הוּא הָיָה אוֹמֵר,
He used to say
מַרְבֶּה בָשָׂר מַרְבֶּה רִמָּה. מַרְבֶּה נְכָסִים, מַרְבֶּה
דְאָגָה. מַרְבֶּה נָשִׁים, מַרְבֶּה כְשָׁפִים. מַרְבֶּה שְׁפָחוֹת,
מַרְבֶּה זִמָּה.מַרְבֶּה עֲבָדִים, מַרְבֶּה
גָזֵל.
The more flesh the more
worms, the more possessions the more worries, the more woman the more
witchcraft, the more maidservants the more immorality, the more workers the
more robbery.
מַרְבֶּה תוֹרָה, מַרְבֶּה חַיִּים. מַרְבֶּה, מַרְבֶּה חָכְמָה. מַרְבֶּה עֵצָה, מַרְבֶּה
תְבוּנָה. מַרְבֶּה צְדָקָה, מַרְבֶּה שָׁלוֹם.
The more Torah the more life, the more study the more
wisdom, the more counsel the more understanding, the more charity the more
peace.
קָנָה שֵׁם טוֹב, קָנָה לְעַצְמוֹ. קָנָה לוֹ דִבְרֵי תוֹרָה,
קָנָה לוֹ חַיֵּי הָעוֹלָם הַבָּא:
Acquire a good name acquire yourself, acquire words of
Torah acquire life in the world to come.
In
the seventh Mishna of the second chapter of Ethics of our Fathers Hillel gives
his axiom about physical acquisitions, spiritual acquisitions, and the goal of
these acquisitions. The essence of the first part is that an excess of material
gain only causes aggravation. It then goes into details. A surfeit of physical
possessions results in anxiety because a person will always be worried about
losing them. If a person overindulges he will become obese and rot in the
grave. If they build an empire at work, their male employees will be ripping
them off and their female employees will be sleeping around. If a man has many
women they will become witches who will cast their spells on him.
Hillel
is explaining that man’s intentions during his stay in the physical world
should be for the development of his soul. Specifically he should be seeking
knowledge of G-d, good character, and sound objectives. Also when it comes to
spiritual development there is no limit. The more one has the better they are,
and one can always ascend to a higher level. This is unlike the common worldly
pleasures. When it comes to things like wealth, food and drink, physical lust,
and status, a person needs to consider what he really does need. Once that need
has legitimately been met, a surfeit above it is detrimental.
The second part of the Mishna describes things that a person should be
constantly accumulating and their benefits. The first is Torah and its reward
is life. The main idea of Torah, whether it is the five books of Moses or
religious literature in general, is to instruct us as to how to properly use
what is in this world. When we use things properly, we get maximum use out of
them. When we use things improperly, their use becomes impaired until they are
unusable. It comes out that a person who learns Torah can live life to its
fullest. This is the idea that the Torah is a tree of life to those that hold
on to it. On the other hand, when a person misuses things, his ability to use everything
becomes impaired. As a result he becomes confined and empty. This is the idea
that the wicked are reckoned as dead even though they may be physically living.
When a person sits and learns they gain wisdom. That is simple. The term
used in the Mishna is “yeshiva” (יְשִׁיבָה)
which is the same word for a school. On this the Bartenura comments that when
many students are gathered together they come to listen to each other’s
explanations. It is also written in the Talmud (Ta’anis 7.), “Much I have
learned from my rabbis, from my friends more, and from my students more than
all of them”.
Next the Mishna says that the more there is advice the more there is
understanding. A person gives advice to help his friend. It is only advice if
his friend can refuse it if he does not like it. Therefore the giver must
explain and defend his idea in a way his friend will understand how it really
is in his benefit.
The second section ends by saying that more charity results in more
peace. One can understand charity as an act of kindness either to the deserving
or the undeserving. As an act of peace this action tends to keep the disaffected
from rebelling be it rightly or wrongly. VaYikra Raba (34:16) describes these
feelings as follows. “Said Rabbi Yehuda the son of Rabbi Simon, this poor
person sits and castigates saying what is the difference between me and so and
so. He sleeps on his bed and I sleep here, he sleeps in his house and me here.
You stood up and gave to him. I promise that I will credit you as if you made
peace between Me and my household.” The idea is that those who are estranged
either from their own shortcomings or because of society’s shortcomings may
turn to violence due to poverty. The act of charity keeps them connected and
helps bring them back.
Giving tsedakah to a talmid chacham is different. It can be viewed as a
way of showing support for the knowledge he absorbs and imparts to others as
well for his exemplary conduct. The idea is that through the accumulation of
religious knowledge a peaceful world is built.
The third section of the Mishna states that a person acquires himself
through having a good reputation. The implication is that through Torah,
wisdom, and charity, one will gain a good name. This is similar to the idea
that the world belongs to Hashem but, when a person makes a bracha on something
to eat, he acquires it for himself. So to speak when a person wisely and
benevolently lives according to the Torah, he becomes his own man in this
world. Not only that, if the words of Torah consciously become his guides in
this world, they will become his portion in the world to come.
לע"נ
ה אמה מלכה בת חיים ז"ל נלב"ע טז בנוסן תשנ"ח
העלון ניתן לקבל בדואר אלקטרוני וגם באתר
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