Spiritual Intelligence

After stating at the outset that his book contains few novelties, the Ramchal challenges us in his introduction with nothing less than a new approach to the fear of God.

Luzzatto’s understanding of the mitzvah of יראה actually has two novel aspects. His first point is that the fear of God is not elementary; it requires study. He supports this contention with a biblical verse, “Fear of God is the one wisdom” (Job 28:28), and he spells out the takeaway. “Fear is a wisdom and it is the only wisdom. Certainly, a topic that lacks a course of study cannot be called a ‘wisdom.’ But the truth is, a great amount of study is required…”

The second point Luzzatto makes is that “fear” itself is a misnomer.

יראה is the awe of God’s preeminence. One should be awed before Him as one is awed before a great and magnificent king. His greatness should make a person self-conscious of every move that he wishes to make. 

According to Luzzatto, the Hebrew יראה, usually translated as “fear,” refers not to fear of divine punishment, but to feelings of awe and reverence in the presence of the Almighty God. (A more detailed description of this awe is provided in chapter nineteen.)

Although Luzzatto goes through the trouble of supporting his first point with evidence from Scripture, nowhere does Luzzatto provide any evidence for his second and more radical contention. The reason is obvious; point number two follows perforce from point number one. Fear of punishment is instinctive; even animals learn it easily. If we accept Luzzatto’s thesis that the fear of God is an abstract concept which requires study, then we must reject the literal definition of fear. Awe, on the other hand, is a function of a higher intelligence. Thus, if יראה is a “wisdom” it must mean awe, not fear. (None of this is meant to belittle the fear of divine punishment; in chapter four Luzzatto himself admits that most people require it, at least as a starting point. See Shaarei Teshuva 1:37; Ohr Yisroel, letters 8-9.)

Although awe may not be as simple as fear, Luzzatto still sounds like he is engaging in hyperbole. How can he claim that the awe of God is the only wisdom? Surely calculus, physics and molecular biology also require study! Moreover, even if Luzzatto does consider the theology of awe to be more challenging than the sciences, where does that leave the average man? Most people can barely grasp the laws of nature; how will they fare with something more abstract? Is the awe of God reserved for the elites? 

Food for Thought

Explaining the importance of keeping kosher in chapter eleven, Luzzatto introduces yet another novelty in a book supposedly devoid of novelties.

Forbidden foods deliver real impurity into the heart and soul of man, to the point that God’s sanctity departs and distances itself from him… for sin clogs man’s heart; כי מסלקת ממנו הדעה האמתית ורוח השכל שהקב"ה נותן לחסידים   –  it removes from him the perception and the spirit of intelligence that God grants the devout, as the verse states, “God grants wisdom” (Mishlei 2:6)... Forbidden foods have a greater impact in this regard than any other sin, for they literally enter man’s body and become part of his flesh.

Although the idea is esoteric, Luzzatto did not invent it. Five hundred years before Luzzatto, the Ramban wrote the same. In light of his position that the purpose of Mitzvos is the refinement of man, the Ramban explains the Torah’s statement that non-Kosher foods “are impure for you” (Vayikra 11:28).  ורמז שהוא להיותנו נקיי הנפש, חכמים משכילי האמת  –  “This alludes to the idea that we should be people with clean souls, wise and understanding of the truth” (Ramban to Devarim 22:6). The Ramban presumes what Luzzatto states explicitly. Non-kosher foods have deleterious effect on the mind of the Jew.

This concept is hard to accept. Are non-observant Jews less intelligent than their Orthodox brethren? Ivy League universities and top law firms are filled with Jews who eat shrimp and pork and yet still manage to maintain sky-high IQs. What is Luzzatto saying?!

The answer can be found in the mystery, the flexibility, and the potency of the human mind. There are different types of intelligences. There is the right hemisphere of the poet and the left hemisphere of the physicist. We know of mathematical minds, artistic talent, and emotional intelligence. But there is altogether different type of intelligence, a higher form. We can call it “spiritual intelligence.” This is the aptitude for humility, modesty, and prayer. Spiritually intelligent man lives with an existential awareness of both human mortality and divine eternity. He is cognizant of the fact that life depends on the good graces of the Creator. 

