אַשְׁרֵ֥י תְמִֽימֵי־דָ֑רֶךְ הַֽ֝הֹלְכִ֗ים בְּתוֹרַ֥ת יְהוָֽה׃
ALEPH. Felici quelli che sono retti sulla via, che camminano secondo la legge dell'Eterno.
Rabbeinu Bahya
The definition of being תמים, perfect, includes the requirement that a person’s external appearance mirrors his internal but invisible virtues, and that what he says reflects what he truly feels. It is a fact that our patriarch Avraham was the root of faith in G’d and of those who believe in the exclusivity and uniquness of G’d. When it comes to matters of faith it is indispensable that what one professes to believe and what one does in fact believe must coincide. Anyone who says one thing while believing another belongs to the group of individuals of whom the psalmist (Psalms 78, 36-37) has said: ויפתוהו בפיהם ובלשונם יכזבו-לו, ולבם לא-נכון עמו ולא נאמנו בבריתו, “Yet they deceived Him with their speech, lied to Him with their words; their hearts were inconstant toward Him; they were untrue to His covenant.” This is why the Torah has formulated the requirement to be “perfect” as a positive commandment in Deut 18,13 by writing תמים תהיה עם ה' אלוקיך, “be wholehearted with the Lord your G’d.” Being “wholehearted” is one of the highest virtues, and the Torah refers approvingly to such people as Noach, Yitzchak, and Yaakov as having practiced this virtue (compare Genesis 6,9; 25,27; Bereshit Rabbah 64,3). We read in Psalms 15,2 הולך תמים ופועל צדק, “he who lives without blame and does what is right and acknowledges the truth in his heart;” these words refer to Avraham. Psalm 101,2 “אשכילה בדרך תמים, “I direct my reason in the path of moral integrity,” extols the virtue of תמימות as one that David tries to attain. In Psalm 41,13 David credits G’d’s support of him by attributing it to his integrity; ואני בתומי תמכת בי ותציבני לפניך לעולם, “You will support me because of my integrity and let me abide in Your presence forever.” Solomon also was keenly aware of the importance of this virtue and this is why he referred to it both in Proverbs 10,9הולך בתומים ילך בטח , He who walks in integrity walks securely,” and in Proverbs 11,20 where he writes ורצונו תמימי דרך, “but G’d delights in those who are blameless in their ways.”
Minchat Ani
Many commentators have tried to answer the question of why the Haggadah does not directly answer the wise child's question: "What do the testimonies (adot), statutes (hukkim), and laws (mishpatim) mean that the Lord our God has commanded you." The Torah answers the wise child’s question with the statement: "We were slaves to Pharaoh in Egypt and the Lord freed us from Egypt with a mighty hand. The Lord wrought before our eyes marvelous and destructive signs and portents in Egypt, against Pharaoh and all his household; and He freed us from there, that He might take us and give us the land that He had promised on oath to our fathers. Then the Lord commanded us to observe all these laws, to revere the Lord our God, for our lasting good and for our survival, as is now the case. It will be therefore to our merit before the Lord our God to observe faithfully this whole Instruction, as He has commanded us."52Note that the first part of the answer is also the first part of the Haggadah narrative: We were slaves to Pharaoh in Egypt. (Deut. 6:20-24) Instead the author of the Haggadah offers a different answer to the wise child: "You shall instruct him in all regulations through "We do not proceed to any dessert after eating the Afikomen."
The sages discuss whether it is better to perform the commandments unquestioningly53The word tamimut is hard to translate: I have translated in variously as "Blamelessly, honestly, innocently and simply. It has the connotation of one who observes the commandments without questioning them. and without exploring reasons for their performance or to seek reasons for the commandments so that they can be performed with the proper intent. The sages concluded that the best way is to perform the commandments of God and afterwards to explore their meaning until one truly comprehends them. This is the meaning of the verses in Psalms:
"Happy are those whose way is blameless, who follow the teachings of the Lord. Happy are those who observe His testimonies (adotav), who seek Him whole-heartedly. They have done no wrong but have followed His ways. You commanded that Your precepts be kept diligently. Would that my ways were firm in keeping Your statutes (hukotav); then I would not be ashamed when I regard54The verses here first speak about observance and only then about the importance of “regarding” them. all Your commandments. I will thank you with uprightness of the heart when I learn your righteous judgments (mishpatecha)." (Ps. 119:1-8)
The sages discuss whether it is better to perform the commandments unquestioningly53The word tamimut is hard to translate: I have translated in variously as "Blamelessly, honestly, innocently and simply. It has the connotation of one who observes the commandments without questioning them. and without exploring reasons for their performance or to seek reasons for the commandments so that they can be performed with the proper intent. The sages concluded that the best way is to perform the commandments of God and afterwards to explore their meaning until one truly comprehends them. This is the meaning of the verses in Psalms:
"Happy are those whose way is blameless, who follow the teachings of the Lord. Happy are those who observe His testimonies (adotav), who seek Him whole-heartedly. They have done no wrong but have followed His ways. You commanded that Your precepts be kept diligently. Would that my ways were firm in keeping Your statutes (hukotav); then I would not be ashamed when I regard54The verses here first speak about observance and only then about the importance of “regarding” them. all Your commandments. I will thank you with uprightness of the heart when I learn your righteous judgments (mishpatecha)." (Ps. 119:1-8)
Rabbeinu Yonah
Rabbi Yehoshua ben Chananya--happy is the one who gave birth to him!: The undifferentiated expression, 'happy' is a category that includes all of the virtues through which a person is happy. And when it mentions the trait [with it], it is [referring only to] a particular [trait]. And we have found it stated about fear as in "Happy is the man who fears the Lord" (Psalms 112:1). And also about the designation of a fixed place for Torah [study], as it is written (Proverbs 8:34), "Happy is the man who listens to me, coming early to my gates each day, waiting outside my doors," and it states (Psalms 84:5), "Happy are those who dwell in Your house; they will still forever praise You." And about devotion, as it is stated (Psalms 65:5), "Happy is the man You choose and bring near to dwell in Your courts." And about faith (Psalms 84:6), "Happy is the man who has refuge in You." It is also stated about one who prevents himself from [involvement with] evildoers (Psalms 1:1), "Happy is the man who has not followed the counsel of the evildoers, or taken the path of sinners, or joined the company of the scorners." It is also stated about those that keep the Shabbat (Isaiah 56:2), "Happy is the man who does this." It is also stated about those that walk in the Torah of the Lord (Psalms 119:1), "Happy are those whose way is blameless, who follow the Torah of the Lord." It is also stated about those that keep the commandments (Psalms 119:2), "Happy are those who observe His decrees, who turn to Him wholeheartedly." It is also stated about one who benefits from his toil (Psalms 128:2), "You shall enjoy the fruit of your labors; you shall be happy and it shall be good for you." It is also stated about those that keep the law and do justice (Psalms 106:3), "Happy are those who act lawfully, who do justice at all times." It is also stated about trust [in God] (Proverbs 16:20), "he who trusts in the Lord is happy." It is also stated about wisdom (Proverbs 3:13), "Happy is the man who finds wisdom," and it is also written (Proverbs 14:21), "he who shows pity for the lowly is happy." And about this is it said, "happy is the one who gave birth to him" undifferentiated; meaning to say he is happy with all of the happy traits - great in his wisdom and refined by his traits and in all of his affairs.