Chasidut על אבות 1:21

Since there is in the mishnah "on three things the world stands on Torah, and on Service and on Acts of Loving Kindness" (Avot 1:2) and there is in the mishnah "on three things the world stands, on Judgment, and on Truth and on Peace" (Avot 1:18). And we can also say that they have the same intention, that behold we are presented with three levels in the service of the High Creator, one - Torah learned for its own sake, and in truth our sages of blessed memory allowed us [study of Torah] even not for its own sake, as they said "a person should always engage etc" even if one does not reach to the levels of learning for its own sake nevertheless you should not refrain from it, since it is not quickly that one attains to learn for its own sake, but through a great exertion in one's service to the Blessed Name with all the good personal qualities.

Since there is in the mishnah "on three things the world stands on Torah, and on Service and on Acts of Loving Kindness" (Avot 1:2) and there is in the mishnah "on three things the world stands, on Judgment, and on Truth and on Peace" (Avot 1:18). And we can also say that they have the same intention, that behold we are presented with three levels in the service of the High Creator, one - Torah learned for its own sake, and in truth our sages of blessed memory allowed us [study of Torah] even not for its own sake, as they said "a person should always engage etc" even if one does not reach to the levels of learning for its own sake nevertheless you should not refrain from it, since it is not quickly that one attains to learn for its own sake, but through a great exertion in one's service to the Blessed Name with all the good personal qualities.

And let us return to the first issue, "on three things the world stands, on judgment [din]" (Avot 1:18) - this is Torah, as there is that Torah is also called judgment in whichever way it will be, as explained above [for its own sake or not]. "And on truth" - that is the level of Yaakov, that is the average, that is compassion [rachamim], as it is written 'gave truth to Yaakov' (Micah 7:2) that through the raising of the holy sparks one awakens compassion and there is no need for lovingkindness, as explained above. "And on peace"- that is clinging to God, that one clings to the Blessed Creator since the name of the Holy Blessed One is Peace (Tractate Derekh Eretz Zuta, Section on Peace 11).

“And if I am for myself …”¹⁰²Pirkei Avos, 1:14, Hillel the elder, “If I am only concerned for myself, what I am worth?” If I was with this Avreich at the time that race through his head, I would whisper into his ear and say, “all of these thoughts that you think about the other are really just your own. You are this fellow who you are obsessed about, and you want to do and say all of these evil things that enrage you, and at the very least you think about doing them. And since you refrain from such behavior, your desires and thoughts are cheating you and are dressing up in thoughts about the other in order that you may allow yourself to keep thinking about them. Look deep inside yourself and see that how difficult to stop thinking these thoughts.”

Numbers 23,24. “they are a nation that rises like a ‎lion, leaps up like the king of beasts. It rests not till it has ‎feasted on prey and drunk the blood of the slain.”‎
In the matter of how to serve the Lord optimally, it is an ‎accepted rule that the first stage of becoming a true servant of ‎the Lord involves that the person concerned expects a reward as a ‎form of recognition for his effort. It is simply not to be expected ‎that every person will begin his career as a servant of the Lord by ‎eschewing every kind of reward. When the Mishnah in ‎‎Avot 1,3 teaches not to serve the Lord on condition of ‎receiving a reward, it does not address “beginners.” Proof that ‎this is the accepted norm is found in Pessachim 50 where ‎the Talmud teaches that if we perform G’d’s commandments, ‎even while also having ulterior motives, in due course we will do ‎so without having ulterior motives. [This is part of the ‎promise that the reward of performing a commandment brings in ‎its wake performance of another commandment, (Avot 4,1) i.e. ‎the same commandment, but on a higher level. Ed.] ‎When one has attained this level of serving the Lord, one will also ‎become the vehicle through which the “fallen” sparks, i.e. ‎spiritual beings or human beings who have “fallen” from their ‎erstwhile high moral/ethical level may be restored to grace ‎through contact with such servants of the Lord. This has been ‎spelled out in the writings of the Ari z’al.
As long as one serves the Lord expecting to be rewarded for ‎this, the human being doing so is considered as on the level of a ‎female, as by definition all females, i.e. their functions, are viewed ‎primarily as recipients, vessels to be filled. Once having attained ‎the level of serving the Lord without any expectation of reward, ‎one has joined the ranks of the males. Not only does such a ‎person not depend on “receiving,” but he is able to become a ‎dispenser of satisfaction and pleasure even to the Creator. This is ‎the true meaning of a statement in the Zohar III,7 that the ‎Jewish people provide G’d with His sustenance, ‎פרנסה‎.‎
This is also what Bileam had in mind when he said: ‎הן עם כלביא ‏יקום‎, “this is a nation that arises like a lioness,” but develops to ‎the stature of being ‎כארי יתנשא‎, “it elevates itself to become ‎comparable to a mature male lion.” [According to our ‎author Rashi commenting on that verse interprets it as ‎sequential, i.e. beginning to serve the Lord while expecting a ‎reward, progressing to serve Him without such expectations. I ‎have not been able to find this Rashi. Ed.]‎

