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.

The Healing Power of Mussar

Last Elul this blog was launched and dedicated to the recovery of a certain young woman in Los Angeles. B"H she recently underwent a battery of tests all of which show that her illness is gone. Baruch Rofeh Cholim! And thank you to all who participated in this project.

For a collection of audio classes on Elul, click here.

Living Consciously

In Chapter 17, Ramchal descibes the way of attaining Tahara - purity. In this chapter he describes that one of the ways of attaining purity is by making sure that you take ample time to prepare to do mitzvot, so that you do them in the right frame of mind and with the right intentions. As a paradigm he describes the Chassidim Rishonim, who would spend an hour preparing themselves for davening.

For many mitzvot, preparation is an important step, but there are many times when we don't have an opportunity to take an hour to get into the right frame of mind. If someone's parent tells them to do something, they can't say "hold on for an hour while I meditate on how to best do the mitzvah of kibbud av va'em." They have to just act.

How can someone properly purify their actions in the more spontaneous things in life?

I heard a drasha once from Rabbi Bess in Los Angeles, who was discussing the story of Manoach, the father of Shimshon (I forget who he quoted in telling over this story). In short, an angel comes to Manoach's wife and she rushes home to fetch him to talk to the angel. He runs after her and the gemarrah comments that you see from this story that Manoach was an am haaretz (ignoramus) because he shouldn't have run behind his wife as it is not appropriate for men to walk directly behind women. Rabbi Bess questions how we can tell anything about Manoach from this story? There was a fiery angel waiting for him, and everything was crazy. He ran out as fast as he could and everything was presumably very chaotic. He answered that precisely at these chaotic times we can tell what a person is really all about. If he has worked on himself to such an extent, that certain behaviors becomes second-nature to him, then you know that even in a chaotic time, he will act appropriately. And if he hasn't properly internalized these messages, then even if he acts appropriately when things are calm, his true nature will shine through when things go crazy.

This is one approach to the question above; make sure that you work on yourself to such an extent, that you are always considered as if you are prepared for the mitzvot that come your way. To me, though, this approach lacks practical steps to actually implement it. In this chapter, Ramchal is trying to describe practical steps to purify our actions, and just saying "totally integrate purity into your being" falls short for me.

In Sefer HaYashar, the author discusses how to battle theological challenges that might come up in life. He suggests thinking through potential challenges that may come up in life in advance, so that when the challenge actually arises, you have the tools to deal with them. For example, there have been many people who have lost their faith through having financial difficulties. He suggests that it would be worth while for people who have enough money to think about how they would maintain their faith should they fall on hard times.

I think this idea can be extrapolated to the issue at hand. There are certain things we have to do which are, in their essence, spontaneous. We can anticipate these issues, however, and think about how we are going to approach them and handle them when they arise. We can then store that preparation in our back pockets, and when the situation actually comes up, we will already have the tools ready to deal with them. Obviously, the preparation will not be as fresh as having just sat meditating for an hour, but without having prepared in advance, we will be caught unawares, and who knows what actions will come out.

A Question of Honor

Throughout this reading of Mesilas Yesharim we have been paying close attention to how each level leads to the one above it. In earlier posts we have posited that this book describes Jewish spiritual growth not as a ladder, but as an escalator. As soon as one begins with the proper study of Torah, an organic process takes hold of the Jew in which he is naturally and gradually propelled from one level to the next. If we are to follow through on this theory, we must now explain how Anavah evolves into Yiras Cheit.

In chapter twenty-two the Ramchal defined Anavah: "Humility in thought is when a person contemplates and realizes that he is not entitled to praise or honor..." Later in the chapter, the author lists four behaviors of the humble man: "The fourth component is the distribution of honor to all people..."

We would expect the humble to eschew honor entirely; surprisingly, the Ramchal classifies honoring others as a fundamental behavior of the humble man. It seems that honor cannot be denied or suppressed. It is a reality of our world and it must be dealt with. The humble understand that honor exists not for the indulgence of their ego, but for them to bestow it upon others. (See this post.) Moreover, the very exercise of honoring others develops humility as it internalizes the sense that we have no rational claim on honor for ourselves.      

The level after Anavah is Yiras Cheit, the Fear of Sin. This poses a problem. Fear of sin was established back in Zehirus as the earliest step of this program of spiritual growth (see chapter four and this post). How and why does it reappear here near the end? The Ramchal answers this question by distinguishing between different types of "fear" (or better, awe).

... the point of both of them is to abstain from doing anything against His exalted honor, may He be blessed. However the difference between the two... is that the [first type of] awe exists either at the time of doing [a mitzvah], at the time of divine service or in a situation of sin. That is, at the time that a person stands up to pray or serve Hashem they are embarrassed, ashamed, trembling and quaking before the exalted honor of Hashem, may He be blessed. Or at the time that an opportunity to sin presents itself... he should abstain from doing it so that he should not commit a violation before His Honorable Eyes, God forbid. But [the] Yiras Cheit [that we are dealing with in our chapter] exists at all times and at every hour. At every moment he is afraid lest he err and do something, or a part of something, that would be contrary to the honor of His Name, may He be blessed. 

