Morality As Choice

Regenerate

His brothers and his father’s household joined together against him to protest against his actions, and they said to him: Your ancestors stored up money in their treasuries and added to the treasures of their ancestors, and you are liberally distributing it all to the poor. King Munbaz said to them: Not so, my ancestors stored up below, whereas I am storing above.

Munbaz, (or Chazal speaking for his intentions) offers a proof text from Tehilim (85:12):

Truth will spring out of the earth and righteousness will look down from heaven.”

The righteous deeds that one has performed are stored up in heaven. My ancestors stored up treasures in a place where the human hand can reach, and so their treasures could have been robbed, whereas I am storing up treasures in a place where the human hand cannot reach, and so they are secure, as it is stated: “Righteousness and justice are the foundation of Your throne” (Psalms 89:15).

It is an interesting expression, “The truth shall spring out of the Earth.” And how does that induce the sequitur, “righteousness will look down from heaven”?

Based on what we saw above Bava Basra 10, we could say that human choice and morality, by undergoing self-awareness and self-recognition, arouses the attribute of mercy from heaven. When humans live an autonomous moral existence, emulating G-d, it channels the ability for His blessings, which go beyond rationality and beyond the letter of the law. When the human consciousness ascertains the truth, comprehending the model by which G-d created the world – to bestow unlimited kindness – man is then aroused to perform acts of kindness as well. This arousal itself, and this moral awakening, bring about a transformed existence that goes beyond the physical dimension and allows spiritual abundance to manifest.

The final stage in his process will be with the advent of the Messiah, when human moral attainment and a spirit of love and benevolence will lead to the elevation of this world to a different plane. Once man has reached his moral maturity, a new kind of existence will be ushered in, which is about spiritual connection. The flow of this energy will eliminate the trials and pains of physicality, which are subject to entropic forces and evil. (See Tanya, Part IV, Iggeres HaKodesh, Chapter 6 where I believe a similar idea is expressed in kabbalistic terminology).

Environmental Impact Study

Bava Basra 12

Our Gemara on amud aleph discusses the status of a former doorway that was sealed, and at what point it is considered fully sealed with no remnant. There can be many halachic implications, such as if the door still requires a mezuzah, or if the rights to a loading and unloading area are forfeited to the other occupants of the area.

There is an interesting mystical concern about closing doorways and windows asserted by Sefer Chasidim (746). Rav Yehuda HaChasid warns of demons who, when faced with the loss of a pathway by the closure, may become enraged and smite the owner.

Because many of Rav Yehuda HaChasid’s proscriptions consist of superstitious-sounding interests that are not mentioned in the Gemara, and indeed seem to sometimes contradict the Gemara, there has been some ambivalence about following these rules. There seem to be some rules that are taken more seriously by a consensus of poskim than others, such as not marrying a woman with the same name as one’s mother, and this doorway prohibition as well.

A scientific-thinking person might scoff at this superstitious fear of invisible malignant actors, yet we know that there are many mysterious, invisible, and toxic forces that act upon the human condition. Modern science gives it sophisticated-sounding names such as “chemical imbalances,” “addiction,” “viruses,” and “global warming.” (While certain political groups seem to have a vested interest in describing global warming or climate change as man-made, isn’t it odd and hypocritical that those same pointy-headed experts insisted that it is impossible that Covid could be man-made? We have two humbling, natural global disasters of the 21st century. In regard to one, “scientists” are certain that it is man-made, while in regard to the other, “scientists” are certain it was not? Hmmm… Follow the money.)

What are these experiences other than, literally, diabolical? (The word diabolical comes from Diablos, meaning the Devil.) You can give it fancy scientific names, but as for many of the most troubling and dangerous aspects of life in this world, there is constant danger of succumbing to powerful forces that we cannot always control.

The practices of Rav Yehuda HaChasid teach us respect and humility. They are the precursors to conservation and environmental impact studies. In the ancient world, the natural environment and ecosystem were experienced as spiritual, mystical, and sometimes demonic. According to this Torah ethic, not only are we obligated to preserve our health, not cause self-injury or suicide, or even destroy fruit-bearing trees, but we must even respect space and structure. If there is a doorway or window, we do not just arrogantly smash it down. We must consider the entire ecology of visible and invisible forces, and constantly respect the spiritual-emotional-environmental impact of our actions.