(יג) הוּא הָיָה אוֹמֵר, נָגֵד שְׁמָא, אָבֵד שְׁמֵהּ. וּדְלֹא מוֹסִיף, יָסֵף. וּדְלֹא יָלֵיף, קְטָלָא חַיָּב. וּדְאִשְׁתַּמֵּשׁ בְּתָגָא, חָלֵף:
(13) He [also] used to say: one who makes his name great causes his name to be destroyed; one who does not add [to his knowledge] causes [it] to cease; one who does not study [the Torah] deserves death; one who makes [unworthy] use of the crown [of learning] shall pass away.
(א) הוא היה אומר
כאן מזהיר בענווה במעשה, והזכיר ד' מיני מעשה שחוטא בהן המתגאה, וענשן בצדן. ולכן אמר כן בלשון ארמית כלשון עמו, כדי להזהיר מאוד מהן לכל אדם:
(א) נגד שמא אבד שמא
ור"ל, המעשה הא' שמרשם הגאותן, מי שרוצה להרחיב ולגדל שמו בעולם, ...אז זה ענשו, אבד שמיה, דמדרצה כבוד שאינו ראוי לו, יאבד גם להמעט שהיה לו [ולהכי קאמר ברישא שמא, ובסיפא שמיה, ודו"ק], וכמשחז"ל כל הרודף אחר הכבוד, הכבוד בורח ממנו...שחושב דברדפו אחר הכבוד יכבדוהו, וכשיתנהג בענווה ישפילוהו, ותהי להפך, דהמבקש ענווה ימצא כבוד, והמבקש כבוד ימצא בושה. כי גם בעודו בתקפו, העומדים לפניו בלשונם וכזבו לו, ויבזוהו בלבם. כי אולם אחריו כל אדם ישחק, ויכנוהו כסיל, וגאותן, שוטה. אולם כגללו, יד כל אדם בו, ולא יניחוהו להגביה ראשו.
וגם מן השמים נלחמו הכוכבים ממסילותם להורידו ולהשפילו, כי הקב"ה ובנ"א שונאים להגאותן כתועבה, ואפילו יהיו בו כל המדות היפות, יהיו כנרות כבויים, כשלא יציץ עליהן אור ענווה מלמעלה, דאל"כ הם בעיני כל "כנזם זהב באף חזיר":
(א) ודלא מוסיף יסיף
המעשה הב' שבו מרושם הגאותן, שאינו רוצה ללמוד ולהוסיף חכמה, אי משום שחושב שכבר יודע דיו. אי משום שכל מלמדו שפל בעיניו. אי משום שירא שהמלמד יראה מערומי סכלותו. על זה אמר ודלא מוסיף בלימודו, זה ענשו שיהיה נאסף קודם זמנו. דתכלית חיי האדם הוא, שיוסיף שלימות, וזה שמדמה שכבר השלים א"ע כל צרכי, למה לו חיים:
(א) ודלא יליף קטלא חייב
המעשה הג' שמרשם הגאותן, הוא שממאן ללמד לאחרים, מה שיודע יותר מהן, בחשבו שכשילמדם ידיעתו, במה יהיה אח"כ כחו גדול נגדם. ולפעמים גם משום שהתלמיד שפל בעיניו מלהתעסק בו. על זה אמר, ודלא יליף וכו'.
כמשחז"ל [ע"ז די"ט] "ועצומים כל הרוגיה", זהו מי שהגיע להוראה ואינו מורה. דהוא כשומט הדד מהיונקים והורג נפשותם, לכן אחת דתו להמית.
ולא לבד בתורה אלא כל היודע דבר שיש בו צורך בעולם, צרוך לפרסמו כשא"צ לו לפרנסתו, וכר' יוחנן [יומא פ"ד א'] שהתאמץ מאד לידע רפואת צפידנא, וכשנודע לו, מיד דרשה ברבים. וכן בבן קמצר וחביריו שלא רצו ללמד ידיעתם, נאמר עליהם ושם רשעים ירקב [יומא דל"ח ב']:
(א) ודישתמש בתגא חלף
המעשה הד' של הגאותן, שכל פעולותיו בצדקות ובמע"ט, הוא כדי להתגאות בעיני הבריות, ואין כוונתו לעבוד את ה׳, כ"א לעבוד א"ע כע"ז. לכן ענשו, ודאשתמש וכו', ר"נ המשתמש בכתר הקודש לתמוך בו עביט גאותו הסרוחה, אף הוא יחל כבודו, וחלף ועבר כצל יעוף ולא ישיג ארחות חיים:
(ב) ודלא מוסיף יסף. מי שהוא חכם ואינו רוצה להוסיף חכמה על חכמתו ויאמר בלבו כבר למדתי כל התורה כלה וראיתי דרכיה ונתיבותיה מה לי ולצרה הזאת לטרוח בהבל ימי ומה אתבונן בה ולא הבינותי. יהי רצון שזה האיש ימות ויאסף אל עמו ולמה יחיה עוד אחר שכבר קם מללמוד:
(ג) ודלא יליף קטלא חייב. מי שלא למד כל עיקר נמשל כבהמה כי למה נברא בעולם אך להבין ולהורות בתורה שדרכיה דרכי נועם וזה שלא עסק בתורה כל ימיו ועודנו מחזיק ברשעתו אין ראוי לחיות אפי' יום אחד ואפי' שעה אחת:
??What abt doing mitzvos
(1) He would say, "Spread a name, lose his name:" He means to say, a man that is proud and his name goes out in the world due to his pride and his greatness and he makes for himself a name 'like the names of the world's greats' in opposition to the great Name that is permanent in pride; this way, will he lose his name in a great loss and he will not be remembered and he will not be counted.
(2) And one who does not increase [knowledge] ceases (yasef)" One who is wise but does not want to add wisdom to his wisdom and says in his heart, "I have already learned all of the Torah entirely and I have seen its ways and its paths. What is there for me in this pain to trouble myself in my fleeting days and what [more] is there for me to understand that I have not understood?" May it be His will that this man should die and be gathered (yeasef) to his people. And why should he live [any] more, since he has already gotten up from studying?
(3) "And one who does not study is liable to die": One who has not studied at all is compared to a beast. As why was he created in the world? To understand and give ruling of the Torah, whose 'ways are ways of pleasantness. And it is not fitting that the one that never learned Torah and continues to maintain his evil [this way] live even one day and even one hour.
(4) "And one who makes use of the crown [of learning] passes away": Behold the one who gets honor from the crown of Torah and benefits from its honor and makes it like a means to accomplish his needs, perishes, as it is learned later (Avot 4:5), "Do not make it [the Torah] into a crown with which to aggrandize yourself, and not into a spade with which to dig into them. And thus Hillel used to say: And one who makes use of the crown [of learning] passes away."
אֹ֣רַח חַ֭יִּים לְמַ֣עְלָה לְמַשְׂכִּ֑יל לְמַ֥עַן ס֝֗וּר מִשְּׁא֥וֹל מָֽטָּה׃
For an intelligent man the path of life leads upward,
In order to avoid Sheol below.
In order to avoid Sheol below.
ארח חיים למעלה למשכיל. הראשונים פירשו דהכונה לענין ארח חיים דהוינו רמז לתורה ולמצות ומדות תורניות ושכליות כענוה ועין טובה וכיוצא למעלה למשכיל כלומר המשכיל יסתכל למעלה הימנו בגדולי ישראל לקנות יום יום תוספת טובה על שלימות נפשו. אמנם לענין סור משאול - מטה, כלומר בעניני העה"ז יסתכל תמיד למטה ממנו ויהיה שמח בחלקו:
In a well-known letter (Kovetz Igros 3:61), the Chazon Ish writes: “Just as we don’t find lovers of wisdom who love wisdom only a bit but hate it in abundance, so too in regard to those who love Torah and mitzvos, there cannot be love of moderation and hatred of extremism… The kind of moderation that’s acceptable is for those who are moderates to love extremism, longing for it with their whole selves and educating their families to aim for the heights of extremism. How pathetic, however, is the moderation that despises extremism.”
Torah Extremism and its Opposite
BY JONATHAN ROSENBLUM · JUNE 13, 2007
In Igros Chazon Ish (III, 61), the Chazon Ish identifies extremism as deriving from the quest for perfection, and writes that without extremism perfection is impossible. Those who are forever proclaiming their disdain for extremism, he writes, “will inevitably find themselves consorting with counterfeiters [of Torah] and the feeble-minded.”
The Chazon Ish goes on to castigate those groups who are always declaring their moderation and opposition to anything smacking of extremism, while insisting that their faith in Torah and the words of Torah is quite adequate. Of such claims, the Chazon Ish writes caustically, “Just as there is no such thing as a lover of wisdom who loves just a little bit of wisdom, but hates too much of it, so there cannot be one who loves Torah and mitzvos, but hates too much of it.”
Those words of the Chazon Ish should give pause to all of us who find ourselves complaining at one time or another of the extremism or kana’us of the Torah world. Such criticisms take many forms, some more valid than others. But it is incumbent upon the critics to constantly ask themselves if underlying their criticism might not have its source in too little love of Torah and words of Torah. It is, after all, always easy to be moderate if nothing very important is at stake.
...
THE CHAZON ISH was, in fact, uncompromising with respect to anything touching upon Torah values. Yet the extremism or kana’us that he exemplified bears little resemblance to what often passes for kana’us in our world today, and provides no support for our self-styled zealots.
His was a kana’us in which every action was measured with the calipers of Torah. The Chazon Ish, Rav Shach used to say, was the last person to “know Shas” and to be able to measure every word or action in terms of the entirety of Shas.
The Chazon Ish once described a certain group famed for its zealotry to Rabbi Shlomo Lorincz as “Jews from before Mattan Torah,” by which he meant that their zeal was not shaped by the ways of the Torah.
And he was always on the lookout for a false zealotry. In the early days of the State of Israel, there was a group that called itself Bris Kana’aim, whose modus operandi was to note the license plate numbers of cars seen driving through religious neighborhoods on Shabbos. After Shabbos, they would locate those cars and torch them.
The Chazon Ish called the leaders of Zeirei Agudath Israel together and told them to publicly protest the actions of the “zealots.” And he had his treasured spokesman Rabbi Moshe Shoenfeld write an essay for publication entitled, “Violence is a Foreign Offshoot in Our Vineyard.”
In one of the most famous passages in all his voluminous writing, the Chazon Ish ruled that the Talmudic dictum of moridim ve’ain ma’alim no longer applies in our day. Only one who was entirely shaped by his devotion to Torah, and whose every thought and emotion was a product of that devotion could have written as he did.
The entire purpose of the din of moridim v’ein ma’alim, wrote the Chazon Ish, was to remedy breaches in the fence of Torah observance and to ensure that those breaches did not become bigger. But that was only possible in a time where Hashgachah Pratis is open and clear to all.
