and studied Torah..."
CS - "cloak" - his outer garment which covered him. He forget it accidentally in the upper market of the town and did not notice this due to his absorption in Torah thoughts.
CS - "ultimate goal" - it appears this level is attained only when a man reaches, with divine help, the trait of Holiness, as Rabeinu says there: "the matter of Holiness is for a person to cling so much to his G-d, that in any act that he does, he will not separate nor move from the blessed G-d..".
SR - Clinging here is a lofty level and a branch of Piety. But there is another level of actual (mamash) clinging, which is a branch of Holiness. He who merits this is as one who walks before G-d in the "land of life" while he is still here in this world. This is explained later in ch.26.
NE - "the matter of clinging" - the Ramchal explains here what he mentioned in chapter 1: "true perfection lies only in clinging to G-d". The matter of clinging is to search for ways to strengthen oneself in the service without any interruption (ey hesech daat mchipus derachim lehitchazek b'avodah), and especially while performing mitzvot or praying, for then, all of one's heart, sentiments, and thoughts operate on his feelings to strengthen him to do his deeds to the utmost perfection (shlemut) and with a willing soul (nefesh chafetza).
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In the Talmud Yerushalmi it is reported: "While Rabbi Chanina ben Dosa was standing in prayer a poisonous lizard came and bit him but he did not interrupt his prayer.. His disciples asked him: 'Rabeinu! Did you not feel anything?! He replied to them: 'I swear that due to my heart being intent on the prayer, I felt nothing'" The Torah exhorts us many times on the clinging [to G-d]: "to love the L-ord your G-d.. and to cling to Him" (Devarim 30:20), "to Him shall you cling" (Devarim 10:20, 13:5). And David said: "my soul clings to You" (Tehilim 63:9). All these verses speak of one matter, namely, the clinging with which a man clings to G-d, blessed be He, to such an extent that he is unable to part or move from Him. |
ובירושלמי אמרו ר"ח בן דוסא היה עומד ומתפלל ובא חברבר והכישו ולא הפסיק תפלתו וכו', אמרו לו תלמידיו רבי ולא הרגשת? ואמר להם יבוא עלי מתוך שהיה לבי מכוין בתפלה לא הרגשתי (ברכות פ"ה). ועל הדביקות הוזהרנו בתורה פעמים רבות (דברים י"ט): לאהבה את ה' אלהיך וגו' (שם): ולדבקה בו (שם): ובו תדבק, ובו תדבקון, ודוד אמר (תהלים ס"ג): דבקה נפשי אחריך, וענין כל אלה הפסוקים אחד, שהוא הדביקות שהאדם מתדבק בו ית' שאינו יכול ליפרד ולזוז ממנו. |
CS - "he is unable to part or move from G-d" - for a change has occurred within him. He has transformed to one who loves G-d in his nature, due to an awakening of powers in his soul.
"to part or move" - [to separate] in his thoughts [or move] in his feelings.
MB - "he is unable" - this is a fundamental point. That which he says that he clings "he ceases to turn or take interest in anything else but Him", the meaning is not that he does not want to turn but rather, through the clinging he is already unable to turn from there, i.e. he is unable to separate from Him. In truth this is the definition of clinging to G-d, namely, that he is clung to G-d (i.e. unable to separate).
CS - "The Torah exhorts us many times on the clinging" - i.e. we were commanded in it for it is included in the branches of the mitzva to love G-d. Although these mitzvot are not only to the Pious, since they are part of the 613 mitzvot every Jew is obligated in, nevertheless, Rabeinu describes them here in the trait of Piety because only when a person reaches this level can he perform them with the proper wholeness (shlemut)...
| And our sages of blessed memory said: "Rabbi Shimon ben Lakish said: 'the Holy One, blessed be He, used three expressions of love regarding the Jewish people, and we learn all of them from the account of Shechem ben Chamor: 'clinging', 'yearning', and 'desire'" (Gen.Rabbah 80:7). These are actually (mamash) the three main branches of love, namely, the yearning I mentioned, the clinging, and the pleasure and joy felt by the lover when engaged in matters of his beloved. | ואז"ל (ב"ר פ"פ): ארשב"ל בג', לשונות של חיבה חבב הקב"ה את ישראל ואנו למידים וכו': בדביקה, בחשיקה, ובחפיצה, והם ממש ענפי האהבה העיקרית, והיינו התשוקה שזכרתי, והדביקות והנחת והעונג הנמצא בעסק ענינו של הנאהב. |
OG - "The matter of clinging is that a person clings so much to G-d's blessed Name that he no longer turns or takes interest in anything else besides Him" - the matter [of clinging] described here regarding the love of the servant of G-d towards G-d, and through this he [eventually] reaches the level of continuous clinging - this is actually the peak emotional connection (kesher rigshi) that the Chasid can feel towards the Holy One, blessed be He, in his service.
In the beginning of ch.1, the Ramchal writes:"Behold, our sages, of blessed memory, have taught us that man was created solely to delight in G-d and to derive pleasure in the splendor of the Shechina (divine presence). For that is true joy and the greatest pleasure that can possibly exist... When you look further into the matter, you will see that true perfection lies only in clinging to G-d".Behold, we can see the greatness of "clinging to G-d" such that the Ramchal set it as the highest thing which the servant of G-d needs to climb towards in his service. If you analyze well what he writes there and here in the trait of Piety, you will see it contains two aspects:
1. the divine will (HaRatzon Eloki) to bestow (mashpia) His infinite good to His creations.
2. Our exertion to reciprocate (lehachzir) love to Him for His love for us. This refers primarily to our efforts to cling to Him.
The Ramchal clarifies to us at the beginning of his book that the purpose of man's creation is "to delight in G-d and to derive pleasure in the splendor of His Shechina", and that primarily, this will occur only in the world of souls, and further, this delight will occur higher still to the peak maximum in the World to Come following the resurrection of the dead, namely, when the souls will return to bodies and will live forever here in this world, which will be rectified by the Holy One, blessed be He, and renewed to a form suitable for eternal life. But the path to arrive at this wondrous purpose (to delight in G-d) is through this world. For through fulfilling the mitzvot G-d gave us, a person will draw closer and closer to his G-d, reigning his intellect over his body, and will already merit here in this world to cling to the blessed G-d, according to his diligence in Torah study and fulfilling its 613 mitzvot.
The Ramchal continues there in chapter 1, explaining that for this purpose G-d created a world where His existence is concealed therein. He created a physical world with many enchanting sights, colorful foods, and He created powers of physicality in a man's soul in order to draw him powerfully to the alluring things of this world. Against this, He imbued into man, a holy soul from Him, so to speak, whose sole aspiration is to cling to G-d while guarding all His mitzvot. Thus, G-d has placed man in a fierce trial, so that each one of us is in the midst of a raging battle. If a person is drawn after the material lusts of his body, he will find himself distancing further and further from the true good (clinging to G-d). But if he guards the commandments of his Creator and clings to Him, he will merit to draw close to the Master of the world who loves us so much and bestows good to us day and night.
He who has exerted himself to toil in the Torah diligently, and reviewed again and again the book Mesilat Yesharim, certainly has already took important steps to attain the Devekut (clinging).
Step 1 - as said, Talmud Torah, it is the foundation and root; Step 2 - Watchfulness; Step 3 - Zeal; Step 4 - Cleanliness.
After he has habituated himself well in these 3 traits of the Gate of Righteousness, he certainly merited to become a Tzadik Gamur (perfect tzadik), which is a high level of clinging to G-d. From then on, the servant of G-d exerted himself and proceeded to the Gate of Piety.
Step 5 - the trait of Separation; Step 6 - Purity. He climbed up and now stands on the seventh level; Step 7 - the "trait of Piety".
With G-d's help, he has already toiled in the practical side of Piety: first, in everything that is between man and G-d, afterwards he added on himself to engage in benevolent deeds to others beyond the letter of the law. He also added on to be meticulous in the manner of performing acts of Chesed (kindness), whether between man and G-d or between man and his fellow... With G-d's help, he already finished completing the manner of performance related to Yira Haromemut (Fear of G-d's exaltedness), and now he stands to attain wholeness in the branches of love of G-d, where the first is Devekut (clinging to G-d).
If we are talking about such a servant of G-d who has reached the level of toiling in Dvekut, it is no wonder that the Ramchal writes regarding this Dvekut: "the aim of this trait is for a person to cling thus to His Creator at all times, and at every moment". For not only did this man become a Tzadik Gamur for a long time already, and also merited to bring gratification to his Maker by adding on Separation and Purity of heart and thoughts, but now he already focuses on toiling in the trait of Piety, to become whole in all its primary branches, one of whom is clinging to G-d out of tremendous love of Him. There is no doubt that if we are dealing with such a person, it is already possible to bring before him the story of Rabbi Chanina ben Dosa who would pray with such intense Deveikut that when a large poisonous lizard bit him, he did not feel anything.
