Chasidut sobre Pirkei Avot 2:21

The true foundation of the fear of God is faith. Only by understanding and consciously believing in the supreme lofty heights of God, and then actively fearing Him, does fear become complete. Man’s normal experience of fear usually stems from an awareness of his own deficiencies. Of this it is said (Yeshayahu, 44:17), “He makes himself an idol and bows down to it.”¹⁹⁶In other words, he makes of himself an idol, which he bows down to. This kind of fear is called by the Zohar (Vaeira, 29a), “their fear.”¹⁹⁷That is, their own personal fears, which they project outward, upon the idol. Since idolaters are deficient, they believe that by prostrating themselves to an idol and expressing their fear, stemming from a recognition of their own deficiency, the idol will emit a flow of energy to fill their lacks.¹⁹⁸Using the example in note 177, above, we can say that a strong person fears being weak. He therefore prays to an idol to save him from weakness, although all he his really doing is projecting his own inner fears outward, and fearfully worshipping them. And even though the idol is actually powerless to do so, the idolater still believes that by projecting his fear outward, he himself will become complete. Ultimately, he is only worshiping the very deficiency that he fears. This is called, “bowing down to his idol.”¹⁹⁹In other words, to the particular trait or idea that he has idolized. The word for idol in Hebrew, “pesel,” is connected to the word for pasul, which means “invalid” or “deficient.” Further in the Beit Yaakov it will be explained that the fear of the idolater, expressed in a place where he knows he is lacking, takes on two forms. The idolater will either erect a form of the lack itself, or a form of the fulfillment of that lack. A weak person will worship either the image of a hero, or the image a weakling. This will all be explained. The service of Israel, however, is different. For we recognize the awesome heights of God precisely through our own deficiencies,²⁰⁰This is opposite the process that leads to idolatry. Here, the awareness of one’s own deficiencies leads to an awareness of God’s grandeur and exaltedness, engendering a fear of God’s own greatness – not the projection of one’s own deficiencies onto an idol. as it is written (Iyov, 19:26), “From my flesh (meaning my limitations and deficiencies) I shall see God.” It is written in the Zohar (Emor, 90b): “I will dwell among the downtrodden and low of spirit.” (Yeshayahu, 57:15) This is the place of the greatest wholeness. When one brings himself low so that the awesome pride of the Supernal One, the Pride of all, may rest upon him, this is a place of wholeness.²⁰¹One’s personal sense of lowliness brings about a revelation of Supernal Pride; that is, lowliness itself engenders a sense of a wholeness in that it connects one to God. This is mentioned in the introduction to the Tikkunei Zohar (5b): The seventh level in the fear of God is one who lacks nothing,²⁰²Note the subtle shift of approach the author makes with this passage of the Zohar, as well the following one. Previously, R. Gershon Henokh juxtaposed the fear of idolators, which is born out of their sense of personal lack, to the rectified fear of Israel, in which a sense of lack produces an appreciation of God’s completeness. Now, the author begins to discuss a type of fear that is the result of completeness. Based upon this and other Izhbitzer texts (see Tzidkat HaTzaddik 212), he seems to mean the following: Because of Israel’s belief (emunah) in God’s utter transcendence, the sense of lack they feel does not result in idolatry – which is the transference of personal lack onto the divinity. Rather, Israel’s lack proves the very opposite – that God is wholely complete and transcendent, as R. Gershon Hanokh interprets the verse, “From my flesh, I see God” – “from my limitations, I deduce the Divine.” In other words – ironically – the idolaters desire for wholeness only exacerbates his weakness, whereas Israel’s acceptance of their weakness allows them to partake of the Divine wholeness. The author further explains that the correct means by which to assuage one’s sense of lack is Torah study. For Torah study frees a person from being fixated on a singular value or truth; thus he does not experience the fear resulting from a sense of personal deficiency in its loss. What is left is a sense of Divine transcendence, which engenders awe. (See note 195.) as it is written (Tehillim, 34:10), “Fear God, His holy ones, for there is nothing lacking to those who fear Him.” He is not one of those of whom it is said (Mishlei, 11:24), “Another withholds unduly, but only comes to lack.” If he is a Torah scholar, he shall not be lacking in Torah, for without Torah, there is no fear of God. This is as it is said (Pirkei Avot, 2:5), “An unlearned person does not fear sin.” Just as there is no Torah without the fear of God, similarly, there is no fear of God without the Torah.

