Ten Minutes of Meaning (Part 148): What Kind of Car Do You Drive? - Mesillas Yesharim

Description

#SelfHelp #Judaism #Jewish #Mindfulness Become a better version of yourself with just 10 minutes of wisdom from R' Moshe Chaim Luzzatto (Ramchal) and his magnificent work, Mesillas Yesharim. For more content, visit http://www.rabbiefremgoldberg.org. Topics include: - The character of Shifra and Puah - The type of car you drive - ...and more... We are currently on chapter 19. Translation courtesy of @SefariaProject: הנה כבוד המצוה ויקרה, כבר הזהירונו עליו חז"ל ואמרו (ב"ק ט'): זה אלי ואנוהו, התנאה לפניו במצות, ציצית נאה, תפילין נאה, ספר תורה נאה, לולב נאה וכו', וכן אמרו הידור מצוה עד שליש, עד כאן משלו מכאן ואילך משל הקב"ה. הרי דעת שפתותיהם ז"ל ברור מללו, שאין די בעשות המצוה לבד, אלא שצריך לכבדה ולהדרה. HONOR: Our sages, of blessed memory, have already exhorted us on the honor and dignity of a mitzva. They expounded (Shabbat 133b): "'this is my G-d, and I will beautify Him' (Shemot 15:2) - beautify yourself before Him in [the fulfillment of] mitzvot. Thus, make beautiful Tzitzit, beautiful Tefilin, a beautiful Sukkah, a beautiful Torah scroll, [and write it with fine ink, a fine reed, and a skilled penman, and wrap it about with beautiful silks]...". They also said: "A person should spend an extra third to beautify a Mitzvah. Up to this extra third, is on him. Above a third, the Holy One, blessed be He, returns the money to him (in this world)" (Bava Kama 9b). Thus, the intent of their words is quite clearly spoken, that the performance of the mitzva by itself is not enough. Rather, one must also honor and beautify it. ולהוציא ממי שלהקל על עצמו יאמר אין הכבוד אלא לבני האדם המתפתים בהבלים אלה, אך הקב"ה אינו חושש לזה, כי הוא מרומם מדברים האלה ונשגב מהם, וכיון שהמצוה נעשית לאמתה די בזה. This comes to exclude the view of those who, in order to make things easier for themselves, will claim: "honor is only for human beings who are seduced by such vanities. But the Holy One, blessed be He, is not concerned for such things, for He is above these things and elevated above them. As long as the mitzva is done correctly, this is sufficient." אמנם האמת הוא שהאדון ברוך הוא נקרא אל הכבוד (תהלים כ"ט), ואנו חייבים לכבדו, אע"פ שאינו צריך לכבודנו ולא כבודנו חשוב וספון לפניו. The truth, however, is that the L-rd, blessed be He, is called "the G-d of honor" (Tehilim 29:3), and we are under duty to honor Him, even though He does not need our honor and it is neither important nor significant to Him.