The Chesed of Love & Chasidut
Bein Adam Le-chavero: Ethics of Interpersonal Conduct
By Rav
Binyamin Zimmerman
Shiur #16: The Chesed of Love & Chasidut
The Tzaddik and the Chasid
In our previous lesson, we discussed the distinction
between tzedek and chesed.
While tzedek encompasses behaviors of righteousness that one might
feel an inner obligation to perform, chesed is kindness in excess of any
requirements. This distinction also
applies to those who excel in each of these qualities respectively, the
tzaddik and the chasid: a tzaddik is one who performs all that
is required exactly, but a chasid is one who goes above and beyond the
call of duty lifnim mi-shurat ha-din, beyond the letter of the law. As we saw, therefore, contrary to the
common understanding, the chasid is the preferable personality, for he
strives to go beyond his responsibilities as he provides for others. For this reason, we noted, classic
Jewish works stress the importance of achieving (small-c) chasidut, and
the (big-C) Chasidic movement of the past 250 years has attempted to help
individuals develop themselves as chasidim, developing a relationship
with God not limited to what is required, but based on what is proper.
In order to appreciate the ramifications and
underlying goals of these principles, we must analyze the description of
chasidut in the classic early 18th-century treatise
Mesillat Yesharim; then, we may understand the nature of lifnim
mi-shurat ha-din. Once we have
done this, we may turn in our next lesson to a seeming anomaly in the teachings
of the Chasidic movement
which arose a few decades later. On
the one hand, as we have explained, this movement sought and seeks to develop
chasidim, not just tzaddikim, but the teachings of Chasidism
recognize the need for seeking counsel and being in the court of a leader. This leader, who is supposed to be
exceptionally sincere in his worship, is known as the tzaddik. If the whole goal is not to limit
ourselves to righteousness but to strive for more, why is the one who has
succeeded in this endeavor referred to by what seems to be a lesser title?
The Perils and Difficulties in the Search for Chasidut
In order to understand the path to chasidut in all of ones
endeavors, and how it plays itself out uniquely within ones interpersonal
obligations, let us look at the road describe in Mesillat Yesharim, The
Path of the Just. Rav Moshe Chayim
Luzzatto (known affectionately by his Hebrew acronym, the Ramchal) is the
author of this manifesto, which was credited by the Gra, the great Rav Eliyahu
of Vilna, with not containing any extra words in its first chapters. In the introduction, he explains that
the purpose of life, which he identifies as wholesomeness and chasidut,
is rarely achieved. Because
chasidut is the root of the character of the chasid, we must follow
carefully the words of the Ramchal in order to understand what chasidut
is and how to succeed in acquiring it.
The Ramchal explains, in his introduction to
Mesillat Yesharim, that, unfortunately, morality and ethics are not studied
properly by those who are capable of understanding them and are left to those
who are not capable.
There are those who go more deeply into sacred
studies, into the study of the holy Torah, some occupying themselves with
halakhic analysis, others with Midrash and others with legal decisions. They
leave the study of achieving perfection and chasidut to those who do not
succeed in their advanced studies.
There are few, however, who devote thought and study to the perfection of their
divine service to love, fear, devotion and all of the other aspects of
chasidut. It is not that they consider
this knowledge unessential; if questioned, each one will maintain that it is of
paramount importance and that one who is not clearly versed in it cannot be
deemed truly wise. Their failure to devote more attention to it stems rather
from its being so manifest and so obvious to them that they see no need for
spending much time upon it. Consequently, this study and the reading of works of
this kind have been left to those of a not particularly sensitive, almost dull
intelligence. These you will see immersed in the study of
chasidut, not stirring from it. It has
reached the point that when one sees another who acts like a chasid, he
cannot help but suspect him of being a dullard. This
state of affairs results in evil consequences both for those who possess wisdom
and for those who do not, causing both classes to lack true
chasidut and rendering it extremely
rare. The wise lack it because of their limited consideration of it, and the
unwise because of their limited grasp. The result is that
chasidut is construed by most to
consist in the recitation of many psalms, very long confessions, difficult
fasts, and ablutions in ice and snow - all of which are incompatible with
intellect and which reason cannot accept.
