[Avodah] Mussar

[Micha Berger]

On Tue, February 5, 2008 7:54 pm, R Yosef Gavriel Bechhofer wrote:
: What is lacking in Reb Micha's otherwise masterly presentation of the
: Mussar Derech, is the emphasis that it places on /yirah/: Both /yiras
: ha'romemus/ and /yiras ha'onesh/, but generally under the umbrella of
: /yiras shomayim/.

I disagree that yir'ah is a defining feature.

I received the following from R Prof Yitzchok Levine via his Daily RYS
emails. It's from a translation of R' Dov Katz's Tenu'as haMussar (vol
1):
> From The Mussar Movement, Volume I, part 2, pages 268 - 269.

> Yet he [RYS] realized that the essential precondition for perfection
> is the fear of G-d. Even to become refined in one's character traits
> and in deeds between man and man is impossible without the fear of
> G-d. Just as the mitzvot between man and G-d are without any value
> whatsoever if they do not derive from the faith in, and fear of, G-d,
> and are not directed towards G-d, so is the fulfillment of mitzvot
> between man and man entirely without value if they are based on
> humanistic principles alone and are not bound up with belief in, and
> the pure fear of, G-d. All rational argumentation and humanistic
> principles come to naught when confronted by the temptations of
> reality. They shatter against the rock of desire for money and honor
> and the enticements of jealousy, hatred and other human inclinations.
> Only the fear of G-d, R. Israel believed, was powerful enough to
> restrain man and curb his nature and impulses. Moreover, fear of G-d
> is the main factor even in faith. Belief has no stability or strength
> if devoid of fear, for so it is written: "And the people feared the
> L-rd and they believed in the L-rd." Belief is not antecedent to fear:
> fear precedes belief. Without fear it would only be natural for belief
> to be swept aside by turbulent passions and become utterly erased from
> the human heart. Without fear, beliefs might become mistaken and
> distorted and follow the bent of human nature and desires, and assume
> grotesque forms. Only the fear of G-d can bring forth faith and make
> it manifest. Fear resembles a compass charting the course which faith
> is to follow.

However, this email was one section after more than *50* posts of bein
adam lachaveiro. Yes, yir'as Hashem is important, but I didn't deem
the role as a defining one in Mussar, given the relative space given
it in Or Yisrael (RYS), Or Rashaz (Kelm) Madreigas haAdam (Novhardok)
or Or haTzafun (Slabodka). Or, for that matter, the aforementioned ThM
or later, RSW's Alei Shur.

BTW, I disagree with RYGB's description of yir'ah. The Ramchal makes a
chiluq between yir'as ha'onesh and yir'as Hashem, and within the
latter, between yir'as hacheit and yir'as haromemus. My point of
disagreement is with RYGB's calling "yir'as ha'onesh" a kind of
"yir'as Hashem".

AIUI:

yir'as ha'onesh: fear of punishment. Not real yir'ah, but good enough
in a pinch as a motivator. What I wrote about generational differences
changing the starting position, and thus shaping the path from where
one is to where Hashem wants us to be impacts on the role of yir'as
ha'onesh greatly. RSWolbe in general plays down its value to people
living today.

yir'as hacheit: fear of wronging the Yedid Nefesh Av haRachaman. Just
as you don't want to wrong any /person/ you have a strong relationship
with. Not because they will punish you, but of committing the wrong in
and of itself. I believe that this is what RAEK makes akin to the
yir'ah of having my child perched on my shoulders while dancing on
simchas Torah.

yir'as haromemus: awe

In general, it would seem that "yir'ah" means "awareness of the
magnitude". When dealing with something that has potentially negative
consequences, that great magnitude yields fear. Otherwise, it causes
awe.

But yes, an attribute (even if I won't call it part of the essence) of
mussar is that awareness, and how it generates simchah. After all, you
have more yir'ah at your child's wedding than at someone else's. But
it's that very awareness of the momentousness of the event in your
life that makes it a more joyous occasion for you.

I also skipped other attributes of tenu'as hamussar, like which
pe'ulos they tended to use to get from real to ideal, etc...

SheTir'u baTov!
-micha

-- 
Micha Berger             "Man wants to achieve greatness overnight,
micha at aishdas.org        and he wants to sleep well that night too."
http://www.aishdas.org     - Rav Yosef Yozel Horwitz, Alter of Novarodok
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