Note that the Ramchal used the word "honor" four times in that paragraph! In other words, Yiras Cheit is the unceasing concern for the honor of God. That would present a conflict of interest for someone who lacks humility and feels entitled to honor himself. Indeed, the Ramchal begins chapter twenty-four by telling us that Yiras Cheit is attainable "only by one who has already achieved all the previously mentioned attributes." But Anavah is more than just a prerequisite for Yiras Cheit, for Anavah is not only about eschewing honor; it is also about giving honor to others. A holy practice which can and ultimately will evolve into Yiras Cheit, in which honoring the ultimate Other - God Himself - is man's sole concern.

Welcome Benji!

We welcome Benji Ginsberg as a new contributor to this blog. Besides being a good friend and a great writer, readers will see that Benji is also a creative Baal Mussar.

Benji's first post is already up.  In its few short paragraphs, it provides a new - and timely - understanding of Teshuvah and the mysterious custom of abstaining from pas palter during the Ten Days of Repentance, making use of both the Euclidean vector and the centrality of d'veikus in the Ramchal's weltanschauung.

D'veikus has been addressed on this blog twice before, both times sparking fascinating discussion in the comments. For the possibility of experiencing d'veikus in the here and now, see this post. And for the appropriateness of d'veikus as a motivator in mitzvos bein adam l'chaveiro, see this post. 

The Process of Teshuva

One of the difficulties of trying to improve one’s self during the Aseres Yemai Teshuva is the overwhelming enormity of the task. We try certain things, accept upon ourselves certain chumros (like not eating Pas Palter) in an attempt to do enough good deeds to merit inscription in the Book of Life. But it is truly daunting. I mean, we know we will be basically the same people a few months from now. What is the point of it all? Why accept chumros that will disappear as soon as Yom Kippur is over? How is this useful for the process of Teshuva? How am I supposed to perfect myself with small, incremental changes?

The answer, I think, lies in the definition of what Teshuva really is. The Ramchal, way back in Chapter One of Mesillas Yesharim, writes:

Behold, our Sages have taught us that Man was created only to find delight in G-d, and to benefit from the radiance of the Divine Presence…. And if you were to investigate further into this matter, you would see that true perfection is only through attaching (D’veikus) one’s self with G-d.

The point of our existence is to become close to G-d. When we sin, we move away from G-d. We do Teshuva to move ourselves back in the right direction. In Physics, there is a concept of a vector, which is a force that moves in a specific direction. Teshuva, then, is really a spiritual vector: it is a force of spiritual growth moving in a direction back towards G-d, where we should be going. When the Navi admonishes the Jewish people to repent, he says “Shuva Yisrael ad Hashem Elokecha” – return to G-d. Move in G-d’s direction until you get to Him.

There’s an old aphorism that states “The journey of a thousand miles begins with one step”. During the Aseres Yemai Teshuva, we accept upon ourselves certain stringencies or new kabolos to serve as an impetus or catalyst to do Teshuva. These actions are supposed to reorient our spiritual direction and get the ball rolling so that the inertia of Teshuva will take over and we can move along with it. The first act of Teshuva is creating an about-face to push us in the right direction. It doesn’t matter whether or not we keep doing these things after Yom Kippur. Of course, there is certainly more to Teshuva then just a redirection (see Rambam); it’s not just plugging an address into your GPS. But it does matter that we stay focused on where we should be going. If we lose sight of what we were put here for, than no amount of chumros or Al Chets will help us with our ultimate mission of becoming closer to G-d.

Taking Humilty from Mind to Heart

Chapters twenty-two and twenty-three describe level seven, the level of Anavah – humility.

“Initially, a person has to be humble in thought; after that, he can be humble in action. For if in his mind he is not humble and he wants to behave humbly, he will just be one of the fake, terrible ‘humble’ people we wrote about earlier (in chapter 11); these are hypocrites and there is nothing in the world worse than them!”

Sounds reasonable enough, but the Ramchal contradicts himself and writes the exact opposite at the beginning of the very next chapter.

“Since it is in the nature of man’s heart to be haughty and raise himself [above others], it is difficult to initially uproot this natural tendency unless he utilizes external behaviors that are within his power and – little by little – he influences his inner self which is not so much under his control, just as we described in Zerizus (in chapter 7)…”

Here the Ramchal advocates using external behavior as a means to gain Anavah, directly contradicting what wrote in the previous chapter that a person must first be humble inside before behaving humbly externally.

The answer is that both statements are true and there is no contradiction here at all, for in these two chapters the Ramchal is speaking of two different stages of Anavah. In chapter twenty-two the Ramchal argues that one must first be “humble in thought.” This means that a person must know, intellectually, that “he is not entitled to honor or praise.” The entire chapter is dedicated to convincing us of this truth, but as we have learned time and again in this work, knowing is a long way from being. Chapter twenty-three, entitled “On the Means of Acquiring Anavah,” teaches us how to take what we know and internalize it, using external behaviors to modify ourselves.

“It is in the nature of man’s heart to be haughty…” Reading chapter twenty-two and knowing that we are not entitled to honor does not change the reality of human nature. At that stage, before a person is “humble in thought,” he is a faker if he behaves humbly and it will get him nowhere. However, when a person understands clearly that he should be humble, behaving humbly is not hypocritical. On the contrary, it is the appropriate means to acquiring true, internal Anavah.