[Avodah] The Extra Mitzvah of Being Mesameach a Yesomah

[Micha Berger]

On Tue, Sep 01, 2009 at 3:54pm GMT, R Gershon Dubin wrote to Areivim:
: Whichever word you hear, keep in mind the extra mitzva of being
: mesameach a yesomah.

You remind me of my long-standing problem of how to understand what
lishmah means when it comes to MBALC. If you turn the yesomah
into a cheftzah shel mitzvah, making her happy *because* it's an extra
mitzvah, is that more or less lishmah than if you make her happy because
you feel that way toward yesomos, having internalized the feeling?

In <http://www.aishdas.org/asp/2005/09/lishmah-of-interpersonal-mitzvos.shtml>,
written after some Avodah discussion, I suggested:
> The paradox seems to be addressed by the Torah by giving two overarching
> principles that motivate chessed. The first is "ve'ahavta lerei'akha
> kamokha -- and you shall love your neighbor as yourself." The other is
> "vehalakhta bidrakhav -- and you shall walk in His ways", to which Chazal
> comment (Sifri ad loc, among many other places), "Just as He is described
> as Merciful, so too must you be merciful. Just as He is described as Kind,
> so must you too be kind. Etc...."
...
> Ve'ahavta obligates us to act out of love for the other. Vehalakhta, out
> of love for and obedience to G-d. Which one is fulfilling in a given act,
> which could mean both as well, could very well depend on the intent of
> the person.

IOW, I made a tzvei dinim.

Now I'm thinking that perhaps it's related to my recent post about the
nature of the yeitzer hatov. Is the ideal to internalize the appropriate
middah, what REED would call placing the decision beyond the nequdat
habechirah so that one unconsiously makes the right choice before any
conscious thought? Or is the YhR by definition to be conscious about it,
acting in the tzelem of Ratzon haBorei?

Tir'u baTov!
-Micha

-- 
Micha Berger             When faced with a decision ask yourself,
micha at aishdas.org        "How would I decide if it were Ne'ilah now,
http://www.aishdas.org   at the closing moments of Yom Kippur?"
Fax: (270) 514-1507                            - Rav Yisrael Salanter