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Selected from the anthology, "Pirkei Avos in
the Light of Chassidus"
Avot 2:1 Connecting Completely
"Be as careful [in Hebrew, "zahir"] in
[the performance of a seemingly] minor mitzvah as with a major one." (Avot,
1:2)
Careful
The word "zahir" (translated here as "be
careful") is related to the word "zohar", meaning "light", and hints to
the soul. Thus, with this meaning, the above statement teaches us that the soul
will be illuminated by a "minor" mitzvah just as it is illuminated by a "major"
mitzvah because, "G-d desires the heart"
( Baal Shem Tov, Tzva'at HaRivash 1:17)
In all the commandments
The 248 positive commandments are called the "limbs of
the King". Just as physical limbs are made up of flesh, bone and sinew and act
as vessels containing the light and life of the soul, so too the mitzvot
are vessels for the revelation of G-d's Will.
Each limb of the body has a particular function, and
its own unique nature and characteristics. And all of the limbs together, since
they are interconnected and interdependent, form a complete and whole person.
The following examples illustrate these ideas: If one of a person's limbs or
organs, whether internal or external, is damaged, the entire body does not
function correctly. The same principle applies to healing - by letting blood
from a healthy limb, another section of the body which is ill can be healed.
Similarly, when a person occupies himself with work which he does with his
hands, he also occupies other powers of his soul, such as his intellect, his
power of sight, his hearing etc. If one limb is missing or is damaged, it
affects the entire person who becomes crippled or maimed.  | | " Each mitzvah has its unique intention and draws down divine light in its own particular way..." | | |
So too with mitzvot which are "limbs of the King".
Each mitzvah has its unique intention and draws down divine light in its
own particular way, according to the distinctive nature of that mitzvah. In
addition, all of the mitzvot are interconnected and, by fulfilling each mitzvah,
a person connects to the supernal light in all of the mitzvot together. And,
just as a person will expend all his energy in avoiding becoming maimed in one
of his limbs, so must he do in a spiritual sense. He must make every effort not
to be maimed in one of his spiritual "limbs" - even in one mitzvah. Therefore,
our Sages tell us, be careful in a "minor" mitzvah just as in a "major" one.
(Rabbi Dov Ber Shnueri, Torat Chaim, Ex. p.493)
Connecting
The different levels which we find in the mitzvot
("chukim" - those mitzvot which are super-rational and
cannot be understood; "eidut" - mitzvot which one would not
necessarily have arrived at by logical inference but which can nevertheless be
understood; "mishpatim" - mitzvot which can be understood
rationally; minor, major) stem from the intellectual aspect of each mitzvah.
However, regarding the essence of each mitzvah - all stem from G-d's
Will, and there is no difference between them.
The main aspect of all mitzvot is that by way
of them a person becomes connected and bound with the Holy One, blessed is He.
We see this illustrated in the fact that the word "mitzvah" is related to the
word "tzvata" meaning a bond or knot. And this is equal in all mitzvot.
When a Jew fails, G-d forbid, to perform even a minor Rabbinical amendment, this
also transgresses G-d's Will and therefore affects his entire connection to
Divinity. For this reason the Mishna warns, "Be as careful in a minor
mitzvah as with a major one" - you must take the same care in performing all of
the mitzvot.
(The Lubavitcher Rebbe, Likutei Sichos vol;.
13, p.69)
Avot 2:4 Fulfill the Will
"Fulfill His will as you would your own will, so that
He may fulfill your will as though it were His will..." (Avot 2:4)
Two Instructions - at Different Times
"Fulfill His will as you would your own will": This
instruction applies at the time of prayer.
"Set aside your will": This instruction applies
throughout the day, after the hour of prayer. Whereas the human will is a
product of man's intellectual faculties, the Supernal will transcends intellect.
Accordingly: | | " Meditate on the most effective means of fulfilling the Supernal will..." | | |
"Fulfill His will as you would your own will": When
you begin your daily divine service, with the morning prayers, cause the
Supernal will to be revealed in this world. How is this achieved? Through
meditation in prayer. When you wish to fulfill your own will, you use your
intellect and reasoning, and meditate on the most effective means of achieving
this. In the same way, during prayer, you should use your intellect and
reasoning, and meditate on the most effective means of fulfilling the Supernal
will. And through such divine service, the Holy One, blessed is He, will
"...fulfill your will as though it were His will", because you are worthy of it.
He will grant you great, unlimited love, of which the verse in the Shema
states, "You shall love the Lord your G-d...with all your might." This type of
love is far beyond anything man can generate through intellectual awareness and
meditation.
"Set aside your will..." - throughout the remainder of
the day, when you are occupied with your business and the love of G-d you felt
during prayer has waned. At this time a person is required to nullify all those
alien desires which spring from his physical appetites, and from the material
world, when they oppose the will of the Creator.
"So that He may set aside the will of others":
"Others" signifies evil and the "Other Side" of holiness (i.e. unholiness),
which are referred to in Torah as "alien gods". And "He will set aside the will
of others before your will" so that they will be forced to bless your deeds.
- Ma'amerei Admor HaZaken 5667 p.173 (3)
Two Levels of Service
"Fulfill His will": This refers to the type of service
known in Kabbala as "itkafia" - subjugating yourself and your will
in order to "turn away from evil and do good".
