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Kind of apt, since one of the things I want to get out of the ISA course is a way to stop procrastinating about doing things.
Chapter 2, Mishna 20
The Reward of the Torah
"Rabbi Tarfon said, the day is short, the work is great, the workers are
lazy, the reward is great, and the Master of the house presses."
This mishna seems an oversimplification, but it is in essence the story of
life. Life is short and there is much to be done. Yet the workers are lazy.
Few of us live our days with the requisite sense of urgency. We look for
ways to shirk responsibility. We hope the world will become a better place,
yet we wait for someone else to take the initiative. Flesh is weak. We
allow ourselves to be distracted with endless diversions, rarely allowing
ourselves to think about who we are and what G-d wants of us. We spend most
of our energy worrying about our wealth, popularity, pleasures, social
standing, etc. Yet G-d presses. Not only does He offer great rewards, but
He demands that we make something of ourselves.
R. Tarfon writes with a sense of urgency. The story of life really *is*
this simple. We might say that more than any one specific deed or action,
G-d asks one thing of us alone: that we wake up. We must see life for all
its significance. If we see life as an opportunity to achieve and sanctify
ourselves, the rest will flow. It'll be hard work, but at least we will
have that vision of success. If, however, we refuse to face life, the
Master of the house might have to press -- and press hard. G-d blessed us
with wonderful opportunities, but neither does He allow us to shirk them.
And we would do well to remind ourselves of this before G-d Himself finds
the need.
The commentator Rabbeinu Yonah illustrates our mishna with a parable -- and
yet another telling oversimplification. (And as all good Jewish parables,
it begins with a king and his subject... :-) The king wanted to reward his
faithful subject who had done him some special service. And so, he rewarded
him by making the following offer: "I'm opening my treasure house to you.
Whatever you can carry out in the next 24 hours is yours." Needless to say,
such a subject would not take coffee breaks, daydream, doze off at his
desk, surf the web, check the latest scores, etc. (I was told that a
typical white-collar employee puts in approximately five productive hours
in an eight hour day. I wonder how much the advent of the internet altered
this equation.) For when the rewards are so patently evident, you would
never waste a precious moment of life.
And further, you would not find the "work" of carrying out precious golden
vessels tedious or tiring. You would *enjoy* the backbreaking effort --
every minute of it! You wouldn't *want* it to end! You wouldn't see it as a
necessary evil in order to earn your eventual reward. It would be bringing
you closer to your reward -- and you would feel it. Life would be so
exciting and fulfilling that you would not lose sight of the purpose for
one instant. And as one rapt in a challenging video game, you would relish
every second of it.
Rabbi Zev Leff (famous educator and lecturer, Rav of Moshav Mattisyahu,
Israel) has his own such illustration, same basic idea but perhaps closer
to home. When he was growing up in America, a woman had become the
millionth customer at the local grocery chain. Her prize? 15 minutes of
free shopping, anything she could grab and put in a cart would be hers. As
to be expected, on the day of the big spree, she came prepared. I'm sure
she had gotten into shape in advance. She wore special running shoes, she
had a map of the store and aisles attached to a cap on her head, a planned
route, means of pushing multiple carts, etc. Every second counted and she
was ready to maximize to the fullest.
This, however, begins to become depressing. How often do we live our lives
with that sense of urgency - that every second could be another second of
Torah study, and that every diversion draws us away from our true mission
in life? Yes, this is an oversimplification -- and perhaps even a dangerous
one. No one can live like that millionth customer his or her entire life.
Human beings do not function well under stress, neither psychologically nor
physically. We need to let up, to have diversions, to at times enjoy
ourselves and forget about all that urgency of life. Otherwise, we will
burn ourselves out and be neither credit to ourselves nor to G-d. Yet now
and then we need R. Tarfon's message as well. Life really is that intense.
There *is* so much to be done and so precious little time.
There is a deeper idea here, however. "The reward is great" is not simply a
matter of G-d showering heavenly bounty upon us -- much as that shopper
scooping up myriad cans of tuna. Reward is not some magical spiritual
currency G-d bestows upon man for his service. Rather, it is the natural
outcome of proper behavior. Good deeds are not only G-d's will; they are
*inherently* good -- and they transform both ourselves and the world around
into a more beautiful place. We serve G-d not only with a sense that He
will open up His treasure chest to us, but that we will have transformed
ourselves into people worthy of such treasure.
The Talmud (Pesachim 68b) writes that we are obligated to celebrate the
holiday of Shavuos (Pentecost, commemorating the revelation at Mt. Sinai
and G-d's giving us the Torah) with feasting. (This stands in contrast to
many of the other holidays, where according to some opinions one may
celebrate in a spiritual manner alone - through prayer and Torah study.)
Likewise, Rabbi Yosef told his servant to prepare him a choice calf for
Shavuos, for "if not for what this day caused, there are many Yosef's
(Joe's) in the marketplace."
My teacher R. Yochanan Zweig (www.talmudicu.edu) asked, why do we celebrate
such a spiritual event as the receiving of the Torah with physical
delights? Shouldn't we show our appreciation for our Torah through
*studying* it and becoming more *spiritual* people? And here we are,
eating cheesecake!
R. Zweig's answer demonstrates the true profundity of R. Tarfon's "the
reward is great." G-d wanted us to realize just what Torah is all about.
The Torah is not only a matter of performing difficult mitzvos
(commandments) in order that we earn reward in the World to Come. It is
not even a matter of giving our lives needed structure and discipline --
also quite necessary for our emotional health and contentment. Rather, the
Torah is entirely in harmony with how we want to be. The purpose of the
Torah is to get us in touch with ourselves, to give us mitzvos which bring
out our personalities and allow true self-expression. Judaism, if
practiced correctly, is happiness; it is self-fulfillment - spiritual,
emotional, and physical. It should not make us feel we are sacrificing for
G-d or for the World to Come. It is living life to the fullest.
For this reason, G-d instructs us to eat on Shavuos. Celebrating
spiritually is not enough. We must eat -- and eat well. We must celebrate
the Torah with the sense that it brings happiness on all planes of
existence, and that the mitzvos are entirely in harmony with our natures.
The Torah is not G-d's imposing His will upon His subjects, forcing us to
restrict our behavior and discipline ourselves unnaturally. G-d is not
forcing us to change our characters. He is causing us bring them out. With
Torah all is in harmony. We are whole human beings. The Torah has made us
ourselves.
This is the true intent of "the reward is great." Heavenly reward hardly
means cans of tuna or golden treasures. It is reward in the truest sense:
the complete harmony of body and soul, and the continued growth and
progression from happiness in this world to the ultimate reward of the
next.
Yet at the same time, "the Master of the house presses." The potential for
reward is immense, yet the consequences of failure are equally calamitous.
If the reward is nothing less than self-fulfillment, G-d can ask us for
nothing less. It is not optional: golden treasures to be had at our whim
and volition. It is life. And so G-d presses us. He demands that we
realize our potential. In Deuteronomy (30:19), G-d presented us with the
ultimatum: "I call the heavens and earth as witnesses before you: life and
death I have placed before you, the blessing and the curse, and you shall
choose life..." G-d offers us the world -- but in this He does not allow
us to settle for anything less. Let us not wait for Him to remind us.
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