Sivan 13, 5771 * June 15, 2011
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E T H I C S O F O U R F A T H E R S
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On the Essence of the Mitzvah:
Commanding Connection and Refining Deed
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Be as careful with a minor mitzvah as with a major one, for you cannot know the rewards of the mitzvos.
- Ethics of the Fathers, 2:1
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On the surface, the mishnah's point is simple enough: do not weigh and categorize G-d's commandments. But upon closer examination, its words seem fraught with ambiguity and contradiction.
Are there or are there not differences between mitzvos? The mishnah seems to saying that there aren't, but it itself uses the terms ``minor'' and ``major'' (kaloh and chamurah) - terms which are used to categorize mitzvos in the Talmud and its commentaries and in the various codes of Torah law.
For Torah itself differentiates between mitzvos. For example, a leading indicator of the ``severity'' of a mitzvah is the punishment prescribed for its transgression: a penalty of death, kares (``a cutting off'' of the soul), lashes, a monetary fine, the bringing of a sin-offering to the Holy Temple, etc. Indeed, since these punishments were rarely carried out by an earthly court of law (the conditions the Torah sets for their execution virtually precluded this from ever happening), their main function seems to be to establish the relative values of mitzvos. Hence, we know that the observance of Shabbos (whose violation is a capital offence) is ``greater'' than that of circumcision (whose neglect warrants kares), and that an even more ``minor'' mitzvah is the obligation to fence in one's roof (the transgression of which carries a penalty of lashes). These differences also have pragmatic implications, as the severity of a mitzvah is often a factor in deciding a question of Torah law.
So when the mishnah speaks of ``major'' and ``minor'' mitzvos it does not mean mitzvos that are wrongly considered to be greater or lesser than others; it is referring to their true, Torah-defined status. And yet, in the same breath, it tells us that one should be equally diligent of them all because we ``cannot know the rewards of the mitzvos''!
One Is All
Furthermore, our sages tell us that G-d's mitzvos all share a singular essence.
It is for this reason that the Talmud rules that ``One who is preoccupied with a mitzvah is absolved from the obligation of another mitzvah.'' For example, if a person is ministering to the sick during the festival of Sukkot, he need not step into a sukkah to eat his meals. Since he is already actively performing a mitzvah, he need not interrupt it, even for a few minutes, in order to fulfill another.
This applies to any two mitzvos, regardless of their (apparent) greatness or marginality - any mitzvah can take the place of any other! This is because the mitzvos are all but the various expressions of a singular essence.
According to this, when our mishnah states that we ``cannot know the rewards of the mitzvos'' it does not mean (as we might perhaps have understood it) that we must treat them all with equal reverence as if they were all equal, since we cannot presume to know their true value in relation to each other. No---it means that their relative value is intrinsically unknowable, since, in essence, they are all of equal significance.
This even further intensifies the apparent contradiction in our misnah: how can we speak of ``major'' and ``minor'' if the ultimate significance of one mitzvah is the same as that of all others?
The Commanding Connection
Let's get down to basics. What is a mitzvah? The word means ``commandment'': Do this, says G-d, and don't do that. Observe the Shabbos, give charity, eat matzoh on Passover. Do not murder, do not steal, do not commit adultery, do not eat cheeseburgers.
But why does G-d care? Can anything we do or refrain from doing affect Him in any way? Can man, finite, mortal and deficient, do or undo something for the paragon of infinity and perfection?
This brings us to another meaning of the word mitzvah---``connection.''
In commanding us a mitzvah, G-d has made that a certain deed should constitute the fulfillment of His will. Strictly speaking, one cannot attribute the phenomenon of ``will'' or ``desire'' to G-d, since nothing can contribute to or detract from His perfection. But He wanted to extend Himself to us, to enable us to relate to Him---something that no human endeavor can achieve on its own. So He willed Himself a will; He communicated to man a set of directives which He deemed to constitute His want and desire. He chose to command the mitzvos to serve as the vehicle by which we may establish a relationship and connection with Him.
Perfecting Path, Refining Word
But why these particular mitzvos? If the entire point of the mitzvah is that a human act should become an instrument of the Divine will and thereby connect its performer to the Almighty, then any commandment would achieve the same end. What difference does it make what G-d commands us to do?
Does this mean that the 613 commandments of the Torah are completely arbitrary? That there could just as well have been 6,000 mitzvos or a single mitzvah? That we could just as well have been commanded to steal from the poor, rest on Tuesday and eat spinach on Yom Kippur?
Our sages address this issue in the Midrash:
``G-d, His way is perfect, the word of G-d is refined...'' Said Rav: The mitzvos were given in order to refine the human being. For what does G-d care if one slaughters (an animal) from the throat or one slaughters from the nape? But the mitzvos were given in order to refine the human being.