The general principle: The trait of Piety is greater than all the previous traits and it even includes within itself the next 3 levels after it in the Mesilat Yesharim - Humility, Fear of Sin, and Holiness. They are like branches of the trait of Piety. One who has attained the trait of Humility, we say he is a "humble Chasid". One who has attained Fear of Sin, we say, he is a "Sin Fearing Chasid", and on the Holy person we call him a "holy Chasid". This is what Rabbi Pinchas ben Yair ends off saying "v'Chasidut Gedola Mikulam.." (and Chasidut is greater than all of them).
Examine well this idea we introduced here. For, in my humble opinion, with this, a great question on the Ramchal falls away. The Ramchal counted in his book Piety as the seventh level while the trait of Holiness is the tenth level, the final one, which also includes Ruach Hakodesh and Revival of the Dead. If so, how could Rabbi Pinchas ben Yair teach (at the end of the Beraitha): "and Piety is greater than all of them"? He should have said: "and Holiness is greater than all of them". Furthermore, in the Yerushalmi Shekalim ch.3 Halacha 3 and in the Mishna Sotah 9:15, Piety is counted as the 10th level while Holiness is counted as 7th. According to this Girsa (text version), the Maharsha and the Vilna Gaon changed the texts to fit them. But we already wrote that the Ramchal undoubtedly knew the various Girsas (texts). Certainly, he knew of the question why the Beraitha did not say "Holiness is greater than all of them". But, nevertheless, he clinged specifically to the order of this Beraitha which is before us (Avodah Zara 20b). Thus perforce, according to the Ramchal, Piety includes all the levels of the Gate of Holiness..
Furthermore, since Chasidut receives its Shefa (spiritual flow) from the Sefira of Chesed, which is of the right line and is entirely lights of limitless Chesed, therefore, the servant of G-d who reaches this level is roused to "mitchased im Kono" (benevolent towards his Creator) by going outside the letter of the law without limit. Namely, as much as one brings gratification to his Maker, one can always add more. Just like there is no limit to G-d's kindness towards us, so too there is no limit to our clinging to the blessed G-d. Hence, the levels of Humility, Fear of Sin, and Holiness, are nothing but ever higher levels within the trait of Piety.
Here is also the place to mention that the Tikunei Zohar we brought earlier in the introduction began the Sefirot from Chesed to Malchut and only afterwards wrote "Chachma", "Bina", and in the end the Sefira of Keter. This is due to the reason we wrote here. For the primary purpose of creation, was to bestow great good to the lower creations (man). This is through the 7 lower Sefirot - from Chesed to Malchut. From here, we learn that Chesed is greater than all the Sefirot. For specifically on it, it is proper to begin counting the ten Sefirot...
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JOY The second [branch of love of G-d] is joy, it is a great, essential principal in serving G-d. This is what David exhorted us saying: "Serve G-d with joy, come before Him with song" (Tehilim 100:2), and "the righteous will rejoice, they will exult before G-d and delight with joy" (Tehilim 68:4). And our sages said: "the Divine presence rests on a person only through his rejoicing in a mitzva" (Shabbat 30b). On the aforementioned verse: "Serve G-d with joy", our sages said in a Midrash (Shocher Tov, Tehilim 100): "Rabbi Abahu says: 'when you stand to pray, your heart should rejoice, for you are praying to the Almighty of whom there is none like Him'". For this is the true joy, namely, that a person's heart delight that he merits to serve before the blessed Master, of whom there is none like Him, and to toil in His Torah and His mitzvot which are the true perfection and the eternal worth. And Shlomo said in a parable on wisdom: "Draw me, we will run after You. The King has brought me into His chambers; we will be glad and rejoice in You" (Shir HaShirim 1:4). For the further a person merits to enter into the inner chambers of knowledge of His blessed greatness, the more his joy will increase and his heart will sing within him. And scripture states: "Israel will rejoice in its Maker; the children of Zion will exult in their King" (Tehilim 149:2). And David when he had already reached this level a great measure said: "May my words be pleasing to Him; I shall rejoice in G-d" (Tehilim 104:34), and "I will come to the altar of G-d, to G-d my exceeding joy, and I will thank You with a lyre, O G-d, My G-d" (Tehilim 43:4). And he said: "My lips sing praises, when I sing to You, and my soul which You have redeemed" (Tehilim 71:23). For the joy had grown so intensely within him when he would engage in the blessed G-d's praises that his lips would already move and sing on their own. All this was due to the great flaming of his soul which was ablaze with joy before G-d. This is what he concludes "and my soul which You have redeemed". |
הב' הוא השמחה, והוא עיקר גדול בעבודה, והוא מה שדוד מזהיר, ואומר (תהלים ק'): עבדו את ה' בשמחה בואו לפניו ברננה. ואומר (שם ס"ח): וצדיקים ישמחו יעלצו לפני אלהים וישישו בשמחה, וארז"ל (שבת ל'): אין השכינה שורה אלא מתוך שמחה של מצוה, ועל הפסוק שזכרנו למעלה עבדו את ה' בשמחה, אמרו במדרש (מדרש ש"ט): א"ר כשתהיה עומד לפני להתפלל יהא לבך שמח עליך שאתה מתפלל לאלהים שאין כיוצא בו. כי זאת היא השמחה האמתית שיהיה לבו של אדם עלז, על שהוא זוכה לעבוד לפני אדון יתברך שאין כמוהו, ולעסוק בתורתו ובמצותיו שהם השלימות האמתי והיקר הנצחי, ואמר שלמה במשל החכמה (שה"ש א'): משכני אחריך נרוצה הביאני המלך חדריו נגילה ונשמחה בך, כי כל מה שזוכה האדם ליכנס יותר לפנים בחדרי ידיעת גדולתו יתברך יותר תגדל בו השמחה, ויהיה לבו שש בקרבו. ואומר (תהלים קמ"ט): ישמח ישראל בעושיו בני ציון יגילו במלכם. ודוד שכבר הגיע אל המעלה הזאת שיעור גדול, אמר (שם ק"ד): יערב עליו שיחי אנכי אשמח בה'. ואמר (שם מ"ג): ואבואה אל מזבח אלהים אל אל שמחת גילי ואודך בכנור אלהים אלהי. ואמר (שם ע"א): תרננה שפתי כי אזמרה לך ונפשי אשר פדית. והיינו כי כל כך היתה מתגברת בקרבו השמחה, שכבר השפתים היו מתנענעות מאליהם ומרננות בהיותו עוסק בתהלותיו ית', וכל זה מגודל התלהטות נפשו שהיתה מתלהטת בשמחתה לפניו, הוא מה שסיים ונפשי אשר פדית. |
MB - "true joy...true perfection" - he emphasizes that only this joy is a true joy. The reason as he continues is because it is the true perfection (shelemut)...
"lips" - the lips don't have their own awareness. Rather, when the soul is aflame with joy, it acts directly on the lips bypassing thought.
"aflame in joy" - thus joy is not just a pleasant feeling but rather, a flaming of the soul. We also see its great power to act on the body.
L'Avdecha b'Emet, R.Dov Yaffe pg.26: he who lives with this knowledge, that each and every second of torah study and mitzvot merits him the greatest good that could possibly exist, his heart fills with happiness in knowing that the greatest possible good is literally within his hand's reach. On the other hand, one who designates his aspirations towards pleasures of this world, whose fulfillment are not in his control, he is liable to find himself disappointed and crushed when his efforts to realize his aspirations end up with nothing. Rabbi Aharon Kotler ztl would say: "there is a simple proof that man was created to serve G-d. For behold, our eyes see that the only thing in man's hands (at all times) is the opportunity to serve G-d. If man were created for worldly matters, how is it conceivable that the means to attain the things he was created for are not in his control?"
In the book "Penei HaAryeh HaChai", it is brought that the Vilna Gaon said before his death that he was prepared to give up all his portion in Olam Haba for one hour of service of G-d in this world. Likewise, Rav Chaim of Volozhin brought in his drash that he heard several times from the Vilna Gaon: "what importance is there to Olam Haba? It has no comparison whatsoever with one hour in this world of toil in torah and mitzva, since in Olam Haba it is impossible to serve G-d..."
