Thursday, April 30, 2009

לכבוד גאולת ישראל מיד אויב

Due to some University examinations I haven't been able to write the thoughts that I would have liked to jot down here the past few days; I wanted to write about love, and sex(!) and Yom Ha'atzmaut, yet none of that came to fruition, and all the fleeting thoughts I had about these subjects have by now probably boarded a plane to Japan, but I still recall a few thoughts related to spiritual reflection that heard from a (recorded) speech by (someone who I used to listen to more in the past but haven't heard in a while), Akiva Tatz yesterday that I can still write about and reflect upon.

Rabbi Tatz skimmed over his idea about the reality which is repeated in many manifestations throughout the human experience, not least of which being the Judaic experience, in which there is an initial boom or inspiration, followed by a struggle, the end of which being quite difficult and seeming hopeless, followed by a reward or attainment of some kind.

One reality in which this phenomenon is evident is the history of the Jews in the past century: Yesterday marked the day that, a little over half a century ago, the Jews were granted a parcel of land and self government in historical Palestine by it's British protectorates, something the Jews haven't been awarded in quite some time. This event, as it is well known, came after a terrible loss had come upon the Jews in the countries in which they were most populous (the killings in the German "Concentration Camps").

It has become known that when the Allied powers discovered that these civilian killings were taking place, those in charge of the camps sped up the extermination processes as much as possible before the Americans arrived. This, of course, meant that the worst time for people in the death camps were the last few days (especially considering they were not previously aware of the American arrival). Yet after this bleakest of times one of the greatest salivations came to the Jews, with the renewal of their homeland and national strength, the commemoration of which took place yesterday with celebration and thanks to G-d for his many miracles bestowed upon us.

This very same process, it was said, happens not only to עם ישראל as a nation, but to the איש ישראל as an individual as well. First there is, in the hearts of people to whom G-d has called, an initial inspiration and yearning for G-d and good, and they are for but a moment shown a vision of their potential selves if they were to continue on this path. When this inspiration fades, therefore, is the only time one can work with his own hands to make that potential a reality, and the hardest time to do it is after all the challenges one thought were hardest, in the very end. Yet if one is able to hold out till after that trying period, one will reap the luscious fruits of ones potential.

In my eyes it is the same as the attractive individual: Have you ever seen the attractive individual? (*sigh*, here we go with "gender sensitivity"!) There becomes a will in ones heart to become close to this individual, to benefit this individual, all in the hopes of finding grace in the eyes of this individual. Yet what beauty can you behold from this person if you are blind to see that this will is the will of Satan? For it is obvious that the beauty that this person harbors, as well as the accomplishments of any person to whom ample opportunity has been given to them is unearned. I do not respect the beauty and accomplishments of these individuals, for just as the gourd of Jonah which came up in a night and withered in a night, so too unquestionably has and will the beauty and accomplishments of these.

This beauty I speak of, to me, is analogous to spiritual עליות that a person may receive, that are not representative of any labour that one put in to achieve them. No gourd can last for this person if it is not watered daily, only then can one feel glad and confident about any religious or spiritual accomplishments.

Rabbi Tatz mentioned that preventing oneself from sinning is "as painful as death" (אדם כי ימות באהל), and "one must conquer death to achieve eternal life". To me this is somewhat reminiscent of a thought I once had; that in a sense, as far as a person's senses go, "good"(מצוה) is essentially defined by doing things that are painful to oneself and "sin"(עבירה) is defined as doing things that are pleasureful. The definition therefore of doing only good and no evil is experiencing only pain and no relief. Yet it is this pleasure, this animalistic individualism of the Nefesh that must be eradicated if one is to make himself into the "Spirit-Man".

Even after one reaches this plateau of spiritual accomplishment though, not only must one make sure to stay on this plateau, but to strive to new areas of spiritual accomplishment. To me, again (don't think that yawning is inaudible to me!), this is comparable to a suspension bridge; even after all the effort and materials are put in to the bridges construction, all that effort will go to waste if the bridge does not receive proper upkeep. In the case of a suspension bridge, the upkeep is in the form of constantly applying paint to it, so the elements don't crack the paint and corrode the iron, which would ultimately make the bridge fall.

And if ones bridge is securely in place, one will surely be able to build an entire spiritual city, building after building, year after year.

(Don't fret about the lack of coherency; these were very fleeting thoughts).

10 comments:

inkstainedhands said...

Well, fleeting thoughts are often more significant than those one has in his mind constantly.

"To me this is somewhat reminiscent of a thought I once had; that in a sense, as far as a person's senses go, "good"(מצוה) is essentially defined by doing things that are painful to oneself and "sin"(עבירה) is defined as doing things that are pleasureful. The definition therefore of doing only good and no evil is experiencing only pain and no relief."