The Ramchal reveals that the devastating result of
this situation is that no one truly achieves chasidut: one who is capable
of understanding does not engage in its study, so that it has no place in his
mind. Therefore, he maintains that this
must be studied: It is inconceivable
that we should find time for all other branches of study and none for this
study!
However, the Ramchal is aware that one cannot jump or skip steps. Developing the character traits of
wholeheartedness and chasidut requires work. It also requires one to follow a
path, which he delineates based on Rabbi Pinechas ben Yairs statement on
Avoda Zara 20b:
Torah leads to
watchfulness; watchfulness leads to zeal; zeal leads to cleanliness; cleanliness
leads to separation; separation leads to purity; purity leads to
chasidut;
chasidut leads to humility; humility
leads to fear of sin; fear of sin leads to holiness; holiness leads to the Holy
Spirit, and the Holy Spirit leads to the Revival of the Dead.
He concludes:
After we have recognized the truth of this
principle, and it has become clear to us, we must investigate its details
according to its stages, from beginning to end, as they were arranged by Rabbi
Pinechas ben Yair in the statement which has already been referred to in our
introduction. These stages are: watchfulness, zeal, cleanliness, separation,
purity, chasidut, humility, fear of
sin, and holiness. And now, with the aid of Heaven, we will explain them one by
one.
Chasidut
Defined!
In chapter 18 of
Mesillat Yesharim, the Ramchal is finally ready to detail exactly what
is included in the trait of chasidut. While many feel that chasidut
is rooted in fasting and self-abnegation, the real foundation of chasidut
is something else. Here he refers to
the specific chasidut that we are discussing, based on an attitude. He explains:
Instead of exerting and wearying themselves to know
the way of God with clear, rational knowledge, they act like a chasid on
the basis of what first occurs to them, without submitting their ideas to an
examination in depth and without weighing these ideas upon the scales of wisdom.
Unfortunately, he laments, people have gained a
misimpression of Chasidut:
They have made chasidut repulsive to most
people, the intelligentsia among them. For the pseudo-saints give the impression
that chasidut lies in foolishness and
runs counter to intelligence and logic; and they lead people to believe that
chasidut consists entirely in the
reciting of many supplications, in lengthy confessions, in exaggerated wailings
and bowings, and in esoteric flagellations (such as immersion in ice and snow,
and the like) by which a person mortifies himself.
He expresses the need for study based upon the
mishna which we cited in the last lesson (Avot 2:5), which states
that an am ha-aretz (ignoramus) cannot be a chasid.
One must study in order to reveal how to
truly become a chasid.
The root of
chasidut is epitomized in the statement of our Sages of blessed memory (Berakhot
17a), "Fortunate is the man whose toil is in Torah and gives pleasure to his
Creator." The underlying idea is this: it is known which
mitzvot are binding on all of Israel
and to what extent one is bound by them. However, one who truly loves the
Creator, may His Name be blessed, will not endeavor and intend to fulfill his
obligations by means of the duty which is acknowledged by all of Israel in
general, but will react in very much the same manner as a son who loves his
father, who, even if his father gives only a slight indication of desiring
something, undertakes to fulfill this desire as completely as he can. And though
the father may air his desire only once, and even then incompletely, it is
enough for such a son just to understand the inclination of his father's mind to
do for him even what has not been expressly requested. If he can understand by
himself what will bring pleasure to his father, he will not wait to be commanded
more explicitly or to be told a second time.
Thus, ones relationship with God is meant to be
similar to any other relationship of love; he will not limit himself to that
which he is commanded to do. Rather,
he will read between the lines to know what would make the Other happy. In chasidut, one must be
driven by a love of God.
If one is bound with a love which is truly strong,
the lover will not say, "I have not been commanded further. What I have been
told to do explicitly is enough for me." He will rather attempt, by analyzing
the commands, to arrive at the intention of the commander and to do what he
judges will give him pleasure...
Such a man may be called "one who gives pleasure to his Creator."