Lviticus 15,18. “when a man has had sexual intercourse ‎with a woman, both of them have to ritually cleanse ‎themselves in a ritual bath, after which they remain ritually ‎impure until evening.” Rashi states that the decree ‎that the woman too remains ritually impure until nightfall is a ‎Divine decree for which no explanation has been offered.‎
At first glance Rashi’s comments are hard to understand ‎as they appear to defy logic, as the whole idea of ritual defilement ‎being a result of man performing the first commandment in the ‎Torah, to be fruitful and multiply, when he engages in marital ‎relations with his wife should not result in ritual contamination ‎of either party.‎
We must therefore conclude that it is not the act of engaging ‎in marital relations which causes the ritual defilement. The ‎problem is that the urge to engage in sexual relations is aroused ‎by the evil urge, and this being so, even when the act is ‎performed in order to fulfill the commandment to have children, ‎it is impossible not to derive some physical pleasure from ‎performing this act, and this part of performing the ‎commandment is what accounts for the need to purify oneself ‎subsequently and thus atone for impure thoughts entertained ‎during performance of the commandment, i.e. the act of ‎impregnating one’s partner with one’s sperm.‎
The matter is comparable to a powerful king who had two ‎servants, both of whom were members of the highest nobility in ‎the kingdom. The King charged both of these noblemen with ‎carrying out a specific task on his behalf. Both of these noblemen ‎carried out their part of the task in accord with their ‎instructions, the only difference between the two being their ‎motivation when carrying out this task. One of the noblemen ‎carried out the task in order to provide the king, his master, with ‎a sense of satisfaction and pleasure, whereas the second one was ‎motivated purely by the fact that it was a task the performance ‎of which was very much to his liking, his having wished that he ‎could have performed it even without having been given the ‎opportunity to so by the king’s command. When the first ‎nobleman carried out the king’s command the effect of his ‎performance was that he “enthroned” the king, i.e. testified to ‎the King’s legitimacy and power, whereas the second nobleman, ‎although he had performed the identical act, had thereby merely ‎indulged his personal desires.
The same distinction applies to husbands who perform the ‎act of marital intercourse with their respective wives, knowing ‎that they thereby fulfill their Creator’s command. A husband who ‎uses the opportunity of marital intercourse with his wife in order ‎to satisfy his sexual urges, cannot lay claim to have done so as a ‎way of “enthroning,” i.e. confirming that he recognizes G’d as his ‎Master. This is what Rashi meant by his comment on the ‎words: ‎וטמאו עד הערב‎, “they will remain ritually impure until the ‎evening.” When Rashi referred to the fact that seminal ‎emission causes ritual impurity as a “royal decree,” he referred to ‎people fulfilling a royal decree not because they meant thereby ‎to “enthrone” the king.‎
From all this we learn how careful a person has to be when ‎carrying out Torah commandments that he does so for the ‎correct reasons, primarily to “enthrone” the Creator by his ‎willing observance.‎
The Talmud (Chagigah 5) relates that Rabbi Iylah once ‎overheard a youngster in school reading aloud a verse from Amos ‎‎4,13, where the prophets says: ‎מגיד לו מה שיחו‎, “(G’d)can quote ‎back to a person every word he uttered, (even words spoken ‎during the intimacy in the conversation with his wife while in ‎bed);”
