{"id":131,"date":"2013-09-03T05:40:23","date_gmt":"2013-09-03T14:10:23","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/derechhashem.wordpress.com\/?p=131"},"modified":"2013-09-03T05:40:23","modified_gmt":"2013-09-03T14:10:23","slug":"derech-hashem-123","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/rabbiyaakovfeldman.aishdas.org\/derechhashem\/2013\/09\/03\/derech-hashem-123\/","title":{"rendered":"Derech Hashem 1:2:3"},"content":{"rendered":"

I’m afraid that torah.org is still not archiving these classes. \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/em><\/p>\n

In the last segment Ramchal focused on the idea that G-d intended for us to perfect ourselves [1], since by doing that willfully and proactively, we become closer to Him. Ramchal\u2019s point here is that it’s not just that we earn closeness to G-d by perfecting ourselves — we in fact\u00a0become\u00a0close to Him through the very process of perfecting ourselves [2].<\/p>\n

It comes to this: as we’ve explained, G-d is utterly perfect [3], and all other instances of perfection are sorts of “offshoots” of G-d’s own perfection, much the way that a tree’s branches are offshoots of the tree itself. Now, just as one holds onto the tree itself when he holds onto its branch, one already “holds onto” G-d’s own Being in a certain sense when he takes hold of and pursues spiritual perfection [4]. Thus, perfecting yourself and drawing close to G-d are one and the same thing for all intents and purposes [5].<\/p>\n

But there\u2019s yet another, even more erudite way of looking at it, according to Ramchal\u2019s explanation. G-d is said to either manifest or “shine\u201d\u00a0His face upon us when He approves of our actions [6], or to “hide” it from us when He disapproves [7]. It follows then that every time there\u2019s an instance of imperfection, spiritual failing, injustice, wrongdoing\u00a0somewhere, He hides His \u201cface\u201d from that event. And contrarily every time there\u2019s an instance of perfection, spiritual excellence, justice, and goodness, G-d manifests His \u201cface\u201d and presence in that event.\u00a0So whenever we exhibit a degree of perfection we attract His attention and indeed draw closer to Him in the process.<\/p>\n

In any event, everyone who does the latter, as Ramchal depicts it here, \u201cdraws close to Him, enjoys His beneficence, and is himself responsible for his own goodness and (eventual) perfection\u201d, which is the best one could ever hope for.<\/p>\n

Notes:<\/p>\n

[1] \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cPerfecting\u201d ourselves comes down to being as competent as we can in fulfilling G-d\u2019s spiritual-, ethical-, and character-related expectations of us. As Ramchal put in the first chapter of\u00a0Messilat<\/i>\u00a0Yesharim<\/i>, the \u201cmitzvot<\/i>\u00a0are the means to bring us to true perfection\u201d.<\/p>\n

[2] \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Some of us perhaps wistfully imagine how sublime drawing close to G-d Almighty must be, while the more doggedly material and this-worldly among us haven’t even an inclination to do that.\u00a0The righteous, though,\u00a0dream<\/i>\u00a0about it in the deepest, most vivid corners of their hearts.\u00a0Accordingly,\u00a0they\u00a0sometimes grow impatient in their quest, and yearn for a short-cut, if you will. That’s the issue Ramchal is addressing here.<\/p>\n

In fact, it can be said that person’s true self can best be determined by the contrast between what he dreams of and what he ignores. It would do us each well to determine just where we ourselves stand on the “dream to get close to G-d” continuum in order to know our own spiritual station.<\/p>\n

[3]\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 See 1:2:1.<\/p>\n

[4]\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 \u2026 much the way a drowning person who takes hold of a life-preserver is essentially safely aboard the rescue ship.<\/p>\n

Also see\u00a0Tanya<\/i>\u00a01:4 which makes the point that someone who loves a king and wants to embrace him is satisfied with embracing his many royal garments because he knows that the king himself is within them.<\/p>\n

[5]\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0Also see\u00a0Da\u2019at<\/i>\u00a0Tevunot<\/i>\u00a014, 18.<\/p>\n

This is an extraordinary point. It indicates that since my efforts to draw close to G-d are themselves a degree of success, then even if I don\u2019t fully achieve it by the time I die I\u2019ll still and all be taken to have succeeded at it. After all, I was on the path and had \u201ctouched the tree\u2019s branch\u201d and thus embraced the tree itself for all intents and purposes.<\/p>\n

But isn\u2019t that unfair in a sense, since I will have seemingly earned so great a reward despite other faults I might have? Nonetheless see 2:2:5, 2:3:9 below, which point to the fact that there\u2019ll indeed be consequences to my failings despite the fact that I\u2019ll eventually succeed. Though this calls for a lengthier discussion than we can justify now, it helps to explain how anyone can ever hope for perfection, given that \u201cthere <\/i>is\u00a0not a righteous person on earth, that does (only) good, and doesn\u2019t sin\u201d (Ecclesiastes 7:20); and it helps explains the fundamentals of reward and punishment.<\/p>\n

[6]\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 As in, “May G-d shine His face upon you, and be gracious to you”\u00a0(Numbers 6:25).<\/p>\n

[7] \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 As in, “And on that day I will become angry with them and forsake them; I will hide my face from them” (Deuteronomy 31:17),<\/p>\n

See\u00a0Klallim<\/i>\u00a0Rishonim<\/i>\u00a08,\u00a0Da\u2019at<\/i>\u00a0Tevunot<\/i>\u00a076- 81, 84, and see 1:4:10, 1:5:8, 2:8:3, 3:1:3, etc. below for more about this important theme.<\/p>\n

(c) 2013 Rabbi Yaakov Feldman<\/p>\n

Feel free to contact me at feldman@torah.org<\/a><\/p>\n

———————————————————-<\/p>\n

AT LONG LAST! Rabbi Feldman’s translation of Maimonides’ “Eight Chapters” is available here<\/a> at a discount.<\/p>\n

You can still purchase a copy of Rabbi Feldman’s translation of “The Gates of Repentance” here<\/a> at a discount as well.<\/p>\n

Rabbi Yaakov Feldman has also translated and commented upon “The Path of the Just” and “The Duties of the Heart” (Jason Aronson Publishers).<\/p>\n

Rabbi Feldman also offers two free e-mail classes on www.torah.org entitled “Spiritual Excellence<\/a>\u201d and \u201cRamchal<\/a>\u201d.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

I’m afraid that torah.org is still not archiving these classes. \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0\u00a0 In the last segment Ramchal focused on the idea that G-d intended for us to perfect ourselves [1], since by doing that willfully and proactively, we … Continue reading →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":false,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[2,3,4,5],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-131","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-jewish-thought","category-kabbalah","category-ramchal","category-torah"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p7iqof-27","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/rabbiyaakovfeldman.aishdas.org\/derechhashem\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/131","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/rabbiyaakovfeldman.aishdas.org\/derechhashem\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/rabbiyaakovfeldman.aishdas.org\/derechhashem\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/rabbiyaakovfeldman.aishdas.org\/derechhashem\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/rabbiyaakovfeldman.aishdas.org\/derechhashem\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=131"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/rabbiyaakovfeldman.aishdas.org\/derechhashem\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/131\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/rabbiyaakovfeldman.aishdas.org\/derechhashem\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=131"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/rabbiyaakovfeldman.aishdas.org\/derechhashem\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=131"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/rabbiyaakovfeldman.aishdas.org\/derechhashem\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=131"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}