With this in mind, the Ramchal summarizes the
concept of Chasidut:
Thus, chasidut is a comprehensive performance
of all the mitzvot, embracing all of
the relevant areas and conditions within the realm of possibility
To what has been explicitly stated, we
add that which we may deduce from the explicit commandment in order to give
pleasure to the Blessed One.
The Chasid in Interpersonal Relationships
Chasidut, as defined by Rav Moshe Chayim Luzzatto, is indicative of ones bond
with God. It is rooted in a
relationship of love, which leads one not only to seek to identify what is
required but what is wanted and desired by the object of ones love, in this
case God. It is seeking to please
God by showing ones expressed desire to do His will, even what is not required
of him.
Beyond this pervasive chasidut in ones
service of God, there is a unique form of chasidut in the interpersonal
realm. This involves interacting
with other individuals with that same ideal of going above and beyond the call
of duty. This is the basis of the
classification of a chasid as one who goes lifnim mi-shurat ha-din. The chasid is driven by the
same desire in the interpersonal realm, but this time, he seeks not only to make
God happy by going that extra mile, but to
benefit his fellow in the process as well.
The chasid does not ask What am I required to do for my friend?
but rather: What should be done?
What would make God and my fellow man happy?
Chasidut
is expressed in how one does chesed. Contrary to the baal chesed,
who merely performs kind acts, the chasid lives a life of chesed. As we saw in lesson #08, the Rambam
explains the source of the obligation to perform acts of loving-kindness as
two-fold: You shall love your fellow as yourself (Vayikra 19:18)
obligates one to perform acts of kindness; And you will follow His ways (Devarim
28:9) commands one to develop a personality of kindness.
Interestingly enough, through the words of the
Ramchal, the two obligations essentially merge.
The Ramchal explains that the source of chasidut is love;
therefore, one must analyze the expressed desires of ones object of love to see
all that one can provide to please the beloved.
Thus, when it comes to chasidut as practiced toward ones fellow
man, the obligation of loving ones fellow is essentially a guiding principle
for achieving the desire to benefit the other.
Being driven by this feeling of loving his fellow, one is able to do much
more than is required for others, thereby also developing the character that God
so desires of us when He commands us to follow His ways.
This will also explain the Rambam we quoted in
lesson #08 that says that while all acts of kindness are fulfillments of the
mitzva of loving ones fellow, they are only rabbinical obligations. Due to the fact that loving ones
fellow is a charge to develop the attribute that will allow one to do more than
obligated, the biblical focus is not on the specific requirements. The question now becomes the
following: how do we develop this love, and what does it truly entail?
Growth in Chesed
Rav Eliyahu Eliezer Dessler, in his famed work
Mikhtav Mei-Eliyahu, discusses at great length various aspects of
chesed.
He argues that one must have the goal of transforming oneself into a
loving giver, emulating God. (In a
future lesson on loving ones fellow, we will develop Rav Desslers idea that
the derivation of ahava (love) is the root hav (to give); giving
instead of taking lies at the basis of all relationships of love). However, being aware that one cannot
develop these feelings overnight, he illustrates a plan of action for how one
can train oneself to cultivate this personality.
Before one possesses the noble urge of giving that reflects the innermost
satisfaction and joy, he has to nurture it.
At first, one might perform acts of chesed to satisfy even
personal or selfish desires, if the goal is to train oneself in acts that will
accustom him to a new outlook.
For example, in his service of God he may act
she-lo lishmah, that is to say, out of concern for himself (but acting
she-lo lishmah leads one to act lishmah [Pesachim 50b]).
He may do things
for a reward for
himself. In mitzvot between
man and man, in addition to these motivations, he will act out of compassion and
sympathy, which are not motives of pure, unselfish love, since basically they
are self-centered, their aim being to avoid the pain caused by seeing the other
persons distress.