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We find that the Holy One, blessed be He, complained to the Jewish people for lacking this condition in their service, as written: "because you did not serve the L-ord, your G-d, with joy and gladness of heart" (Devarim 28:47). So when David saw the Jews reaching this level when they donated to the construction of the Temple, he prayed that this good trait should remain with them and not leave them as written: "and now I have seen with joy Your people who are present here, offer willingly to You. O L-ord, G-d of Abraham, Isaac, and Israel, our forefathers, preserve this eternally, even the inclination of the thoughts of the heart of Your people, and set their hearts to You" (Divrei Hayamim 29:17-18). |
ומצינו שנתרעם הקב"ה על ישראל מפני שחיסרו תנאי זה בעבודתם, הוא שנאמר (דברים כ"ח): תחת אשר לא עבדת את ה' אלהיך בשמחה ובטוב לבב. ודוד לפי שראה את ישראל בעת התנדבם על בנין הבית שכבר הגיעו למעלה הזאת, התפלל עליהם שתתקיים המדה הטובה בהם ולא תסור, הוא מה שכתוב (ד"ה א' כ"ט): ועתה עמך הנמצאו פה ראיתי בשמחה להתנדב לך ה' אלהי אברהם יצחק וישראל אבותינו שמרה זאת לעולם ליצר מחשבות לבב עמך והכן לבבם אליך. |
ER - "true joy" - he is coming to exclude the joys of the physical world, in the pot of meat and in the drinking of wine, in the leisure trips and all the other pleasures of this world, even instrument and song - all this is as nothing whatsoever compared to the joy of the service and the Torah, for this is a true joy which does not have a bad taste afterwards. It is entirely a deep inner joy which endures forever.
ER - in Orchot Tzadikim (Shaar HaSimcha), he explains the mishna in Avot: "who is rich? He who is happy with his portion" - even if he is poor, he should rejoice in G-d, who is his portion and inheritance.
NE - "G-d reprimanded the Jewish people for lacking this.." - for joy is not a Hidur or adornment to the mitzva, rather it is an integral part and an essential component. For without it, the mitzva cannot be for the Creator's sake (lishma and l'shem haBoreh) since it is mixed with some component which impedes him from rejoicing properly, due to lacking a feeling of closeness and clinging in performing it. For if he were to fulfill the mitzva as an act of clinging to G-d, the joy would have burst forth by itself, as a child who rejoices in reuniting with his mother. Therefore its absence is very serious as written in the "verses of rebuke" (Parsha Ki Tavo). On the other hand, joy opens the heart to yearn for increased clinging. For when the soul is content (nefesh saveat ratzon), then the powers of the intellect open to find new ways and means to perpetuate the state of joy further and further in the manner of "a mitzva brings another mitzva" (Avot 4:2).
OG - "it is a great important principal of the [divine] service" - for it is very common for the servants of G-d to not be in a state of joy. Why are they not in a state of joy? One person is in great poverty. A second may not be poor but he doesn't have enough money to marry off his children. Some ch'v are not in good health. Namely, he may not be actually suffering, but nevertheless, it is difficult for him to be in a state of joy due to various worries and handicaps.
On all of these and the like, the Ramchal writes: "be happy! It is enough for you to pray and do mitzvot, like a servant before a King of unparalleled greatness and perfection. He is all-capable and He bestows good to us with kindnesses and mercies which are numerous beyond imagination". If a man believes this, it is impossible for him to not rejoice in this all the days of his life. For his poverty or illness are from the blessed G-d, and if so, the good G-d knows that thus is good for this person. Wealth would cause him to stumble and veer away from the right path. And on his illness, let a man tell himself: "this is from G-d in order to make me do teshuva (repentance)" or "to make me merit special reward in this world and the next", or something similar.
This is what he writes: "the Divine presence rests on a man only through his rejoicing in a mitzva" (Shabbat 30b). For one who is not in a state of joy all day for the mitzvot he merits to fulfill, for meriting to guard from stumbling in prohibitions, and for the Torah he merits to study, there is in this ingratitude on his part. For he doesn't feel himself as the son of the King. [In truth, this is indeed so] since only to him and his people, the Jewish people, was this special gift granted. If so, how could G-d rest His Shechina on him?
On the other hand, one who rejoices in His mitzvot and pushes away from his mind all the vanities of this world - on him the Shechina rests and helps him to increase even more joy, with closeness to G-d which brings one to Ruach Hakodesh. The face of such a servant of G-d is illuminated with tremendous joy and all his days are full of abundant happiness.
Short Essay - Instant Millionaire
Rabbi Chaim Vital (Hakdama l'Shaar HaMitzvot) - Know that for one who does a mitzva, it is not enough to merely do it, for behold, we find that our sages, of blessed memory, said: "he who performs one mitzva - good is done to him and his days are prolonged" (Kidushin 39b). Similarly, they said: "whoever performs such and such a mitzva receives this or that [reward]. But we see many mitzvot that people do and yet the words of our sages are not fulfilled, ch'v regarding their great reward even in this world.
The root of everything which all depends on is that when performing a mitzva, one should not regard it as a burden, trying to swiftly unload it from himself. Rather, he should imagine as if in doing this mitzva, he will profit millions of gold coins. Thus he should rejoice in doing this mitzva with a boundless joy of heart and soul and with tremendous desire, as if he will actually receive right now millions of gold coins if he does that mitzva. This is the deeper meaning (Sod) of "because you did not serve the L-ord, your G-d, with joy and gladness of heart with the abundance of all" (Devarim 28:47).
(note: in Shaar Ruach Hakodesh 10b he adds: "that one rejoices even more than if he were to receive all the wealth of this world. This is the meaning of "with the abundance of all", i.e. to rejoice more than if it were as much as everything [in the world])
Likewise regarding Rav Berona in Berachot 9b:"[R. Ela said to Ulla: When you go up there, give my greeting to my brother R. Berona in the presence of the whole yeshiva, for he is a great man and rejoices to perform a precept in the correct manner]. Once he succeeded in joining Geula with Tefila, and a smile did not leave his lips the whole day".For this [joy] will demonstrate that one's faithful trust in the blessed Creator is absolute, more even than if the reward were actually placed before him. And according to the greatness of his joy, in truth and with inner gladness of heart, so too will he merit to receive light from on high. If he is diligent in this, there is no doubt that the Ruach Hakodesh will rest on him. This matter applies to all of the mitzvot, whether at the time one toils in the Torah, that it be with great, powerful desire and enormous fiery fervor, as if he were standing before the King and ministering before Him with great craving to find favor in His eyes, to receive from Him a higher and greater level (Hakdama l'Shaar HaMitzvot).
Another source from Rabbi Chaim Vital zt'l:
Shaar Hakavanot (daf 1): "it is forbidden for a person to pray his prayer in a state of sadness, for if it is done thus, it is impossible for his soul to receive the supernal light (Ohr Elyon) which is drawn on him at the time of the prayer. However, at the time of the confession (vidui), when he specifies his sins, then it is good to be sad. But for the other parts of the prayer service, tremendously great damage is drawn to him through being in a state of sadness. Rather, one must demonstrate before G-d submission as the analogy of a slave who serves his master with great joy, but if the slave serves the master in a state of sadness, his service is repugnant before the master.
We can almost say that the chief factor for [attaining] levels, perfection and Ruach Hakodesh depends primarily on this matter [of joy] - whether during the time of prayer or when he performs some other mitzva. And as the Talmud writes regarding he who was very joyous all day for putting on Tefilin.
Do not take lightly this matter for its reward is very great.
CS - Here is an explanation of the special Mussar learned from the sources Rabeinu brought:
1. "Serve G-d with joy.." - this is an exhortation, i.e. a command on the joy, as Rabeinu wrote: "This is what David exhorted us saying", i.e. it is not optional. Rather, there is an obligation to strive to attain it.
2. "the righteous will rejoice, they will exult before G-d" - the joy before G-d is the way of the righteous.
3. "the Divine presence rests on a man only through his rejoicing in a mitzva" - hence the greatness of joy. For without it, the resting of the divine presence is impossible.
4. "when you stand to pray, your heart should rejoice, for you are praying to the Almighty of whom there is none like Him" - here is explained the reason for the great joy, and likewise, its special pertinence to the mitzva of prayer.
5. "Draw me, we will run after You. The King has brought me into his chambers; we will be glad and rejoice in You" - the trait of joy depends on the level of recognition and depth of grasp of G-d's greatness, blessed be He.
6. "Israel will rejoice with its Maker; the children of Zion will exult with their King" - two additional aspects regarding our relationship to the blessed Creator which cause joy: 1. we are His handiwork. 2. He is our King.
7-8. "May my speech be pleasing to Him...", "I will come to the altar of G-d...I will thank You with a lyre" - expressions of joy of the servants of G-d. Pleasantness of speech and music with a lyre (song by mouth and by instrument).
9. "My lips will sing praises, for I will sing to You" - description of the intensity of joy of the servant of G-d to the extent that the body's movements are activated by it (as Rabeinu explains).
10. "Because you did not serve the L-ord, your G-d, with joy and gladness of heart" - punishments for neglecting the joy in the service of G-d.
11. "And now I have seen with joy Your people...preserve this eternally" - description of the joy in performing a mitzva by the congregation. Furthermore, the possibility of praying to merit the continuation of the level of joy.
