הרמב"ם בספר המצוות במצווה ב' שהיא שצוונו להתיירא משמו יתברך ולהיפחד ממנו ולא נהיה ככופרים המהלכים בקרי אבל נירא ביראת עונש שבכל עת והוא אומרו יתברך את השם אלוקיך תירא.
The aspect the dimension of Yiras Hashem that the Rambam speaks of in Sefer Hamitzvos is Yiras Haonesh. A person should have a constant awareness of of his accountability and because there's accountability there's vulnerability if a person doesn't doesn't act properly. נירא ביראת עונש שבכל עת. It's a mitzvas ase de'oraisa. Perek Yud of הלכות תשובה הלכה א. אל יאמר אדם הריני עושה מצוות התורה ועוסק בחכמתה כדי שאקבל הברכות הכתובות בתורה או כדי שאזכה לחיי העולם הבא ואפרוש מן העבירות שהזהירה תורה מהן כדי שאנצל מן הקללות הכתובות בתורה או כדי שלא אכרת מחיי העולם הבא אין ראוי לעבוד את השם על דרך זו שהעובד על דרך זו הוא עובד מיראה ואינה מעלת הנביאים ולא מעלת החכמים.
So how can the Rambam be critiquing the the person who thinks to himself: ואפרוש מן העבירות שהזהירה תורה מהן כדי שאנצל מן הקללות הכתובות בתורה או כדי שלא אכרת מחיי העולם הבא.
Isn't isn't that simply what the mitzvas ase of of Yiras Hashem at least on its level and aspect of Yiras Haonesh demands? כדי שאנצל מן הקללות is exactly a kiyum of נירא ביראת עונש שבכל עת. And yet here the Rambam is clearly critiquing it. Let's perhaps put that kasha to the side for the moment. אנטיגנוס איש סוכו קיבל משמעון הצדיק הוא היה אומר אל תהיו כעבדים המשמשים את הרב על מנת לקבל פרס אלא היו כעבדים המשמשים את הרב שלא על מנת לקבל פרס על מנת שלא לקבל פרס ויהי מורא שמים עליכם.
V'amar zeh hachasid says the Rambam, zeh hachasid meaning Antigonos Ish Socho, שאתם לא תעבדו השם יתברך על מנת שייטיב לכם ויגמלכם חסד ותקוו לגמול ותעבדוהו בעבורו.
Don't let that be your your motivation. Don't let that be your goal. ואמנם עבדוהו כעבדים שאינם מקווים להטבה ולא לגמילות חסד. רצה בזה שיהיו עובדים מאהבה כמו שאמרנו בפרק י' מסנהדרין.
Veyim kol zeh, meaning even when a person has that has attained that madreiga of avoda me'ahava, עם כל זה לא פטור מן היראה. ואמר אם היותכם עובדים מאהבה לא תניחו היראה לגמרי ויהי מורא שמים עליכם.
Ahava doesn't eclipse yira. It doesn't supplant yira. It's supposed to supplement yira. We'll see maybe maybe that isn't the right formulation. We'll see בלי נדר אם ירצה השם. ואמר אם היותכם עובדים מאהבה לא תניחו היראה לגמרי ויהי מורא שמים עליכם. ומורא שמים עליכם כי כבר בא בתורה המצווה ביראה והוא אמר את ה' אלקיך תירא ואמרו החכמים עבוד מאהבה עבוד מיראה. ואמרו האוהב לא ישכח דבר ממה שציווה לעשותו והירא לא יעשה דבר ממה שהוזהר לעשותו.
A person who is oheiv will not neglect a mitzvas asei. A person who is yarei will not transgress a mitzvas lo sa'asei. האוהב לא ישכח דבר ממה שציווה לעשותו והירא לא יעשה דבר ממה שהוזהר לעשותו. כי ליראה מבוא גדול במצוות לא תעשה וכל שכן במצוות השמיעיות.
