{"id":265,"date":"2014-09-29T07:17:49","date_gmt":"2014-09-29T15:47:49","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/derechhashem.wordpress.com\/?p=265"},"modified":"2014-09-29T07:17:49","modified_gmt":"2014-09-29T15:47:49","slug":"derech-hashem-146","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/rabbiyaakovfeldman.aishdas.org\/derechhashem\/2014\/09\/29\/derech-hashem-146\/","title":{"rendered":"Derech Hashem 1:4:6"},"content":{"rendered":"

The class can be found here<\/a>.<\/p>\n

1:4:6<\/p>\n

\u201cThe root of Divine service\u201d Ramchal declares here [1], \u201clies in your constantly engaging yourself with your Creator [2] and comprehending that you were created to attach yourself onto G-d [3], and were placed in this world [4] to prevail over your yetzer<\/em> harah<\/em> [5], subjugate yourself to G-d [6] through reason [7], overturn your physical cravings and inclinations [8], and to apply all your activities to this end [9] without ever wavering from it [10].\u201d<\/p>\n

Notes:<\/p>\n

[1] Though it hadn\u2019t been our practice to do this till now, we\u2019re about to present a literal translation of the entire paragraph, since it serves as a singularly vivid and pithy statement of the meaning of life.<\/p>\n

In fact, a faithful student of truth and wisdom would do well to safeguard this paragraph for him or herself, and to set it aside in a cozy spot close to the heart. For what we\u2019re about to read is a gift outright — a veritable recounting of the realizations the soul had before entering the world. If you find yourself somehow not<\/em> taken by what\u2019s stated here, then you\u2019d do well to reconsider your vision of the ideal life and wait another five years before re-reading it. (I myself have read it again and again for decades now and have always been bedazzled by the brush with ultimate truth that it is.)<\/p>\n

To put it into context recall that this statement is offered on the heels of our discussion about our inner and outer conflicts, about the great sway physicality holds over us, about the challenges presented us by that situation as well as the great spiritual victory it allows for, and about the great remedy for all that which is the mitzvah-system. And recall too that it sits in the midst of the chapter that focuses upon \u201cHuman Responsibility\u201d.<\/p>\n

We\u2019ll try to explain each phrase as we come to it as succinctly as possible. As such, this first phrase \u201cThe root of Divine service\u201d means to express the idea that what life is, all in all, is service to G-d rather than to self.<\/p>\n

Ramchal raised the idea of dedicating what you do to the service of G-d in a number of places, including 1:4:7, 9, 2:2:1, 4:9:2 below; Messilat<\/em> Yesharim,<\/em> in the introduction and in Ch. 1 and Ch. 19; Derech<\/em> Chochma<\/em>; and in Sefer<\/em> Kinat<\/em> Hashem<\/em> Tzivaot<\/em>. Also see Berachot<\/em> 63a and Rambam\u2019s Shemone<\/em> Perakim<\/em>, Ch. 5.<\/p>\n

[2]\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 That Divine service \u201clies in your constantly engaging yourself with your Creator\u201c, for unbeknownst to most, we\u2019re to foster an intimacy with G-d that\u2019s rooted in catching sight of Him and hearing out what He says all the time.<\/p>\n

[3]\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 For \u201cyou were created to attach yourself onto G-d\u201c at bottom — nothing else. Everything else we do is either ancillary or disruptive, and every other attachment we have is non-adhesive in the end and piteous in comparison.<\/p>\n

[4]\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 And you \u201cwere placed in this world\u201d specifically, where things are meant to get done and where goals are meant to be met.<\/p>\n

[5]\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 So as \u201cto prevail over your yetzer<\/em> harah<\/em>\u201d which is to say, to set self in hand, overcome all extraneous indulgences and charge ahead despite all other promptings.<\/p>\n

[6]\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 And to then \u201csubjugate yourself to G-d\u201d rather than to glitz.<\/p>\n

[7]\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cThrough reason\u201d rather than through whim.<\/p>\n

[8]\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 To \u201coverturn your physical cravings and inclinations\u201d in your quest for closeness to G-d to cravings for and inclinations toward Him instead.<\/p>\n

[9]\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 To \u201capply all your activities to this end\u201d alone, as this is your supreme mission after all.<\/p>\n

[10]\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 And you\u2019re to do that \u201cwithout ever wavering from it\u201d for a goal is a goal, and alacrity and dedication alone is what leads us to it.<\/p>\n

(c) 2014 Rabbi Yaakov Feldman<\/p>\n

 <\/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":"

The class can be found here. 1:4:6 \u201cThe root of Divine service\u201d Ramchal declares here [1], \u201clies in your constantly engaging yourself with your Creator [2] and comprehending that you were created to attach yourself onto G-d [3], and were … 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-265","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-4h","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/rabbiyaakovfeldman.aishdas.org\/derechhashem\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/265","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=265"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/rabbiyaakovfeldman.aishdas.org\/derechhashem\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/265\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/rabbiyaakovfeldman.aishdas.org\/derechhashem\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=265"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/rabbiyaakovfeldman.aishdas.org\/derechhashem\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=265"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/rabbiyaakovfeldman.aishdas.org\/derechhashem\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=265"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}