Non-kosher food damages the spiritual intelligence of the Jew. IQ is unaffected, but sensitivity to non-corporeal realities is deadened. As Luzzatto wrote, “it clogs man’s heart.” The biblical tragedy in the Garden is illustrative. When Adam and Eve ate the forbidden fruit, they were ejected from Paradise and distanced from God. Every non-kosher food has the same effect.

When Luzzatto said the fear of God is the “only wisdom” he meant it is a wisdom unlike all others, a mindfulness of the invisible Divine Presence. A person blessed with this type of intelligence lives a life filled with awe, and one who lacks it cannot be called wise. "Anyone who is haughty, if he is wise, all wisdom departs from him" (Pesachim 66b).

Spiritual intelligence is indeed a challenge for the human mind, but it is a challenge available to all.

Guilt Complex?

Rabbenu Yona, a nephew of the Ramban and a leading Talmudist of the 13^th century, wrote the following in his classic work on repentance.

The level and quality of Teshuva is determined by the intensity of bitterness and the degree of grief. This is the Teshuva which emerges from the purity of the soul and the clarity of its intelligence, for in accordance with man’s intelligence and the more he opens his eyes, so will the feeling of grief increase and intensify for his many sins… כי היגון יבוא מאת טהר הנשמה העליונה  –  This grief is the product of the purity of the elevated Neshama… (Shaarei Teshuvah 1:13)

Like awe, remorse for misdeeds is a natural feature of a spiritual intelligence. It comes neither from the right hemisphere, nor from the left. It comes from the soul.

Luzzatto's Elevator

At the end of his introduction our author tells us that his book is actually a commentary on a commentary. Here's the story.

The Torah states: 

What does Hashem your lord ask of you? Just to fear Hashem your lord, to go in all His ways and to love Him, and to serve Hashem your lord with all your heart and all your soul, to observe the mitzvos of Hashem and His laws. (Devarim 10:12-13). 

After quoting this verse, Luzzatto writes: "All these values [listed in the above verse] need a lot of explanation. I found that our sages, may their memory be blessed, broke down this set and reorganized it into a more detailed listing - in the order required for properly attaining these [traits]. This is what it says in the tannaic teaching, cited in several places in the Talmud, one of them being in chapter "Lifnei Eideihem" (Avodah Zara 20b):

... From here R. Pinchas ben Yair taught, "Torah leads to carefulness, carefulness leads to alacrity, alacrity leads to cleanliness, cleanliness leads to Prishus (separation), Prishus leads to purity, purity leads to Hasidus (piety), Hasidus leads to humility, humility leads to fear of sin, fear of sin leads to sanctity, sanctity leads divine inspiration, divine inspiration leads to resurrecting the dead.

Luzzatto continues, "It was on this tannaic teaching that I decided to write this book, to teach myself and to remind others the conditions needed for the [different] levels of perfected service [of Hashem]. For every one of these [levels] I will describe its issues, its components or details, the way to attain it, the causes of its loss and how to guard against losing it. For then I will read [this book] and whoever else enjoys it so that we will learn to fear Hashem our lord and we won't forget our obligations before Him."

So there we have it: the entire Mesilas Yesharim is an extended commentary on the teaching of R. Pinchas ben Yair, itself a commentary on a biblical verse.

But things are not so simple. Luzzatto's statement that R. Pinchas ben Yair's list is a commentary on the above verse is not stated in the Talmud. It is Luzzatto's own contention. Moreover, the Talmud tells us that R. Pinchas ben Yair was actually motivated by a different tannaic teaching on a different verse: 

The sages taught: "Guard yourself against every evil thing" (Devarim 23:10). A man should not fantasize by day and come to tumah (impurity) by night. From here R. Pinchas ben Yair taught Torah leads to carefulness, carefulness leads to alacrity, etc.

What is the meaning of this? How does R. Pinchas ben Yair derive an entire system of spiritual growth from the simple idea that men shouldn't fantasize? What does one thing have to do with the other? I believe the answer can be found in R. Pinchas ben Yair's careful choice of words.

