Are You Scared?

As much as I believe in the timeless quality of this book, I had long suspected that chapter nine focuses on an eighteenth century societal problem that has ceased to be an issue. The detailed treatment of the fears that keep people indoors and under the covers does not resonate with my personal experience and lacks the bite that I have come to expect from the Mesilas Yesharim. Frankly, my lack of Zerizus has little to do with the Halachic parameters of when I should or should not be afraid of the weather. I offer no excuses and I make no claims of fear. I'm just plain lazy.

A careful reading of the chapter raises more serious question: Is the fear Luzzatto speaks of real, or is it a farce? On the one hand, he encourages the reader to overcome his fears with faith, quoting Tehillim (37:3), "Rely on Hashem!" This certainly implies that we are dealing with an authentic fear. On the other hand, Luzzatto characterizes the fear as sinful, implying that the person is just using it as an excuse.

Another thing that causes the loss of Zerizus is an excessive fear and a great terror of the times and its events. Sometimes he will be afraid of the cold or the heat, sometimes accidents, sometimes illness, sometimes the wind, and all other such similar things... Our sages have already derided this characteristic and associated it with sinners... to the point that when one of the great [sages] saw his student frightened, he said, "You are a sinner!"

Luzzatto explains the sin with a Midrash that mocks people's excuses.

They tell the lazy man, "Your rabbi is in the city, go learn Torah from him!" He responds to them, "I am frightened of the lion on the road." "Your rabbi is in the neighborhood!" He says to them, "I am frightened there might be a lion in the alley." They tell him, "He is in your house!" He says to them, "If I go to him I'll find the door locked." They tell him, "It is open!" When he has nothing left to say, he tells them, "Whether the door is open or locked, I would like to take a short nap."

Luzzatto ends with this cutting observation: "It is not fear that is causing him to be lazy; it is laziness that is causing him to be frightened."

Apparently, the fears of this chapter are not only irrational, they are non-existent. This person is not afraid at all, he is just inventing excuses. But if this is the case, why does Luzzatto honor such "fears" with an entire chapter? Why take pains to distinguish between "appropriate fear" and "foolish fear" as if we had a Halachic question, and why define the limits of Bitachon as if this were a theological discussion? We are dealing with an unabashed liar! He is not afraid, he is a lazy sinner! Why validate a lie? Our author should call a spade a spade, not engage in dialogue.

After years of shrugging shoulders, I finally cracked the mystery last week. The answer can be found in the first chapter on Zerizus, chapter six.

If you challenge the lazy man, he will bring you many quotes from the sayings of the sages, verses from Scripture, and rational arguments, all of which, according to his confused opinion, teach him to be lenient and permit him to indulge his laziness. He fails to recognize that these arguments and these rationales are not founded on his objective thought, but flow from his laziness. As [his laziness] overpowers him, it influences his opinions and his mind towards these arguments... 

It is a terrifying prospect. We naturally assume that our dearly-held opinions are rational, but the truth is that laziness influences the way we think and we don't even realize it. 

After diagnosing the problem, Luzzatto deals with it the only way he can. To criticize laziness would be ineffective, for this person is convinced of the validity of his position. The "fear" began life as a lame excuse, but eventually the mind was hijacked and now he believes it. Luzzatto is thus forced to respect the fallacy and debate it, for the lazy man really is frightened. And so Luzzatto takes the time to demolish these nonsensical arguments. The mind must be healed first.