Numbers 24,5. “how fair are your tents , O Yaakov, ‎your dwellings O Israel.” This may best be understood in ‎light of the sages urging us to set aside definitive hours each day ‎for Torah study. (Avot 1:15). “Yaakov” is the name used for ‎Israel when it is at “low” ebb spiritually, whereas “Israel,” is the ‎name applied to the Jewish people when they are spiritually at ‎their best. When Torah study is only an occasional activity of the ‎Jewish people, they are on the level of “Yaakov.” [The ‎word: ‎אהל‎ always denotes a temporary abode, as opposed to ‎משכן‎ ‎which always describes permanent dwellings. When Torah study ‎comprises a major part of their waking hours, i.e. it is a fixture, ‎they are referred to as Israel. Ed.]‎

This also helps us understand a verse in psalms 31,20 ‎מה רב ‏טובך אשר צפנת ליראיך פעלת לחוסים בך נגד בני אדם‎, “how abundant is ‎the good that You have in store for those who fear You; You have ‎done so publicly in full view of men, for those who have taken ‎refuge in You.” Rachel was a perfect example of how one fulfills ‎the exhortation of our sages in Avot 1,3 not to belong to ‎the category of people who observe the Lord’s commandments ‎only for the sake of the reward G’d has promised. She trusted G’d ‎fully, else she would have certainly used the argument that she ‎did not want to become Esau’s wife as justification not to reveal ‎the secret code between Yaakov and her to her sister. Her action ‎even endangered her afterlife, which due to being a dutiful wife of ‎Esau would have daily put her claim to an afterlife at risk.‎
The exhortation of the above quoted Mishnah not to ‎perform the commandments for the sake of the reward promised ‎is very difficult to honour as we know and are constantly aware ‎that G’d keeps His promises to us, and it is almost superhuman ‎not to be influenced by such promises. When David worded his ‎psalm 31,20 as he did, adding the words ‎נגד בני אדם‎, he meant that ‎at the time when we perform the commandments we must not ‎think of the reward in store for us. G’d does not mind that once ‎we have performed the commandment we think about the ‎reward. He knows how difficult it is not to think of it while ‎performing it; this is why David says of G’d ‎צפנת‎, “You hid,” such ‎thoughts from those who truly revere You at the time when they ‎performed the commandments.‎

Genesis 31,18. “he guided all his livestock and all his ‎portable possessions , the ones he had acquired while in ‎Padan Aram, and in order to go back to his father ‎Yitzchok”. The last few words about Yaakov returning to his ‎father appear superfluous; the moral/ethical lesson that the ‎Torah teaches by describing Yaakov’s motivation in returning to ‎the land of Israel as being to become reunited with his father, is ‎that although G’d had promised Yaakov that he would become a ‎founder of a great nation, would expand in all directions of the ‎globe, none of these promises weighed on his decision to return ‎forthwith to the land of Israel. His concern was the opportunity ‎to once more be able to fulfill the commandment of honouring ‎his father (his mother having died during his absence).‎

In prayer, you need to be as if stripped of materiality and not feel your existence in the world at all. This is the teaching (Avot 1:14) "If I am not for myself, who is for me?" meaning, if I arrive at the state where I do not know and do not feel all that 'I am me', or whether I am in this world or not, then I certainly have no fear of foreign thoughts. For what foreign thought could come close to me when I am stripped of this world, and this is 'who is for me', what kind of foreign thought will come to me. But 'when I am for myself,' when I think of myself as something existent in the reality of this world, then I am considered all the more worthless; that is the meaning of 'what am I', what am I worth and what is my devotion worth before God. Then foreign thoughts will confound me, and then I will be as if not in this world, for the purpose of mankind's creation in this world was to serve God, and I cannot serve God on account of these confusing foreign thoughts. In this way, we can also understand the Talmudic statement (Sukkah 53a) "If I am here, everything is here."