אַל תְּבַקֵּשׁ גְּדֻלָּה לְעַצְמְךָ, וְאַל תַּחְמֹד כָּבוֹד, יוֹתֵר מִלִּמּוּדְךָ עֲשֵׂה, וְאַל תִּתְאַוֶּה לְשֻׁלְחָנָם שֶׁל מְלָכִים, שֶׁשֻּׁלְחָנְךָ גָדוֹל מִשֻּׁלְחָנָם, וְכִתְרְךָ גָדוֹל מִכִּתְרָם, וְנֶאֱמָן הוּא בַּעַל מְלַאכְתְּךָ שֶׁיְּשַׁלֵּם לְךָ שְׂכַר פְּעֻלָּתֶךָ:
Torah is greater than priesthood and than kingship. For kingship is acquired with thirty eminences and priesthood with twenty-four, whereas Torah is acquired with forty-eight. They are: learning, the hearing of the ear, the articulation of the lips, the understanding of the heart, intuition, awe, fear, humility, joy, attendance upon the wise, the probing of the friends, the dialectics of the disciples, with deliberation, with Scripture, with Mishnah, with diminution of trade, of sleep, of pleasure, of laughter, (and) of cohabitation, with patience, with forbearance, with a good heart, with faith in the sages, and with the acceptance of afflictions.
Shaarei Kedusha
When Rabbi Pinchas ben Yair said, “Caution brings to zeal, zeal brings to cleanliness, cleanliness brings to separateness, separateness brings to purity, purity brings to holiness, holiness brings to fear of sin, fear of sin brings to humility, humility brings to Chassidut, Chassidut brings to the Holy Spirit and the Holy Spirit brings to resurrecting the dead” – he was referring to this. This is specifically the perfect Chassidut which follows holiness and leads to the Holy Spirit. Because he cleaves to G-d totally he will merit to attain the revelation of the secrets of Torah and to prophesy about the future. This is as Rabbi Meir said, “Whosoever is occupied in Torah for its name (i.e. for its sake, rather than his own sake) merits many things. Moreover, the whole world is worthwhile because of him. He is called friend, beloved, lover of G-d, lover of the creatures, the delight of G-d and the delight of the creatures. The Torah garbs him in humility and awe. It prepares him to be a Tzaddik, a Chassid, upright and trustworthy. It distances him from sin and brings him close to merit. He benefits others with counsel and wisdom, understanding and strength, as it says, “Mine is counsel and wisdom; I am ‘understanding’, strength is mine”. The Torah gives him kingship, governance and penetrating judgment. The secrets of the Torah are revealed to him. He becomes like an overflowing spring and like an ever-flowing river. He becomes modest, long-suffering and forgiving of insults. The Torah magnifies him and elevates him above all things.” Furthermore, when Rabbi Meir said, “For its name”, he meant for the “name” of the Torah, in that the Torah is the name of the Holy One, Blessed is He. This is because the entire Torah is comprised of the names of the Holy One, Blessed is He.
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