Again that last sentence, כי ליראה מבוא גדול, yirah occupies, has a critical, crucial function when it comes to mitzvos lo sa'asei, v'chol shekein and especially those mitzvos lo sa'asei which are chukim, mitzvos hashemi'iyos. So the Rambam here tells us the scheme that he gives us is that ahavah will lend itself and will translate into kiyum mitzvas asei, but yirah is necessary for zehirus in mitzvas lo sa'asei. The Ramban has a similar scheme in commenting on zachor in aseres hadibros. The pshat that we're going to try to understand, lav davka that the pshat in that scheme is the same within the Rambam and the Ramban. So we're going to be focusing on the Rambam. Question is, what's the pshat in that? Why is it, let's say a person loves his father, person loves his father, so if his father asks him for a cup of tea, he'll bring him the cup of tea. And if his father says, I'm going to take a nap, can you make sure that things are quiet and not to make any noise, so then out of his love, so not only does he bring the cup of tea, but he'll also be careful not to make noise. So what does it mean that ahavah translates only in terms of mitzvas asei, or primarily in terms of mitzvas asei, and yirah is what's indispensable to ensure קיום מצוות לא תעשה? Doesn't seem to match our intuition. היכי הדרך לאהבתו ויראתו? בשעה שיתבונן אדם במעשיו ובברואיו הנפלאים הגדולים ויראה מהם חכמתו שאין לה ערך ולא קץ, מיד הוא אוהב ומשבח ומפאר ומתאווה תאווה גדולה לידע השם הגדול, כמו שאמר דוד צמאה נפשי לאלוקים לקל חי.
Again, בשעה שיתבונן אדם במעשיו ובברואיו הנפלאים הגדולים ויראה מהם חכמתו שאין לה ערך ולא קץ, מיד הוא אוהב ומשבח ומפאר ומתאווה תאווה גדולה לידע השם הגדול.
When a person reflects upon the wondrous, great handiwork and creations of Hakadosh Baruch Hu, and he sees the inestimable and infinite chochmah, so right away he's overcome with a sense of ahavah and he praises and glorifies and experiences this intense desire to know Hakadosh Baruch Hu. One description the Rambam gives. Another description, also very famous, here from Hilchos... ונמצא שוגה בה תמיד כאלו חולי האהבה שאין דעתם פנויה מאהבת אותה אישה שהוא שוגה בה תמיד בין בשבתו בין בקומו בין בשעה שאכל ושתה יתירה מזו תהיה אהבת השם בלב אוהביו שוגים בה תמיד כמו שציוונו בכל לבבך ובכל נפשך ובכל מאודך והוא ששלמה אמר דרך משל כי חולת אהבה אני וכל שיר השירים משל הוא לעניין זה.
Lemayse, when when one tries to process and understand the Rambam's description sort of without prior prejudice, Ahavas Hashem for the Rambam doesn't translate as love of Hashem. Ahavas Hashem, what the Rambam's describing is a person who's so captivated by, so enthralled, so mesmerized by Hakadosh Boruch Hu that it just he's totally totally captivated. Even the moshel, when one reads carefully the moshel from Shir HaShirim, puk chazi in in terms of the moshel, when a man is so preoccupied with ahavas osah ishah, it's not what we call love. It's not what we call love. When a man is so preoccupied, it's it's due to an obsessive physical attraction. It's not it's not due to it's not what we describe as as love. And takke the metaphors in Shir HaShirim, so al kol the descriptions are it's not that oh he's so nice he's so kind and he's so sensitive and oh she's so she's such a gevaldige ba'alas chesed. The metaphor of Shir HaShirim are all physical descriptions. Because what Ahavas Hashem means again is a person's just so captivated by Hakadosh Boruch Hu, by חכמת הקדוש ברוך הוא משל למה הדבר דומה. Some you have from some talmidim of the Rav, they they describe their first exposure to him hearing a shiur, hearing a drasha how alive the words of Torah become, how