But in creating the world, G-d meant for us to be happy, and He gave us the mitzvot in order to enable us to feel that happiness. It all depends on your outlook on it and what you think as you do mitzvot. If people choose to view it as a burden, then that is what it becomes for them, when in reality, it was meant to be a higher form of pleasure.

'Ain haShechinah shore ela mitoch simcha.' When we are happy, we should channel it to serve Hashem, do mitzvot, and get rewards.

הצעיר שלמה בן רפאל לבית שריקי ס"ט said...

Hello there, um, Hannah. Thanks for commenting and thank you for following by blog (I think that username is pretty funny by the way).

In regards to what you say: I spoke of this same topic in my "Redemption of Restriction" post; it's not a bad thing that doing "good" is painful. In fact the pain itself is pleasure, which in turn creates the problem of doing mitzvot not for their own sake.

Take for example the mitzva of tzedaka (although the way it's defined today is somewhat of a stretch from what it originally meant. ..whatever, some idea): You're giving away 10% (lets say) of your earnings. That's very painful; taking of your own money, your own sustenance, and squandering it on something that is in no way beneficial to you. The truth is though it is beneficial, it's serving your need to manifest compassion through doing the mitzva of tzedaka, which itself can be considered not doing a mitzva for it's own sake.

There has already been a famous discussion about this in the preface to the book "Avnei Nezer"; i.e. weather receiving "emotional benefit" (שמחת מצוה) from mitzvot is considered not doing them for their own sake. He speaks about the command to speak of the Law/Teachings (מצות תלמוד תורה), and says (I actually forgot why it seems!) that it's quite alright (though the Ramchal says in Derech Hashem that 'learning' without intent to fulfil a mitzva is questionable.

In fact Nietzsche also takes issue with this problem more than many others; namely that the restrictions we place on ourselves with religion is, in a way, a service to ourselves.

Well, it's actually the Rambam himself who mentions that people rarely do mitzvot "for G-d's sake". ..it's unquestionable that to the pious at least, religion is done for the self.. ...I fear I'm really going in circles here today! Oh dear! I'm not making any coherent point! Talk about fleeting thoughts!

Well, I think the initial point I wanted to make was that "the pain of good" isn't necessarily bad. Take remote Alpine hikers for example (I think I've already mentioned this here), many of them come from Germany and go on sometimes 2 week long hikes just to battle it out, so that when they come back to Berlin after a long trip they'll really enjoy the beer they drink. This is a point Avigdor Miller (another weakly founded quote!) would hammer in endlessly; true pleasure comes from a lack of pleasure.

I really hope I'll be able to return and turn this drivel into something that makes sense!

inkstainedhands said...

"(I think that username is pretty funny by the way)." -- Your sense of humor is sometimes difficult to understand.

"it's not a bad thing that doing "good" is painful." -- That's not what I was trying to say though. I was talking about the mitzvot and Torah being a way of getting pleasure.

"i.e. weather receiving "emotional benefit" (שמחת מצוה) from mitzvot is considered not doing them for their own sake." -- But if G-d wanted us to benefit from it emotionally, and that is the outcome of doing the mitzvah, then why would that not be lishma?

"In fact Nietzsche also takes issue with this problem more than many others; namely that the restrictions we place on ourselves with religion is, in a way, a service to ourselves." -- But these are not restrictions that we place on ourselves; this is something that G-d has placed on us. It is not as if we are purposely trying to benefit ourselves. This is what G-d commanded.

"I really hope I'll be able to return and turn this drivel into something that makes sense!" -- Was that a fleeting hope?

הצעיר שלמה בן רפאל לבית שריקי ס"ט said...

"Your sense of humor is sometimes difficult to understand."- Haha. When I say "funny" I mean interesting and thought-provoking, ok? : p

"But if G-d wanted us to benefit from it emotionally, and that is the outcome of doing the mitzvah, then why would that not be lishma?"- Because we're doing it for emotional benefit! (Ideally,) the mitzvot must be done with 100% intent to fulfill the will of G-d. Not 20% to do G-d's will, 20% because I felt bad for the homeless guy, 20% because I had an extra dollar floating around in my pocket, 20% because people were looking at me, etc..

"It is not as if we are purposely trying to benefit ourselves. This is what G-d commanded."- Obviously in Nietzsche's world it's a given that G-d is make-believe. People created religion just as they created narcotics, to fulfill their own needs (obviously he wasn't the only one who felt that way, but his philosophies took that premise to the next level; i.e. total abandonment of the Judeo-Chistian value system without resorting to Nihilism).

