Machshavot HaLev - Yeshivat Lev HaTorah

137
בלה תובשחמ
achilat matza, and countless other mitzvot are preceded by a beracha, mitzvot like
tzedaka, kibud av va-eim, and mishloach manot are actions that do not have any
blessing beforehand. Why the difference? Rav Weinberg explains that the role of a
birkat ha-mitzva is to focus our consciousness on the fact that the act we are about
to perform is an expression of our obedience to God’s command. This is well and
good when it comes to lulav and tzitzit. But when it comes to tzedaka or kibud av
va-eim, the experience of obedience actually detracts from the mitzvah. The ideal
performance of bikur cholim is not an act focused on punctiliously conforming
to halachic norms but rather an expression of spontaneous, natural sensitivity
to the needs of a fellow human being. Filling our minds with pious thoughts of
submission to God undermines the goal. Ideally we should cultivate personalities
that naturally lead to acts of bikur cholim, kibud av va-eim and tzedaka without
ever having to think of what the halacha requires of us.
Why would God want us to be spontaneous and creative when it comes to our
relationship to our fellow man, but not with Himself? Philosophically, this makes
tremendous sense. When it comes to our fellow human being, empathy alone
often enables us to intuit what he or she needs from us. I can imagine what it must
feel like to be a sick person, a bereaved person, a homeless person, and therefore
I can and should respond to their needs without requiring instruction.
But when it comes to God, He Himself explains to Yeshayahu, “My thoughts are
not like your thoughts” (55:8). To presume that we can intuit what God wants of
us, what will suit His purposes without Him telling us reflects the most intense
form of arrogance. Do I dare to claim knowledge of God’s mind and goals? To
invent a form of spiritual connectedness to God is to either humanize God or
deify oneself. Neither option is acceptable.
Thus, we see that avodat Hashem always involves a balance between submission
and intuition, between obedience and creativity. May we always be zocheh to have
the inner strength to accept Hashem’s will when we approach Him, and to trust
ourselves and our own inner intuitions when others need us.