three-dimensional, how sweet and deep and profound the breath and depth and the scope is quote you fell in love with it but what does it mean fell in love they didn't know anything about him as a person, they didn't know anything about his middos, they didn't know anything about him as a as a person. It meant being totally captivated by, totally enthralled, totally mesmerized. A person can be totally captivated and that's also what the Rambam described in perek beis of Yesodei HaTorah מתאווה תאווה גדולה לידע השם הגדול. Now that desire of מתאווה תאווה גדולה לידע השם הגדול, I don't see how whether or not there's shatnez in my suit, I don't really see how that's going to facilitate anything in terms of that pursuit. And and if there is a piece of linen so in my in my collar so then the חכמה שאין לו ערך ואין לו קץ doesn't translate naturally into zehiras in mitzvos lo sa'aseh. Says Antignus ish Socho but that's the Ribbono shel olam's system is that is that the way and it's a obviously a topic unto itself for another time. Is that that is how Hakadosh Baruch Hu says that a person has to be oved. Saint-Exupéry says יהי מורא שמים עליכם with all the ahava, יהי מורא שמים עליכם. And that's what the Rambam says the ahava will translate into mitzvas asei. But it's the yira that's necessary for mitzva and that's what the kol shekein by the chukim, the kol shekein mitzvos shimiyos is because the more of a chok it is, so then the less natural it is to be integrated into this misavei taiva gedola, into this, this lifetime pursuit and quest of misavei taiva gedola. With this in mind, kamidumei you see a diyuk nifla here in Hilchos Teshuvah. So let's reread. Halacha alef again is as follows: אל יאמר אדם הריני עושה מצוות התורה ועוסק בחכמתה כדי שאקבל הברכות הכתובות בתורה או כדי שאזכה לחיי העולם הבא ואפרוש מן העבירות שהזהירה תורה מהן כדי שאנצל מן הקללות הכתובות בתורה או כדי שלא אכרת מחיי העולם הבא אין ראוי לעבוד את השם על דרך זו שהעובד על דרך זו הוא עובד מיראה ואינה מעלת הנביאים ולא מעלת החכמים.
So the right thing is to be oved mi-ahava. Halacha beis tells us what oved mi-ahava is: העובד מאהבה עוסק בתורה ובמצוות והולך בנתיבות החכמה לא מפני דבר בעולם ולא מפני יראת הרע ולא כדי לירש הטובה אלא עושה אמת מפני שהוא אמת וסוף הטובה לבוא בכלל.
And he concludes Halacha beis a couple lines later: ובזמן שיאהב את השם אהבה הראויה מיד יעשה כל המצוות מאהבה.
So what's nifla here? Everything is, but one of the things that's nifla here is the following: In Halacha alef, when the Rambam said "Al yomar adam", if on whatever level it's אשרי מי שבא לכאן ותלמודו בידו, you can take a look at the leshonos ha-Rambam. אל יאמר אדם הריני עושה מצוות התורה ועוסק בחכמתה כדי שאקבל הברכות הכתובות,
listen, listen carefully Rabosai, אל יאמר אדם הריני עושה מצוות התורה ועוסק בחכמתה כדי שאקבל הברכות הכתובות,
skip a few words, ואפרוש מן העבירות שהזהירה תורה מהן כדי שאנצל מן הקללות.
So oseh mitzvos clearly means to be mekayem mitzvas asei, because then the Rambam says ephrosh min ha-aveiros. So oseh mitzvos means to be mekayem mitzvas asei. So in Halacha beis, when the, and the Rambam critiques this. He critiques the אקבל עושה מצוות כדי שאקבל הברכות and the אפרוש מן העבירות כדי שאנצל מן הקללות. No, that's only oved mi-yira, that's not what the madraiga is supposed to be, that's not what a person is supposed to work towards, that's not the madraiga a person is supposed to end up on. He's supposed to be oved mi-ahava. So now tell us what that alternative form of avodas Hashem is. העובד מאהבה עוסק בתורה ובמצוות והולך בנתיבות החכמה לא מפני דבר בעולם לא מפני יראת הרע לא כדי לירש הטובה אלא עושה אמת מפני שהוא אמת.