The sages said a man should not fantasize by day and come to, "VeYavo L'dei," impurity by night. This reality set R. Pinchas thinking. If, when it comes to sin, one thing leads to another in a natural progression - impure thoughts leading to actual impurity - shouldn't the same be true for purity as well? This is what R. Pinchas meant when he said, from here we learn that Torah leads to, "Maivi L'dei," carefulness. Purity is created by Torah thoughts no less naturally than the creation of impurity by impure thoughts. This is the source for Luzzatto's constant refrain throughout the book: these levels can only be attained by contemplating certain truths. מדה טובה מרובה. If it works for impurity, it must work even more powerfully for purity.  מחשבה טובה מצטרפת למעשה - thought evolves into reality.

This idea expresses itself in another Talmudic teaching.

It happened once that Rabbi Tarfon and the elder sages were reclining upstairs in the Nitzeh House in Lod and the question was posed, "Which is greater: study or actions?" R. Tarfon responded, "Actions are greater." R. Akivah responded, "Study is greater." Everyone [else] responded, "Study is greater, for study leads to (Maivi L'dei) actions."  (Kiddushin 40b)  

The story concludes with the consensus of the sages that study is greater because it leads to action. But why does that make study greater? As the Maharal of Prague asks, if one traveled to do a mitzvah, would anyone claim that traveling there was greater than the actual performance of the mitzvah?! The Maharal explains, "The meaning here is not that study is merely that which prepares us for action. Rather, it itself is what brings action into reality... Torah is the starting point and every starting point is what causes the end point to materialize... Just as planting a seed causes a sprout to come into existence, so too when the Torah is planted in man it functions to bring about the end point, and its end point is action... This is what [the Talmud] meant, "study leads to (Maivi L'dei) actions," the study itself functions to complete the action just as a seed functions to produce a tree..." (Maharal, D'rush al HaMitzvos).  

The Maharal could not be more clear. The study of Torah gives birth to actions. It is just as R. Pinchas ben Yair said, Torah leads to carefulness, which leads to alacrity... It makes one wonder if R. Pinchas ben Yair was one of those elder sages in Lod.

This reading of R. Pinchas ben Yair is further supported by Rabbeinu Yona's commentary on Berachos 6b. The Talmud states, "The God of Avraham will assist all who designate a place for Tefillah." R. Yona asks the obvious question. Why would such an extraordinary reward be granted for such a simple thing? Answers R. Yona:

The [sages] did not mean [God will assist you] just because you designated a place [for prayer]. Rather, they are saying that one who is so conscientious about prayer that he is even careful about this - he wants his prayers to be in a special location - such a person who loves prayer so much, must certainly be a humble man... For without humility, he would never be able to pray with intent... And since he has merited [to achieve the trait of] Humility, he will also merit the greater trait of Hasidus (piety), for one causes the other as it says, "Humility leads to Hasidus" ...

The fact that R. Yona's version of the Talmud has Humility prior to Hasidus is beside the point. What is important is that R. Yona understands that each level causes the next. This reading radically alters R. Pinchas ben Yair's central point.

R. Pinchas ben Yair's teaching is not simply a list of levels of righteousness. Nor is it merely a ladder of spiritual growth. It is an engine propelling us from one level to the next. All we need to do is get on the elevator.

An Indictment

The author's introduction is a work unto itself and it provides a rare picture of Jews in the 18th century. A "State of the Union" of sorts, it describes the state of affairs of religious life as the Ramchal saw it and he is fiercely critical. Keep in mind that the Ramchal lived in Padua, Italy and Amsterdam, Holland - both major centers of Jewish life at the time.

The Ramchal argues that "Mussar," ethics and piety, is not simply a matter of religiosity, but is a mandatory course of study - one which demands the full intellectual rigour of the best Jewish minds. How can we invest so much time in the analysis of Halachos that are not even in practice today, he asks, and leave such basic principles as love and awe of Hashem and the refining of our character to habit? In this he appears to be challenging not the man on the street, but the rabbinic leadership and the traditional Jewish curriculum.

I leave it to you to consider if things have changed.