But today we live in a period of hiddenness, of hester panim, and in such a period the din no longer applies because it would achieve the exact opposite of its intended affect. Instead of repairing breaches in the fence, wrote the Chazon Ish, application of the din today would widen those breaches, for it would cause Torah Jews, acting according to the Talmudic dictum, to be viewed by their fellow Jews as cruel and violent. In a period such as ours, said the Chazon Ish, there is no alternative to drawing the non-observant public back to Torah with “cords of love” and showing them the light of Torah to the best of our ability.
Who but the Chazon Ish, with his total immersion in Torah, could have ruled so boldly, and established such a clear direction for all interactions between Torah Jews and the non-observant public? Our actions, he reminded us, must always be guided by the ultimate objective of returning them to the ways of Torah. In his remarkable memoir, Bemechitzsasam, Rabbi Lorincz brings numerous surprising examples in which the Chazon Ish ruled contrary to what a superficial understanding might view as the “zealous” position.
Our tragedy today is that we have too few students of the Chazon Ish – too few extremists in his mold and too many “from before Mattan Torah.”
תָּנוּ רַבָּנַן: פַּעַם אַחַת גָּזְרָה מַלְכוּת הָרְשָׁעָה שֶׁלֹּא יַעַסְקוּ יִשְׂרָאֵל בַּתּוֹרָה. בָּא פַּפּוּס בֶּן יְהוּדָה וּמְצָאוֹ לְרַבִּי עֲקִיבָא שֶׁהָיָה מַקְהִיל קְהִלּוֹת בָּרַבִּים וְעוֹסֵק בַּתּוֹרָה. אָמַר לוֹ: עֲקִיבָא אִי אַתָּה מִתְיָרֵא מִפְּנֵי מַלְכוּת?
אָמַר לוֹ: אֶמְשׁוֹל לְךָ מָשָׁל, לְמָה הַדָּבָר דּוֹמֶה — לְשׁוּעָל שֶׁהָיָה מְהַלֵּךְ עַל גַּב הַנָּהָר, וְרָאָה דָּגִים שֶׁהָיוּ מִתְקַבְּצִים מִמָּקוֹם לְמָקוֹם. אָמַר לָהֶם: מִפְּנֵי מָה אַתֶּם בּוֹרְחִים? אָמְרוּ לוֹ: מִפְּנֵי רְשָׁתוֹת שֶׁמְּבִיאִין עָלֵינוּ בְּנֵי אָדָם. אָמַר לָהֶם: רְצוֹנְכֶם שֶׁתַּעֲלוּ לַיַּבָּשָׁה, וְנָדוּר אֲנִי וְאַתֶּם, כְּשֵׁם שֶׁדָּרוּ אֲבוֹתַי עִם אֲבוֹתֵיכֶם? אָמְרוּ לוֹ: אַתָּה הוּא שֶׁאוֹמְרִים עָלֶיךָ פִּקֵּחַ שֶׁבַּחַיּוֹת?! לֹא פִּקֵּחַ אַתָּה, אֶלָּא טִפֵּשׁ אַתָּה! וּמָה בִּמְקוֹם חִיּוּתֵנוּ, אָנוּ מִתְיָרְאִין, בִּמְקוֹם מִיתָתֵנוּ — עַל אַחַת כַּמָּה וְכַמָּה.
אַף אֲנַחְנוּ עַכְשָׁיו שֶׁאָנוּ יוֹשְׁבִים וְעוֹסְקִים בַּתּוֹרָה, שֶׁכָּתוּב בָּהּ: ״כִּי הוּא חַיֶּיךָ וְאֹרֶךְ יָמֶיךָ״, כָּךְ, אִם אָנוּ הוֹלְכִים וּמְבַטְּלִים מִמֶּנָּה — עַל אַחַת כַּמָּה וְכַמָּה!
The Gemara relates at length how Rabbi Akiva fulfilled these directives. The Sages taught: One time, after the bar Kokheva rebellion, the evil empire of Rome decreed that Israel may not engage in the study and practice of Torah. Pappos ben Yehuda came and found Rabbi Akiva, who was convening assemblies in public and engaging in Torah study. Pappos said to him: Akiva, are you not afraid of the empire? Rabbi Akiva answered him: I will relate a parable. To what can this be compared? It is like a fox walking along a riverbank when he sees fish gathering and fleeing from place to place. The fox said to them: From what are you fleeing? They said to him: We are fleeing from the nets that people cast upon us. He said to them: Do you wish to come up onto dry land, and we will reside together just as my ancestors resided with your ancestors? The fish said to him: You are the one of whom they say, he is the cleverest of animals? You are not clever; you are a fool. If we are afraid in the water, our natural habitat which gives us life, then in a habitat that causes our death, all the more so. The moral is: So too, we Jews, now that we sit and engage in Torah study, about which it is written: “For that is your life, and the length of your days” (Deuteronomy 30:20), we fear the empire to this extent; if we proceed to sit idle from its study, as its abandonment is the habitat that causes our death, all the more so will we fear the empire.
״וַיִּתְיַצְּבוּ בְּתַחְתִּית הָהָר״, אָמַר רַב אַבְדִּימִי בַּר חָמָא בַּר חַסָּא: מְלַמֵּד שֶׁכָּפָה הַקָּדוֹשׁ בָּרוּךְ הוּא עֲלֵיהֶם אֶת הָהָר כְּגִיגִית, וְאָמַר לָהֶם: אִם אַתֶּם מְקַבְּלִים הַתּוֹרָה מוּטָב, וְאִם לָאו — שָׁם תְּהֵא קְבוּרַתְכֶם.
The Gemara cites additional homiletic interpretations on the topic of the revelation at Sinai. The Torah says, “And Moses brought forth the people out of the camp to meet God; and they stood at the lowermost part of the mount” (Exodus 19:17). Rabbi Avdimi bar Ḥama bar Ḥasa said: the Jewish people actually stood beneath the mountain, and the verse teaches that the Holy One, Blessed be He, overturned the mountain above the Jews like a tub, and said to them: If you accept the Torah, excellent, and if not, there will be your burial. Rav Aḥa bar Ya’akov said: From here there is a substantial caveat to the obligation to fulfill the Torah. The Jewish people can claim that they were coerced into accepting the Torah, and it is therefore not binding. Rava said: Even so, they again accepted it willingly in the time of Ahasuerus, as it is written: “The Jews ordained, and took upon them, and upon their seed, and upon all such as joined themselves unto them” (Esther 9:27), and he taught: The Jews ordained what they had already taken upon themselves through coercion at Sinai.
ודלא מוסיף יסף
שנו רבותינו: שאם אינו מחזר על שמועתו סוף שמשכח את כולו וזהו יסף ששמועתו נספה וכלה הוא בידו כמו וזכרם לא יסוף מזרעם עכ"ל:
וה"ר מנחם לבית מאיר ז"ל כתב: נגד שמא כלומר כל העוסק בתורה ומגמתו נוכח פניו ועיניו - לנגד השם, וזהו נגד שמא, לנגד פרסום השם שלא לשמה אלא להתגדל, יאבד שמו:
ודלא מוסיף יסיף. פי' הכ"מ בפ"ג מהלכות ת"ת דלפי שאומר נגד שמא כלומר מי שלומד להגדיל שמו אבד שמיה. ופן תאמר בלבבך לא אלמוד עוד כי שמא יהיה למודי בשביל השם ויאבד [כו']. לזה אמר ודלא מוסיף יסיף ודאי כי הלומד ופורש קשה מהכל
וכלפי האומר קודם שלמד' שלא ילמוד. לזה אומר ודלא יליף קטלא חייב ואין זה כמו יסיף. דהכא חייב מיתה ואם יש לו זכות תולין לו. ע"כ. [וזה דלא כפירוש הר"ב שמפרש הא דלא יליף קשה מדלא מוסיף]:
AND HE WHO DOES NOT ADD, SHALL MEET HIS END. Kesef Mishneh explains in his commentary to Rambam’s Mishne Torah, Hilchot Talmud Torah 3:10, that this phrase should be read as a development of the previous phrase, which he understands as n’gad sh’ma—one who studies Torah in order to spread his name, avad sh’meh—his name shall perish. One might then say, I will no longer study, because perhaps my study will be for the sake of fame and then my name will perish! To counter that, the mishna says “and he who does not add, will met his end.” Now certainly the worst case is that of one who has previously studied Torah and then quits his studies. Addressing one who has not previously studied and decides that he will not study, the mishna says “and he who does not learn, deserves death,” because “deserves death” is not as severe as “will meet his end.” For though he deserves death, perhaps he has some merit that will protect him. [*This runs counter to Rav, who says that one who has not studied at all is worse than one who no longer studies.]
Ruach Chaim
וְהָאָמַר רַב יְהוּדָה אָמַר רַב: לְעוֹלָם יַעֲסוֹק אָדָם בְּתוֹרָה וּבְמִצְוֹת, וְאַף עַל פִּי שֶׁלֹּא לִשְׁמָהּ. שֶׁמִּתּוֹךְ שֶׁלֹּא לִשְׁמָהּ — בָּא לִשְׁמָהּ. שֶׁבִּשְׂכַר אַרְבָּעִים וּשְׁנַיִם קׇרְבָּנוֹת שֶׁהִקְרִיב בָּלָק מֶלֶךְ מוֹאָב, זָכָה וְיָצְתָה מִמֶּנּוּ רוּת שֶׁיָּצָא מִמֶּנָּה שְׁלֹמֹה, שֶׁכָּתוּב בֵּיהּ ״אֶלֶף עֹלוֹת יַעֲלֶה שְׁלֹמֹה״. וְאָמַר רַבִּי יוֹסֵי בֶּן חוֹנִי: רוּת בִּתּוֹ שֶׁל עֶגְלוֹן בְּנוֹ שֶׁל בָּלָק הָיְתָה!
But didn’t Rav Yehuda say that Rav says: A person should always engage in Torah study and in performance of mitzvot, even if he does so not for their own sake, as through such acts performed not for their own sake, one will come to perform them for their own sake. He proves the value of a mitzva done not for its own sake: As in reward for the forty-two offerings that Balak, king of Moab, brought, he merited that Ruth descended from him, from whom King Solomon descended, about whom it is written that he brought many offerings: “A thousand burnt-offerings did Solomon offer up” (I Kings 3:4). And Rabbi Yosei ben Ḥoni similarly says: Ruth was the daughter of Eglon, son of Balak. These Sages state that Balak’s reward was to have Ruth descend from him, not that a number of Jewish people perish. The Gemara answers: His desire, in any event, was to curse the Jewish people, and his reward for sacrificing his offerings was that the curse was fulfilled in the incident involving Elisha, as well.