He's not telling us what the alternative is in terms of ephrosh min ha-aveiros. You hear that Rabosai? In Halacha alef he mentions, he describes, he depicts both and critiques both and says lo zu ha-derech, lo zu ha-derech, and then in Halacha beis when he tells us what a person is supposed to do, so of the two things he criticized, he only gives us one alternative. He only gives us the alternative for how to be mekayem mitzvas asei. And again, when he concludes Halacha beis, ובזמן שיאהב את השם אהבה הראויה מיד יעשה כל המצוות מאהבה,
the Rambam by ya'aseh kol ha-mitzvos is not, that's, the words don't mean what they mean when we say those words colloquially. Ya'aseh kol ha-mitzvos here clearly, clearly from Halacha alef means the mitzvas asei. So how can that be? How can the Rambam in Halacha alef critique the ephrosh min ha-aveiros without then giving us an alternative? So take the following mashal. There are two people in the gym and they're both following the same workout regimen, each one's got his personal trainer, same, same, same workout regimen. One of them, what's he doing there? Ich veis, he's interested in bodybuilding. That's what he's doing. Okay, enough said. The other one is an extraordinary masmid. Ad kedei kach, the mida of nafsho chashka batorah so great that he wasn't eating properly, he wasn't sleeping properly, and he certainly wasn't exercising, and the Rebbe sees that he's making himself sick. So the Rebbe tells him, I command you to be concerned with your health and I command you that you have to go three times a week and you have to follow whatever regimen the trainer will give you. So they're going through the same exercise regimen, same personal trainer. Does it represent the same reality? It's the same pushups and whatever. So you can see I don't know too much about working out and staying in good shape, but whatever it is that you're supposed to do. So they're going through that same regimen. And yet, what it represents and what it is is totally different. And what's responsible for that? If it's not conjoined to anything else, the exercise regimen can just be being very megushamdik and self-centered. Bodybuilding is one of the ultimate forms of being megushamdik. When it's linked to and therefore framed by the incredible hasmada, the incredible cheishek haTorah, so then that same phenomenologically, superficially same exercise regimen is totally transformed. Ah, says the Rambam, a davar niflah. He says, the כדי לפרוש בין העבירות כדי שינצל מן הקללות if that's linked to the same mindset in terms of mitzvos asei, so then it's part of a self-centeredness. It's part of an avodas Hashem far zich, for oneself. But if that yiras ha'onesh is linked to, is combined with an ahavah when it comes to mitzvos asei, so then he becomes the second person in the gym. That's the nimshal to the second person in the gym. Yiras ha'onesh is not intended to be transcended, it's intended to be transformed. It's not that it has to be and it's not supposed to be transcended, it's supposed to be transformed by being combined with ahavah. And that's the pshat here. The Rambam in halacha beis doesn't give us an alternate form of efshosh bein ha'aveiros. Because the problem in halacha alef wasn't the concern with haklallos hakesuvos baTorah or heichas mei'olam haba. That's a kiyum, that's a chiyuv de'oraysa of yiras ha'onesh. The problem was the contextualization of that. The problem with guy number one in the gym isn't the exercise regimen. It's the tachlis of the context, it's the broader context of his life in which the exercise regimen is happening. The problem isn't the exercise regimen. So is that something to critique or not? Well, that depends upon upon. What else is going on in his life? Depending upon what else is going on in his life, so maybe you'll criticize him: What are you doing there in the gym and what are you wasting your time for and what are you so preoccupied with that? You'll levy all those criticisms. The very minute everything else changes in his life, so aderaba, you'll takeh encourage him to continue with those same workouts. This complementarity, again it's lichora one of a few pshatim as to why the Rambam in Perek Beis of Yesodei HaTorah introduces the two mitzvos binshima achas: האל הנכבד והנורא זה מצוה לאהבה וליראה ממנו has many implications, many manifestations. The fact that what the Rambam says in Pirkei Mashnayos that ahavah needs the complement of yirah—sort of lowering the message to our level, I think the message is really on a higher level, but lowering it to our level, one of its applications is that a person can't just be looking for inspiration. He can't just be drawn for what's going to be uplifting and what's going to be inspiring and what seems dry—what am I going to get out of it? A certain type of limud will be exciting, another type of limud is going to be more dry. Kitzur Shulchan Aruch isn't so exciting. There are sefarim that if we have a contest as to which is most exciting, which Rav Shlomo Ganzfried is not going to finish in first place in the vote. And that's exactly what the Rambam is talking about there in the Pirkei Mashnayos. That's what Antignos Ish Soko, again he was saying it on a much more exalted level. He wasn't talking about this. He was talking about hecherer madreigos. But when we bring it down to our level, but that's not what מה ה' אלקיך שואל מעמך. That's not what either what Mitzvas Talmud Torah demands, it's not what the totality of Avodas Hashem demands either. And the opposite is also true. The yiras Hashem has to be not transcended. The yiras Hashem, again even in its aspect of yiras ha'onesh, not to be transcended but it does have to be transformed by the ahavah as well. Okay, so תן לחכם ויחכם עוד.