Though the real goal of chesed is giving, one
may begin the process of cultivating a personality of chesed by taking. Still, despite it being the opposite
manner of the established goal, Rav Dessler advises:
Nevertheless, it is highly advisable to make use of
all motivations of this kind for spiritual purposes. This is the meaning of that difficult
saying of the Rabbis (Berakhot 54a): You shall love Lord your God with
all your heart (Devarim 6:5) with both of your inclinations, the good
and the bad. A person on the way up
must make use of his bad qualities themselves that is, his selfish urges for
the sake of his spiritual progress.
Rav Dessler continues to advise one on methods of slowly cultivating the
love of giving. One might explain,
that the line one crosses from his chesed based on selfish taking to his
chesed based on giving is line differentiating between doing chesed
and being a baal chesed.
However, the goal of a chasid is to take it even one step further.
The Torahs Chesed
A chasid is one who lives by chesed, who is driven by a
sense of love so deep that he always wishes to provide more and more, lifnim
mi-shurat ha-din. This
understanding may be driven home by the Alter of Slabodkas explanation of why
the Torah need to command us to perform chesed even though logic dictates
its necessity (see lesson #02). He
explains that the chesed of Torah is a new form.
The chesed of the Torah is to feel a persons
pain even if he himself does not feel it (because of education or environment).
The chesed of the Torah is to
reach inside a persons profoundest depths, where there is cause for his pain. Mans submerged needs are also part
of life. In his innermost depths, he
feels them. They too require
fulfillment. (Or Ha-tzafun, p.
230, Chesed shel Ha-Torah)
Without the Torahs urging us to practice a
different form of chesed and become a chasid, we might have easily
stopped the process of cultivating chesed at the early stages Rav Dessler
describes. It is our search for
chasidut, to provide more than one could possibly have asked for, that
defines our unique tradition. A
chasid is not only someone who is willing to help or even who wants to help;
he must help. He searches for
opportunities to provide chesed.
Understanding the Needs of People
As a final remark, let us note that a chasid
in interpersonal relationships knows chesed and knows people. Mishpatim, the interpersonal
laws, are principles which require different actions in different contexts. For this reason, knowledge is
important; one must understand how to apply the exact principles of behavior. Simultaneously, knowledge of other
people and their needs is also essential.
In fact, one might explain that this is contained in the deeper meaning
of the aforementioned mishna in Avot.
An ignoramus cannot be a chasid.
As we explained, to go beyond the call of duty, one
must be knowledgeable in the Torah in order to understand the guidelines. To know how to glean from Gods
commands what he really would want us to do, we must study His word. When it comes to interpersonal
relationships, one must also understand the unique needs of the object of his
love in this case, his fellow man.
It is here that we must recall the Talmudic dictum: Just as their faces are
different, so their characters are different (Berakhot 58a). A chasid in interpersonal
relationships realizes that he must study human character in general and the
person he wants to help in particular to be sure that he knows what will really
benefit the other
In fact, if we go one step further, we can see that
studying ones fellow Jew is not necessarily different from studying Torah. The Talmud states:
One who is present in a room when a Jew dies is
obligated to rend his garments. What can
this be compared to? It is like a Torah
scroll being burnt (which obligates the one witnessing it to tear his garments).
(Moed Katan 25b)
Rav Soloveitchik, in a beautiful homily entitled,
The Jew is Compared to a Sefer Torah, brings numerous other proofs to
this idea. For our purposes, if a
Jew is like a Torah scroll, one must not be an am ha-aretz in the needs
of his fellow Jew; just as he would not want to be an ignoramus in Torah, one
must also be knowledgeable about ones fellow man.
The same holds true for the need to understand
oneself. Sometimes, ones desire to
provide chesed can surpass normal boundaries and be unhealthy and even
detrimental. The chasid has
to be cognizant of his own needs, the needs of his friend, and the
mitzvot of the Torah; these also act
as guidelines for the one who, driven by love, will want to do more. Uneducated love can actually develop
into hatred, so the level of chasidut is the level of a knowledgeable
individual.
In the next lesson we will discuss the halakhic
parameters of acting lifnim mi-shurat ha-din. Interestingly, we will find that
sometimes going beyond the letter of the law is not left for the chasidim
alone; sometimes, it is encourage and may even be obligatory.
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