Continuing the theme of fear, the Mesilat Yesharim tells us – in concluding Chapter 9, that when fear is based upon something real, it is reasonable to assume one will do everything to stay away from it. That is fine! It when we fined all sorts of excuses not to do something based upon an improbable fear that causes as to stumble. This is not acceptable. We will not get on with life if we live this way. We will certainly not be able to get on with studying Torah and observing Mitzvot!
Wherever we can see actual fear in front of us – we should refrain from jumping in to doing things. However, if one is wise, one will be able to recognise that not everything need be feared. We must live normal lives.
In short – Shlomo HaMelech – King Solomon – teaches us that the lazy person will always find ways out of doing anything. And his excuses always seem to make perfect sense to him/her. Of course, any reasonable person will be able to see past the excuses in realising that the reason for the person’s not doing something that must be done, is not because he is afraid. On the contrary, it his laziness that causes the fear, and not the fear that causes the avoidance of action.
The Mesilat Yesharim – the Ramchal – sums up for us the final points regarding the second trait along the ladder towards holiness. First comes Watchfulness. One must be careful to refrain from that that is bad for ourselves. Once one can pull oneself away from the negative influences in life, one can move on and start becoming exciting about doing the right things in life.
What’s next? Now we must move on to a more sensitive area – that of Nekiyut. Translated roughly as “Cleanliness” – the real translation is far from this. Nekiyut refers to truly refining ourselves from every evil that exists! What then is the difference between our first trait of Watchfulness and our new third trait of “Cleanliness”? Join us for our next lesson when we explore more about this most refined trait we can strive towards.