העושה שלא לשמה נוח לו שלא נברא
וא"ת האמר רב יהודה אמר רב פרק מקום שנהגו (פסחים ד' נ:) לעולם יעסוק אדם בתורה ובמצות אפי' שלא לשמה שמתוך שלא לשמה בא לשמה
וי"ל דהכא מיירי שאינו לומד אלא לקנתר חביריו והתם מיירי שלומד ע"מ שיכבדוהו:
One who does them not for their own sake, preferable for him had he not been created - What about what the statement of Rav Yehuda in the name of Rav in the perek Makom Sh'Nahugu (Pesachim 50b) "A person should always do Torah and mitzvot even if he doesn't do them for their own sake, for thought doing them not for their own sake he will come to do them their own sake"? It is possible to say that over here we are dealing with someone learning only to vex his friends whereas over there it is someone who learns with the motivation that others should honor him.
וכל העוסק בתורה שלא לשמה תורתו נעשית לו סם המות.
וקשה והלא אמרינן (פסחים דף נ:) לעולם יעסוק אדם בתורה אע"ג שאינה לשמה שמתוך שלא לשמה בא לשמה
ויש לומר דתרי שלא לשמה הוי דמה שאמרינן לעולם יעסוק בתורה אפילו שלא לשמה היינו כלומר כדי שיקרא רבי או כדי שיכבדוהו ומה שאמרינן הכא כל העוסק בתורה שלא לשמה נעשה לו סם המות היינו מי שלומד לקנטר:
רוח חיים
נגיד שמא וכו', מי שלומד תמיד שלא לשמה רק כדי שיהיה שמעו הולך למרחוק סופו שיאבד ממנו גם שם הראשון שהיה לו מקודם, ואמר (התנא) אף כי מתחלה ההכרח ללמוד אף שלא לשמה, כי לא יוכל האדם לעלות במעלה העליונה מהסולם אם לא יציג רגלו מקודם על המדריגה התחתונה, ואין העול מעבד אם אדוניו יצוה לו לעלות על הסולם אם יפסיע מקודם על השליבה התחתונה, אך אם לא ימיש העבד ממקומו ולא יהין לעלות וירד ויעלה אך על השליבה התחתונה הלא מורד באדונו הוא, וזה שאמר "ודלא מוסיף יסיף".
ושמא יאמר האדם מאחר שאי אפשר לו שתחלת למודו יהיה לשמה, ושלא לשמה לבד ענשו גדול, אם כן ישב בטל ולא ילמוד, על זה אמר ודלא יליף קטלא חייב, וצריך ללמוד אף אם יהיה לפעמים שלא לשם שמים, רק שיראה שמזה יבא אחר כך לשמה, כמאמר חז"ל (פסחים נ') לעולם יעסוק אדם וכו' אפילו שלא לשמה, שמתוך שלא לשמה בא לשמה, רוצה לומר שילמוד אפילו שלא לשמה, אך על זה האופן והכוונה שמתוך כך יבוא לידי מדריגת לשמה.
...וכן בכל הדברים מועיל הקביעות בהם, והוא עיקר העבודה, וזה מאמר רז"ל (פסחים נ') לעולם יעסוק אדם בתורה ובמצות אף שלא לשמה. ולכאורה וכי חס ושלום לעולם יעסוק שלא לשמה. אך כוונתם שילמוד לעולם חוק ולא יעבור בלי מגרעת חס ושלום, ואם כי בלימוד תמידי לא יכול לעשות תמיד לשמה, מכל מקום לא יניח קביעותו מפני זה כי מזה יבא לידי כונה האמיתית, כי התורה אף שלא לשמה מחליש כח היצר, ואם ברזל הוא מתפוצץ.
ובזה יתורץ קושית התוספות (שם) הא אמרינן העוסק בתורה שלא לשמה נוח לו שלא נברא, כי שם מיירי שלומד רק פעם אחת ואותו פעם גם כן לומד שלא לשמה, אבל כאן מיירי בקביעות... כמאמר חז"ל (סוכה מ"ט) ותורת חסד על לשונה... תורה לשמה זו תורה של חסד, לזה אמר עשות משפט רוצה לומר הלימוד התמידי תקבע והיינו תעשה משפט דבר יום ביומו ואפילו אינו לשמה ואינו של חסד, כי הלימוד לשמה נקרא חסד, כי עושה לפנים משורת הדין... והצנע לכת היינו גם כן לשמה, לא לתפארת להתהדר לבני אדם, כזה יאהב ויחפוץ לעשותו, אבל מכל מקום לא ימנע מהמשפט בהעדר החסד, וכן אמר דוד (תהלים א') "כי אם בתורת ה׳ חפצו ובתורתו יהגה יומם ולילה", רוצה לומר תורת ה׳ והיינו לשמה ירצה, אבל מכל מקום גם בהעדרו לא ימנע מלעסוק אפילו שלא לשמה... (שם ב א)
הִגִּ֥יד לְךָ֛ אָדָ֖ם מַה־טּ֑וֹב וּמָֽה־ה׳ דּוֹרֵ֣שׁ מִמְּךָ֗ כִּ֣י אִם־עֲשׂ֤וֹת מִשְׁפָּט֙ וְאַ֣הֲבַת חֶ֔סֶד וְהַצְנֵ֥עַ לֶ֖כֶת עִם־אֱלֹקֶֽיךָ׃
“You have been told, O mortal, what is good,And what GOD requires of you:Only to do justiceAnd to love goodness,And to walk modestly with your God;
(ג) האדם העוסק בתורת ה׳ אפילו שלא לשמה אם כי ודאי שעדן אינו במדרגה הגבוה האמיתית אמנם חלילה וחלילה לבזותו אפי' בלב ואדרבה כל איש ישראל מחוייב גם לנהוג בו כבוד כמ"ש בשמאלה עושר וכבוד ודרז"ל (שבת ס"ג) למשמאילים בה כו'.
(ד) ובזוהר...כמה אית לון לב"נ לאשתדלא באורייתא, דכל מאן דאשתדל באורייתא להוי לי' חיים כו'. ואפי' מאן דאשתדל באורייתא ולא אשתדל בה לשמה כדקא יאות זכי לאגר טב בעלמא דין ולא דיינין לי' בההוא עלמא...
(ה)...וכ"ש אם אינו מכוין כלל לשום פניה לגרמיה הגם שאין כונתו לשמה דוקא (היינו לשם התורה כמש"ל בפ"ג משע"ד בשם הרא"ש ז"ל) אלא עיקר עסקו בה בסתמא אשר כלשמה דמי. הרי עסק תורתו יקר מאד בעיניו יתב' יותר מכל המצות לשמה בקדושת וטהרת המחשבה כראוי.
(א) וגם כי באמת כמעט בלתי אפשר לבא תיכף בתחיל' קביעת לימודו למדרגת לשמה כראוי. כי העסק בתורה שלא לשמה הוא למדרגה שמתוך כך יוכל לבא למדרגת לשמה ולכן גם הוא אהוב לפניו יתב' כמו שבלתי אפשר לעלות מהארץ לעליה אם לא דרך מדרגות הסלם.
(ב) ולזה אמרו (פסחים נ' ע"ב) לעולם יעסוק אדם בתורה ובמצות אפי' שלא לשמה אמרם לעולם ר"ל בקביעות היינו שבתחלת למודו אינו מחויב רק שילמוד בקביעות תמיד יומם ולילה.
(ג) ואף אם לפעמים ודאי יפול במחשבתו איזה פניה לגרמי' לשום גיאות וכבוד וכיוצא עכ"ז אל ישים לב לפרוש או להתרפות ממנה בעבור זה ח"ו אלא אדרבה יתחזק מאד בעסק התורה ויהא נכון לבו בטוח שודאי יבא מתוך כך למדרגת לשמה וכן הוא ג"כ בענין המצות עד"ז.
(ד) ומי שימלאו לבו לבזות ולהשפיל ח"ו את העוסק בתורה ומצות אף שלא לשמה לא ינקה רע ועתיד ליתן את הדין ח"ו: ולא עוד אלא שנמנה בדברי רז"ל (בברייתא ר"ה י"ז א') בין אותם שאין להם חלק לעה"ב לגמרי חס ושלום וגיהנם כלה והם אינם כלין והם האפיקורסין וכן במשנה ר"פ חלק מנו את האפיקורס בכלל אותן שאין להם חלק לעה"ב. ואמרי' בגמ' שם (צ"ט ב') רב ור"ח דאמרי תרווייהו זה המבזה ת"ח...ואף אם אומר מאי אהני לן רבנן לדידהו קרו לדידהו תנו ה"ז בכלל אפיקורוס מבזה ת"ח וגם מגלה פנים בתורה נמי מקרי ח"ו. וה"ז איבד חלקו בחיי עולם הרחמן יצילנו.