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JEALOUSY The third branch of love [of G-d] is jealousy, namely, that a person be jealous for the sake of His holy Name, hate those who hate Him, and strive to submit them as much as he can, in order that G-d's service be done and His honor increased. |
הענף הג' הוא הקנאה, שיהיה האדם מקנא לשם קדשו, שונא את משנאיו ומשתדל להכניעם במה שיוכל, כדי שתהיה עבודתו ית' נעשית וכבודו מתרבה. |
MB - "be jealous for the sake of His holy Name" - common jealousy is a feeling of lacking in oneself, whereas this type of jealousy is a feeling of "lacking", so to speak, of the Holy One, blessed be He.
"in order.." - he does not submit them for the sake of punishing but rather in order that they rectify their ways. All of his intent is that the honor of Heaven be increased.
"hate... strive" - two separate matters. One he hates G-d's enemies even in a situation where it won't help. Two, he does whatever he can in a situation where it can help.
MB - "strive to submit" - he speaks of submission because this is the main lacking when speaking regarding G-d's honor. For in committing a sin, it is as if the wicked man says "there is no one which obligates me on anything", as in Tehilim 10: "the wicked..will not seek after G-d: G-d is not in any of his thoughts" (10:4). And likewise there: "G-d never sees". The rectification for this is to submit them which is the opposite of their lacking...
| This is what king David, peace be unto him, said: "O G-d, do I not hate those who hate You? Do I not contend with those who rise up against You? I hate them with an utter hatred; I count them my enemies" (Tehilim 139:21-22). And Eliyahu said: "I have been very jealous for G-d, the L-ord of Hosts..." (Melachim 19:10). We already learned what he merited by virtue of his jealousy for G-d, as the Torah states: "because he was jealous for his G-d and made atonement for the children of Israel" (Bamidbar 25:13). | והוא מ"ש דוד ע"ה (תהלים קל"ט): הלא משנאיך ה' אשנא ובתקוממיך אתקוטט תכלית שנאה שנאתים וגו'. ואליהו אמר (מלכים א' י"ט): קנא קנאתי לה' צבאות וגו', וכבר ראינו למה זכה בעבור קנאתו לאלהיו, כמאמר הכתוב (במדבר כ"ה): תחת אשר קנא לאלהיו ויכפר על בני ישראל. |
| Our sages, of blessed memory, spoke strongly regarding one who is able to rebuke someone but refrains from doing so. They decreed his judgment to be that he himself will be held accountable for the sin of the sinners. In the Midrash, [they expounded: " 'her princes were like deer [that find no pasture..]' (Eicha 1:6) - just like during a heat wave, these deer turn their faces one beneath the other, so too the great sages of Israel would see sin committed and turn their faces away from it. The Holy One, blessed be He, said to them: 'a time will come when I will do the same to them'" (Eicha Raba 1:13). |
וכבר הפליגו חז"ל (שבת נ"ה): לדבר במי שיש בידו למחות ואינו מוחה, וגזרו דינו ליתפס בעון החוטאים עצמו. ובמדרש איכה אמרו היו שריה כאילים, מה אילים הללו בשעת שרב הופכים פניהם אלו תחת אלו כך היו גדולי ישראל רואים דבר עבירה והופכים פניהם ממנו, אמר לו הקב"ה תבא השעה ואני אעשה להם כן. |
CS - "turn their faces" - they did not react with words of rebuke to the sinners.
"when I will do the same" - measure for measure, when trouble befalls them, I will turn My face from them and not mix in with their matters (to rescue them).
MB - "spoke strongly regarding one who is able to rebuke someone but refrains from doing so" - from his bringing this on the topic of jealousy implies that the evil of not protesting is in his showing lack of caring on the matter done against G-d's will. If so, it is not clear whether Rabeinu holds one should protest even if it seems it will not help or only in a case where it seems the person will accept his rebuke (as known there is a difference of opinion in the Rishonim on the matter. See Shulchan Aruch O.C.608:2, and Mishna Berura and Sh.Tz.)
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It is obvious that he who loves his fellow is unable to bear the sight of others' beating him or insulting him, and will certainly go out to help him. So too, he who loves the blessed G-d's Name will be unable to bear seeing the desecration of His Name, G-d forbid, and the transgressing of His mitzvot. This is what Shlomo said: "those who forsake the Torah praise the wicked, but those who keep the Torah contend with them" (Mishlei 28:4). For those who praise the wicked on his wickedness and do not rebuke his deeds to his face, behold, they are the "forsakers of Torah" who abandon it to be desecrated, G-d forbid. But the guardians of the Torah who strengthen themselves to strengthen it, will certainly contend with the wicked and be unable to restrain themselves and be silent. The Holy One, blessed be He, said to Iyov: "Scatter forth the wrath of your anger; see every arrogant man and submit him; tread down the wicked in their place; press them in the earth together, push their faces in the ground" (Iyov 40:11-13). For this is the intense love that he who truly loves His Creator can demonstrate, and it is written: "those who love G-d hate evil" (Tehilim 97:10). |
וזה פשוט כי מי שאוהב את חבירו אי אפשר לו לסבול שיראה מכים את חבירו או מחרפים אותו ובודאי שיצא לעזרתו גם מי שאוהב שמו יתברך לא יוכל לסבול ולראות שיחללו אותו ח"ו ושיעברו על מצותיו. והוא מה שאמר שלמה (משלי כ"ה): עוזבי תורה יהללו רשע ושומרי תורה יתגרו בם, כי אותם שמהללים רשע ברשעתו ולא יוכיחו על פניו מומו, הנה הם עוזבי התורה ומניחים אותה שתתחלל ח"ו, אך שומריה המתחזקים להחזיקה ודאי שיתגרו בם לא יוכלו להתאפק ולהחריש, ואמר הקב"ה אל איוב (איוב מ'): הפץ עברות אפך ראה כל גאה הכניעהו והדוך רשעים תחתם טמנם בעפר יחד פניהם חבוש בטמון, כי זהו תוקף האהבה שיוכל להראות מי שאוהב את בוראו באמת, ואומר (תהלים צ"ז): אוהבי ה' שנאו רע. |
CS - in these words to Iyov, G-d presents to him the conduct expected from the Whole Tzadik.
Press the wickeds' faces in the dirt, i.e. lower them and submit them (Ibn Ezra and Metzudot).
SR - notice Rabeinu only included jealousy in the trait of Chasidut because it is not proper nor possible except to the Chasid, for it contains a great danger. See what happened to Yeravam ben Nevat when he rebuked Shlomo.
OG - we heard from the mouth of Maran, Rosh HaYeshiva, Rabbi Yechezkel Sarna zt"l in his talks that he would often repeat at many opportunities that "jealousy for G-d" mentioned here in the Mesilat Yesharim as a branch of the trait of Piety, is a great and lofty trait, but not every ben Torah is permitted to conduct himself thus. This is because most of the time he who comes to protest against a chilul Ha-shem done by the wicked, is also moved by personal motives, for a fire was kindled within him on the evil deed and he does not exert himself at all to seek a halachic ruling whether it is proper to act and [if yes], how should he act against the wickedness. And all the mixtures of personal bias kindle the fire of Machloket (dispute) in Israel and it does not shield from the wrath of G-d, but rather, on the contrary, by the power of a jealousy which is not pure, it will increase the wrath of the blessed G-d even more than what it was before this.
Sabbath Light pg.15 (Rabbi Louis Isaac Rabinowitz) - "those who love G-d hate evil" (Tehilim 97:10) A few days ago I received the current number of the Anglo-Jewish Association Quarterly, published in London. It contains an article by R. Alan Miller entitled "On Love, Hatred and Jealousy" and it opens with an account of what must have been a most moving incident. It was during the war, when the full truth of the gruesome details of the Nazi Concentration Camps had at last been revealed. The writer was present at an Oneg Shabbat which was held on a Friday night at the Bachad Kibbutz in Bromsgrove in England. Various people had been asked to read extracts from Jewish and general literature which appealed to them. And one of the girls, actually a German refugee, read the following passage from Dostoyevslcy's "The Brothers Karamazov.""Brothers have no fear of men's sins. Love a man even in his sin, for that is the highest semblance of divine love, and is the highest love on earth. Love all G-d's creation, the whole and every grain of sand in it. Love every leaf, every ray of G-d's light. Love the animals, love the plants, love everything. If you love everything, you will perceive the divine mystery in things ... and you will come at last to love the whole world with an all-embracing love!"As he was musing on the incongruity of a plea for love under these circumstances, his thoughts were rudely disturbed by the stern voice of Rabbi Unterman, at that time Rabbi of Liverpool, and now Chief Rabbi of Tel Aviv, who was the guest Rabbi for that Sabbath. "Enough of this talk of love," said he slowly and deliberately, "G-d is a G-d of Love, but he is also a G-d of Vengeance!" And pounding on the table at each phrase, he enunciated:
"El Nekamos Hashem, El nekamos hofia hinase shofet ha'aretz hashev gemul al geim" (Psalm 95:1-2)
("O G-d of Vengeance, L-ord, 0 G-d of Vengeance, shine forth, lift up thyself, thou judge of the earth, render to the arrogant their desert.")
