Chasidut su Deuteronomio 10:12
וְעַתָּה֙ יִשְׂרָאֵ֔ל מָ֚ה יְהוָ֣ה אֱלֹהֶ֔יךָ שֹׁאֵ֖ל מֵעִמָּ֑ךְ כִּ֣י אִם־לְ֠יִרְאָה אֶת־יְהוָ֨ה אֱלֹהֶ֜יךָ לָלֶ֤כֶת בְּכָל־דְּרָכָיו֙ וּלְאַהֲבָ֣ה אֹת֔וֹ וְלַֽעֲבֹד֙ אֶת־יְהוָ֣ה אֱלֹהֶ֔יךָ בְּכָל־לְבָבְךָ֖ וּבְכָל־נַפְשֶֽׁךָ׃
E ora, Israele, cosa ti chiede l'Eterno, il tuo DIO, ma temere l'Eterno, il tuo DIO, camminare in tutte le sue vie, amarlo e servire l'Eterno, il tuo DIO, con tutto il tuo cuore e con tutto il tuo anima;
Kedushat Levi
[The following is a short synopsis of a long paragraph, one that deals also with the apparent paradox of the statement in psalms 2,11 עבדו את ה' ביראה וגילו ברעדה, “serve the Lord in awe; rejoice greatly while trembling.” Ed.]
While the description of the state of the universe before man, i.e. Jews, had been charged with the task of being a nation of priests and a holy nation, is meant to make us aware of our duty to live as servants of our Creator and to ensure that His handiwork will prove to be worthwhile, we face a dilemma, portrayed in the following parable.
While the description of the state of the universe before man, i.e. Jews, had been charged with the task of being a nation of priests and a holy nation, is meant to make us aware of our duty to live as servants of our Creator and to ensure that His handiwork will prove to be worthwhile, we face a dilemma, portrayed in the following parable.
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Kedushat Levi
Deuteronomy 10,12. “and now, Israel, what dos the Lord your G’d ask of you other than to revere and be in awe?”
It is a well known rule in Judaism that we must each endeavour to be modest, humble, in all our aspirations as well as in all our undertakings. In the event that someone were to misinterpret this rule as extending also to the manner in which we relate to serving the Lord, this would be a gross error; on the contrary we must constantly remember that our deeds in terms of serving the Lord are of the utmost importance to Him, and we must therefore try to excel in that realm of our activities. Seeing that our “service” provides Him with pleasure it is logical that we must strive to provide Him with as much “pleasure” as it is possible for us to do. If we were to extend the principle of modesty and humility to the way in which we serve the Lord, and present it as part of our modesty, this would in fact be akin to blasphemy.
Our sages have alluded to this subject in Sotah 5 where the Talmud says that among people excommunicated there are some that are haughty and others that are not. The Talmud had previously recommended that Torah scholars must possess a minimum of visible self respect known as sh’minit be’shminit, (smallest unit of measuring devices) as otherwise ordinary people, instead of revering them, would belittle them, and if that were to happen they would in fact belittle the Torah knowledge that such scholars represent. According to our author, the very fact that we must provide G’d with “pleasure” through our service implies that we ourselves will have some satisfaction of having been the vehicle to cause G’d such “pleasure.” If we were to be too modest, how could we feel privileged to have been this vehicle of G’d’s “pleasure?”
Our sages in Chagigah 7 are on record that the Israelites provide G’d with His sustenance. Receiving one’s sustenance certainly results in the recipient “enjoying” some pleasure from the experience. This is what Moses had in mind when he asked the rhetorical question: “what does the Lord your G’d ask of you? The virtue of יראת השם, “reverence for the Lord,” is none other than the virtue of humility. Our sages in Chulin 89 dwell on the relative humility and modesty of Avraham and Moses, quoting various verses on the subject. They conclude that when Moses said of himself and his brother Aaron: ונחנו מה, “and what do we amount to?” [omitting even the letter א from the word אנחנו for “we,” Ed.] that this is the level of humility that G’d expects of each of us. In other words, whereas concerning all other attributes, humility must accompany them in order for the owner to practice them optimally, when it comes to reverence for the Lord, such considerations are counterproductive; fear/reverence/awe of the Lord must be maximized so as to provide the Lord with a maximal amount of “pleasure.”
It is a well known rule in Judaism that we must each endeavour to be modest, humble, in all our aspirations as well as in all our undertakings. In the event that someone were to misinterpret this rule as extending also to the manner in which we relate to serving the Lord, this would be a gross error; on the contrary we must constantly remember that our deeds in terms of serving the Lord are of the utmost importance to Him, and we must therefore try to excel in that realm of our activities. Seeing that our “service” provides Him with pleasure it is logical that we must strive to provide Him with as much “pleasure” as it is possible for us to do. If we were to extend the principle of modesty and humility to the way in which we serve the Lord, and present it as part of our modesty, this would in fact be akin to blasphemy.