(ו) כי כיון שהוא משפיל ומבזה את העוסק בתו' שלא לשמה הרי הוא מרפה את ידיו מעסק התורה ולא יוכל לבא לעולם למדרגת לשמה להיות ת"ח גמור, והרי ודאי מקרי בזה מבזה ת"ח ואין לך חילול שמו יתב' ותורתו הק' יותר מזה, וכבר השפיל והוריד את יקר תפארתה של התוה"ק לארץ יגיענה עד עפר. והרס גם את כל העבודה בכללה ח"ו, כי אין עבודתו יתברך מתקיימת כראוי בעדת ישראל בלתי ע"י הת"ח עוסקי התוה"ק יומם ולילה, כי עיני כל ישראל עליהם לדעת מה יעשה ישראל להורות להם הדרך ילכו בה ואת המעשה אשר יעשון, א"כ האיש אשר יבא לגרום שלא יהיו ת"ח מצוים בישראל הרי כבר הרס גם כלל עבודתו יתב' לגמרי כי ישארו עדת ישראל ח"ו ללא חורה (תורה) וללא מורה ולא ידעו במה יכשלו ח"ו וכעין זה כתב ג"כ רבינו יונה ז"ל שם ע"ש:
(ז) לזאת אתה צריך ליזהר אדרבה לכבד ולהגביה ככל אשר בכחך את כל העוסק ומחזיק בתורת ה׳ אפילו שלא לשמה כדי שיאחז צדיק דרכו בל יתרפה ממנה ח"ו. כדי שיוכל לבא ממנה למדרגת לשמה:
(ח) וגם אם נראה שכל ימי חיו מנעוריו ועד זקנה ושיבה היה עסקו בה שלא לשמה ג"כ אתה חייב לנהוג בו כבוד וכ"ש שלא לבזותו ח"ו שכיון שעסק בתורת ה׳ בתמידות בלתי ספק שהיה כונתו פעמים רבות גם לשמה כמו שהבטיחו רז"ל שמתוך שלא לשמה בא לשמה, כי אין הפי' דוקא שיבא מזה ללשמה עד שאח"כ יעסוק בה תמיד כל ימיו רק לשמה אלא היינו שבכל פעם שהוא לומד בקביעות זמן כמה שעות רצופים אף שדרך כלל היתה כוונתו שלא לשמה עכ"ז בלתי אפשר כלל שלא יכנס בלבו באמצע הלימוד עכ"פ זמן מועט כונה רצויה לשמה ומעתה כל מה שלמד עד הנה שלא לשמה נתקדש ונטהר ע"י אותו העת קטן שכיון בו לשמה:
(א) וכמה זהירות יתירה צריך האדם להזהר בענינים כאלו וכיוצא בהם. וכבר ארז"ל (סוכה נ"ב א') כל הגדול מחבירו יצרו גדול הימנו כי היצר מתהפך בתחבלותיו לכל אדם כפי ענינו ומדרגתו בתורה ועבודה, שאם הוא רואה שכפי גובה מדרגתו של האדם אם ישיאוהו שיניח מקומו ומדרגתו לעשות בפועל איזה עון וחטא חמור או קל שלא יאבה לו, הוא מתחפש להתדמות אל האדם כיצר טוב לסמות שכלו להטיל ארס ולהטעותו באותו האופן והמדרגה עצמה שהאדם דבוק בה, שמראה לו בה איזה דרך הנראה להאדם בהשקפה ראשונה שהוא עצת יצרו הטוב להדריכו בדרך יותר גבוה כפי שמראה לו פנים וסימני טהרה, והאדם נופל ברשתו כמהר צפור אל פח בלי התבוננו' רב ולא ידע כי בנפשו הוא ורגליו יורדות מות ח"ו:
(ב) הגהה: ואולי גם לזה רמזו רז"ל באמרם (פ' הרואה ס"א א') יצה"ר דומה לזבוב ויושב בין שני מפתחי הלב כי ידוע שמשכן היצ"ט בחלל הימיני של הלב. ומשכן היצה"ר בחלל השמאלי כמ"ש (קהלת י׳:ב׳) לב חכם לימינו ולב כסיל לשמאלו, וזה אמרם שהיצ"ט שומר ומכיר את מקומו לימין תמיד שאינו מייעץ לאדם לעולם רק לטוב אמיתי לבד אבל היצה"ר אינו שומר את מקומו המיוחד לו בחלל השמאלי להסית לעון וחטא נגלה אלא הוא מדלג ממקומו לפעמים גם לחלל הימין להתדמות להאדם כיצר טוב להנהיגו בתוספת קדושה ואינו מרגיש שתוכה טמון ענין רע ומר ח"ו:
(ג) לזאת הזהר בנפשך מאד. שאל ישיאך יצרך לאמר: שעיקר הכל תראה שתהא אך עסוק כל ימיך לטהר מחשבת' כראוי. שתהא דביקות מחשבת' בבוראך בתמידות בל תמוט. ולא תשוב מפני כל להניח טוהר מחשבתך בשום עת כלל. והכל לשם שמים. באמרו לך שכל עיקר תורה ומצות המה דווקא כשהם בכוונה עצומה ובדביקות אמיתי. וכל זמן שאין לב האדם מלא לעשותם בכוונה קדושה ובדביקות וטהרת המחשבה. אינה נחשבת למצוה ועבודה כלל.
(ד) כאשר כבר לומד המלך זקן וכסיל לסמות עינים ולהביא ראיותיו ממקרא ומשנ' ותלמוד ומדרשים וספר הזוהר. כענין רחמנא לבא בעי וכהנה רבות עמו חבילות ראיות.
(ה) אמנם אם תזכה להבחין בעיני שכל עפ"י התורה. תבין ותמצא שזה כל ענינו להראות להאדם טלפיו בסימני טהרה שדרכו בקודש ורגליו יורדות מות ר"ל.
(1) You, agreeable reader, lo I have guided you (with G-d’s assistance) along the paths of truth, to instruct you about the way which you should walk for security. And you’ll be able to educate yourself slowly-but-surely about how the levels mentioned previously are arranged, how they are:• dependent on the purity on your hearts/minds889Heb.: tohar l’vavkha, and• dependent on your ability to grasp more than what is set before you here, and also• dependent on your current habits.890Rav Chayyim warns us here that, as we begin along this path that he has laid out for us, there is a danger of haughtiness, conceit or arrogance arising in our personalities. We must be exquisitely sensitive to the subtlety of their appearance.
(2) With your own eyes you’ll see that to the extent that you familiarize yourself with each of the levels mentioned previously, the purity in your heart/mind will increase beyond its current level of purity, whether in involvement with Torah, whether in fulfilling the mitzvote, and in fear/ awe and love of Him (blessed be He).
(3) However, be very wary and careful that your knowledge shouldn’t make you arrogant so that your hearts/ minds become haughty as a result of your serving your Creator with purity of thought891Heb.: ta-ha-raht ha-makh-sha-va—Rav Chayyim here seems to equate purity of the heart/mind with purity of thought. Purity of thought is a state of clear focusing of thought, without distraction, per Rav Chayyim’s earlier instructions.. At first examination you won’t sense the haughtiness arising from this, and you should scrutinize and examine this very carefully.
(4) And it’s written explicitly: “Every haughty heart/mind is an abomination to G-d/YHV”H” (Mishlei 16:5), even if the haughtiness is not visible to other people, but only in the thoughts of his own heart/mind, in his own eyes, it is really an abomination before Him (blessed be He), as is known that it is the root and the source of fermentation892Heb.: s’or ba-eesa of all bad character traits. And they stated (Sota 4b) that anyone who is haughty is as if he built a ba-ma893A platform used for idol worship and the Sh’kheena wails over him, and it’s as if he shoves away His legs (blessed be He), and complains about him stating: “He and I can’t live together as one894Our editions of Sota have “He and I can’t live together in the world”” (Sota 5a) and the mattress will be too short to allow stretching out895Isaiah 28:20. Woe to the child who elbows his father out from his father’s palace. And they (OBM) went so far even to the extent that they stated there that it is as if he is worshiping idols and is a heretic, and as if he had all of the forbidden sexual relations. And they stated (P’sakhim 66b): “Anyone who is haughty, if he is wise, his wisdom departs him”.
(5) And anyone who’s heart/mind has been sensitized by awe/fear of G-d, the hair on his head will stand on end and his eyes will fill with tears when he considers the source of this teaching that our sages (OBM) taught him, it being from Hillel the Elder, about whom, based their words (see Shabbat 31a), it is well known (even famous) the extent of his awesome humility and lowliness. Even so when one time—a happenstance, in a very small degree—he appeared to display something like conceit, based on his very high degree of lowliness of spirit he was immediately punished so that his memory of halakha was no longer accessible. What could we possibly say to emphasize to what degree we must scrutinize and be mindful about this at all times?
(1) Haughtiness can also cause a person, even though he is worshipping Him (blessed be He) with purity of heart/ mind, to have a low opinion of another if he observes someone else who doesn’t approach the matter of worshipping Him (blessed be He) with pure thought, and who fulfills all that is written in G-d’s Torah but without a spiritual connection896Heb.: d’veikoot. And all the more so when he observes some person involved with G-d’s Torah, if he should contemplate it not being for its own sake897Heb.: lishma—in that case he would form a much denigrated opinion of him, and this would be a very grave sin—may the Merciful save us!
(2) For the truth of the matter is that the entire matter of purity of heart/mind in the context of worshipping Him (blessed be He) is only an enhancement to the fulfillment of the commandment and not as a pre-requisite, as I wrote previously at the end of Gate 1, and as it will be further explained later (G-d willing). And anyone who fulfills G-d’s commandment according to all that was commanded in the holy Torah (both written and oral), even without a spiritual connection898Heb.: d’veikoot, is still called a servant of G-d and is beloved by Him (blessed be He).
(3) In the same way, one who is involved with G-d’s Torah, even if not for its own sake, even though he is not yet at a genuinely high level, even so it is absolutely [emphatic] forbidden to denigrate him, even in the heart/mind. And the opposite is true, that all of Israel are required to behave respectfully toward him, as is written (Mishlei 3:16): “…at its left side, wealth and respect”. And the sages (OBM, Shabbat 63a) explained it as “those who make it secondary”899Heb.: la-mahs-m’eelim ba—literally: those who use their left hands for it.
(4) And in Zohar Va-yeishev (184b): “‘G-d’s Torah is perfect…’—How great is the requirement for people to involve themselves with Torah, for anyone who involves himself with Torah will have life… . And even one who involves himself with Torah and doesn’t do it for its own sake as it deserves, merits a good reward in this world and they do not judge him in that world. And come and see, it’s written: ‘Length of days at its right side; at its left side wealth and respect’—he has a good reward and serenity in this world.”
(5) Lo, even if a person is involved with His (blessed be He) Torah not for its own sake, but rather for his personal benefit—but only if it does not cause vexation (heaven forefend), about which our sages (OBM) stated (Yerushalmi B’rakhote 11a): “it would have been better if the placenta had suffocated him”, and they also stated (Shabbat 88b): “that it becomes like a fatal poison for him” (heaven forefend)—the Holy One (blessed be He) arranges a good reward for him, for he deserves to receive wealth, honor and peace of mind in this world, and he is not judged negatively in that world regarding the intention of his thought and inclination. And how much more so [this is true] if he didn’t intend in any way towards personal benefit, even though his intention was not specifically for its own sake (meaning for Torah’s sake), as I will write later in the third chapter of Gate 4 in the name of the Ro”sh (OBM), but rather the main aspect of his involvement with Torah is straightforward, resembling doing it for its own sake. Lo, involvement with Torah is very dear in His (blessed be He) eyes, more so than all of the other commandments performed for their own sakes in holiness and purity of thought, as is fitting900Rav Chayyim states clearly here that simple, straightforward involvement with Torah, even if not completely for its own sake, is more dear to G-d that all of the other mitzvote, even if they were performed in the choicest manner..
(6) As explained and proven plainly from the G’mara Ah-rakhin (16b): “Rabbee Yehuda the son of Rabbee Shim’on ben Pazi901Our editions of Ah-ra-khin actually says: Rabbee Yehuda the son of Rabbee Shim’on. See the Sheeta M’koo-beh-tzet there. inquired: ‘Which of the two is preferable: rebuke for its own sake or humility not for its own sake?’ And he said to him: ‘Who would not agree that humility for its own sake is [most] preferable? For the master stated that humility is the greatest of them all. Then even when it’s not for its own sake it is preferable, because Rabbee Yehuda stated in the name of Rav: “A person should always involve himself with Torah and mitzvote, even when not for its own sake, because from doing it not for its own sake, he will eventually come to doing it for its own sake”.’” And thus it tells us that for the case of involvement with Torah, who wouldn’t agree that Torah not for its own sake is definitely preferable to commandments performed for their own sake, for we learned an entire mishna (Pei-ah 1:1): “…and talmud Torah is equivalent to them all”.