Rabbi Moses Isserles in his glossary on the Orach Chayim ‎chapter 1,1 explains the importance of the verse in psalms 16,8 ‎where David says that “I am ever mindful of the Lord’s presence,” ‎שויתי ה' לנגדי תמיד וגו'‏‎. The simple meaning of this line is that we ‎must never consider ourselves as being “alone,” unobserved ‎wherever we are, as G’d is aware of all our deeds everywhere and ‎of all our thoughts. This must be one of the first thoughts that ‎cross our minds when awakening in the morning. When we keep ‎this verse in mind this will go a long way toward ensuring that ‎both our actions and our thoughts and plans remain within the ‎channels which the Torah encourages us to navigate. Both ‎Jeremiah 23,24 who said, quoting G’d: “if a man enters a hiding ‎place, do I not see him?”, and the Mishnah in Avot 2,1 ‎which concludes with Rabbi Yehudah (the editor) telling us: ‎‎“know what is above you; a seeing eye and a hearing ear, and that ‎all your deeds are being recorded in The Book, and you will not ‎easily fall into the grip of sin;” have made the same point using ‎slightly different syntax.‎
Nonetheless Rabbi Yehudah’s words need further analysis, ‎since “how can we know what is above us,” i.e. beyond our ‎powers of perception with our senses? Seeing that Hashem ‎resides not only in the celestial regions which are beyond access ‎to us but even in higher regions than the highest ranking angels, ‎the seraphim, what did Rabbi Yehudah hanassi mean ‎when he used the world ‎דע!‏‎? Why did Rabbi Yehudah add the ‎word ‎ממך‎, “beyond you?”‎

Numbers 6,23. “the Lord spoke to Moses, saying ‎speak to Aaron and his sons saying: thus you shall bless the ‎Children of Israel saying to them.”
The Baal Shem ‎Tov used the above verse repeatedly to tell his listeners that ‎psalms 121,5 in which the psalmist describes the Lord as being ‎our protective angel and likening Him to a shadow, i.e. ‎ה' צלך על יד ‏ימינך‎, “Hashem your shadow on your right side.” A shadow ‎always follows precisely what the owner of the shadow is doing. ‎Similarly, what G’d does reflects exactly what man had done ‎before. Seeing that this is so, it is imperative that man donates to ‎charity, displays compassion with the ones less fortunate than he ‎by performing kind deeds for them, as G’d, seeing this will ‎reciprocate in kind with people who do this. The attribute of G’d ‎that we described as “shadow,” and which David called ‎צל‎, is ‎known as ‎כה‎, usually translated as “thus.”‎
It is well known that the Creator, blessed be His name, is most ‎concerned with doing “good” for His people Israel, as our sages ‎said: “the mother cow is more concerned with giving milk to feed ‎her calf than the calf is desirous of suckling at her teats.”‎
When man stands in prayer he must recite 18 benedictions, ‎not because otherwise G’d would not grant him his requests, but ‎we must do so in order for G’d to experience joy and satisfaction ‎from us, His creatures.
We must always remember what the sages taught in ‎‎Avot 2,8 that even if we think that we have studied a great ‎amount of Torah we should not compliment ourselves for this, ‎for all we did was what we have been created to do. Man’s deeds ‎have one purpose and one purpose only, to provide satisfaction ‎for the Creator who gave him life. When man prays (utters ‎requests), he thereby turns himself into a “recipient.” When ‎someone wishes to receive something he extends his hand ‎heavenwards and the back of his hand earthward. When he prays ‎intending to provide his Creator with satisfaction, instead of ‎being a petitioner he turns himself into a “donor.”‎
The major symbol of the priestly blessings consists of their ‎raising their hands with the backs of their hands facing their faces ‎like someone about to dispense gifts, heavenwards, and the palms ‎of their hands open, pointed earthwards, suggesting that they are ‎about to dispense largesse.