"Set aside your will": This could also be rendered as
"absolutely nullify your will". And refers to the type of service known in
Kabbala as "itkafia", where a person has reached such an elevated level
of divine service that he does not need to force himself to do G-d's will. He
has transformed his will completely, so that his will and G-d's will are not two
separate things. Rather, he cherishes G-d's mitzvot and delights in them to such
an extent that his only will is G-d's will.
- Tzemach Tzedek, Or HaTorah, Naso, p.230 (3)
Fulfill His Will
The Mishna instructs us to fulfill the will of
G-d, which is beyond human comprehension, just as we fulfill our own will, which
is a product of our intellectual faculties. And this applies both to spiritual
service, which involves meditation, and to fulfilling the practical mitzvot. | | " His meditation on the greatness of G-d must also cause a certain level of ecstasy which transcends human understanding..." | | |
When a person meditates on the greatness of G-d, he
must apply his intellectual faculties to thinking deeply and profoundly on what
is essentially beyond human comprehension. In addition, his meditation on the
greatness of G-d must also cause a certain level of ecstasy which transcends
human understanding. Similarly, the mitzvot, which are the will of G-d, also
transcend human intellect, and yet they must be fulfilled as if they were your
own will, with the love and awe which are a product of understanding and
appreciation.
When a person fulfills G-d's will as he would his own
will, the aspect of great love, which transcends human intellect, will become
revealed in his soul. This took place once before, when the Holy One, blessed is
He hung Mount Sinai over the heads of the Jewish people, as if it were a barrel,
which chasidut interprets as meaning that G-d revealed this supernal
infinite love from above.
- Rabbi Shalom-Dovber Shneersohn, Ma'amorim
5666 p. 262 (3)
Set aside your will...
By setting aside your will in order to fulfill G-d's
will, you transform your nature from bitter to sweet. This applies to "turning
away from evil", by completely rejecting those things which oppose G-d's will,
as well as to "do good", learning to want what one does not want naturally, and
learning not to want what one naturally wants. By nullifying your will to His
will, you will drive out the evil from within yourself.
- Rabbi Shneur-Zalman, Likutei Torah, Naso, 24c
...Because of His will
In order that the innermost will of the Holy One,
blessed is He, can become revealed to you, you must first completely set aside
your will, so that you have no other will than His.
- Rabbi Shneur-Zalman, Likutei Torah, Reeh 32
The Proper Will
The subject of the entire tractate of Avot is
"matters of piety", referred to by our Sages as "middot Chasidut", which
go beyond the latter of the law. Hence it is clear that the author does not
intend to teach us that the law demands that we conduct ourselves according to
G-d's will, for this much is obvious, and our tractate is not the forum for such
instructions. Rather, Rabban Gamliel intends to inform us what a person's
will should be.
According to middot Chasidut, it is not
sufficient that all of a person's actions are as G-d wishes them to be. Rather,
a person should aspire to making the will of the Creator his own will - "make
His will your own", so that not only your actions, but also your will and your
desires are those of G-d. When you fulfill the will of the Creator in a
practical sense, by acting the way G-d wishes you to, and yet this is only by
subduing your own will, then "set aside your will because of His will". In other
words, see to it that you transform your will so that it conforms to G-d's will.
- Lubavitcher Rebbe, Hitva'aduyot 5747, vol.3,
p.321 (3)
Avot 2:5 C'mon, Don't Be a Boor!
"...A boor cannot be sin-fearing, not can an ignoramus
be a chassid..." (Avot 2:5)
When a person learns Torah and practices mitzvot, he
brings about an outflow of bounty from He who emanates all things. When a person
learns Jewish law regarding the practice of mitzvot, he elicits a
supernal radiance from the essence of the Emanator, and this light is planted in
his intellect and understanding. It will grow within him, and will purify and
cleanse his soul, until his intellect becomes so refined that he can comprehend
G-dliness and will be moved by it, for he will have true understanding. A boor
and ignoramus, in whom the sources of light [in the Torah] have not been sown,
are too coarse to be moved by Divine matters.
Ma'amerei Admor HaZaken, 5562, p. 265 (3) | | " Spiritual love...cannot be drawn down from above without the proper vessels..." | | |
Even if a person is a scholar, but despite his
learning he is a boor, i.e. he is like a nutshell which looks pretty on the
outside but which has nothing inside, he cannot be one who fears sin.
Ma'amarei Admor Hazaken, Haketzarim, p. 305 (3)
A chasid (literally, one who is endowed with
chesed, kindness) is one who is suffused with love. Just as light in a
physical sense cannot shine without being radiated from some physical source,
such as a candle wick or firewood, etc. - so too with spiritual love. It cannot
be drawn down from above without the proper vessels in which it can be
contained. The Torah a Jew learns, and the mitzvot he performs are the
vessels for containing love and awe of G-d, whether love and awe which are
generated by the intellect, or whether love and awe which transcend the
intellect. An ignoramus is not one who makes vessels suited to revealing love.
Hence, regarding him it is said, "nor can an ignoramus be a chasid."
Admor HaZaken, Torah Or, 96c; Rebbe Reshab,
Ma'amarim 5672 p. 178 (3)2
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