Which of them was right, and which, under the circumstances which prevailed at that awful time, expressed Jewish ethics? Should we have loved the Nazis "even in their sin" with an all-embracing love or should we have hated them with a deep hatred, and tilled on G-d to avenge the blood of his servants?
Let me give you another quotation dealing with the same contemporary events:
"Who will condemn the hatred of evil which springs from the love of what is good or just?", asks Menachem Begin in the Introduction to "The Revolt."
"Such hatred has been the stimulus behind progress in the world's history... And in our case, such hate had been nothing more or less than that of a manifestation of that highest human feeling, love. For if you love freedom you hate slavery. If you love your people you cannot but hate the enemies that compass their destruction. If you love your country you cannot but hate those who seek to annex it. Simply put, if you love your mother would you not hate the man that sought to kill her? Would you not fight him at the cost, if need be, of your life?"
And again I ask, is this active, positive hatred in accordance with the principles of Jewish ethics?
To that question surely the four simple Hebrew words of my text give the final answer. "Ye that love the L-ord, hate evil." Hatred can be the most ignoble and destructive of vices, and there is no vice which looms larger in Jewish ethical thought, and one from which the Jew in the course of history has suffered more than "sinas chinam", baseless hatred, irrational hatred, hatred without cause or rhyme or reason. To it for instance is ascribed the Destruction of the Second Temple. But the very use of the phrase "sinas chinam", "baseless hatted," surely presupposes that there is a hatred which Is not baseless but which has a sure foundation in Jewish ethics, a hatred which, as Begin rightly says, is "a manifestation of that highest human feeling love." One cannot love G-d without hating evil, and the hatred of evil stems from that love of G-d.
But if "V'ahavta Es Hashem Elokecha", "Thou shalt love the L-ord thy G-d" expresses the highest ideal of man in relationship to the divine, surely "V'ahavta Le'Reecha Kamocha", "Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself" expresses the highest ideal of the relationship of man to man. How then can we combine it with that feeling of noble hatred?
To that question Judaism gives a complete and wholly satisfactory answer, and again it illustrates it not by a bald statement of ethics or theology, but by a vivid incident. R. Meir had some neighbours who were persecuting and distressing him, and in a burst of anger he prayed for their death. Whereupon his brilliant and learned wife Beruria said to him, "The verse 'yitamu chataim min haaretz v'reshaim od einnam'" (Psalm 104:35), need not be translated "Let sinners perish from the earth, and the wicked will be no more" but "Let sins perish from the earth, with the result that the wicked will be no more. Hate sin, but not the sinners, pray for the destruction of their evil, not for their destruction." R. Meir heeded the noble interpretation of his wife, prayed for their betterment and they repented of their evil ways. And it is noteworthy that the verse of my text emphasises "Ye that love the L-ord, hate *evil*" not "evildoers."
Once that essential qualification is made, the way is surely clear for an examination of the justification of a feeling of noble hatred. I make bold to say that the greatest ethical draw-back from which the modern world suffers is its inability to hate evil. Instead of hating it with an utter hatred, in the blessed name of tolerance and of "live and let live", we dismiss it with a shrug of the shoulders. It has become positively bad form to say that one hates anything or any-one and as a result, our professed love of G-d is either diminished or becomes hypocritical. For, as the verse of my text clearly implies, hatred of evil is the corollary to love of G-d.
With what a wholesome and full-blooded hatred of evil do the Scriptural authors express themselves! "Do I not hate them that hate thee?" asks the Psalmist, "And am I not grieved with them that rise up against thee? I hate them with an utter hatred, I count them mine enemies" (Psalm 139:22) and the author of Proverbs states a simple syllogism "The fear of the L-ord is to hate evil. (Therefore) Pride and arrogance and the evil way and the froward mouth do I hate" (Prov. 8:13).
How many of us ever experience that noble frenzy of hatred of evil and intolerance of wrong doing or injustice which acts as the spearhead of the attack upon its bastions? The noble frenzy of a Moses who, at the sight of the orgiastic worship of the Golden Calf, in a fit of anger smashes the Tablets of Stone written with the Finger of G-d? The sublime anger of a Matityahu who at the sight of the act of apostasy rushes forward in uncontrolled passion and, slaying the apostate Jew and his Syrian taskmaster, raises the standard of revolt and thereby saves the world for G-d? Their love of the L-ord made them inevitably into haters of evil and from that hatred there was generated a spiritual force whose currents still flow to this day. Alas, we fail to be roused to hatred at the sight of evil, we fail to raise a finger to remove it. Can it be said that such an attitude reveals love of G-d? Can it be equalled with the ethical doctrines of Judaism?
We do not hate evil enough! I tell you that I do hate! I hate the doers of evil. I hate those who grind the faces of the poor. I hate the wealthy man who has amassed his fortune out of the tears and blood of others. I hate the upholders of unfair privileges and the protagonists of discrimination. I hate the retailer of malicious gossip and tittle-tattle. I hate those who hate the L-ord and rise up against Him. But because I do not hate them with an "utter hatred" my love of G-d is thereby diminished. For the yardstick of the measure of our professed love of G-d is the extent to which we hate evil.
(Translator: as before a competent Halachic authority should be consulted on whether to act, and if yes, how to act. For otherwise, one may cause more harm than good.)
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INTENTION Thus far, we have clarified the trait of Chasidut as it relates to deeds and manner of performance. We will now explain Chasidut as it relates to intention. We have already discussed earlier the matter of performing a mitzva "for its own sake" (lishma) and "not for its own sake" (shelo lishma), according to their various levels. However, he whose motivation in his divine service is to purify his soul before his Creator in order to be worthy of sitting among the Just and the Pious, "to gaze upon the pleasantness of G-d and to dwell within His sanctuary", and receive the reward in the World to Come, we certainly cannot say that his motive is evil. On the other hand, we also cannot say that this is the best of motives. For as long as a person is motivated by his own benefit, in essence, his divine service is for his own self-interest. But the true motivation which is found among the Pious, who have exerted themselves and strove to attain it, is for one to serve solely in order to raise and increase the honor of the Master, blessed be He. |
והנה בארנו עד הנה החסידות מה שתלוי במעשה ובאופן העשיה, נבאר עתה התלויה בכונה. וכבר דברנו גם כן למעלה מענין לשמה ושלא לשמה למדרגותיהם. אמנם ודאי שמי שמתכוין בעבודתו לטהר נפשו לפני בוראו, למען תזכה לשבת את פניו בכלל הישרים והחסידים, לחזות בנועם ה' לבקר בהיכלו, ולקבל הגמול אשר בעוה"ב לא נוכל לומר שתהיה כונה זו רעה. אכן לא נוכל לומר גם כן שתהיה היותר טובה, כי עד שהאדם מתכוין לטובת עצמו, סוף סוף עבודתו לצורך עצמו. אך הכונה האמתית המצויה בחסידים אשר טרחו והשתדלו להשיגה, הוא שיהיה האדם עובד רק למען אשר כבודו של האדון ב"ה יגדל וירבה. |
MB - "exerted themselves and strove to attain it" - for it comes only after work since by nature, a man does out of self-interest.
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This intent will come only after the love of Him has intensified within him, after he longs and lusts for the raising of His honor and is pained by any diminishing of it. For then he will perform the divine service for this purpose, so that at least, through himself, G-d's honor will increase. He will lust that all other human beings will likewise do the same. And he will be pained and grieve when they diminish in this honor. All the more so, will he be pained of what he himself diminishes, whether accidentally, unwittingly or due to natural weakness, which makes it difficult for him to guard himself from sin at all times, as scripture writes: "for there is no righteous man on earth who does good and sins not" (Kohelet 7:20). |
וזה יהיה אחר שהתגבר באהבה אליו יתברך, ויהיה חומד ומתאוה אל הגדלת כבודו, ומצטער על כל שימעט ממנו, כי אז יעבוד עבודתו לתכלית זה, שלפחות מצדו יהיה כבודו יתברך מתגדל. ויתאוה כל שאר בני האדם יהיו כמו כן, ויצטער ויתאנח על מה שממעטים שאר בני האדם, וכל שכן על מה שממעט הוא עצמו בשוגג או באונס או בחולשת הטבע, אשר קשה לו לישמר מן החטאים בכל עת, כענין הכתוב (קהלת ז'): כי אדם אין צדיק בארץ אשר יעשה טוב ולא יחטא. |
MB - "love of Him has intensified within him" - the work spoken of here is to forget the personal benefit in his deeds (even though they are indeed good for him), and to focus instead on the honor of G-d therein. The difficulty is that, by nature, a man thinks on himself first. But in a situation of intensifying of love, he rises above his nature and can think on another even before himself.