The real interpretation of the verse: ‎כה תברכו את בני ישראל‎, is: ‎‎“thus you shall bless the Children of Israel in order that the ‎Creator shall have pleasure from them and in order that thereby ‎you will become dispenser of pleasure instead of remaining ‎petitioners waiting for a Divine handout.” As a consequence of ‎this, the Creator will feel encouraged to dispense all manner of ‎blessings on Israel. This is the meaning of the attribute described ‎here as ‎כה‎, i.e. just as Israel does something for the pleasure of ‎G’d, so He, in turn, will reciprocate by doing things for Israel, His ‎people.‎

These considerations prompted the Talmud in ‎‎Sanhedrin 99 to state ‎במקום שבעלי תשובה עומדים צדיקים ‏גמורים אין יכולים לעמוד‎, “perfectly righteous people, i.e. those who ‎have never tasted sin, cannot take their place next to repentant ‎sinners, as the latter have struggled much harder to rehabilitate ‎themselves after having tasted the immediate benefits in this life ‎of having sinned.” The repentant sinner provided G’d with much ‎greater pleasure when he repented than the ‎צדיק גמור‎, the ‎unblemished righteous person who had never been exposed to ‎temptation and had conquered it. The repentant sinner had ‎proven that it is possible to break the hold that the evil urge had ‎claimed over him after he had established this hold as a result of ‎his victim having succumbed to temptation the first time.‎
This is the deeper meaning of the Mishnah in ‎‎Avot 2,1 where Rabbi Yehudah hanassi described what ‎is a successful course for man to follow in life as being to provide ‎‎“glory,” ‎תפארת‎ for His maker. The second part of Rabbi Yehudah’s ‎statement that man’s actions should also “confer glory on ‎האדם‎, ‎‎“the person having performed these deeds,” our author views as ‎meaning that man should appreciate that his “glory” consists in ‎being able to do what no angel can do, i.e. serve the Lord and ‎provide Him with pleasure due to his having had to overcome ‎obstacles in his desire to serve his Maker. This is the “glory” G’d ‎had bestowed on man. If you were to say that Rabbi Yehudah ‎ascribes this “glory” as emanating from “man,” i.e. ‎מן האדם‎, what ‎Rabbi Yehudah meant by the word ‎מן‎, “from,” is “that it ‎originates from,” i.e. man’s glory originates in the very fact that ‎he is “man,” equipped with choices so that making the right ‎choice results in joy in heaven as well as on earth.‎

It is written in the book Maor vaShemesh on Parshat Titzaveh that when hasidim come to visit their rebbe, seeking the path of God, benefit accrues both to them and to the rebbe. This benefit is not only in the additional holiness added but also in new ideas in Torah and advice [etzot] and practices as to how to serve God. Their connection has an effect even after they have ‘returned to their tents,’³⁹⁷Deut. 5:27. and they are no longer physically proximate to each other. Their thoughts and will are elevated through the effect of their rebbe on them, and those of the rebbe through their effect. This is why sometimes when a rebbe says Torah, one hasid says ‘he directed these words to me’ and another hasid says the same, though sometimes the rebbe does not intend them for any particular person at all. But because their thoughts had an effect on their rebbe’s soul, the ‘shadow’ of their thoughts may be seen in his thoughts and Torah, to the point that each sees himself in them.³⁹⁸Avodat Yisrael is a work of homilies on the Torah and on Pirkei Avot, by the Maggid, R. Israel of Kozhnitz. * [Note: Avodat Yisrael on Avot 2:7 s.v. marbeh etzah].³⁹⁹In this passage, R. Israel explains how a rebbe is able to speak to the heart of his hasidim and offer guidance (etzot) on an individual basis, even if the hasid has not disclosed his particular situation to the rebbe.