(7) And in the same manner our sages (OBM) differed (Sota 21a) regarding the advantage of Torah’s relative degree over the commandments, for the merit and light of the commandments persist both at the time of the involvement with them and when not involved with them; it [fem.] only shields from suffering but does not save a person from coming to sin. In contrast, the light of the Torah, even according to the final decision there, from all perspectives, while he is involved with it, it saves him from sin. And they stated in the Yerushalmi (Pei-ah chapter 1) that all the commandments taken together are not equivalent to even one word of the Torah, as will be explained later (G-d willing) in Gate 4 herein.
(8) Thus, even involvement with Torah not for its own sake is still preferable to performing the commandments for their own sake, if only for this reason: that from doing it not for its own sake, he will eventually come to doing it for its own sake.
(1) And also, truthfully, when beginning to establish a study regimen, it’s almost impossible to immediately arrive at the level of “for its own sake” as is fitting; “involved with Torah not for its own sake” is the level from which one can arrive at “for its own sake”. For that reason it too is beloved of Him (blessed be He), because it is almost impossible to ascend from the ground to the heights if not via the steps of the ladder.
(2) And for that reason they stated (P’sakhim 50b): “A person should forever902Heb.: l’olam be involved with the Torah and the commandments, even if not for their own sake.” They stated “forever” intending to convey “a fixed regimen”903Heb.” b’kvee-oot. The central question arises here what Rav Chayyim intended by “a fixed regimen” for someone who is starting on the path of “Torah for its own sake” . Did he intend by this phrase that one should have a study schedule of so-many-hours each day and each night from which one never deviates, or does he intend that one should study literally continuously, from the moment one arises in the morning until one retires to sleep at night? The Ruakh Ha-chayyim (2:2) (a compilation of Rav Chayyim’s teachings on the Mishna Avot assembled by his students), describes “a fixed regimen” as being a fixed schedule of spending half of his time, both day and night, studying Torah in the beit ha-midrash., meaning that when he is just starting, he isn’t required to do more than constantly learn with a fixed regimen904Heb.: b’kvee-oot ta-meed, day and night.
(3) And even though at times his thoughts will turn to his own benefit, to conceit and honor (or other things like it), even so he shouldn’t pay any attention to it, to allow it to cause him to veer from his schedule or to lessen his effort as a result (heaven forefend). Rather, the opposite—he should greatly strengthen his effort towards involvement with the Torah, and he should be absolutely certain that as a result of his effort he will arrive at the level of “for its own sake”. And that’s also the case regarding the commandments, in this same way.
(4) And one whose mind is filled with thoughts to denigrate and demean (heaven forefend) one who is involved with Torah and commandments even if not for its own sake, will not be cleansed of evil and will be held accountable in the future (heaven forefend). And not only that, but according to the words of our sages (OBM—b’raita, Rosh Ha-shanna 17a) he will be counted among those who have no share at all in the world-to-come (heaven forefend), and Gehinnom will end but their punishment will not end even then, and they are considered as heretics, informers and apostates. And in the Mishna too, at the beginning of Perek Cheilek, they counted the apostates among those who don’t have a share in the world-to-come. And they state in the G’mara there (Sanhedrin 99b): “Rav and Rabbee Chaneena both stated: ‘This is one who denigrated a Torah scholar’. Rav Yokhanan and Rav Yehoshua Ben Levi stated… that this refers to one who denigrates his fellow in the presence of a Torah scholar…”—he is also “considered an apostate”. And even if he says “Of what use are the rabbis? They study Scripture only for their own benefit. They study Mishna only for their own benefit”, he is in the class of apostates who denigrate Torah scholars, and he is also called one who acts insolently toward the Torah (heaven forefend), and lo, he has lost his share in the world-to-come (may the Merciful save us).
(5) And likewise Rabbeinu Yona (OBM), in Sha-ar Ha-t’shoova, listed the levels of severity of punishments. For the final level he listed the group about whom the sages (OBM) stated that they have no share in the world-to-come. And they included in that group those who denigrate a Torah scholar. And Rav Chayyim Vittal (OBM) listed him in the Sha-ar Ha-k’doosha, and also included him in that group. And the severity of his awful punishment is because he is among those who darken the light of the holy Torah’s high degree, and profaned it (heaven forefend) as Rabbeinu Yona (OBM) described at length there—refer there to the words of the holy one of G-d. (And he (OBM) wrote there that the core of the punishment of all those listed among that group is also only because of the profaning of the holy Torah’s honor, may the Merciful save us.)
(6) For because he demeans and denigrates another who is involved with Torah not for its own sake, he weakens the other’s involvement with Torah, and the other won’t ever be able to arrive at the level of “for its own sake”, to be a consummate Torah scholar. And this is certainly called “denigrating a Torah scholar”, and there is no desecration of Him (blessed be His name) and His holy Torah greater than this. And he demeaned and lowered its glorious splendor to the ground, down to the dirt, and also destroyed all of his own service to G-d (heaven forefend). For his own service to Him (blessed be His name) is not sustained as it should be among the congregation of Israel except via the actions of those Torah scholars who are involved with the Torah day and night. For the eyes of all of Israel are upon them to know what should be done in Israel, to instruct them regarding the path on which they should tread, and how they should behave. That being so, a person who causes Torah scholars to not be found among Israel, has totally destroyed his entire personal service of G-d (blessed be His name), for the congregation of Israel will (heaven forefend) be left without Torah and without an instructor, and they won’t know what could make them stumble (heaven forefend). And Rabbeinu Yona (OBM) wrote much the same, refer there [for more details].
(7) For that reason you must be careful in the opposite direction, to honor and to elevate with everything in your power anyone who is involved with and grasps onto God’s Torah, even not for its own sake, so that a righteous person will stay his path without weakening from it (heaven forefend), so that he will be able to proceed along it to arrive at the level of “for its own sake”.
(8) And so too, even if we should observe that for his entire life—from his youth to old age and extreme old age—his involvement with her was not for its own sake, you are still required to behave with respect towards him, how much more so not to denigrate him (heaven forefend). For as a result of his being involved with G-d’s Torah with fixedness, there’s no doubt that many times his intention was for its own sake, as the sages (OBM) promised (P’sakhim 50a) that from the state of “not for its own sake” one comes to “for its own sake”. The meaning of this is not specifically that by that he will come to “for its own sake”, so that ever after he will be involved with it, all the rest of his life, only for its own sake. But rather, that any time he learns on a fixed schedule for several consecutive hours, even though, in general, his intention was not for its own sake, even so it’s completely impossible that during his learning that it won’t enter his heart, at least for a short time, the desired intention of “for its own sake”. And at that point, whatever he learned until then “not for its own sake” is sanctified and purified via that short interval during which his intention was “for its own sake”.
(1) And a person must exercise extra vigilance in these matters and others like them. And the sages already stated (Sukka 52a): “One who is greater than his fellow, his inclinations905Heb.: yitzro—urges both for good and for evil are also greater”, for the evil inclination schemes contrarily in all people, each according to his context and level regarding Torah and service906Heb.: torah v’ah-vodah—both in his involvement with Torah, and his performance of mitzvote and prayer. So if it observes, relative to the high degree of a person’s level, that if it attempts to lead him to ruin by getting him to leave his place and level, to go do some iniquity or sin, serious or trivial, that he won’t give in, then it searches for ways to appear to the person as the good inclination, to blind his intellect, to inject poison, to cause him to err in that exact characteristic and degree itself to which the person is attached, and seeks to show in some way that, at first glance, it is the recommendation of his good inclination, to guide him to an even higher path[*]. It displays in that recommendation aspects and features of purity. And the person quickly falls into its trap, as a bird hurries into a snare without any extended contemplation, and doesn’t realize that its life is in danger and that it is descending towards death (heaven forefend).
(2) Annotation: And the sages (OBM) might have also hinted at this when they stated (Perek Ha-ro-eh [B’rakhote] 61a): “The evil inclination resembles a fly, and it sits between the two entrances to the heart/mind”. For it’s known that the abode of the good inclination is in the right cavity of the heart/mind, and the abode of the evil inclination is in the left cavity, as it is stated (Kohelet 10:2): “A wise person’s heart/mind is to the right, while a fool’s heart/mind is to the left”. And in this they state that the good inclination always remains and recognizes its place to the right; that it never, ever, advises a person other than toward the true good alone. But the evil inclination does not remain within its place that’s set aside for it in the left cavity, to entice towards obvious iniquity and sin, but rather it skips away from its place at times also to the right cavity, to disguise itself as the good inclination leading him towards an increase in holiness, and he doesn’t sense that within is hidden a situation of evil and bitterness (heaven forefend).
(3) For this reason, greatly safeguard your soul-Neffesh so that your inclination shouldn’t lead you to ruin, saying:1. “look, the essential thing is you should be involved all your days with purifying your thoughts as they should be; that the attachment of your thoughts to your Creator should be constant, without interruption; nothing should dissuade you to set aside the purity of your thoughts at any time at all”; and2. that everything will be for heaven’s sake when it says to you that the essential requirements of learning Torah and fulfilling commandments are specifically [emphatic] when they are with awesome intention and genuine attachment; and3. that when a person’s heart/mind is not wholeheartedly devoted to do them with holy intention, attachment and purity of thought, it’s not considered as fulfilling a commandment nor service at all.
(4) As we learned previously relative to the king who is aged and foolish907Paraphrasing Kohelet 4:13, it aims to blind the eyes, bringing its proofs from scripture, Mishna, Talmud, midrashim and the book of Zohar, as in the context of “the Merciful One desires the heart/mind908Aram.: rakhmana leeba ba-ee” (Zohar Tei-tzei 281b), and many others like it—he brings sacks full of proofs.
(5) However, if you should merit to discern the matter using your intelligence in accordance with the Torah, you’ll understand and find that this is what it does all the time: presenting to a person that all is kosher909Heb.: t’la-fahv b’seema-nei tahara, literally “its hooves having the marks of purity” as if it is proceeding in holiness, while his legs descend into realms of death, may the Merciful save us!
(6) And now, observe its ways and wise up in this matter too, how it knows how to obtain evil outcomes using the good. Today it will say to you that without attachment the entire Torah and commandments are nothing, and that you have to prepare your heart/mind, to raise your thoughts to the heights of the purest of the pure before performing any commandment or prayer. And your thoughts will be so burdened with preparing for the commandment before you perform it, that the time designated for the commandment or prayer will pass. And it will present arguments that every prayer or commandment that is performed with awesome intention is holy and pure even if it is not done in its designated time, and that it is valued even more than performing the commandment in its designated time but without intention.