Clear thinking is not merely the solution to a peculiar side effect of laziness. It is a critical step in the system of growth described by this book. The poisoning of the subconscious by our negative drives is one of Luzzatto's central themes and the cleansing process is described in the next chapter, in the introduction to Nekius:

The trait of Nekius is [achieved] when a person is completely cleansed of every negative trait and from all sin... His vision will be completely clear, his judgement pure, and desires will not influence him... The Zahir is careful with his behavior and makes sure not to violate what he already knows and is popularly accepted to be a sin. However, [the Zahir] is not yet a master over himself to prevent his heart from being drawn towards the natural desires, that they should not influence him... However, after man trains himself greatly in this Zehirus, achieving the initial cleansing from the well-known sins, and [then] trains himself in the service [of mitzvos] and its Zerizus, and the love for his creator and the yearning for Him intensifies - the force of this training will distance him from materialism and focus his mind on self-perfection until he is finally able to achieve a complete cleansing... His vision will then be pure and clear, like I wrote above, so that he won't be seduced nor influenced by his dark, material nature and his behavior will be totally cleansed.     

In short, the goal of the Zehirus-Zerizus-Nekius program is clear thinking and objective judgement, unclouded by desires. Debunking the lazy man is not just a practical matter of acquiring Zerizus. More fundamentally, it is required for the Nekius of the mind.

Once upon a time, people lived with a heightened sense of mortality. Ancient Israelites had to contend with mountain lions on the streets. Before modern medicine, the common cold could kill. In such an environment, staying balanced took mental effort and a strong faith. Today we feel secure and, for better or worse, generally don't worry about such things. Although we do not share the fears of Luzzatto's lazy man, we certainly have much to learn from his diagnosis and treatment. Regardless of the century you happen to be living in, laziness poisons the mind of man. 

The bite is back!

The Changing Face of Inspiration

Chapter eight is deceptive. It first appears simple, almost obvious, but a careful reading quickly reveals the author's precision and insight.

He tells us that zhirus and zerizus are actually two sides of the same coin - zehirus is avoiding sin and zerizus is doing Mitzvos - and therefore there is no real difference in method when it comes to acquiring these two traits. Torah leads to zerizus just as it leads to zehirus, with the same three types of inspiration for the three different types of people, as described back in chapter four.

On the face of it, that is all the author seems to say and it makes perfect sense. However, this is problematic. R. Pinchas ben Yair did not say that Torah leads to both zehirus and zerizus; he said Torah leads to zehirus and zehirus leads to zerizus. Is the Ramchal accusing R. Pinchas ben Yair of inexactitude?

The simple answer to this question is found in the final paragraph of chapter nine. There the Ramchal says that zerizus belongs after zehirus for as long as people pay no attention to their behavior, excitement for Mitzvos is highly unlikely. It is only after zehirus is achieved that zerizus becomes a possibility. This is of course true, but in chapter eight the Ramchal provides, in his subtle choice of words, a deeper appreciation of the process in which zehirus brings a person to zerizus.

At the end of chapter eight, the author sums up the chapter, claiming that he has described how the same three kinds of inspiring contemplations that worked for zehirus also work for zerizus. But a careful reading shows that the Ramchal has written things differently here. First of all, before the final paragraph, no mention is made of the three different kinds of people. The Ramchal just describes three ways of thinking that lead to zerizus as if they work equally well on all people. More significantly, none of the three "contemplations" found in chapter eight match the "contemplations" found in chapter four! In chapter four we find the fear of flaws for the "shleimei hada'as," the shame of dishonor in the next world for those "inferior to them," and the fear of punishment for "the masses." Compare that to the three "contemplations" of chapter eight: First there is awareness of the value of Mitzvos and the magnitude of our obligation to perform them, then there is thinking about the constant flow of wonderful things that God does for people, and finally, man's dependence on God and the awareness that a failure in divine service could lead to deprivation. The two sets of three just don't match.

It seems that our three friends have evolved since chapter four. While before zehirus contemplations have to be custom-tailored for different kinds of people, after zehirus is achieved and people have grown in their spiritual sensitivity, they can be motivated by an increasing variety of contemplations. And although they still have different "personalities" and the Torah impacts and inspires them in different ways, we can readily see how they have matured and are now not just inspired by the Torah to avoid sin, but each in his own way is motivated to do Mitzvos as well.

Indeed, it is as R. Pinchas ben Yair said. Zehirus leads to zerizus.