And he dreamt, etc, and Yaakov woke up from his sleep and said 'Surely H' is present in this place, and I did not know it! etc This is none other than the abode of God, and that is the gateway to heaven.' (Gen. 28:16-17) And there is a midrash that Yaakov awoke from his mishnah (Bereishit Rabbah 69:7). And this is surprising, and it appears to me [that the explanation is] that it is known that the essence of the service of a person, to come to the objective of completeness in their service to the Holy One of Blessing, to attain the Blessed One's Godliness, happens through Torah and Tefilah, and one cannot exist without the other. This is because an Am Haaretz cannot be a Hasid (Pirkei Avot 2:5), and also, Torah alone will not complete one's soul, as the saying of the sages z"l "anyone who says he has nothing other than Torah, has no Torah" (Yevamot 109b:4), since obviously through doing Torah for its own sake one can come to a great holiness when one learns for its own sake, and clings to one's life-force [nefesh], spirit [ruach] and soul [neshamah] through the letters of the Torah. However, one cannot come to the essence of Awe and Love and Longing in one's service to the Holy One of Blessing , and to grasp Godliness [with Torah alone], rather, through Tefilah, with self-sacrifice and enthusiasm as it is know from the sacred books. And behold the saying of the sages z"l is known: "and he encountered the Place, meaning, he fixed the evening prayer" (Brachot 26b:7) - behold he didn't know until that moment the secret of Tefilah, how great it is, and we find that Yaakov hid in the study house of Shem and Ever (Megillah 17a:5) and learned Torah, and we see that he knew the secret of Torah, however he did not discover God's Godliness until this moment, when it was revealed for him after he stood at the secret of Tefilah. And this is the explanation for the midrash "and he awoke from his sleep - from his mishnah" - they wanted to say from his Torah, that was awaken through this Tefilah, and he understood that he had not reached complete understanding through Torah alone, and so he said 'behold, there is Hashem in this place', meaning, through this tefilah he was able to understand more deeply the revelation of Godliness than he had until that moment, which was through Torah alone. "And I didn't know" this secret "this is but the House of Elokim", meaning through Tefilah, self-awakening and enthusiasm a persn can come to Higher Awe, which is called in the language of our sages z"l 'pity on one who has no courtyard etc' (Shabbat 31b:1). "And this is the gate to heaven" that Tefilah is the essence of the gate to heaven, to come to an understanding of Godliness and awe of heaven, a good treasure, since "awe of Hashem is God's treasure" (Isaiah 33:6) and pay attention to this, because it is correct.

Chapter 7 ⁴³⁰In Chapter 7, R. Shapiro defines the term hasid, not as a sociological term but as a spiritual one: a hasid is a ‘soul-full’ individual who engages in a particular level of avodah as discussed further in this chapter. R. Shapiro further stresses the significant role which even the common hasidim play in the hasidic system.
The term ‘hasid,’ by which the followers of the Besht are called, is not a new one. Already in the Prophets we find the term deployed to describe a person of a stature closest to holiness, such as “The hasid is lost” (Micah 7), “Guard my soul for I am a hasid” (Ps. 86), “His praise is amongst the congregation of hasidim” (ibid. 149), etc. Yet what remains unarticulated there is, which actions one might do in order to rise above the rest of Israel and be called a hasid? For every Israelite is commanded to fulfill the Torah and its commandments, ‘and you are not free to be exempted from it.’⁴³¹Mishnah Avot 2:16. If so, the hasid must do more than fulfill the Torah and commandments—but how so? Merely by doing more of them, quantitatively and qualitatively?

This is the matter about which we must warn you the most. We know very well that you will be careful even on your own against the inciters who explicitly want to push you away, God forbid, from the path of God, to the nethermost pit, the dark place of the other side, God forbid. Their words will be like a stinging fire and like the slings of arrows to you; so you will certainly keep your distance from them and anyone associated with them. Rather we must warn you strenuously about the hypocrites. They will come to you with the guise of innocence, saying, "We also fear the God of our fathers and we serve Him just like you. However this too is the will of God now at this time, that we compromise a little. You have already studied Torah. Now you should study a craft or business." And they will even have the temerity to use our holy words and say, "Even the Mishnah says (Avot 2:2), "It is good for the Torah to be with the way of the world (derekh eretz, usually understood as work)." And they will even seduce you to compromise about divine service by saying, "The times have changed, and we no longer need to be so particular about all of the commandments and Jewish practices and keep so much distance from murkiness, as we did in the past" - and that which is similar to this. And you should not argue or fight with them. Rather answer your words to them in your heart: "If what you are saying is true that times have changed, they have only changed for the worse. Earlier, even the businessman and the craftsman served God. But now, in almost all cases, as soon as the youth leave the yeshiva to do business or work a trade, they fall into the nethermost pit. Do you want to murder me too, to burn my pure soul in the fire of Gehinnom, and to throw my body - the pure young dove - into the cauldron of boiling dung? I will not listen to you! Under no circumstances will I agree to you! I will grab onto the Sefer Torah in which God resides and hug Him - as it were - through it with both of my arms. And I will not release it so long as my soul is within me.