(7) And once your inclination gets you used to fixing in your heart/mind not to be concerned about changing the designated time of one or another commandment or prayer, drawing on your determined thoughts to first purify and empty your heart/mind, over time it will direct you, slowly but surely, with subtle instructions, step by step, and you won’t perceive anything, until finally it will be like a permitted act to ignore the designated time for a prayer or commandments. And at the same time you’ll empty your heart/mind in vain with worthless things, and it will seduce you completely. Nothing will remain for you—not the performance of a commandment in its designated time, nor even a good thought.
(8) And also, this would result in the destruction of the entire Torah (may the Merciful save us) if (heaven forefend) we yield910Heb.: no-veh—See the footnote about this word in Gate 1, Chapter 22. to lend an ear to its smooth talk on this matter. And introspect on the matter, that if a person would expend serious effort on the first night of Pesakh regarding the intention of eating an olive-sized piece of matza, so that the eating should be in holiness, purity and attachment, and he stretches out the preparation the entire night, until the time of the eating stretches out to after sunrise, or after dawn, the result is that all of his purity of thought is an abomination, and rejected. And one who ate the olive-sized piece of matza in its designated time, even without extra holiness or purity, lo, he fulfilled the positive commandment that’s written in the Torah, and a blessing will come upon him. And there are many other situations like this, that if we don’t intend to be careful about all of the commandments in their proper periods and designated times, what would be the difference between one who blew the shofar with awesome intention on the first night of Pesakh, instead of the commandment of eating an olive-sized amount of matza? Or one who eats the olive-sized amount of matza on Rosh Ha-shanna. Or one who fasts on the eve of Yom Kippur while on Yom Kippur he takes the lulav instead of observing the commandment of fasting. And what will be Torah’s place?
(9) And not only that, if it doesn’t make you fail by causing you to let the designated times pass, it will incline your heart/mind to work on clearing and purifying itself until you won’t have enough time to be meticulous that the fulfillment of the commandment be, in all its aspects, according to the law in all of its details, and to be wary of trespassing laws that are well-defined in the Talmud and by our great sages (OBM). And don’t let your inclination promise you that it can’t cause you to ignore doing the details of performance because you involved yourself so much in purifying your thoughts. Know that as long as your thoughts are aligned with its perspective (i.e., that the core of what the Torah asks of a person is that any commandment or study be completely free of any dross or waste material until it’s like the finest variety of flour, otherwise it’s like trespassing the commandment of not seeing or finding any leaven in your domain on Pesakh), it bribes you and blinds your eyes, so that you won’t be able to observe all the details of performance, the rules and laws, so that you’ll transgress them (heaven forefend), and you won’t even perceive doing so.
(1) And so that way, it’s clear and understood, is like a fire that consumes all (heaven forefend), and destroys many of the foundations of the holy Torah and the words of our rabbis (OBM). We’ve already mentioned previously (at the end of Gate 1) that the essential part of all the commandments is the performance; purity of heart/ mind is just a supplement to the performance of the commandment, and its lack is not a hindrance to the fulfillment of the commandment (refer there [for more details]). And so too it is understood by any intelligent person on the straight path that it’s been established (Z’vakhim 2b) in the context of offering a sacrifice, that one offered without a specific intention is considered identical to one having a specific intention. And they plainly confirmed this (Nazir 23a) regarding one who eats the Passover sacrifice with the intention of gluttony, that even though his performance is not an especially fine one, he still fulfills the requirement of the Passover. But if, during the designated time for offering the Passover sacrifice and the designated time for eating it, a person should think awesome intentions regarding the matter of the Passover sacrifice via thoughts that are the loftiest of the loftiest and the purest of the pure, but didn’t actually offer the Passover sacrifice, that person’s soul-Neffesh is cut off, and similarly with all the other commandments.
(2) And it’s not only in the context of commandments that require a physical action where the essential part is the performance, but also in the case of the commandment of prayer (which is called “service of the heart/ mind”). And they (OBM) learned this from the beginning of the first chapter of Taanit, from the verse “and to serve Him with all your hearts/minds” (D’varim 11:13). Even so911Even though the commandment is one that we might think is fulfilled with thought only, it is not so., the essential part is that a person specifically must pronounce the words with his lips, each word of the prayer liturgy, as our rabbis (OBM) stated (Berakhot 31a) at the beginning of chapter Ein Ome-din in the story of Channa where it’s written about her (Shmuel Aleph 1:13): “only her lips moved”—that one who prays should pronounce the words with his lips. And so it is in Shokheir Tov (Shmuel, parsha 2): “Could he just think them in his mind? It comes to teach us that ‘only her lips moved’—How did she do it? She whispered with her lips.”
(3) And it’s evident that it’s not a matter of it teaching the best way to do it for the general case of commandments912But that if he didn’t do it the best way, he still has fulfilled the commandment, but rather it’s required even after the fact; for if he only thought the words of prayer in his heart/mind, he did not fulfill the obligation of prayer. And if the designated time for that prayer has not yet passed, he must pray a second time, pronouncing each word. And if the designated time has passed, the next time he prays twice913He has to pray the Ahmeeda twice., as per the rule of one who missed a prayer, as the Magen Avraham illuminated (siman 101, s’if kattan 2) with solid proofs that are adequate to rightly prove that via thoughts of prayer alone he has not fulfilled his obligation.
(4) And it’s known in the Zohar and the Ariza”l’s writings that the context for prayer is the rectification of the worlds914Here Rav Chayyim summarizes the purpose of prayer., and causing the ascension of their inner aspects, all of the qualities of their soul-Neffesh, soul-Ruakh and soul-Neshama that are within them, from below to above. And this is done by attaching and connecting a person’s soul-Neffesh to his soul-Ruakh, and his soul-Ruakh to his soul-Neshama, as we learned at the end of Gate 2 (refer there). And they are connected by the bending and movement of his lips when he pronounces the words of prayer, which is speech’s physical aspect915Heb.: b’kheenaht ha-ma-ah-seh b’deeboor, as our rabbis (OBM) stated (Sanhedrin 65b): “the bending of the lips916Our editions of Sanhedrin use the word that translates as mouth (Heb.: peev) rather than lips. is the physical action”. And in chapter Kol Kitvei (Shabbat 119b) they stated: “How do we know that speech is comparable to a physical action? For it’s stated…”. And this917The physical movement of the mouth is the aspect of soul-Neffesh in speech. And the motion of the air and the sound that is the speech itself is its aspect of soul-Ruakh. And the intention of the heart/mind in the words while saying them, that is the aspect of the soul-Neshama that’s in speech.
(5) For that reason, one doesn’t fulfill the obligation of prayer via thinking and mental visualization of the words in the heart/mind alone. For how is it possible to connect to the aspect of soul-Neshama if he doesn’t proceed according to the order of the levels from lower to upper, that speech’s soul-Neffesh (which is the movement of the lips) should connect with speech’s soul-Ruakh (which is the breath and the sound of the voice), and afterwards those two would be connected to the soul-Neshama (which is the thought and intention in the heart/mind)? And if he should pray in his thoughts alone, his prayer is ineffective and he didn’t rectify anything918Rav Khayyim again states that the purpose of prayer is to effect rectification.. In contrast, when he prays verbally and pronounces the words alone, even if he didn’t partner it with the heart/mind’s thought and intention, even though it is certainly not at a high level of perfection, and can’t ascend to the world of thought (the world of the soul-Neshama, being that it lacked the aspect of human thought), even so it is not for naught (heaven forefend). And done in that way he still fulfills his obligation, because in any event he has caused his soul-Neffesh to ascend, connecting his soul-Neffesh with his soul-Ruakh, and the world of the soul-Neffesh with the world of the soul-Ruakh919Rav Khayyim states that connection of the worlds of Neffesh and Ruakh by simply verbalizing the prayers, even without thought or intention, though not ideal, still fulfills the basic requirements of prayer. And especially note that he states that by connecting our soul-Neffesh to our soul-Ruakh we cause the world of the soul-Neffesh to connect to the world of the soul-Ruakh..
(6) Refer to Zohar P’koodei (262b): “…that prayer requires thought and the heart/mind’s will, and vocalization, and words pronounced by the lips, to create a wholeness, connection and unification above, just as it is above… to connect the connection as it is supposed to be... . Thought, will, vocalization and speech are the four that create the connection. And after all of them are connected as one, they become one Vehicle920Heb.: mer-ka-va upon which the Sh’kheena can settle... . And the vocalization that is heard ascends to create connections from below to above… .” Refer there carefully [for more details].
(7) And in parshat B’midbar (120b) they stated in a general way921Rav Chayyim here paraphrases Zohar B’midbar 120b. that the primary aspect of prayer922The primary aspect being the process of tikkoon ha-o-lamote (rectification of the worlds) depends initially on the actions that a person does, and then only afterwards on the specific words that he says (refer there as to the procedure).
(8) And in Idra Zoota (294b): “Whatever a person thinks, and whatever a person contemplates in his heart/mind, has no effect until it is emitted from his lips…, and as a result any prayer or petition…, he must express them with his lips, because if he does not express them, his prayer is not considered a prayer, and his petition is not considered a petition. And once the words get expressed they split apart in the air and ascend…, and the one who takes them does so, and unifies them for the holy crown.”
(9) And as a general case they stated in Zohar Emor (105a): “Anyone who says that no action is required, nor to express words vocally, may their soul-Ruakh explode923Aram.: teepahkh rookhei” (may the Merciful save us). And our sages (OBM) didn’t require intention in order to fulfill the obligation924Of prayer other than for Birkaht Ahvote925The opening blessing of the Ahmeeda..
(10) And in parshat Va-y’khee (243b, near the end): “One whose heart/mind is pre-occupied and wants to pray his prayer, or who is afflicted and can’t properly arrange praises for his Master, say to him that even though he can’t summon intention for his heart/mind and will, why should he diminish the procedure of praising his Master? Rather he should follow the procedure of praising his Master even though he is unable to summon intention… .”
(1) And though it’s certain that a person’s thought is what ascends way above to the heights of heaven in the supernal worlds, and that if a person should include purity of thought and intention during the performance of the commandments then his actions will effect greater rectifications in the more supernal of the worlds, even so we do not consider the thought as central, as was explained.
(2) Refer to Zohar Yitro (93b, top): “If he should have the opportunity to do an action, and has intention regarding it, he is considered worthy. But even if he didn’t have intention he is considered worthy because he fulfills his Master’s commandment, but he is not considered as one who performs His Will for its own sake and has the intention of will…, he is as one who is unaware…, for it is dependent on will926Intention… . And along with this, if there is no will of the heart/ mind927Intention…, regarding this Dovid prayed and said ‘our handiwork, may He establish for us… .’ What is ‘may He establish for us’? Establish and rectify rectifications above as should be. ‘For us’—even though we are unaware of how to employ will, rather [we are aware of our] actions alone. ‘Our handiwork, may he establish’—for whom? For the specific level for which rectification is necessary… .” Refer there [for more details].
