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34 | A New Light
should have more reasonably read, “Do things for the sake of the
One Who commanded us to do them.” But the actual formulation
of this statement constitutes an explicit proof that Hashem is the
Actor Who performs every mitzvah that a person does. That being
the case, what part does the person play? His only relevant part is
his intention to act for the sake of Hashem, and his will to do the
will of Hashem.
Therefore, writes Rabbi Tzadok, we must say that a person’s
arena of freedom lies in his will and intent regarding a deed. If a
person wants to do something but he does not manage to do it, he
has fulfilled his part completely, and the presence or absence of the
deed is irrelevant. On the other hand, if he performed the deed but
without intent, he did not accomplish anything!
Of all the acts of lovingkindness performed by Abraham
our patriarch, peace be upon him, and his hospitality
to guests, the Torah mentions only what he did for the
angels. But in truth, none of that constituted an act of
lovingkindness, because they had absolutely no need for
any of it. They had to pretend to eat solely for the sake
of Abraham’s honor. The only [relevant] factor here
was the thought and good intention of Abraham our
patriarch, peace be upon him.
In this way, the Torah informs us that this is the
principal part of all of a person’s deeds in his service of
Hashem, and that we should not focus on the completion
of the deed.
Commentary: We know that Abraham was a pillar of
lovingkindness who in the course of his entire life performed deeds
of lovingkindness and hospitality, and that his home was open to
every traveler. Rabbi Tzadok points out that the Torah does not
write explicitly about any of his many deeds of lovingkindness,
except to provide a lengthy and detailed description of his act of
kindness for the angels. But the angels had no need whatsoever
for the food that he gave them and derived no enjoyment from it.
Chapter Three: | 63
internalizing what you know and living in accordance with it. I told
myself: if he does not have awareness, I can’t do anything with him.
And I asked myself: What is the difference? Why is Yossi
improving, whereas Danny is barely progressing? It was vital for
me to know this so that I may help others. Presumably, everyone
wants to see a change for the better in his life. Who doesn’t want to
live in the Garden of Eden of faith? Everyone wants to change, but
sometimes something stops a person, and he himself doesn’t know
what it is. Therefore, I prayed and asked my Father in heaven to
illumine my eyes and help me learn and understand this basic point:
to know the secret of what differentiates them, so that I will be able
to help all people know from this day onward how to be worthy
students who rise upon the path and change for the better, so that
even upon this earth their lives are transformed into a Garden of
Eden.
An Ancient and Well-Known Phenomenon
I am not the first person to take note of this phenomenon. Our
sages preceded me in Pirkei Avot (5:12):
There are four types of people who attend the study
hall: a person who goes but does nothing—he receives
reward for going; a person who does [study] but does
not go to the study hall—he receives reward for doing;
a person who goes and does—he is pious; a person who
neither goes nor does—he is wicked.
There are four types among those who sit before the
sages: a sponge, a funnel, a strainer and a sieve. A sponge
absorbs everything; a funnel takes in at one end and lets
out at the other; a strainer removes the wine and retains
the sediment; a sieve removes the coarse and retains the
fine flour.
There is a person who goes and studies, and there
is a person who goes but does not study. There is a