Yet you are not able to suffice with a general mental resolution to accept upon yourself to be a good Jew. Rather you must put forth efforts at this time of elevation to improve specific bad traits and shortcomings that you know you have. Of course, it is true that when a Jew is praying with enthusiasm, it is better not to get into many calculations. He should not deal, and dirty his hands, with his shortcomings. He should rather pray and study and enthuse and get close [to God], according to that which is stated in the holy books about this. But [he should work on his shortcomings] immediately after his prayer - and even during the prayer leader's repetition of the Shmoneh Esreh. And likewise, if he is occasionally aroused at other times besides during prayers, he should make efforts to improve [his traits] individually [than as well]. For it is impossible to search for chametz without the light of the candle. When you are aroused and the spark of holiness is now burning inside you, examine yourself so as to improve yourself - while it has not yet been extinguished. For example, if you are prone to anger, God forbid, reflect: Is it good for me to get angry and to be flung away from in front of God? The Gemara says (Nedarim 22b), "Even the Divine Presence is not considered important before someone who is angry"; (Shabbat 105b) "Anyone who gets angry is as if he is worshipping idolatry." (Editor's note from the printed edition: This is brought down by Rambam in his Commentary on the Mishnah, Avot 2:10) So shall I get angry and do this abomination, God forbid? Shall I rebel against the God of Israel, the God of my spirit and soul that I feel now inside of me, God forbid? I am accepting upon myself not to get angry anymore, and I am accepting this wholeheartedly. Master of the world, please help me stand my ground and not get angry. And fix this thought and resolution so powerfully in your heart and soul that when something angering happens to you and you begin to get angry, you will remember your disparagement of anger and the resolution you took upon yourself not to get angry; and it will be easier for you to control yourself and relax. And from then on, when you are aroused to anger, your main work will be to be obstinate in remembering and picturing for yourself - in the strongest possible way and with the clearest possible thought - the time of your elevation and the resolution that you took upon yourself then. And likewise should you do with the other shortcomings that you sense that you have.

"A river comes out of Eden to irrigate the garden;” compare on Avot 2,1 ‎הוי זהיר במצוה קלה ‏כבחמורה‎, “be as meticulous concerning the performance of commandments deemed as ‎inconsequential, as you are with the performance of commandments deemed of great ‎significance, since you do not know the amount of reward in store for any of the commandments.” ‎Our sages explained that the author of this saying referred to the amount of satisfaction that the ‎performance of each commandment gives to the Creator. We mortals have no way of gauging ‎what ranks high in the esteem of the lawgiver. The only thing that we know definitely about this is ‎that as a result of the satisfaction that G’d derived from our mitzvah performance He will ‎give us opportunities to perform more commandments. When a father hears words of wisdom ‎from his son, he encourages him to come up with more wise comments. Similarly, when G’d ‎derived pleasure and satisfaction from the deeds of one of His “children,” He encourages that ‎‎“child” to continue to come up with intelligent questions and answers.<‎br>‎Eden, this describes the pleasure derived by G’d from His children’s words of Torah and ‎performance of His commandments, whereas the word ‎גן‎, “garden,” is a reference to the various ‎levels at which Torah can be studied, i.e. just as a garden contains many flowers, each of which ‎having a distinct appearance and pleasing aroma. The words of Torah His children speak by means ‎of which they provide spiritual irrigation in all the four directions of the earth, are alluded to by: ‎‎“the river splitting into four heads,” in our verse.‎