In other words, there are two dimensions to the mitzvos. On the most basic level, a mitzvah, by virtue of its being commanded by the Almighty, binds its performer (as well as the resources which he utilizes in its performance) to its Commander. In this, all mitzvos are indeed equal. A mitzvah that takes tremendous sacrifice and many years of spiritual development to fulfill connects us to G-d no more than one which is observed with a single, effortless act.
In the words of Rabbi Schneur Zalman of Liadi, ``Had we been commanded to chop wood,'' we would do it with the same joy and enthusiasm with which we perform the most spiritually gratifying mitzvos. For the ultimate significance of the mitzvos--that they enable man to connect and relate to his Creator--would be no less realized in the most mundane and mechanical deed---if such was the Divine command.
But G-d did more. He not only opened a channel into our lives by which we may connect to Him, He also made this path a ``perfect way,'' a way of life which improves and perfects those who travel it. His word not only conveys His will and command, it is also a ``refined'' word---a word that refines those who heed it.
This is the second, ``specific'' dimension of the mitzvah. When we give charity, we not only fulfill a Divine command, we also develop in ourselves a sensitivity to the needs of others and learn the proper perspective on the material resources which have been entrusted to us. With our observance of Shabbos, we structure our lives according to G-d's 7-day cycle of creation; thus we not only implement G-d's will, but also ingrain in our minds and lives the source and objective of our own creativity and accomplishments.
The same applies to all the mitzvos. The Torah teaches us compassion for all G-d's creatures with the laws of schitah, which dictate the painless way in which animals are to be slaughtered. From the mitzvos that pertain to human sexuality, we gain a sanctity and purity of family life. By observing the kashrut dietary laws, we safeguard our moral and spiritual health. Each and every mitzvah, in addition to its role as an expression of the Divine will, has its particular function as a refiner of the human being - morally, socially, psychologically, and in every other aspect of our lives.
On this level, there will be--and ought to be--differences between mitzvos. There will be inherent differences between a mitzvah which perfects a major aspect of the human character and one that deals with a more minor area of life. There will also be subjective differences, for each individual responds to Torah in his own unique manner: certain mitzvos have a profound effect upon him, while others relate less to his personal talents and aptitudes. If the mitzvos refine and develop the entire spectrum of the human experience, they will reflect its diversity and its disparities.
However, warns the Ethics, never lose sight of the deeper import of the mitzvos. Employ the Divine commandments to build a better self and world, thus experiencing them as an entire array of major and minor influences on your life, but remember that they all share a deeper, unified truth. Be equally careful of them all, for their true reward is beyond knowledge and experience.
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
Introductory reading to Ethics of the Fathers:
All Israel has a share in the World to Come, as is stated: ``And your people are all righteous; they shall inherit the land forever. They are the shoot of My planting, the work of My hands, in which I take pride.'' (Sanhedrin, 11:1)
Chapter Two
1. Rabbi [Judah HaNassi] would say: Which is the right path for man to choose for himself? Whatever is harmonious for the one who does it, and harmonious for mankind. Be as careful with a minor mitzvah as with a major one, for you do not know the rewards of the mitzvot. Consider the cost of a mitzvah against its rewards, and the rewards of a transgression against its cost. Contemplate three things, and you will not come to the hands of transgression: Know what is above from you: a seeing eye, a listening ear, and all your deeds being inscribed in a book.
2. Rabban Gamliel the son of Rabbi Judah HaNassi would say: Beautiful is the study of Torah with the way of the world, for the toil of them both causes sin to be forgotten. Ultimately, all Torah study that is not accompanied with work is destined to cease and to cause sin. Those who work for the community should do so for the sake of Heaven; for then merit of their ancestors shall aid them, and their righteousness shall endure forever. And you, [says G-d,] I shall credit you with great reward as if you have achieved it.
3. Be careful with the government, for they befriend a person only for their own needs. They appear to be friends when it is beneficial to them, but they do not stand by a person at the of his distress.
4. He would also say: Make that His will should be your will, so that He should make your will to be as His will. Nullify your will before His will, so that He should nullify the will of others before your will. Hillel would say: Do not separate yourself from the community. Do not believe in yourself until the day you die. Do not judge your fellow until you have stood in his place. Do not say something that is not readily understood in the belief that it will ultimately be understood. And do not say ``When I free myself of my concerns, I will study,'' for perhaps you will never free yourself
5. He would also say: A boor cannot be sin-fearing, an ignoramus cannot be pious, a bashful one cannot learn, a short-tempered person cannot teach, nor does anyone who does much business grow wise. In a place where their are no men, strive to be a man.