"Was that a fleeting hope?" *sigh*, as most of my hopes. But maybe now would actually be a good time..

inkstainedhands said...

"Haha. When I say "funny" I mean interesting and thought-provoking, ok? : p" -- Ah, okay. So it's not your sense of humor; it is your vocabulary usage.

"(Ideally,) the mitzvot must be done with 100% intent to fulfill the will of G-d." -- We are human though, and it is very difficult to be ideal. Mitoch she'lo lishma ba lishma.

"Obviously in Nietzsche's world it's a given that G-d is make-believe." -- Which is why you should not be looking to non-Jewish philosophers for guidance on how to live a Jewish life.

הצעיר שלמה בן רפאל לבית שריקי ס"ט said...

"We are human though, and it is very difficult to be ideal. Mitoch she'lo lishma ba lishma."- I didn't say you shouldn't give tzedaka if you're heart won't be 100% with G-d, but the point of life is to do mitzvot to serve G-d, not as a service to our personalities.

"Which is why you should not be looking to non-Jewish philosophers for guidance on how to live a Jewish life."- Come on, if anyone can inform you how to live a Jewish life, it's Friedrich Wilhelm Nietzsche! I'm sure you noticed that I consider him to be so prominent that I've always had him up in my side bar. Anyway, the question of whether or not to learn philosophy is as old as the Jewish people, but suffice it to say that it's not only allowed but encouraged according to the school of thought I follow (Rambam, Hirsch, Soliveichik, etc).

inkstainedhands said...

"but the point of life is to do mitzvot to serve G-d, not as a service to our personalities." -- If that is what you want... but built in to the system is the fact that G-d wants us to benefit from the mitzvot. G-d tries to give us extra opportunities to do good so He can reward us.

"Come on, if anyone can inform you how to live a Jewish life, it's Friedrich Wilhelm Nietzsche!" -- How about the Torah and Jewish philosophical works?

"I'm sure you noticed that I consider him to be so prominent that I've always had him up in my side bar." -- Yes, with a reference to the crucifixion. How charming. I noticed.

"Anyway, the question of whether or not to learn philosophy is as old as the Jewish people," -- I think it is good and beneficial to study philosophy. So go ahead and learn it, but do not accept it as the final word on how to live a Jewish life. There is a difference between learning and accepting everything to heart. You have to pick and choose, realizing that non-Jewish philosophers should not be the authority for you.

הצעיר שלמה בן רפאל לבית שריקי ס"ט said...

"How about the Torah and Jewish philosophical works?"- Those too, but according to "my school of thought" it's good to have the broadest spectrum possible..

"Yes, with a reference to the crucifixion."- Well he was coming from a Christian background. Cut the guy some slack..

"You have to pick and choose, realizing that non-Jewish philosophers should not be the authority for you."- I believe that any logical attempt to come to conclusive truths about the nature of life and the world around us should be incorporated into our minds as much as everything else. If one believes in the authority of "the rabbis" then reading secular works should not lead him to forfiet his religion, but rather serve to give him a broader perspective of reality.

Again, these notions are based on concepts like those that the Maimonedian and Hirschian schools of thought are based on..

inkstainedhands said...

"Those too, but according to "my school of thought" it's good to have the broadest spectrum possible.." -- Learn it, know it, but don't make it your authority.

"Well he was coming from a Christian background. Cut the guy some slack.." -- My comment wasn't on the fact that he wrote it, but that you put it on your blog! He can write whatever he wants, but why should you put it there? You have to remember that you are a Jew.

I understand appreciating philosophy, but as I said, you have to realize that as an Orthodox Jew you cannot believe everything you read, because some of it contains anti-Torah ideas.

הצעיר שלמה בן רפאל לבית שריקי ס"ט said...

"My comment wasn't on the fact that he wrote it, but that you put it on your blog! He can write whatever he wants, but why should you put it there? You have to remember that you are a Jew."- I happen to think, like I said, that it has a lot to do with what it means to be Jewish. Just because it's not coming from a "sefer" doesn't mean it's inappropriate. And just because his ideas are coming from a Christian standpoint doesn't mean it's not quite applicable to Jewish life. Nietzsche is the alfa and the omega; no one enters the gates of heaven but through him! ..ok, maybe I'm going a little too far : P, but we're very much in the same boat as the Christians or Muslims are in facing what religion should mean to us in this world of changing ideas. In fact we're responsible for the founding of those religions. Any inquiry nto the meaning (or lack thereof) of religion, from any religious perspective, should very much be of interest to us. ...at least that's how I feel..


"you have to realize that as an Orthodox Jew you cannot believe everything you read, because some of it contains anti-Torah ideas."- I don't know man, I think I spoke of this in the very comment you're commenting on there..