[Avodah] The Main Idea of Judaism

[Akiva Miller]

R' David Riceman wrote:

>  ...  We have a principle (mitzva - aveirah) which
> classifies acts as hiyuvim, issurum, and neutral. We have
> a second principle (for God's sake) which classifies acts
> as virtuous or not.
> But why two principles? Each one by itself fully
> classifies all acts.  As far as I can tell your only
> excuse is that you don't approve of the concept of a
> neutral act, but can't jettison the first principle ...

Yes, these two principles are at odds with each other, and it's not simple to reconcile them. I think maybe I'd describe the first as Theoretical or L'Halacha, and the second as Practical or L'Maaseh. I'll elaborate:

To jettison the first principle would require us to jettison the word "mutar". But that word appears just about everywhere; how can we ignore it?

On the other hand, I remember discussing this topic once with one of my rebbeim. He gave me the example of where I can choose betwen learning this sefer or that sefer. It is absurd to think that either of them would be listed as assur to learn. And as long as I do spend my time learning, can it be said that there is a bigger chiyuv to learn from one over the other?

Yet, if one of them will help me grow more than the other, don't I owe it to myself to avail myself of that opportunity? How dare I squander my time and energy by learning the one which will help me less! And do I really think that HaShem doesn't care which I choose? (Keep in mind that I might not know which sefer is the better one for my situation, but that's really beside the point.)

And the exact same argument can be made of how I choose to relax: Several options might *technically* all be in the "mutar" category, but if one will "recharge my batteries" better than another, or if one will help me grow spiritually, or if one will help me avoid falling spiritually, how dare I avoid that choice?

Ultimately, I think this is similar to how we handle concepts like "Asisa hayashar v'hatov" or "lifnim m'shiras hadin". There are cases where on a strict view of "chiyuv/issur", we are in "mutar" territory, but if we could truly do what we want, then what do the concepts of "Asisa hayashar v'hatov" or "lifnim m'shiras hadin" or "naval birshus haTorah" mean? What they mean is: (A) "Even if you don't HAVE to do it, you still OUGHT to do it." and (B) "Even if you don't HAVE to avoid it, you still OUGHT to avoid it."

And as that rebbe challenged me: Are you really going to do something that you OUGHT NOT do? And with a clear conscience?

I hope we can agree that the issues we're discussing are not at all black-and-white, but are infinite shades of gray, as illustrated by RDR's question here:

RDR asked:

> The Ba'alei Mussar like to advise people to specialize in
> one particular mitzvah (cf. Avos 4:11), and do that
> particularly assiduously and meticulously.  Of course its
> impossible for one person to do that with all mitzvos,
> since they compete for resources and attention.  RSS
> himself says that he is describing how to implement the
> mitzva of kedoshim tihyu particularly meticulously.  But
> what of the person who chooses to specialize in a
> different mitzva which takes less time?

My answer would be this: There seems to be a difference between implementing "kedoshim tihyu", and implementing "kedoshim tihyu particularly meticulously". If so, then I would suggest that if one chooses a different mitzvah, that would be "kedoshim tihyu not quite as meticulously as otherwise".

Am I splitting hairs? Yes, but I'm just following up on RSS's lead.

RDR again:

> I started this subthread because RAM asserted that the
> only possible legitimate aspiration for a Jew is to be a
> "*total* oveid Hashem".  I have always been willing to
> concede that it is a legitimate aspiration, but I
> strongly disagree that it's the ONLY legitimate aspiration.

I'm not sure if I used the word "only" in this context. I'll tell you what: Even if I did use that word, I'll retract it now and say this: I am willing to concede that there are many legitimate aspirations, and my point is that being a "*total* oveid Hashem" is the most ideal aspiration among them.

As I tell my kids: "If you don't aim for the stars, you won't even reach the clouds."

Akiva Miller


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