CS - "But the true motivation which is found among the Pious..." - it seems here Rabeinu is clarifying the additional level of the trait of Piety over the trait of Purity. For the Pure person also performs his mitzvot for their own sake (lishma), namely, without any selfish motives at all, only because "thus our Father in heaven decreed" which is called "one who does a mitzva as it was stated" (see chapter 16). But the Pious increases over the Pure in emphasizing the will and desire to bring gratification to G-d, namely, he serves G-d not just because this is the will of G-d, but also for the purpose of increasing the honor of G-d through his service.
"accidentally.." - even though for accidents, a person is exempt from all obligation, nevertheless he should be pained on the diminishing of the honor of Heaven due to this.
SR - the Rambam (Teshuva 10:2) defines the end goal of the level of "lishma" as: "who does the truth because it is the truth". The language of the Talmud (Avodah Zara 19) likewise indicates this: "in G-d's mitzvot he desires, not in their reward". But Rabeinu's view also has explicit verses: all that is called by My Name, and whom I created for My glory.." (Isaiah 43:7), and likewise end of Pirkei Avot "all that the Holy One created was only for His honor.."
MB - "in order to raise and increase the honor of G-d" - this needs clarification for the Chasid seeks the underlying will of G-d. Hence, this implies the underlying will of G-d is for His honor. Namely, that one fulfills the mitzvot for His honor (and the Mishna, end of Avot indeed implies that this is G-d's intent for the entire creation). However, in chapter 1, we saw that the purpose of the mitzvot is in order to "gaze at the splendor of the Shechina", and in the beginning of Derech Ha-shem, the Ramchal likewise writes that this is the purpose of creation. If so, it seems this should have been the best intent.
In Daas Tevunos (end of Ot 128) he explains that the two matters really stem from the same thing:
" 'all that the Holy One created was only for His honor'. The honor is that G-d will rejoice in all His creations and there will be a reason, so to speak, for Him to bestow good on all His creations.." End quote.
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This matter was clarified in Tana D'Bei Eliyahu (Raba 4): "every sage of Israel who has attained true Torah knowledge, and grieves over the honor of the Holy One, blessed be He, and over the honor of Israel all his days, who longs and feels pain for the honor of Jerusalem and the holy Temple, and for the redemption to sprout soon, and the ingathering of the exiles immediately the Ruach Hakodesh will rest upon his words..." Thus we learn that this is the ideal intent. For it is completely removed from all consideration of personal benefit, and is only for the honor of G-d and for the sanctification of His blessed Name, which is sanctified by His creations when they do His will. On this our sages said: "who is Pious (a Chasid)? He who is benevolent (mitchased) towards his Maker" (Zohar Beit, Mishpatim 114b). Behold, such a Chasid, besides the service which he does in performing his mitzvot with the proper intent, will certainly feel actual (mamash) pain on the exile and the destruction of the temple, because these cause a diminishing, so to speak, of the blessed G-d's honor. He will long for the Redemption because then the honor of G-d will be exulted. This is what the Tana d'Bei Eliyahu we brought earlier said: "and he longs and feels pain over the honor of Jerusalem.." He will pray always for the redemption of Israel and the return of G-d's honor. |
ודבר זה ביארוהו בתנא ד"א ז"ל אמרו: כל חכם מישראל שיש בו דברי תורה לאמתו, ומתאנח על כבודו של הקב"ה כו', כל ימיו, ומתאוה ומיצר לכבוד ירושלים ולכבוד בית המקדש ולישועה שתצמח בקרוב ולכינוס גליות, זוכה לרוח הקודש בדבריו וכו'. נמצאת למד שזאת היא הכוונה המעולה שהיא רחוקה לגמרי מכל הנאת עצמו, ואינה אלא לכבודו של מקום ולקידוש שמו יתברך המתקדש בבריותיו בשעה שעושים רצונו. ועל זה אמרו (זהר כי תצא): איזהו חסיד המתחסד עם קונו. והנה החסיד כזה מלבד העבודה שהוא עובד במעשה מצותיו על הכונה הזאת, הנה ודאי צריך שיצטער תמיד צער ממש על הגלות ועל החורבן, מצד מה שזה גורם מיעוט כביכול לכבודו ית', ויתאוה לגאולה לפי שבה יהיה עילוי לכבוד השם יתברך, והוא מה שכתב התדב"א שהבאנו למעלה, ומתאוה ומיצר לכבוד ירושלים וכו', ויתפלל תמיד על גאולת בני ישראל והשבת כבוד שמים לעילוי. |
CS - "a diminishing, so to speak, of G-d's honor" - "so to speak" since even though in truth, nothing can diminish or detract from the infinite perfection of G-d, blessed be He, nevertheless from the aspect of His honor which is revealed in the world, this situation appears as a diminishing and lacking.
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If one will say: "who am I, and what importance am I that I should pray on the exile and Jerusalem? Will the exiles be ingathered and the salvation sprout because of my prayers?! The answer to him is near [his question], as we learned: "Thus man was created alone, so that each person should say: 'for my sake the world was created' " (Sanhedrin 37a). Already it brings gratification to G-d, that His children desire and pray for this. And even though their request may not be fulfilled, because the proper time has not yet come or for some other reason, nevertheless, they have done their part and the Holy One, blessed be He, rejoices in this. |
ואם יאמר אדם מי אני ומה אני ספון שאתפלל על הגלות ועל ירושלים וכו', המפני תפלתי יכנסו הגליות ותצמח הישועה? תשובתו בצדו, כאותה ששנינו (סנהדרין ל"ח): לפיכך נברא אדם יחידי כדי שכל אחד יאמר בשבילי נברא העולם, וכבר נחת רוח הוא לפניו יתברך שיהיו בניו מבקשים ומתפללים על זאת, ואף שלא תעשה בקשתם מפני שלא הגיע הזמן או מאיזה טעם שיהיה, הנה הם עשו את שלהם והקב"ה שמח בזה. |
CS - "for my sake the world was created" - if so, certainly he is important and significant. And likewise for every person before G-d, and his prayer is desirable before Him.
NE - the prayer of each and every person has a special and unique importance before G-d. For each person has a unique way of thinking and when he combines his unique prayer with that of the congregation, the redemption draws closer in his doing the will of G-d. Furthermore, for every thing, a certain number of prayers which stem from the depths of the heart are needed to bring it about. And the prayer of each person, even one time, can complete the number of prayers needed.
MB - "for me the world was created.. it brings gratification to G-d.." - Rabeinu's intent needs clarification. Are there two answers here? Namely: First, a person should tell himself "for me the world was created", thus my prayer will help. And secondly, even if it does not help, it will bring gratification to G-d. Or perhaps it is all one answer, namely, that a person tells himself: "for me the world was created and even if my prayer will not be answered, it will nevertheless bring gratification before G-d.
The truth appears to be as Rabeinu explains in his book Daat Tevunot (siman 96) who also brings down this teaching. His intent as explained there is that our sages, of blessed memory, came to teach us that each and every person has a portion in the purpose of the world, and even though it is impossible for him alone to bring complete rectification to the entire world, nevertheless he has a special portion for himself alone, and with the combined contribution of every portion of every Jew, there will result the complete rectification. (thus it is not a teaching of pride but one of responsibility, that without him, the purpose of the world will not be fulfilled), see there Rabeinu's words.
If so, the explanation here is that every person is obligated to do his part in bringing the Redemption, some of which is through his prayer and beseeching, and even though his prayer by itself won't bring the Redemption, nevertheless this does not prevent him from doing his service, for the purpose of his deeds is not to accomplish a certain outcome, but rather he does all that is placed on him and in this there is gratification before G-d..
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On the absence of this, the prophets complained saying: "And He saw that there was no man, and He was astounded for there was no intercessor"(Yeshaya 59:16) and "I looked, and there was none to help; and I was astonished that there was no one to uphold" (Yeshaya 63:5). And it is stated: "it is Zion; no one inquires after her" (Yirmiyahu 30:17), which our sages expounded: "this implies it needs inquiring after" (Sukkah 41a). Thus we learn from here that we are obligated in this matter, and cannot exempt ourselves due to our lack of power. For on all such matters, we learned: "It is not incumbent upon you to complete the task, but neither are you free to abstain from it" (Avot 2:16). |
ועל העדר זה הדבר התרעם הנביא (ישעיה נ"ט): וירא כי אין איש וישתומם כי אין מפגיע, ואמר (שם ס"ג): ואביט ואין עוזר ואשתומם ואין סומך, ואמר (ירמיה ל'): ציון היא דורש אין לה, ופי' ז"ל (סוכה מ"א): מכלל דבעיא דרישה. הרי כאן שחייבים אנחנו בזה, ואין לנו ליפטר מפני מיעוט כחנו, כי על כיוצא בזה שנינו (אבות פ"ג): לא עליך המלאכה לגמור ואי אתה בן חורין ליבטל הימנה. |
Maarchei Lev 2:95 - "it is not incumbent upon you to complete the task"- a certain student asked Rabbi Elchanan Wasserman to teach him the way to be successful in Torah. Rabbi Elchanan answered him: "give to the Torah all the strength you have within you and all of your brain. No more than this. The strength not within you and the brain you don't have is not requested of you.
| And the prophet further said: "She has none to guide her out of all the sons she bore, none takes her hand of all the sons she raised" (Yeshaya 51:18). And "all flesh is grass, and all his kindness is as the blossom of the field" (Isaiah 40:6), which our sages of blessed memory, explained: "all the kindness they do is only for themselves" (Zohar Chadash 117a, Tikunei Zohar 30,63a), i.e. for their own good and benefit; they do not intend for this perfect intention and do not seek the raising of G-d's honor and the redemption of Israel. | ואמר עוד הנביא (ישעיה נ"א): אין מנהל לה מכל בנים ילדה ואין מחזיק בידה מכל בנים גדלה. ואמר (שם מ'): כל הבשר חציר וכל חסדו כציץ השדה, ופי' ז"ל (תיקונים): שכל חסד שעושים לעצמם הם עושים לטובת נפשם ולהנאתם, ואינם מתכוונים לכונה השלמה הזאת, ולא מבקשים על עילוי הכבוד וגאולתן של ישראל |
CS - "perfect intention" - "only for the honor of G-d and for the sanctification of His Name, which is sanctified by His creations when they do His will" as explained earlier.