6. He also saw a skull floating upon the water. Said he to it: Because you drowned others, you were drowned; and those who drowned you, will themselves be drowned.
7. He would also say: One who increases flesh, increases worms; one who increases possessions, increases worry; one who increases wives, increases witchcraft; one who increases maidservants, increases promiscuity; one who increases man-servants, increases thievery; one who increases Torah, increases life; one who increases study, increases wisdom; one who increases counsel, increases understanding; one who increases charity, increases peace. One who acquires a good name, acquired it for himself; one who acquires the words of Torah, has acquired life in the World to Come.
8. Rabban Yochanan the son of Zakkai received the tradition from Hillel and Shammai. He would say: If you have learned much Torah, do not take credit for yourself---it is for this that you have been formed.
9. Rabban Yochanan the son of Zakkai had five disciples: Rabbi Eliezer the son of Hurkenus, Rabbi Joshua the son of Chananya, Rabbi Yossei the Kohen, Rabbi Shimon the son of Nethanel, and Rabbi Elazar the son of Arach. He would recount their praises: Rabbi Eliezer the son of Hurkenus is a cemented cistern that loses not a drop; Rabbi Joshua the son of Chananya---fortunate is she who gave birth to him ; Rabbi Yossei the Kohen---a chassid ; Rabbi Shimon the son of Nethanel fears sin; Rabbi Elazar ben Arach is as an ever-increasing wellspring. [Rabbi Yochanan] used to say: If all the sages of Israel were to be in one cup of a balance-scale, and Eliezer the son of Hurkenus were in the other, he would outweigh them all. Abba Shaul said in his name: If all the sages of Israel were to be in one cup of a balance-scale, Eliezer the son of Hurkenus included, and Elazar the son of Arach were in the other, he would outweigh them all.
10. [Rabbi Yochanan] said to them: Go and see which is the best trait for a person to acquire. Said Rabbi Eliezer: A good eye. Said Rabbi Joshua: A good friend. Said Rabbi Yossei: A good neighbor. Said Rabbi Shimon: To see what is born. Said Rabbi Elazar: A good heart. Said He to them: I prefer the words of Elazar the son of Arach to yours, for his words include all of yours. He said to them: Go and see which is the worst trait, the one that a person should most distance himself from. Said Rabbi Eliezer: An evil eye. Said Rabbi Joshua: An evil friend. Said Rabbi Yossei: An evil neighbor. Said Rabbi Shimon: To borrow and not to repay; for one who borrows from man is as one who borrows from the Almighty, as is stated, ``The wicked man borrows and does not repay; but the righteous one is benevolent and gives.'' Said Rabbi Elazar: An evil heart. Said He to them: I prefer the word of Elazar the son of Arach to yours, for his words include all of yours. They would each say three things: Rabbi Eliezer would say: The honor of your fellow should be as precious to you as your own, and do not be easy to anger. Repent one day before your death. Warm yourself by the fire of the sages, but be beware lest you be burned by its embers; for their bite is the bite of a fox, their sting is the sting of a scorpion, their hiss is the hiss a serpent, and all their words are like fiery coals.
11. Rabbi Joshua would say: An evil eye, the evil inclination, and the hatred of one's fellows, drive a person from the world.
12. Rabbi Yossei would say: The property of your fellow should be as precious to you as your own. Perfect yourself for the study of Torah, for it is not an inheritance to you. And all your deeds should be for the sake of Heaven.
13. Rabbi Shimon would say: Be meticulous with the reading of the Shma and with prayer. When you pray, do not make your prayers routine, but [an entreatment of] mercy and a supplication before the Almighty, as is stated ``For He is benevolent and merciful, slow to anger and abundant in loving kindness, and relenting of the evil decree.'' And do not be wicked in your own eyes.
14. Rabbi Elazar would say: Be diligent in the study of Torah. Know what to answer a heretic. And know before whom you toil, and who is your employer who will repay you the reward of your labors.
15. Rabbi Tarfon would say: The day is short, the work is much, the workers are lazy, the reward is great, and the Master is pressing.
16. He would also say: It is not incumbent upon you to finish the task, but neither are you free to absolve yourself from it. If you have learned much Torah, you will be greatly rewarded, and your employer is trustworthy to pay you the reward of your labors. And know, that the reward of the righteous is in the World to Come.
Studied at the conclusion of each lesson of the Ethics:
Rabbi Chananiah the son of Akashiah would say: G-d desired to merit the people of Israel; therefore, He gave them Torah and mitzvot in abundance. As is stated, ``G-d desired, for sake of his righteousness, that Torah be magnified and made glorious.'' (Makot, 3:16)
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