(3) And similarly in the matter that was explained above in Gate 3 regarding prayer, we should intend it to the world’s Ma-kome (blessed be His name), as was explained there regarding the matter of the world’s place928Heb.: m’komo shel o-lahm, refer there [for more details]. And similarly, the matter of the intention of “one929Heb.: eh-khahd” in the first verse of the reading of the Sh’ma that was explained in chapter 11—refer there carefully—it’s all for enhancement of the commandment and its lack doesn’t block the fulfillment.
(4) For even in the case of someone who is:1. completely unaware of this, because he’s not used to it, or2. for one whose mind can’t tolerate it because he didn’t get to the bottom of it, or3. who fears for his life that he shouldn’t endanger himself (heaven forefend) by destroying some of the fundamentals of Torah (as could happen if he—heaven forefend—is someone who’s mind is inadequately prepared), as is stated there (refer there [for more details]),but rather he:1. worships Him (blessed be He),2. and fulfills all that is written in G-d’s Torah, written and oral, and according to our great sages, and3. believes and intends in a general way during the first verse of the Sh’ma that He (blessed be He) is one, even if he doesn’t understand the matter of His (blessed be He) oneness, and4. intends toward Him during his prayer in a general way, without extensive research, he too is called a worshipper of G-d (as is stated in the Pardes930Rabbi Moshe Cordovero’s Pardes Rimonim, Sha-ar 1, Perek 9, in the matter of belief in the existence of the S’feerote, refer there). For none of these things931Regarding the benefit of having intention are mentioned except in regards to one who’s mind is prepared, and moreover to those who stand in fear/awe of G-d and who contemplate His name, for they have the power to engage in this way.
(5) For this reason, be it far from us to reject any part of the details of performance, even one minute detail from the teachings of the Scribes932Heb.: deek-dook eh-khahd mi-deevrei sofe-rim, and similarly to change the time of its performance (heaven forefend) due to absence of pure thought. And anyone who increases the precision of his performance is worthy of praise.
(1) Furthermore, your [evil] inclination could camouflage itself by saying to you that the essential aspect of worship is that it should be only for heaven’s sake, and also that a transgression and a sin will be considered a commandment if it is done for heaven’s sake, for the rectification of some matter—citing “the Merciful desires the heart/mind”933Our editions of Sanhedrin have “the Holy One (blessed be He) desires the heart/mind” (ha-KB”H leeba ba-ee) (Sanhedrin 106b), and “a sin for its own sake is greater” (Nazir 23b, Ho-ra-yote 10b), and many other proofs like that. It will also try to convince you by saying that you were commanded thusly, to walk in the footsteps of your holy ancestors and all the early pious ones who lived before the Torah was given, all of whose actions, speech and thoughts, and all their interactions in the world were with attachment, and the purity of their thoughts was for the sake of Heaven. And they faced upwards to cause the worlds and supernal power to be rectified, to ascend and be unified, in every situation that occurred, and in every way and in every moment, and not via actions and commandments that are permanent and designed to be immutable law, as exhibited in the case of our patriarch Yaakov (OBM) in the situation of Lavan and the sticks934Bereshit 30:25—43. And so said the Maggid935The spiritual being who taught Rav Yosef Karo, and whose teachings are recorded in the book Ma-geed Meisharim. to the Beit Yosef936Rav Yosef Karo was the author of both the Beit Yosef commentary on the Toor, and the Shoolkhan Ahrookh. regarding Cha-nokh, that he was stitching shoes, and with every stitch of the needle he praised the Holy One (blessed be He)—refer to the Ma-geed Meisharim, parshat Meekeitz.
(2) And though our sages (OBM) stated that the Patriarchs fulfilled the entire Torah937See RaSh”Y on Bereshit 26:5, Yuma 28b and Kiddushin 82a, and similarly they stated in Va-yikra Rabba (chapter 2938See Va-yikra Rabba, parsha 2, siman 10) deriving that Noakh learned Torah, it’s not that they were commanded and then responded, and that they had the specific Halakha and the prescribed law939Heb.: ha-halakha v’ha-din. Rather it’s as I wrote previously at the end of Gate 1 (chapter 21), that they fulfilled the Torah as a result of their grasping via their wondrous understanding of how the worlds are rectified, and [also] the arrangement of the supernal powers that are rectified with each and every commandment. However they were also given permission to worship Him even using other actions and situations beside the commandments. And they could even transgress a specific commandment, not doing per the Torah’s prescribed actions, according to their own perception and grasp that this situation and specific behavior was necessary then to rectify the worlds. (And on this matter refer to the book Sefer Ha-eh-moonote by Rav Sheim Tov, and similarly he cited there in the name of Rabbeinu Chooshiel Gaon (OBM), only that he greatly condensed his account in accordance with the Rishonim’s (OBM) manner in matters of holiness, that they greatly concealed and hid these matters.)
(3) And if your senses are intelligent, you’ll perceive neither a proof nor a supporting source here in any way, not even the amount of support that a slender reed could provide. For the clear truth is as was explained previously at the end of Gate 1, that worship in this way was allowed only before the giving of the Torah. However, from the moment that Moshe came and brought it down to the Earth, “it is not in the heavens”. And we provided proof there (with G-d’s help) from the context of Chizkiyahu with Yeshayahu, that it is forbidden for us to change (heaven forefend) anything of one of G-d’s commandments, even if the intention is for heaven’s sake. And even if a person should grasp that destruction will result if he should fulfill one of the commandments that is incumbent upon him, even in the case of passively not acting, even so, it is not within his range of choice to desist from it (heaven forefend), because the reasons for the commandments have not been revealed; refer there at length [for more details].
(1) And it can also seduce you with sacks full of proofs that:• the essential aspect of a person’s service is to attain awe/fear of the majesty; and• that his eyes and heart/mind should focus exclusively upon this during his entire life; and• that fear of both punishment and shame before other people is a characteristic that is the worst of the worst; and• that it’s worthwhile to uproot it from your heart/ mind.
(2) Your inclination will encourage940Heb.: ya-nee-akh l’kha yitz-r’kha you to heap fear/ awe upon fear/awe relative to the majesty, until you’ll fix in your heart/mind that fear of both punishment and shame before other people is a transgression, and you’ll flee from it as one who flees from a transgression, until it could happen that you will be trapped in its net and not keep away from what is prohibited so long as you don’t have adequate fear/awe of the majesty.
(3) And you’ll make light of everything, because it will show you perspectives among the many perspectives relating to this. And you might end up in the situation that if a person reproves you and shows you that you are transgressing a specific law, your heart/mind will lead you to not stop doing it as long as you’re vividly experiencing the fear of the one who reproved you, for you’ll say that there’s no fear/awe of G-d in it but only fear of a person, an extraneous fear.
(4) And our sages (OBM) already taught us in the case of Rabbee Yokhanan’s blessing of his students (Berakhot 28b): “…that the fear/awe of heaven should be upon you similar to the fear of flesh and blood…”. And who among us is as great and as pious as Rav Amram Chasida, and even so when the opportunity to sin sprang upon him (may the Merciful save us), as recounted towards the end of Kidooshin (81a), he battled strategically so as to be saved from his inclination’s traps, even at the expense of shame before others, only that he not transgress (heaven forefend) his Creator’s (blessed be His name) commandments. And it also appears that even though the Holy One (blessed be He) is careful about not dishonoring the pious, even so, this account was included in the Talmud to teach us G-d’s straight paths.
(5) So now I’ve shown you a few of the ways that the inclination camouflages itself strategically, as the sages (OBM) stated (Kiddushin 30b): “A person’s inclination is renewed each day, for it’s stated (Bereshit 6:5) ‘exclusively evil all day long’.” It’s not enough that it dominated the person by plotting strategically the day before yesterday; rather, it continues to plot anew each day. And it’s seems as if it is not seducing him towards evil in any way. Rather, the opposite—it shows the person that whatever he learned in Torah or fulfilled commandments, not a bit of good was in them yet, and he’s been exclusively evil all day long. In this way it dominates the person, as the sages (OBM) stated (Sukka 52b) on the verse “The wicked one waits for the righteous and seeks to kill him…” (Tehillim 37:32)—“he” being the evil inclination; he is the angel of death, full of eyes, and he waits to see what will be the result, how to cause him to fail, (for the context of “waiting” is about something that will come to be in the future), until a person will no longer know to be careful.
(6) And you, the reader, don’t imagine that I am making this up, for I have examined and tested all of this, as I focused my heart/mind to explain and research. And my eyes have observed many who desire G-d’s nearness, and they fail in these very matters we just mentioned, as they sincerely expressed to me in their own words. With my own eyes I observed in one place some people who over a long period of time so habituated until they all but forgot the correct time that our sages (OBM) set for praying Minkha. Rather, the opposite became the practice, that out of long habit they fixed in their heart/minds as a statute and law—that the essential requirement of the Minkha prayer is to do it after the stars appear. And when a person says to his associate “let’s pray Minkha”, he responds “let’s observe and carefully confirm if the stars are already visible in the sky”. And may G-d forgive them, and provide atonement for the mistaken and the simpleton.
(7) You should attend to the knowledge of the wise, masters of Torah, as our sages (OBM) have previously taught us, that the essential part is the performance of the commandment in its correct time with all of its specifics and details, as immutable law. Join the purity of proper thought to the action, and then you’ll proceed securely, and you will use your ability to fulfill both. And they taught a plainly understood teaching (Avot 3:9) that anyone whose actions are more numerous than their wisdom941Presumably referring to those who fulfill the commandments, even if they lack a deep understanding of their rationale and their role in the framework of rectification, even their wisdom will exist in a state of holiness, purity and attachment. And is it an insignificant matter that that our sages (OBM) stated that one whose actions are more numerous than his wisdom is likened to a tree whose branches are few but whose roots are numerous, that all the winds in the world are unable to dislodge it from its place? And the one who hears will hear.
וְהַעֲרֶב נָא ה׳ אֱלֹקֵֽינוּ אֶת־דִּבְרֵי תוֹרָתְךָ בְּפִֽינוּ וּבְפִי עַמְּךָ בֵּית יִשְׂרָאֵל. וְנִהְיֶה אֲנַֽחְנוּ וְצֶאֱצָאֵֽינוּ וְצֶאֱצָאֵי עַמְּךָ בֵּית יִשְׂרָאֵל כֻּלָּֽנוּ יוֹדְעֵי שְׁמֶֽךָ וְלוֹמְדֵי תוֹרָתֶֽךָ. (י"א תוֹרָתְךָ) לִשְׁמָהּ. בָּרוּךְ אַתָּה ה׳ הַמְלַמֵּד תּוֹרָה לְעַמּוֹ יִשְׂרָאֵל.
