אמר רבי ינאי אמר משה לפני הקדוש ברוך הוא ריבונו של עולם כסף וזהב שהבאת להם לישראל עד שאמרו די גרם להם שיעשו אלהי זהב.
But what do Chazal have in mind here? Moshe Rabbeinu says that Hakadosh Baruch Hu כסף וזהב שהבאת להם לישראל עד שאמרו די גרם להם שיעשו אלהי זהב.
Kesef is the Gemara in Berachos cites this as an example of מטיח דברים כלפי מעלה that כסף וזהב שהבאת להם לישראל עד שאמרו די גרם להם שיעשו אלהי זהב.
So we know that the complacency, the almost the sense of being spoiled that can result, it doesn't have to result, but it can result from osher can cause a person to בועט בהשם רחמנא ליצלן as the Torah describes in Parshas Eikev בתים מלאים כל טוב בורות חצובים ואכלת ושבעת ורם לבבך ושכחת את השם אלקיך.
We know that such a process can, it doesn't have to, but such a process can rachmana litzlan unfold. But kamidomeh that Chazal have in mind another level here as well. It's as follows. There's a very, very profound kedarko bakodesh passage in the Meshech Chochma commenting on the posuk of משכו קחו לכם צאן. Refers among other things to the Gemara in Shabbos that ישראל מאמינים בני מאמינים. It says what does it mean? He says the umos ha'olam he says they also ma'aminim. Not necessarily is their emunah directed or channeled in the right direction, but there's also emunah by the umos ha'olam. So what does it mean? What do Chazal have in mind when they single out the koach ha'emunah of Klal Yisrael that they're ma'aminim benei ma'aminim? So we'll just read a few lines. Ha-bor de-hahargashos, hargashos here feelings, emotions, בנויות מהטבע והמוחש אשר תתרגש מהם לב האדם כמו האהבה והיופי והגבורה.
Feelings, emotions derive from the physical and the tangible, they're our reactions to the physical and the tangible. Ha'umos ha-kadmonim, the ancient nations, הקדישו כל כוחות הטבע בהתרגשם מכל זה. emotional experience they had was their basis for emunah and as a result basically they deified their emotional or aesthetic feelings and experiences. Hence they had an elil hayofi, a God of beauty, elil hagvurah, a God of strength, elil ha'ahava, a God of love, kayadu'a. V'ad hayom, says the Meshech Chochma, העמים מציירים תמונות ומקדשים המוחשים. Visual imagery, he says, is very prominent in the religious life of the umot ha'olam. V'af hayishmaelim, even the Muslims who are monotheists, מקדשים קבר משיחם במכה וכיוצא בה. נמצא שההרגשות מסייעים לאמונתם הבנוי על המוחש והמצויר.
The foundation of their emunah is the tangible, is the physical. They build their emunah from the tangible, from the physical. Lo chen Hashem. A person can't arrive at hakaras Hashem and therefore avodas Hashem in such a way, שאמר אברהם והתבונן שאינו חלק מהנבראים ולא כח בגשם ואינו מתואר ואינו מצויר ואינו מושג.
Hakadosh Baruch Hu isn't physical, Hakadosh Baruch Hu can't be described, can't be imagined, can't be conceived. If he could be, he would be defined, haya nigdar, and if he could be defined haya lo tichla, he would be limited, וכל שיש לו תכלה יש לו תחילה, he would have a beginning and all that's not true because Hakadosh Baruch Hu is מחויב המציאות ממציא כל המציאות בלעדי האפשריות מאין מוחלט, yachid keshein kiyichudo. וזה עיון אמיתי ומושכל. He says, to recognize Hakadosh Baruch Hu, without which there can't be avodas Hashem, emunah, claims the Meshech Chochma, has to be meyusedes, has to be rooted in sechel. The foundation of emunah has to be in the sechel. Again, feelings, if it begins with feelings, feelings are a reaction to the physical and inevitably will impose some kind of physical conception within our emunah. So the foundation for emunah, says Rabbeinu Simcha, has to be a foundation of sichliyus for one's emunah. וזה עיון אמיתי ומושכל. עד שכתב רבינו בחיי הזקן לחובות הלבבות שלא יעבדוהו באמת רק הפילוסוף או הנביא.
One has to be either a philosopher or a navi to be oved Hashem. And nevertheless ub'chol zos, כל ישראל מאמינים באמת מציאותו ואחדותו ענין מושכל כזה. And yet every Jew has that emunah, an emunah in Hakadosh Baruch Hu untainted. ומלעיגים בכל ההגשמות וההתפעלויות המורגשים מצד הטבע and they scoff again at any kind of feelings which would insinuate some kind of physical notion, conception, association in our emunah in Hakadosh Baruch Hu. כביכול בחכמתו רצה שכל ישראל יתעצמו בעיון מושכל שיאמינו באחדותו
and therefore הרבה להם טובות מושכלות רבות בתורה שבכתב ושבעל פה לחזק כח השכל להיות קיים ועומד ומתגבר על המדמה.
He's ma'arich. Lichora, it follows that according to the Meshech Chochmah, independent of what we discussed beforehand in terms of rachmana litzlan that if a person feels complacent that that can cause him to be bo'et by Hakadosh Baruch Hu, on a deeper level, if a person's life is excessively megushamdik, if a person's life revolves excessively around gashmiyus, inevitably, now this can happen to different degrees, but inevitably that has to weaken his emunah. Because the foundation of emunah, the foundation of emunah in Hakadosh Baruch Hu she'eino guf and as a result לא ישיגוהו משיגי הגוף, emunah in Hakadosh Baruch Hu שאין לו שום דמיון כלל means that there has to be שכל ישראל ממליכים עליהם המלך הראש זה כח השכל המשיג מציאותו יתברך.
