Fearing the Unkown
Chapter 3, Mishna 21(b)
By Rabbi Dovid Rosenfeld
"Rabbi Elazar ben (son of) Azariah said: If there is no Torah [study] there
is no proper conduct; if there is no proper conduct there is no Torah
[study]. If there is no wisdom there is no fear of G-d; if there is no fear
of G-d there is no wisdom. If there is no knowledge there is no
understanding; if there is no understanding there is no knowledge. If there
is no flour (sustenance) there is no Torah; if there is no Torah there is
no
flour."
Last week we discussed our mishna's first statement -- "If there is no
Torah
[study] there is no proper conduct." As we explained, a person who is
guided
by his conscience alone will invariably fall short of the eternal,
unbending
principles of morality set forth in the Torah. Our consciences will roughly
point us in the proper direction -- they *are* G-d-given and they do hear
the echoes of our eternal souls, yet even in the best case they will fail
to
provide us with much of the details outlined in the Torah for proper
behavior. Further, the human conscience is as prone to error as human
beings
themselves. It can easily be duped by transient, fashionable concepts of
morality and fair play -- which as we know all too well, can at times be
diametrically opposed to the real thing.
At the same time, our mishna tells us that without proper conduct one will
not accomplish in Torah study. The commentator Rabbeinu Yonah explains that
the words of the Torah will simply not dwell with a person who is not
worthy
of its teachings, who lacks the basic proper behavior of the student of
Torah. R. Samson Raphael Hirsch explains further that if one seems
uninterested in applying the Torah's concepts to his life, much of the
Torah's beauty and relevance will be lost upon him. He will not study in
order to internalize, to apply to himself and to life situations. Much of
what the Torah has to say will be to him abstract and empty knowledge.
"If there is no wisdom there is no fear of G-d; if there is no fear of G-d
there is no wisdom:" Without wisdom, without a serious understanding of G-d
and His relationship with the world, one cannot meaningfully fear G-d. Such
a person might be "afraid" of G-d -- knowing He is bigger and stronger than
he is and will punish him for his sins. But he will lack the mature
understanding of the concept of an infinite, all-powerful G-d. As we know
(and discussed recently), G-d does not attempt to rule though fear and
intimidation. We have to be mature enough to recognize G-d ourselves, and
to
stand in awe of Him rather than in abject and senseless terror.
The truth is, human nature is ordinarily to be far more fearful of the
unknown -- death, the afterlife, spirits, things that go bump in the
night -- than that which we know about. We feel much more composed and able
to deal with matters if we know what a danger is -- even if an angry
Doberman pinscher -- than to have an eerie sense that some unknown danger
is
lurking.
When it comes to knowledge of G-d, however, the precise opposite is the
case. If we know G-d exists but relegate Him to the realm of the unknown,
He
will become a vague, undefined concept. We will live life in the physical
world alone, perfectly content to ignore the existence of the many
spiritual
layers of creation. Ignorance is bliss. If we know something is watching us
but don't know who or what, we are afraid. If, however, we can look around
and convince ourselves there is nothing watching us at all (even if
subconsciously we know life is not really that simple) we are quite at
ease.
The Talmud relates that R. Yochanan ben Zakkai, on his deathbed, wished his
students that they would fear G-d as much as they fear man. His students
asked: "Only that much?" He answered: "If only! Know that when a person
sins
he looks around and says 'I hope no one is watching.'" (Berachos 28b). The
Chovos HaLevavos (Sha'ar HaBechina 5; this is a classical ethical work
authored by Rav Bachya ibn Pakuda of 11th Century Spain) writes that it is
one of the wonders of creation that man has an instinctive sense of shame
before his fellow but has no such shame before his Creator. Even though we
might believe with perfect faith that G-d is watching us at all times, we
do
not have a *sense* of His presence. He is far less present to us (except
the
most righteous among us) than one of His puny creations who happens to be
passing by.
R. Elazar of our mishna therefore tells us that in order to truly and
properly fear G-d we must be proactive. We must have the wisdom to
conceptualize our understanding of Him. We must study and internalize the
concept of G-d and His relationship with the world. We will certainly never
really understand G-d or His ways, but we cannot simply consign Him to the
realm of the unknown and unknowable, lest He slip out of our consciousness
altogether.
At the same time, continues our mishna, without fear there is no wisdom. We
explained in Mishna 11 (www.torah.org/learning/pirkei-avos/chapter3-
11.html)
that if we do not feel some sense of urgency in our studies -- that we are
anxious to understand and follow G-d's Torah and are literally afraid of
falling short, what we learn will lose its significance and will never
stick. Torah study requires a great deal of self-motivation. If we see it
as
an interesting excursion, it will never become a part of us and never have
the impact it must. (It's kind of reminiscent of taking off work time to
attend an optional training course. If we're not too tired, we might
actually listen. But no tests? Optional homework? Forget it! Imagine if
school had been like that! Where would we all be today?)
"If there is no knowledge there is no understanding; if there is no
understanding there is no knowledge:" The terms used in our mishna are
"da'as" which we translated as knowledge, and "binah" or understanding. (As
Eskimo language has umpteen words for snow, Hebrew has a large collection
of
words for the many differing shades of wisdom. (We have a lot interesting
food words too, but they're mostly Yiddish. ;-) ) The commentators offer
different explanations for these two terms. Maimonides understands da'as to
mean knowledge which one has acquired, often from other sources. Binah is
the result of one's own reasoning, typically by further defining concepts
or
cases, or by comparing and contrasting them to other cases. The meaning is
thus that without understanding the basic facts, one cannot possibly
discern
subtleties of definition and analysis. However, only after defining and
contrasting do we truly understand the cases themselves.
"If there is no flour (sustenance) there is no Torah; if there is no Torah
there is no flour:" In Chapter 2 Mishna 2
(www.torah.org/learning/pirkei-avos/chapter2-2a.html) we discussed the
importance -- from a religious standpoint -- of earning a livelihood and of
being self-sufficient. Without sustenance, one will have neither the
financial means nor the emotional security to pursue religious endeavors.
Such a person may not be spending the many hours most of us do commuting
and
working at the office, but without a means of support and the emotional
well-being (as well as ideally the self-confidence) it fosters, such a
person may learn less -- in quality if not quantity -- than his
hard-working counterparts.
At the same time, without Torah there is no livelihood, meaning, according
to the commentators, one's livelihood serves no purpose. If one works, but
it is primarily for the sake of Torah -- to allow him to devote his life
religiously, to raise a family founded upon Jewish principles, and not
least
to give the appropriate amounts to charitable causes -- his very working
will become an act of Divine service. It is a fulfillment of G-d's wishes,
if not His direct command. If, however, one works basically for himself, it
is fundamentally a mundane activity. In order to sanctify the mundane, to
transform secular acts into spiritual ones, we must live every aspect of
our
lives for the Torah and for G-d.
Text Copyright © 2004 by Rabbi Dovid Rosenfeld and Torah.org.