In chapter 16, the Ramchal tells us that the Tahor is in danger of being seduced by honor. As he strives to perfect his Mitzvos, people will take notice and he will receive recognition. The Tahor may find himself enjoying the attention and the purity of his future Mitzvah performance will be jeopardized.
It all sounds simple enough, but Tehila S. raised an important point. Any interest in personal prestige should have been eradicated long ago in Nekius! Back in chapter eleven the Ramchal wrote: “It appropriate for the Naki to cleanse and totally purify himself of [interest in honor] – then he will succeed” (chap. 11). So why are we concerned that the Tahor will be motivated by honor? If he is, then not only isn’t he a Tahor, he’s not even a Naki!
This is a truly excellent question. Nonetheless, two students came up with impressive answers.
Miriam W. reminded us that the Tahor started off doing the Mitzvah לשמה, free of any self-interest.
… But what requires deeper contemplation and greater effort is [preventing] the inclusion of forbidden [intent]. Sometimes a person sets out to perform a Mitzvah truly לשמה, because it is the decree of our Father in heaven, but yet he does not prevent other interests from entering into the equation; either that people should praise him or that he will receive reward for his act. Other times, even if he doesn't really intend for [people] to praise him, his enjoyment of the praise [he receives] will cause him to be more meticulous [in future performances of this Mitzvah]. This is akin to the story about the daughter of R. Chaninah ben Tradion. She had a graceful bearing when she walked, and when she heard [people] commenting, “How fine is the bearing of that girl!” she immediately became more meticulous. This addition was clearly born of the praise that she received. Even though the forbidden element is vanishingly small, an act with components like this in the mix is not perfectly pure.
Chapter 16
R. Chaninah ben Tradion’s daughter didn't do anything wrong and the Talmud is not criticizing her. It is perfectly natural for people to become more conscientious when they are complimented. Nonetheless, the Tahor must battle this human weakness if he is to preserve the purity of his intent (cf. Ofek Institute, “The Complete Mesillat Yesharim,” pg. 182, note 14)
Miriam used this point to answer Tehila’s question. Although the Naki has cleansed himself of the drive for כבוד and is above setting out in pursuit of it, nonetheless he is still human and will enjoy receiving praise for his Mitzvos. As the Ramchal wrote, this enjoyment endangers subsequent Mitzvah acts which may now lack the requisite perfection of intent. Thus, despite the fact that the Tahor is נקי and is not initially motivated by כבוד, he must still strive to maintain the purity of his Mitzvot. (For an deeper understanding of the Naki's weakness, see this post.)
Talia S. came up with a different answer to Tehila's question; a compelling explanation based on the struggle between two different types of honor. In the words of the Ramchal, “It is impossible for him to be a faithful servant of his Master as long as he cares about his own honor, for his foolishness will require him to minimize Heaven’s honor” (chap. 11). Here we see two very different types of honor: the honor of man and the honor of Heaven. Although the honor of man presents a grave danger to spiritual health, the honor of heaven should obviously be encouraged and embraced.
The authentic honor is true knowledge of the Torah, as [the sages] of blessed memory taught, “There is no honor other than Torah, as the verse states, ‘כבוד will be inherited by the wise’ (Mishlei 3:35)” (Avos 6:3). All else is nothing but imaginary and false honor, unhelpful hot air. It is appropriate for the נקי to cleanse and totally purify himself of it – then he will succeed”
Chapter 11
Now we understand, said Talia, why the טהור is struggling with כבוד issues. Back in נקיות he eradicated all interest in the false כבוד of the self, but now he is the recipient of a different kind of כבוד. He is being honored for his תורה and מצוות! This kind of כבוד is valid and the טהור is therefore in danger of confusing his own personal כבוד with the כבוד of Hashem. That is a new challenge he never dealt with before. (For a real-life example of this confusion, see this post.)
Truth be told, neither Miriam's nor Talia's explanations fully answer Tehila's question. The Ramchal clearly writes that we are also dealing here with a person in pursuit of personal honor. "Sometimes a person sets out to perform a Mitzvah truly לשמה, because it is the decree of our Father in heaven, but yet he does not prevent other interests from entering into the equation; either that people should praise him or that he will receive reward for his act" (ibid.). Here we find the Naki interested in honor even before he receives it! As Tehila asked, such a thing should not be possible.
With all due respect to Tehila, I believe her entire question is a mistake, founded on a prevalent, basic misconception about the book. People are complex, multidimensional beings, and the spiritual levels described by the Mesilas Yesharim are not all or nothing. A person can be Zahir in one area of life, Naki in another and a Chosid in a third. In fact, that is usually the case. Luzzatto knew that there would be many readers interested in working on the Tahara of their Mitzvos even though they were not yet Naki when it comes to כבוד. That is as it should be, and our understanding author addressed the issue and gave us much needed empathy and guidance.
Thank you Luzzatto!
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