CS - "all flesh is grass, and all his kindness is as the blossom of the field" - it seems the explanation in this context is that the prophet claims that all human beings, i.e. most people who are called "flesh", namely, those who did not reach the level of Piety, their kindness and favors do not have an eternal quality, for their primary motive is for their own benefit. Therefore, they and their deeds are as the grass which sprouts for a short time and quickly wilts and doesn't last.
OG - the Mesilat Yesharim deals mostly with the way to rectify every individual Jew. But his goal is no less than to clarify to us how the whole world will reach its complete Tikun (rectification).. Besides the many hints there are to this fundamental matter in every chapter of the Mesilat Yesharim, from chapter 19 onwards there are explicit things teaching on the complete Tikun of all the inhabitants of the world. All of Israel together with those worthy among the nations will see, with G-d's help, a new rectified world....
OG - "who am I" - for even one person has the power to bring gratification to his Maker, and through this to bring great spiritual flow (shefa rav) and great good to the whole world. A man should not give up if he sees that his good deeds and his intentions for the honor of G-d and the honor of Yisrael His people, do not bring a change in the bleak situation. Rather, he should know that he is obligated to do what is incumbent on himself and to increase more and more in the service of G-d. And our Father in heaven alone knows and decides when and how these intents will influence the rectification of the world. When G-d will decide to spread His right hand full of kindness and mercy over us, already everyone will see and feel how the world returns to its Tikun (rectification), even more than what it was at the time of the giving of the Torah, when all of Israel, men and women, merited prophecy and heard the voice of the living G-d speak to them, namely, the first two of the ten commandments, and even a maidservant on the Red Sea merited to see divine visions that Yechezkel did not merit to see.
On the contrary, every single Jew must know that if he does not beseech G-d on the rebuilding of Jerusalem the holy city, and the rebuilding of the holy temple within it - he causes G-d's wrath to kindle. On this, the prophet Isaiah said: "And He saw that there was no man, and He was astounded for there was no intercessor"...
OG - in most prints it is written that the explanation of these two verses from the prophecy of Isaiah is in the Talmud, tractate Avodah Zara 2. But this is a mistake. For there is not an explanation of the verses there. The actual source is from two places in the Zohar. There it is explained: "She has none to guide [to the Shechina]", "none takes her hand.. [to lift Her from the dirt] among all the children of Israel which She bore and raised". All flesh is as grass - all of Israel are like animals which eat grass, for their Torah study and prayer is only for their own benefit and honor, not for the honor of the Holy One, blessed be He. "And all his kindness", the kindness they do to each other, is only to sprout for themselves some benefit, like the blossom of the field, as a flower of the field which a person cuts for his own personal benefit.
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For it is impossible for the honor of G-d to be raised except through the redemption of Israel and the raising of Israel's honor, since in truth, one depends on the other, as the prophet said in Tana D'Bei Eliyahu I mentioned: "and he grieves over the honor of the Holy One, blessed be He, and over the honor of Israel". Thus we learn that there are two matters in this. One, that the intention behind every mitzva and act of divine service be the increase in the honor of G-d which comes from His creations' doing what brings gratification to Him. Two, that one feel pain and seeks for the elevation of this honor, which will occur wholly when the honor and good of Israel will be fully raised. |
שהרי אי אפשר לכבוד העליון להתרבות אלא בגאולתן של ישראל וברבוי כבודם שזה תלוי בזה באמת, וכמו שכתב בתד"א שהזכרתי ומתאנח על כבודו של הקב"ה ועל כבודן של ישראל. נמצאת למד שב' דברים יש בענין זה, אחד הכונה בכל מצוה ועבודה שתהיה לעילוי כבודו של מקום במה שבריותיו עושים נחת רוח לפניו, ועוד הצער והבקשה על עילוי כבודו של ישראל ושלותן. |
Short Essay - Mitzva Lishma
Alei Shur 2:569 - the Rambam writes (Perush Hamishnayot end of Makot):
Among the fundamental principles of our faith in the Torah is that when a person fulfills one of the 613 mitzvot properly and as befitting, and does not associate with it in any way whatsoever any intent of this world but instead does it for its own sake (lishma), out of love, behold, he merits through it [eternal] life in the World to Come. On this Rabbi Chananya said that due to the mitzvot being so numerous, it is impossible for a person to not do at least one of them wholly and properly during his life. And in doing that mitzva thus, his soul will live through this act". End quote.
Thus the multitude of mitzvot comes so that a person will have at least one mitzva lishma, and through it, he will merit the World to Come! The inference is that from yes we deduce no, namely, without lishma, it is impossible to reach the World to Come. Lishma means "to delight in G-d" ("lehitaneg al H'", a quote from ch.1 of the Mesilat Yashrim) - love while delighting. This is what one must reach in this world, and through this "he will be able to reach the place prepared for him, namely, the World to Come, there to be sated with the good which he acquired through these means" (ch.1).
The Mesilat Yesharim himself writes in ch.19:
"But the true motivation which is found among the Pious, who have exerted themselves and strove to attain it, is for one to serve solely in order to raise and increase the honor of the Master, blessed be He".
Hence, even the intent "to gaze upon the pleasantness of G-d [and to dwell within His sanctuary]", is in the category of shelo lishma (not for the sake of Heaven).
That is not the meaning of "to delight in G-d" (lehitaneg al H'), and this is not "one who does the truth because it is the truth" (Rambam, Teshuva 10:2), for he intends for his own need. The inference (diyuk) in the Mesilat Yesharim is worthy of transforming our entire outlook and approach in the service of G-d.
The point on which our service in this world begins is: "to delight in G-d" (lehitaneg al H")! How far are we from this outlook on the service! Indeed all of a person's aspiration in his life is to benefit himself. And when we learn the Mesilat Yesharim with the previous inference, we are totally lost, for what are the delights which we live by and aspire to?! To eat tasty things, to enjoy superfluous things, nice trips, a position of honor, fame, wealth...We are believers and also want to serve G-d, but our aspiration for [worldly] pleasures still stands in its place. Even a Torah scholar who enjoys his learning and delights in a novel idea he developed - on what does he delight? On meriting to grasp a point of truth in the Torah or on his lightning quick grasp and keen intelligence? Likewise, he who delights in the Sabbath with food and drink - is he delighting in the Sabbath or in himself?... Do we even know what is a spiritual pleasure?, whether in Torah, prayer or mitzva. And what about a "pure" spiritual pleasure? Even so, we are not allowed to abandon this great avodah (religious service) - to learn to distinguish between a true pleasure and other pleasures, to strive to find pleasure in holy things...
It is proper to bring here an awesome point by Rabeinu Yonah in Shaarei Teshuva (2:18): "know that the soul of the wicked person whose entire desire during his life was to bodily matters, whose desire was disconnected from the service of the Creator and who was disconnected from its root - his soul will descend after death, below, to the land, to the place of its lust. Its nature will be as the nature of earth, to descend and not ascend". End quote.
Who are we speaking of? A man who guards Torah and mitzvot and is meticulous in all mitzvot, small or big. He believes that Torah is from G-d and accepts on himself the yoke of the mitzvot. But his lust is to physical things and his service of G-d is without desire, only to discharge his obligation. The desire of such a person is "disconnected from the service of the Creator", implying it needs to be connected to the service, which is its place, but it is "disconnected from its root".
It is not clear whether he means that the desire is "disconnected from its root" or the soul itself. The soul is from the upper worlds (ibid 2:17), but if all its lusts are for bodily matters, the lusts disconnect the soul itself from its upper root. Thus after death, this soul will descend below to the place of its lust! Certainly, G-d does not withhold reward of any creature. This man will receive reward for the mitzvot he did, but his soul will descend below to the land, to the place of its lust because he had no desire in his [divine] service. These words are referring to a person in whom all of his lust is in bodily things without any lust for things of Heaven.