Our sages have alluded to this subject in Sotah 5 where the Talmud says that among people excommunicated there are some that are haughty and others that are not. The Talmud had previously recommended that Torah scholars must possess a minimum of visible self respect known as sh’minit be’shminit, (smallest unit of measuring devices) as otherwise ordinary people, instead of revering them, would belittle them, and if that were to happen they would in fact belittle the Torah knowledge that such scholars represent. According to our author, the very fact that we must provide G’d with “pleasure” through our service implies that we ourselves will have some satisfaction of having been the vehicle to cause G’d such “pleasure.” If we were to be too modest, how could we feel privileged to have been this vehicle of G’d’s “pleasure?”
Our sages in Chagigah 7 are on record that the Israelites provide G’d with His sustenance. Receiving one’s sustenance certainly results in the recipient “enjoying” some pleasure from the experience. This is what Moses had in mind when he asked the rhetorical question: “what does the Lord your G’d ask of you? The virtue of יראת השם, “reverence for the Lord,” is none other than the virtue of humility. Our sages in Chulin 89 dwell on the relative humility and modesty of Avraham and Moses, quoting various verses on the subject. They conclude that when Moses said of himself and his brother Aaron: ונחנו מה, “and what do we amount to?” [omitting even the letter א from the word אנחנו for “we,” Ed.] that this is the level of humility that G’d expects of each of us. In other words, whereas concerning all other attributes, humility must accompany them in order for the owner to practice them optimally, when it comes to reverence for the Lord, such considerations are counterproductive; fear/reverence/awe of the Lord must be maximized so as to provide the Lord with a maximal amount of “pleasure.”
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Kedushat Levi
Deuteronomy 28,12. “Hashem will open for you His bounteous store, the heavens.” Although we have a statement by our sages in B’rachot 33 that G’d’s only “possessions” in His treasure chambers are the four cubits of “halachah,” i.e. reverence for Him displayed by meticulous observance of the laws of the Torah, [a statement based on Deuteronomy 10,12, Ed.], we also have a rule that although man’s spiritual journey in this world commences with a dose of reverence and awe for Hashem, this is followed by a feeling of pleasure which proves to have been “hidden” within the folds of the garment called יראה, awe. The reason why this is so is that had service of the Lord commenced with feelings of pleasure, its ethical value would have been null and void, as “serving” the Lord would have been turned into an entirely pleasurable act, not something that is the result of choosing this option in the knowledge that the alternative appeared to offer more immediate rewards. This is the reason why the pleasurable aspects of practicing reverence and awe for the Lord need to be hidden during life on this earth. When man “tires himself out” during a lifetime of service to his Creator, then G’d will open His treasure chamber in the heavens so that he will enjoy pleasure. This has been alluded to in the words of Isaiah 33,6 where the prophet said: יראת ה' היא אוצרו,”reverence for the Lord –that was her treasure. (Zion’s)
The word אוצר, usually translated as “treasure, or granary,” applies to something stored out of sight, hidden. This “treasure” normally concealed inside the attribute of יראה, “fear, awe,” will be released openly, i.e. in due course G’d will “open” these treasures previously kept hidden as a result of the recipient having served the Lord loyally. Our verse therefore concludes with the simile of beneficial rainfall, i.e. G’d’s treasures being openly revealed to the Jewish people as well as the world at large as His gift to them. [During early Jewish history, when Yitzchok, in a year of famine, and although not a farmer by vocation, could plant and his harvest was 100 fold the harvest in normal years, this convinced the Philistines to remain on good terms with him. (Genesis 26,12-14, and 26-31) Ed.] This is also the reason why the Torah once decrees that we observe the Sabbath by writing: זכור את יום השבת לקדשו, “remember the Sabbath Day to keep it holy, (Exodus 20,8) and another time שמור את יום השבת לקדשו, “observe the Sabbath Day to keep it holy;” (Deuteronomy 5,12). The first time reference is made to serving the Lord by your actively observing the Sabbath; the second time it refers to the time when you will be passive, i.e. receive the reward for having observed the Sabbath here on earth.
The word אוצר, usually translated as “treasure, or granary,” applies to something stored out of sight, hidden. This “treasure” normally concealed inside the attribute of יראה, “fear, awe,” will be released openly, i.e. in due course G’d will “open” these treasures previously kept hidden as a result of the recipient having served the Lord loyally. Our verse therefore concludes with the simile of beneficial rainfall, i.e. G’d’s treasures being openly revealed to the Jewish people as well as the world at large as His gift to them. [During early Jewish history, when Yitzchok, in a year of famine, and although not a farmer by vocation, could plant and his harvest was 100 fold the harvest in normal years, this convinced the Philistines to remain on good terms with him. (Genesis 26,12-14, and 26-31) Ed.] This is also the reason why the Torah once decrees that we observe the Sabbath by writing: זכור את יום השבת לקדשו, “remember the Sabbath Day to keep it holy, (Exodus 20,8) and another time שמור את יום השבת לקדשו, “observe the Sabbath Day to keep it holy;” (Deuteronomy 5,12). The first time reference is made to serving the Lord by your actively observing the Sabbath; the second time it refers to the time when you will be passive, i.e. receive the reward for having observed the Sabbath here on earth.
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