[Avodah] ha-sameach be-chelko

[Micha Berger]

On Mon, September 17, 2007 4:57 am, Eli Turkel wrote:
: I have a question about what the phrase ha-sameach be-chelko means?
: Simple pshat would indicate that one does not strive to be
: better/richer but is happy with where he is

Who is wealthy?
One who is happy with their pekalach, rather than wondering "Why can't
I have an easy life like so-and-so?"

It's one who is happy with their challenges, their tafqid, their path
to sheleimus and deveiqus.

Not contentment with what one has, but with one's lot in life. And
that includes what I personally am set on the path to strive for. Be
it my ta'avah for enough wealth to stop working and do AishDas
full-time, my need to be able to deal with more situations without
blowing my top, or even coming to terms with the lessons of empathy
and of the fragility and value of life and the berakhos in it that
came with the loss of a daughter.

I therefore disagree with the conclusion:
: It seems to be the opposite of teshuva which says that one should
: never be happy with ones status and always work on getting better.
: It certainly seems to be against the philosophy of RYBS who stressed
: that ... Judaism involves a constant struggle.

No, my cheileq is the teshuvah, the dialectic tension, not my current
status and holdings.

BTW, I had a long bit on this on MmD (pp 1-3) based on R' Saadia Gaon
at <http://www.aishdas.org/mesukim/5764/vaeschanan.pdf>. It's all
about simcha, R' Aqiva's laughter, Hallel, who are the yesharim
(uleyishrei leiv, simchah; layesharim navah sehillah), aveilus,
Eikhah, etc...

(While there, I recommend revisiting RYF's (CC-ed) words on pp 3-4
while it's still 10YT.)

This also reminds me of a thought I often use from the Kotzker. (Eg
"9/11 - 5 Years Later; or, How to Effect Permanent Change", notes of a
talk I gave over dinner at a Shabbaton at the Yavneh Minyan
<http://tinyurl.com/26npbr>). An excerpt:

The Kotzker Rebbe once asked his students: There are two people on a
ladder, one on the fourth rung, and another on the 10th, which one is
higher?

The book where I saw this thought doesn't record his students'
answers. I assume some recognized it as a trick question, and answered
that it was the one on the fourth, some answered the 10th figuring the
rebbe was leading them somewhere, and others were silent. But the
rebbe's answer was succinct, "It depends who is climbing the ladder,
and who is going down."

Once I told the story, the idea is familiar. The idea of spirituality
is not where you are, as that is largely a function of forces beyond
your control (your upbringing, your genetics, etc
) Rather, it's the
direction you're heading in, and how rapidly you're getting there. To
apply a notion from Kierkegaard, it's not about being a good Jew, it’s
about the process of becoming one.

What does this say about teshuvah? We think of teshuvah as getting
from point A to point B. But if holiness is measured by our engagement
in the process, should this be our goal of where to be by Yom Kippur?
I would suggest that teshuvah is not akin to motion, but to
acceleration. The aim is that by the end of Yom Kippur, we are more
engaged in change; our foot is on the accelerator, we gathered tools
to implement change and have started using them.
-- ad kan leshoni --

Similarly, my cheileq isn't point A or point B, but my calling to
travel that line.

Khasivah veChasimah Tovah, vesheTir'u baTov!
-mi

-- 
Micha Berger             One who kills his inclination is as though he
micha at aishdas.org        brought an offering. But to bring an offering,
http://www.aishdas.org   you must know where to slaughter and what
Fax: (270) 514-1507      parts to offer.        - R' Simcha Zissel Ziv