וַיֹּ֣אמֶר יְהוָ֔ה עַל־עָזְבָם֙ אֶת־תּ֣וֹרָתִ֔י אֲשֶׁ֥ר נָתַ֖תִּי לִפְנֵיהֶ֑ם וְלֹא־שָׁמְע֥וּ בְקוֹלִ֖י וְלֹא־הָ֥לְכוּ בָֽהּ׃
Yang Mahakekal berfirman: Karena mereka telah meninggalkan Taurat-Ku yang telah Kuberikan kepada mereka, dan mereka tidak mendengarkan suara-Ku serta tidak hidup menurut Taurat itu,
Derashot HaRan
We can recognize from this incident how the righteous man takes precedence to the entire universe. For what R. Chanina b. Dosa did with the serpent vis-à-vis himself is equivalent to what Moses our teacher did at the command of the L-rd for all of Israel — and even greater than it. For just as gazing at the brazen serpent should have increased the venom, but, instead, rejected it, in the same way R. Chanina b. Dosa should, according to the laws of nature, have been killed by the serpent, but, instead, he repelled and killed it. This is the intent of our sages' statement (Berachot 6b): "What is the meaning of (Koheleth 12:13): '…for this is all men'? This righteous man takes precedence to the entire world." Others say (Ibid): "The entire world was created only to accompany this righteous man." Imagination rejects this idea, but intellect confirms it. The rejection by imagination that the entire world was created for the sake of one righteous man — that rejection itself falls a thousand and ten-thousand fold before the gaze of the intellect. And this being so, is this not the height of folly and blindness, the intellect's knowing within itself that it can raise the soul to supreme heights or that it is esteemed over and above the entire world, and still to be pulled along after one's desires as an ox eating grass! And if one would be tempted to say that he could never attain such perfection except through unusual wisdom or through perfect Torah knowledge, our answer is: there is no doubt that the reward for Torah study is extremely great — so much so that our sages have said (Yerushalmi Chagigah 1:8): "The Holy One Blessed be He overlooked idol worship, illicit relations, and the spilling of blood, but He did not overlook neglect of Torah study." That is, though the first three obtained during the time of the first Temple, its destruction was attributed to neglect of Torah study alone, as it is written (Jeremiah 9:12): "…because they forsook My Torah." In spite of this, however, I find in the words of the sages that one who dedicates his body and soul to the Blessed One and yearns for His service can attain greater heights than one who has reached the pinnacle of wisdom, viz. (Berachoth 20a): "Why were miracles performed for the early sages and not for the later ones? Can we attribute it to the greater learning of the former?…" The Gemara goes on to answer that [to the contrary, the later sages possessed learning in greater measure, but] "The Merciful One desires the heart." They have hereby indicated that it is not wisdom which is the prime criterion, but perfection of intent in the performance of good deeds. For the major objective is not so much the performance of good deeds as the intent of the heart in their performance. Reflect for a moment on this dimension of intent. One who, in intent, cleaves to the Blessed One, even when he is engaged in mundane activities, such as pursuit of a livelihood or of acquisitions — even then he is serving Him perfectly. But one who, in his mind, does not cleave to the Blessed One, even when he thinks that he is serving Him, he is rebelling against Him. This is the intent of the prophet (Isaiah 29:13): "With their mouth and with their lips they honor Me, but their hearts they are far from Me," and (Jeremiah 12:2): "You are close to their mouths but far from their reins." For what counts most is not the act of the mitzvah or the clacking of the lips but the intent of the heart. This is the intent of our sages' statement (Avodah Zarah 35a): "Sweeter to me are the words of the sages than the wine of [the written] Torah." For the words of the sages are fences, guards, and protective measures for the mitzvoth themselves, and one who makes fences and adds precautions for the observance of the mitzvoth demonstrates thereby that he does not perform them by rote but with perfect intent. And this is the prime objective of mitzvoth and their ultimate end. For one who thus perfects himself in the slightest mitzvah that he performs confirms and exemplifies thereby all of the goodly convictions. The same applies to his mundane affairs, having made their end the service of the Blessed One and nothing beside it.