Musar su Deuteronomio 6:13

Now that it has been made clear that our intent is to further the service of the Creator, blessed be He, for because of that the world was created, we say that the service of God is an obligation upon us to fulfill, both from Scripture and from reason. From Scripture, we learn that the Creator, blessed be He, created the world for no other reason than for the Torah, as it is said (Jeremiah 33:25), “If My covenant be not with day and night, if I have not appointed the ordinances of heaven and earth.” And it says further (Proverbs 3:19), “The Lord by wisdom founded the earth; by understanding He established the heavens.” And it says further (Proverbs 8:22), “The Lord made me the beginning of His way, the first of His works of old.” We can say that the service of God is an obligation upon us, for the Creator gave the Torah to Israel at Mount Sinai, only as the means to serve Him, as it is said (Exodus 20:17), “God is come to prove you, and that His fear may be before you, that ye sin not.” And it is written (ibid., 3:12), “When thou hast brought forth the people out of Egypt, ye shall serve God upon this mountain.” And it is said (Deuteronomy 6:13), “Thou shalt fear the Lord thy God; and Him shalt thou serve.” Scripture placed “fear” before “service” to teach that if there is no fear there can be no serving of God. Thus it is said (ibid., 10:12), “And now, Israel, what doth the Lord thy God require of thee, but to fear the Lord thy God… .” Now that we know that the world was created only for the sake of the Torah, we also know that the world was created for no other purpose than the service of God. As long as service to God and righteousness stand, the world will stand upon them. As it is said (Proverbs 10:25), “But the righteous is an everlasting foundation.” Since it has been explained that the service of God is what we are obligated to do according to Scripture, we will now explain how it is derived by way of reason. We will say that it is well known that with regard to a mortal king, his kingdom is not firmly established except by the faithful service of his servants. If his servants do not serve him or fear him, then he has no sway over them, and there is no way in which his authority over them can be known. We see that such a king rewards his servants according to their service and their fear of him. If a king of flesh and blood must show his dominion and authority over his servants who are creatures such as he, and who may even be better than he, how much more is it fitting that the dominion of the Creator, blessed be He, should be apparent from our fear of Him. In what way can it be known that He is our Creator and we His servants, and that He endures forever, while we are transitory? How can we make all of this known except by doing His will and by our fear of Him? In this way, we will know what we are and what our lives are.

And they, may their memory be blessed, explained about the matter of the apikoros (Sanhedrin 99b), that he is a man who does not act in a manner of awe and exaltation towards Torah scholars, even though he does not spurn them. For example, he spurns his fellow in front of a Torah scholar, and he does not pay attention to the honor of the sage’s Torah status. For since the Torah is not exalted in his eyes - to act with honor towards it - he has no share in the world to come. For this one too will be considered as one of those that profane the Torah. Therefore, our Rabbis, may their memory be blessed, said (Pesachim 22b), “‘Fear the Lord, your God’ (Deuteronomy 6:13) - [this is] to include Torah scholars.”

Another among the qualities of the soul is fear. One should fear God and the wrath of God and his parents and his teachers, as it is said (Deuteronomy 6:13), “Thou shalt fear the Lord, thy God.” And he should fear places that are sacred to God (see Leviticus 19:30). He should fear the vicissitudes of time and the troubles that beset man. And he should fear the day of death. And he should fear his wrongdoings. He should be in fear lest he merit not to behold the face of his God.

And even so, let the dear reader know that even if this book finds favor in his eyes with the help of the Blessed L-rd, let him not think that it is sufficient to know the third part alone. For the first two parts also ("The Laws of Lashon Hara" and "The Laws of Rechiluth" are essential for the man who wants life, as stated in Midrash Mishlei 1:2): "To know wisdom and mussar" — If a man has wisdom, he can learn mussar [chastisement]; but if he does not have wisdom, he cannot learn mussar." The plain meaning is: If one errs in the din itself, no mussar can help him. As, for example, if one thinks about something in his business that it is not in the category of theft. What will it avail him to learn all the teachings of mussar, to inflame his heart with the greatness of the issur of theft, if he holds that what he is doing is not in the category of theft? And the same, in all the other areas of Torah. Therefore, one must learn the dinim of the Torah to know what is forbidden and what is permitted [And he must also learn those areas of mussar which bring a man to the fear of the Blessed L-rd, in order to spur his soul to fulfill the Torah], aside from fulfilling thereby the mitzvah of (Devarim 6:13): "The L-rd your G-d shall you fear." And the same [is true] in our area [of guarding one's tongue]. For what will avail him all the mussar in the world, which speaks of the gravity of the issur of lashon hara and rechiluth if he has permitted his soul to say that this thing is not in the category of lashon hara or that for such and such a man the Torah did not prescribe the issur of lashon hara? It is, therefore, essential for a man to know which thing falls into the category of lashon hara according to the din. And in order to overcome his yetzer and to fulfill what he has learned, he must see to it to study mussar. And that [i.e., mussar] is the [heightening of the awareness of the] greatness of the punishment and of the reward that inheres in this area.

Also consider that the Holy One, Blessed be He, has given permission to no people in the world to tell His praises other than Israel, as it is said, "The people which I have formed for Myself, that they might tell of My praise" (Is. 43:21). And it is written, "For thou art a holy people unto the Lord thy God" (Deut. 7:6). And it is written, "And the Lord hath avouched thee this day to be His own treasure" (Deut. 26:18). And it is written "To make thee high above all nations" (Deut. 26:19). And the Holy One, Blessed be He, did not give any creature the ability to know the Name, Blessed be He, save to Israel, as it is written, "Unto thee it was shown, that thou mightest know that the Lord, He is God; there is none else beside Him" (Deut. 4:35). And it is written, "And what great nation is there, that hath statutes, and ordinances so righteous as all this law, which I set before you this day" (Deut. 4:8). And it is written, "Thou shalt fear the Lord thy God; and Him shalt thou serve" (Deut. 6:13).