Rabbi Adin Even Israel Steinsaltz, Shefa Quarterly No. 2, January 1976
The performance of the commandments (mitzvot) has traditionally been
conceived as a dual imperative: the contemplation of the content and
inner meaning of
the mitzvah, and its physical expression. Jewish writings have dealt
extensively with
the questions arising from this duality, weighing the value of deed
against that of
intention and seeking the relationship between the two.
Devout men throughout the ages have generally stressed the intention
over the
deed. Nevertheless, they also felt that while a deed without intention
is like a body
without a spirit, intention without deed is similarly imperfect, like an
illusive
apparition, having existence but no substance. Thus for these men, in
the real of
mitzvoth, there was no deed without intention, and no intention without
deed.
The questions that prompted the continual re-discussion of this issue
are still
with us today. However, what was for our forefathers a complex problem
of vital
importance has become for us just another question for which a pat,
uncritical answer
will suffice. The modern Jew tends to avoid confronting this problem by
stressing
intention to the detriment of deed, resulting in a disintegration of the
totality of the
mitzvah.
For some people, the mitzvah-act (deed) becomes a mere expression of
good
intention, while for others it is even an obstacle to attaining the true
sense of love, awe
or communion with the Divine; thus the physical expression or deed
itself is nothing
more than a symbol, an empty gesture devoid of essential religious
content.
This grasp of religion so prevalent in our time has been seen to differ
radically
from that of previous generations. To fathom such differences in religious
outlook, anunderstanding of three integral elements is necessary: an
understanding of the nature
of man, an awareness of the relation between God and man, and an
apprehension of
the essence of Divinity. In Judaism, as in other religions, the changes of
attitudes and
thought that have taken place with the passage of time have affected
each of these
elements, and thus religious outlook as a whole. Furthermore, the
interrelationships
between the factors themselves have often accelerated such changes. For
example,
any development in the understanding of the nature of man alters the
substance of
man's relation with God: as the self-esteem of man increases,
acknowledgement of his
dependence on God decreases. The greater man grows in his own eyes, the
more God
seems to diminish.
Just as increased emphasis on the value of man influences the quality
and
force of religion, so do today's humanistic aspirations have their
effect on the
perception of Divinity. If religion requires fulfilling the will of God,
then whatever
one understands of Divine will influences the essentials of religion,
such as the nature
of Divine service and the tension between intention and deed.
Although a detailed philosophical discussion of theology cannot be
presented
here, it will, nevertheless, prove useful to inquire into the essence of
Divinity as
understood by religious people. Consider the following list: table,
stone, bird; idea,
ideal, dream; God. In which category should God be placed: in the
category of
concrete objects or in that of the abstract concepts, idea, ideal and
dream?
Most people, religious and non-religious, would quite likely place God
in the
category of spiritual or abstract concepts, rather than with the
concrete and
substantial. Such a classification has far-reaching significance. It is
an evaluation
deying God many of the attributes of physical reality and concrete
existence. If theDivinity is an abstraction, an idea without substance, one may
question the degree of
reality of God and be led to doubt His very existence.
The God of such a believer is a shadow – a shadow resting on the soul –
about
whose reality there is often grave doubt. It is an intellectually
experienced Divinity.
Once God is apprehended in this fashion, certain consequences are
unavoidable. If
God is a spiritual concept, He should be served with ideas, silent
prayer or meditation.
Is it not a contradiction to serve an abstract spiritual Divinity by
concrete physical
actions?
However, all Jewish thinkers and philosophers have rejected the view
that God
is a spiritual concept. They stress that just as God is infinitely above
and removed
from the familiar, physical universe, so He is removed from man's
conception of
spirituality – even in its highest form. It is, therefore, as
sacrilegious to attribute
spiritual qualities to God as it is to attribute physical ones to Him.
The question that then arises is: If God is neither substance nor
spirit, what is
He? The answer often given is that man cannot even begin to know the
essence of
God. One can only hope to experience the actuality of His being. Such an
experience
of Divinity cannot proceed by a logical or inferential analysis of
various aspects of
His existence; it is based on the actual experience of His presence.
God, then, is a
reality. He is the real substantivity, and there is no
"reality" outside of His being.
This brings us back to the problem of the preference of intention over
deed.
When God is recognized as infinite, there is no significance to the
distinction between
His substantiality or spirituality. Therefore, the spiritual intentions
of man, no matter
how pure or noble, are not necessarily closer to the Divine will than
the most
concrete, physical actions – in the eyes of God they are equal. God is
as close to, orremoved from, the corporeal as he is to the spiritual, and the
simple, physical aspects
of the mitzvoth have as great a religious relevance to the doer as do
the spiritual ones.
The essence of this conception is a physical, as well as spiritual,
perception of
the actuality of God at each and every moment, the feeling that "He
fill His world and
activates all His worlds." For He is able to manifest Himself in
every physical
sensation just as in the most sublime, spiritual awareness. In
performing the mitzvah
of winding the phylacteries, for example, one is as conscious of
performing the
Divine will in winding the straps as one is in making the spiritual
effort to realize
"And thou shalt love the Lord they God." Such a Jew is in true
harmony with the
Divine will.
BY: Rabbi Adin
Steinsaltz.
This article is taken from
Rabbi Adin Steinsaltz’s Official Facebook.
Picture taken from www.sxc.hu/ website, free pic.
ABOUT: Renowned author,
revered spiritual leader, innovator, legendary Talmudic scholar, educator,
pioneer; Rabbi Adin Even-Israel Steinsaltz is an amalgamation of
knowledge, talents, and characteristics. See the books published of Rabbi
Adin Steinsaltz at Koren Publishers Jerusalem.