Performance of the commandments is perceived as “irrigating” the brain (cranium) that consists of ‎‎4 cavities, one of them being a cavity divided into two parts. This “stream” channels this inspiration ‎directly from G’d, and branches out into 4 “rivers,” each channeling inspiration to the four lobes of ‎the brain that fill these cavities. Each branch feeds the appropriate lobe, according to its function. ‎The word ‎עדן‎ describes the region from which ‎תענוג‎, pleasurable experiences emanate. The word ‎גן‎ in this allegory includes the various disciplines comprising Torah study, commonly known as ‎‎peshat, plain meaning of the text, drush, allegorical meaning, homily, remez, ‎allusion, hint, and sod, mystical aspects. Keeping this in mind, we can understand why the ‎‎mishnah quoted began with a warning, i.e. ‎הוי‎ ‎זהיר‎, “be careful to discern,” ‎seeing that the same mishnah told us that we do not know how the various ‎commandments rate in terms of the reward for those who perform them. Since we do not know, ‎how are we to distinguish between what is weighty, and what is relatively less weighty in the eyes ‎of G’d? Most likely the answer is that the commandments described as ‎קלה‎ are the ones that we ‎can find opportunities to perform, such as studying Torah, whereas the ones described as ‎חמורה‎, ‎are those that a person may have few opportunities to perform in a lifetime, or no opportunity at ‎all. ‎
‎[Since mitzvah performance is incumbent both on the individual and the entire nation, we each ‎share in the performance of those who do have an opportunity to perform those, such as the ‎levirate marriage, to name just one. Ed.]‎
The author of the mishnah warns not to use the fact that some mitzvot can be ‎fulfilled all the time as an excuse to postpone fulfilling same, as we do not know how even these ‎‎mitzvot rate in terms of the reward in store for us.‎

Another approach to the allegory of: “river, garden, and ‘Eden.’” It is well known that every Jew is ‎obligated to acquire and maintain good character traits and to make them second nature. By doing ‎so he provides G’d with satisfaction. When serving his Creator by personifying these positive ‎virtues, he enables the Creator to ”boast” of His creatures, [as for instance we find when G’d ‎‎“boasted” to Satan about the piety of Job. (Job 1,8) Ed.] These “virtues” are described in ‎‎Avot 2,1 as ”in the eyes of his peers.” The author of the mishnah, Rabbi ‎‎Yehudah hanassi, uses the expression ‎תפארת לעושיה‎, to describe that man’s ‎Creator can use this as “boasting” or justifying His having created the human species. When ‎reading these words superficially we must wonder why G’d is interested i.e. in “need” of our ‎actions, seeing He has myriads of angels ready to do His bidding. However, the very fact that His ‎people, the Jewish people, who have been assigned the “lower” portion of the universe as their ‎habitat with all the disadvantages that are prevalent in that region, distinguish themselves by their ‎loyal service to Him nonetheless, is something extraordinary, that cannot be compared with ‎angels. This is what Rabbi Yehudah hanassi had in mind when he described loyal service to ‎G’d by His free-willed creature, man, as being ‎תפארת לו מן האדם‎, “something glorious for Him ‎performed by man.” G’d certainly has reason to “boast” about such devotion when telling Satan ‎that in spite of his activities as seducer and spoiler, there are people who have not been deterred ‎in their loyalty to Their Creator. Genesis 2,10-14 describes this whole process of man being ‎encouraged by G’d to develop the appropriate virtues and how having acquired them his Creator ‎derives great satisfaction from that. The simile used by the Torah of describing man’s watering ‎G’d’s “garden” read: “worlds,” as something that He takes pride in, is therefore a well chosen ‎euphemism.‎

And that is also [the meaning of] what our Sages of Blessed Memory said, “Let all your deeds be for the Name of Heaven” (Avot 2.12). For this aspect that dwells in the lower things, which we call Shekhinah, which is the Blessed Name “Lord,” which is cloaked in every thing, is called “Name;” and the Blessed Name YHWH is called “Heaven,” connoting clarity. And that is [the meaning of] “for the Name of Heaven,” meaning to unite these two aspects as we have explained many times. And that is [the meaning of] Go yourself as Rashi explained, “For your pleasure and your benefit.” For it would seem difficult [to understand] – why would Blessed God open with [the idea that] he should do this on account of a turning toward his own pleasure and benefit? For even without this he certainly would have done Blessed God’s will! But Blessed God teaches us how to serve [God], and said to him: Go yourself, meaning even a thing that you do for yourself, for your pleasure and benefit, in this you should also find a pathway to Blessed God, in that “All your deeds be for the Name of Heaven” as mentioned above.