But if he had a taste in one mitzva or desired one good thing, his desire and soul is not entirely disconnected from the root, and like the words of the Rambam end of Makot, it is not possible that in the numerous mitzvot that he did, he did not do at least one properly and as befitting.
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GOOD OF THE GENERATION There is another primary principle regarding intention in Chasidut, namely, the good of the generation. For, it is proper for every Chasid to be motivated in his deeds for the good of his entire generation, to bring merit to them and to shield them. This is the intent of the verse: "Say of the righteous man that he is good, for they shall eat the fruits of their deeds" (Isaiah 3:10), that all of the generation eats of his fruits. |
ואמנם עוד עיקר שני יש בכונת החסידות, והוא טובת הדור, שהנה ראוי לכל חסיד שיתכוין במעשיו לטובת דורו כולו, לזכות אותם ולהגן עליהם. והוא ענין הכתוב (ישעיה ג'): "אמרו צדיק כי טוב כי פרי מעלליהם יאכלו", שכל הדור אוכל מפירותיו. |
ER - Note that the whole Amidah prayer is written in plural, hence it is a prayer on the generation, not a personal request on oneself. And the Nefesh Hachaim (ch.18, Haga), brings what the Arizal wrote to take on oneself before prayer the mitzva of "love your fellow as yourself", implying that through this, his prayer includes all of Israel.
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Likewise our sages, of blessed memory, expounded (Bava Batra 15a): " 'is there a tree there?' (Bamidbar 13:20) - is there a righteous person who shields the generation like a tree". You will see that this is the will of G-d, that the Pious of Israel bring merit and atone on all the other classes among them. This is what our sages, of blessed memory, said regarding the Lulav and its species: "let these come and atone for these" (Vayikra Raba 30:11). For the Holy One, blessed be He, does not desire the destruction of the wicked. It is rather a mitzva incumbent on the Pious to strive to bring merit to them and to atone for them. This intention needs to be included in his divine service and also be an actual part of his prayers, namely, to pray on behalf of his generation, to atone for he who needs atonement, to bring to repentance he who needs to repent, and to plead in defense of his entire generation. |
וכן אמרו חז"ל (ב"ב ט"ו): היש בה עץ אם יש מי שמגין על דורו כעץ. ותראה שזהו רצונו של מקום שיהיו חסידי ישראל מזכים ומכפרים על כל שאר המדריגות שבהם, והוא מה שאמרו ז"ל בלולב ומיניו (ויקרא רבה): יבואו אלה ויכפרו על אלה. שאין הקב"ה חפץ באבדן הרשעים, אלא מצוה מוטלת על החסידים להשתדל לזכותם ולכפר עליהם. וזה צריך שיעשה בכונת עבודתו, וגם בתפלתו בפועל דהיינו שיתפלל על דורו לכפר על מי שצריך כפרה ולהשיב בתשובה מי שצריך לה, וללמד סניגוריא על הדור כולו. |
MB - even though it is difficult to understand the matter of "Sanigora" (pleading in defense) before the all-knowing Judge, nevertheless we find this in the Torah as he explains..
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Our sages of blessed memory already expounded on the verse: "I have come because of your words" (Daniel 10:12) - "that Gavriel was not allowed to re-enter behind the heavenly curtain until he had pleaded in defense of Israel" (Yoma 77a). And on Gideon it was said "go in with your might" (Shoftim 6:14) - "because he pleaded in defense of Israel" (Yalkut Shimoni 247:62). For the Holy One, blessed be He, only loves he who loves Israel, and the more a person's love of Israel increases, the more the Holy One, blessed be He, increases love for him. |
וכבר אז"ל (יומא ע"ז): על הפסוק "ואני באתי בדבריך" שלא חזר גבריאל ונכנס לפנים מן הפרגוד אלא כשלימד סינגוריא על ישראל, וגדעון נאמר לו (שופטים ו'): "לך בכחך זה", לפי שלמד סניגוריא על ישראל. כי אין הקב"ה אוהב אלא למי שאוהב את ישראל וכל מה שאדם מגדיל אהבתו לישראל, גם הקב"ה מגדיל עליו. |
MB - this implies it is a necessary condition for he did not write that G-d loves he who loves His sons but rather he loves only those who love His sons.
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These are the true shepherds of Israel, which the Holy One, blessed be He, greatly desired in, who sacrifice themselves for His sheep, seeking and striving for their peace and well-being in all matters, always standing in the breach to pray for them to annul the harsh decrees, and to open for them the gates of blessings. To what is this analogous? To that of a father who loves no one more than he whom he sees sincerely loves his sons. This is something that human nature can attest to. And this is the matter behind the Kohen Gadol (high priest) which our sages said: "[the high priests were not without blame as] they should have implored Divine mercy for their generation, which they failed to do" (Makot 11a). Likewise, they said: "there was a case of a man who was eaten by a lion some three miles from the town where Rabbi Yehoshua ben Levi lived and Eliyahu would not appear to the Rabbi for three days on that account" (Makot 11a). See then, that it is a duty incumbent on the Chasidim to plead and exert themselves on behalf of their generation. |
ואלה הם הרועים האמתים של ישראל שהקב"ה חפץ בהם הרבה, שמוסרים עצמם על צאנו, ודורשים ומשתדלים על שלומם וטובתם בכל הדרכים, ועומדים תמיד בפרץ להתפלל עליהם ולבטל הגזירות הקשות ולפתוח עליהם שערי הברכה. הא למה זה דומה לאב שאינו אוהב שום אדם יותר ממי שהוא רואה שאוהב את בניו אהבה נאמנת והוא דבר שהטבע יעיד עליו. והוא ענין כהן גדול שאמרו עליו (מכות י"א): שהיה להם לבקש רחמים על דורם ולא בקשו. וכן אמרו (שם): ההוא גברא דאכליה אריא ברחוק תלת פרסי דריב"ל ולא אשתעי אליהו בהדיה, הרי לך החובה המוטלת על החסידים לבקש ולהשתדל על בני דורם. |
OG - this fundamental principle is requested only of the Gedolei Hador (great sages of the generation) and the spiritual leaders, similar to the High Priest which the Talmud says on him that if he had prayed on his generation there would not have occurred even an accidental murder. His prayers and good intentions for his generation would have been accepted. Therefore, the Torah commanded the accidental murderer to exile to a City of Refuge and wait there until the death of the High Priest. There was a concern the family of the exiled person would so yearn for his return that they would pray for the swift death of the High Priest. Thus the Gemora states that since he did not beseech mercy for his generation, then G-d will medakdek (scrutinize) "judgment on him to the degree of a hair's breadth" (Yevamos 121a), and he should fear that the family of the exiled accidental murderer may perhaps pray for his death.
This awesome power to bestow good and prevent calamity on the generation is given to the Gedolei Hador (great sages of the generation), who are the holy Chasidim, who serve G-d with complete perfection. These great shepherds have the power to save even the wicked of Israel from being destroyed in their wickedness, and to rouse them to repentance so that they return to do good deeds instead of their previous wickedness. They are like trees which everyone benefits from their many sweet fruits. So too, the holy Gedolim have the power to atone for all levels of Jews to arouse G-d's mercy on them, even if they did not follow all the mitzvot of the Torah due to being sunken in the vanities of this world, and their evil inclination has ruled over them to entice them away from G-d. Nevertheless, the atonement of the Tzadikim of the generation will help them.
| We have clarified the primary divisions of Chasidut. Their particulars are given to every pure heart and mind to conduct himself uprightly in them, each matter in its own time, according to the application of these root principles. | והנה כבר בארנו חלקי החסידות הראשיים ופרטיהם מסורים לכל שכל ולכל לב טהור להתנהג בהם בדרך הישר לפי השרשים האלה כל דבר בעתו. |
CS - the connection between Chasidut and acts of kindliness
Since the matter of Chasidut is essentially to bring gratification to G-d, blessed be He, i.e. to not do in order to benefit oneself but rather in order to benefit another, therefore in strengthening this power in oneself, one will certainly increase to bestow good on other people.. And especially since human beings are G-d's handiwork, His beloved children, created in His image, the Chasid, who loves his Maker will increase to bestow good to the kindred of his Beloved.
Thus the trait of Chasidut brings one to increase acts of kindliness. Likewise for the opposite - acts of kindness brings one to the level of Piety for whoever seeks to reach the level of Chasid who brings gratification to his Maker should strengthen himself and be diligent in the ways of being altruistic, namely, to concentrate on doing for others over than on himself, in order to perfect himself in this trait towards the blessed Creator. This is another reason why "acts of kindness are of great primary importance (ikar gadol) for the Chasid" (as stated in the beginning of this chapter).