Adonoy our God, please make the words of Your Torah pleasant in our mouths and in the mouths of Your people Israel. And may we and our descendants [and the descendants of our descendants] and the descendants of Your people the House of Israel, all know Your Name and be students of Your Torah for its own sake. Blessed are You, Adonoy Who teaches Torah to His people, Israel.
וְהִנֵּה יֵשׁ מֵהַפְּתָאִים הַמְבַקְּשִׁים רַק לְהָקֵל מֵעֲלֵיהֶם, שֶׁיֹּאמְרוּ, לָמָּה נְיַגַּע עַצְמֵנוּ בְּכָל כָּךְ חֲסִידוּת וּפְרִישׁוּת, הֲלֹא דַּי לָנוּ שֶׁלֹּא נִהְיֶה מֵהָרְשָׁעִים הַנִּדּוֹנִים בַּגֵּיהִנֹּם. אֲנַחְנוּ לֹא נִדְחוֹק עַצְמֵנוּ לִכָּנֵס בְּגַן עֵדֶן לִפְנַי וְלִפְנִים. אִם לֹא יִהְיֶה לָנוּ חֵלֶק גָּדוֹל, יִהְיֶה לָנוּ חֵלֶק קָטָן. אָנוּ דַּי לָנוּ בָּזֶה, וְלֹא נַכְבִּיד עַל מַשָּׂאֵנוּ בַּעֲבוּר זֹאת.
אָמְנָם שְׁאֵלָה אַחַת נִשְׁאַל מֵהֶם: הֲיוּכְלוּ כָּל כָּךְ עַל נְקַלָּה לִסְבֹּל בָּעוֹלָם הַזֶּה הַחוֹלֵף, לִרְאוֹת אֶחָד מֵחַבְרֵיהֶם מְכֻבָּד וּמְנֻשָּׂא יוֹתֵר מֵהֶם וּמוֹשֵׁל עֲלֵיהֶם וְכָל שֶׁכֵּן אֶחָד מֵעַבְדֵיהֶם אוֹ מִן הָעֲנִיִּים הַנִּבְזִים וּשְׁפָלִים בְּעֵינֵיהֶם, וְלֹא יִצְטַעֲרוּ וְלֹא יִהְיֶה דָּמָם רוֹתֵחַ בְּקִרְבָּם? לֹא, וַדַּאי! כִּי הִנֵּה עֵינֵינוּ הָרוֹאוֹת: כָּל עֲמַל הָאָדָם, לְהִנָּשֵׂא עַל כָּל מִי שֶׁיּוּכַל וְלָשִׂים מְקוֹמוֹ בֵּין הָרָמִים יוֹתֵר, כִּי הִיא קִנְאַת אִישׁ מֵרֵעֵהוּ. וְאִם יִרְאֶה חֲבֵרוֹ מִתְרוֹמֵם וְהוּא נִשְׁאַר שָׁפָל, וַדַּאי שֶׁמָּה שֶׁיִּסְבֹּל הוּא מָה שֶׁיֻּכְרַח לְסָבְלוֹ, כִּי לֹא יוּכַל לִמְנֹעַ, וּלְבָבוֹ יִתְעַשֵּׁשׁ בְּקִרְבּוֹ.
מֵעַתָּה, אִם כָּךְ קָשֶׁה עֲלֵיהֶם לִהְיוֹת שְׁפָלִים מִזּוּלָתָם בַּמַּעֲלוֹת הַמְּדֻמּוֹת וְהַכּוֹזְבוֹת, שֶׁאֵין הַשִּׁפְלוּת בָּם אֶלָּא לְפָנִים, וְלֹא הַהִנָּשֵׁא אֶלָּא שָׁוְא וָשֶׁקֶר, אֵיךְ יוּכְלוּ לִסְבֹּל שֶׁיִּרְאוּ עַצְמָם שְׁפָלִים יוֹתֵר מֵאוֹתָם הָאֲנָשִׁים עַצְמָם אֲשֶׁר הֵם עַתָּה שְׁפָלִים מֵהֶם. וְזֶה בִּמְקוֹם הַמַּעֲלָה הָאֲמִתִּית וְהַיְּקָר הַנִּצְחִי, שֶׁאַף עַל פִּי שֶׁעַכְשָׁו אֵין מַכִּירִים אוֹתוֹ וְאֶת עֶרְכּוֹ, עַל כֵּן לֹא יָחוּשׁוּ אֵלָיו, אֲבָל בִּזְמַנּוֹ, וַדַּאי שֶׁיַּכִּירוּהוּ לַאֲמִתּוֹ לְצַעֲרָם וּלְבָשְׁתָּם, וַדַּאי שֶׁלֹּא יִהְיֶה לָהֶם זֶה אֶלָּא צַעַר גָּדוֹל וְנִצְחִי.
הֲרֵי לְךָ, שֶׁאֵין הַסַּבְלָנוּת הַזֶּה אֲשֶׁר הֵם דּוֹרְשִׁים לְעַצְמָם לְהָקֵל מֵהֶם חֹמֶר הָעֲבוֹדָה, אֶלָּא פִּתּוּי כּוֹזֵב שֶׁמְּפַתֶּה יִצְרָם אוֹתָם, וְלֹא דָּבָר אֲמִתִּי כְּלָל. וּכְבָר לֹא הָיָה מָקוֹם לְפִתּוּי זֶה לָהֶם לוּלֵי הָיוּ רוֹאִים אֲמִתַּת הָעִנְיָן. אֲבָל לְפִי שֶׁאֵין מְבַקְּשִׁים אוֹתוֹ וְהוֹלְכִים וְשׁוֹגִים לִרְצוֹנָם, הִנֵּה לֹא יוּסַר מֵהֶם פִּתּוּיָם עַד הַזְּמַן אֲשֶׁר לֹא יוֹעִיל לָהֶם, כִּי לֹא יִהְיֶה עוֹד בְּיָדָם לְתַקֵּן אֶת אֲשֶׁר שִׁחֲתוּ. וְהוּא מָה שֶׁאָמַר שְׁלֹמֹה הַמֶּלֶךְ עָלָיו הַשָּׁלוֹם (קהלת ט): כֹּל אֲשֶׁר תִּמְצָא יָדְךָ לַעֲשׂוֹת בְּכֹחֲךָ עֲשֵׂה כִּי אֵין מַעֲשֶׂה וְחֶשְׁבּוֹן וְדַעַת וְחָכְמָה בִּשְׁאוֹל אֲשֶׁר אַתָּה הֹלֵךְ שָׁמָּה.
וְהַיְנוּ, כִּי מָה שֶׁאֵין הָאָדָם עוֹשֶׂה עַד שֶׁהַכֹּחַ מָסוּר בְּיָדוֹ מִבּוֹרְאוֹ הוּא הַכֹּחַ הַבְּחִירִי הַמָּסוּר לוֹ כָּל יְמֵי חַיָּיו שֶׁהוּא בָּהֶם בְּחִירִי וּמְצֻוֶּה לַעֲשׂוֹת, הִנֵּה לֹא יוּכַל לַעֲשׂוֹתוֹ עוֹד בַּקֶּבֶר וּבַשְּׁאוֹל, שֶׁאֵין הַכֹּחַ הַזֶּה עוֹד בְּיָדוֹ, כִּי מִי שֶׁלֹּא הִרְבָּה מַעֲשִׂים טוֹבִים בְּחַיָּיו, אִי אֶפְשָׁר לוֹ לַעֲשׂוֹתָם אַחֲרֵי כֵן. וּמִי שֶׁלֹּא חִשֵּׁב חֶשְׁבּוֹן מַעֲשָׂיו, לֹא יִהְיֶה לוֹ זְמַן לְחַשְּׁבוֹ אָז. וּמִי שֶׁלֹּא הִתְחַכֵּם בָּעוֹלָם הַזֶּה, לֹא יִתְחַכֵּם בַּקֶּבֶר. וְזֶהוּ שֶׁאָמַר (שם): כִּי אֵין מַעֲשֶׂה וְחֶשְׁבּוֹן וְדַעַת וְחָכְמָה בִּשְׁאוֹל אֲשֶׁר אַתָּה הֹלֵךְ שָׁמָּה.
There are some simpletons who seek only to lighten the burden on themselves. They reply: "why should we weary ourselves with so much Piety and Separation? Is it not sufficient for us to not be among the wicked sentenced to Gehinom? We will not strain ourselves just to enter into the innermost chambers of Gan Eden. If we don't have a large portion, at least we will have a small portion. This is enough for us. We will not further burden the yoke of our load just for this." There is just one question that we will put to these people: can they so easily tolerate in this fleeting world the sight of one their peers being honored and elevated above them, and coming to rule over them? Or worse still, if this is one of their servants or one of the beggars which are lowly and despicable in their eyes. Would they not be filled with pain and would their blood not boil inside them?! Surely they could not! For behold we can see with our own eyes that all of a man's labor is to raise himself over anyone he can and to establish his place among those more elevated. This is jealousy between man and his fellow. For if he sees his fellow being elevated while he remains lowly, certainly what he tolerates will be only what he is forced to tolerate because of his inability to prevent it, but his heart will rot within him. Hence if it is so difficult for them to be lower than their fellow in levels that are imaginary and false, where a lower level is just a superficial appearance, and all elevation is just vanity and falsehood. How then will they tolerate seeing themselves lower than those same people who are now their inferiors? And this is in the place of true levels and eternal worth, which even though they don't recognize it and its worth now, therefore they don't give much concern for it, but in its time, certainly, they will understand it for what it truly is, to their pain and shame. There is no doubt, that their suffering in this will be enormous and everlasting. Hence, this "tolerance" which they adopt in order to lighten on themselves the severity of the service is but a deceit which their evil inclination employs to incite them, with no basis whatsoever in truth. There would be no room for this incitement if they saw the truth of the matter, but since they do not seek the truth, but go on in their erroneous ways willingly, this incitement will not leave them until the time when it will no longer avail. For it will not be in their power to rectify what they had ruined. This is what King Shlomo, peace be unto him, referred to: "Whatever your hand finds to do with your power, do it, for there is no deed, nor account, nor knowledge, nor wisdom [in the She'ol (grave) where you are going]" (Ecc.9:10). The explanation is that: what a man can do while the power is granted in his hands by the Creator, namely, the power of free will granted to him all the days of his life with which he chooses and is commanded to do, behold he will not be able to do more in the grave and pit. For this power [of free will] will no longer be in his hands. Thus one who has failed to do many good deeds in his lifetime, it is impossible for him to do them afterwards (since he no longer has free will after death). And he who did not make an accounting of his deeds [while alive] will no longer have the opportunity to do it then. And he who has not become wise in this world, will not become wise in the grave. This is the intent of: "for there is no deed nor account nor knowledge in the She'ol were you are going" (Ecc.9:10).