Moshe Rabbeinu teinehs that Hakadosh Baruch Hu that כסף וזהב שהרבית להם עד שאמרו די caused them to make the eigel. What, you don't know what to do with money so you go you go be over avodah zarah? יתכן לפי דרכו של המשך חכמה that what it means is when a person, when the chomriyus in a person's life defines him. Inevitably that has to take a toll on his emuna. Because emuna, emuna tzrufa, the emuna of Klal Yisrael ma'aminim bnei ma'aminim in Hashem echad is the antithesis of the chomrius. The zohav sheshilmu lahem, that's what Moshe Rabbeinu tainas. That, that again in, in the extreme case leads Rachmana litzlan to an egel hazahav. Now you, you see something amazing. The Maharsha comments on the Gemara at the end of Makkos ובא חבקוק והעמידן על אחת שנאמר צדיק באמונתו יחיה. Chabakkuk says one yesod which encompasses everything, emuna. Maharsha comments on that Gemara, says a pasuk in Tehillim kuf yud tes, Dovid HaMelech says kol mitzvosecha emuna. Says the Maharsha what it means is that every mitzvah ultimately is about emuna. What does that mean that every mitzvah is ultimately about emuna? Okay, so on one level, every time a person fulfills a mitzvah, so he's acknowledging Hakadosh Baruch Hu's tzivuy, he's recognizing Hakadosh Baruch Hu and he's, he's surrendering to Hakadosh Baruch Hu's tzivuy. So on that level, kol mitzvosecha emuna. But itochen it means on another level as well. The Ramchal has, and this is, it's really reflected in Mesillas Yesharim as well, but he has here towards the beginning of Derech Hashem, the Ramchal is describing how Hakadosh Baruch Hu wants that we should be ba'alei shleimus. We only become ba'alei shleimus by exercising bechira chofshis. And basically he says that the bechira chofshis that we have to exercise is to מחזק את נשמתו נגד כח חומרו. How does a person do that? כי הבורא יתברך שמו שם גבולים וסדרים לאדם בתשמיש שישתמש מהעולם וביישובו ובכוונה שיתכוון בהן.
That the way a person is מחזק נשמתו כח נגד חומרו, koach haneshama, koach hasichli. The way a person is mechazek that is if he follows very carefully and complies with the gvulos usedarim that Hakadosh Baruch Hu established for the use that we should make of Olam Hazeh. What are those gvulos usedarim? אך הסדרים והגבולים האלה הנה הם כלל המצוות העשה והלאוין אשר כל אחת מהן...
This is an amazing, amazing statement. Again, when we hear it, so we see how this is reflected in the beginning of Mesillas Yesharim as well. אשר כל אחת מהן, every mitzvah mechuvvenos el tachlis, every mitzvah is geared towards one end, אל תכלית הקנות באדם והעצם בו אחת ממדרגות המעלה האמיתית. שזכינו והסרת אחת מענייני החושך והחסרונות.
That mitzvahs are oriented towards subduing, towards taming, towards channeling the chomerios and towards being mechazek בכח השכל ובכח הנשמה. The Rambam in Moreh Nevuchim has a similar statement. He doesn't go quite as far as Ramchal. He says rov mitzvos hatorah are geared, are oriented towards this end. So לפי דרכם של רמח"ל and the Rambam, when David HaMelech says kol mitzvosav emunah, doesn't only mean kol mitzvosav emunah in the sense that when a person is mekayem a mitzvah he recognizes, he acknowledges, he reflects his belief in Hakadosh Baruch Hu. But kol mitzvosav emunah in the sense again as Meshech Chochmah says that emunah BaHashem again is the antithesis of being shakua in chomerius. kol mitzvosav emunah says Ramchal, כי כלל המצוות אשר כל אחת מהן is mechuvana towards הסרת אחד מענייני החושך והחסרונות of the chomerius, of the gashmius. It's not only when we allow ourselves to become unduly or excessively involved in olam hazeh, it's not only that we're diverting time from learning, we're diverting time from chessed, we're diverting time from tefillah, but it erodes emunah. In reflecting on this, I think it's important that we understand the undue or excessive involvement, entanglement with chomerius. It comes in crude forms, but it also comes in more subtle forms. If we fall victim to careerism, if we define ourselves by our olam hazehdike profession, again, not our profession as יגיע כפיך כי תאכל, גדול הנהנה מיגיע כפיו. Not our profession as something which additionally often can be something which is intrinsically meaningful. That's not what we're talking about. But the careerism, sort of defining oneself in terms of olam hazeh-dike career, again, not as a mitzvah of making hishtadlus and or simultaneously doing chesed, being עוסק בישובה של עולם וכולו, but careerism, everything the term represents, that's also a form of excessive involvement in chomriyus, albeit a more subtle form than the usual hedonistic associations that we have with that description of excessive involvement in chomriyus. And again, it not only diverts, it not only distracts, but it erodes emunah. That's a little bit of the omek of Rabbi Yannai of the זהב שהרבית להם עד שאמרו די הוא גרם להם שיעשו את העגל.