Q&A: kabbalat hatorah & free choice

Rav Kenig touched on a very important point in the video shiur regarding observing the mitzvot (kiyum hamitzvot) in light of receiving the Torah, and HaShem speaking to the Jewish people directly. My question is about the point concerning the difference between the difficulty and lack of clarity when it comes to kiyum hamitzvot.

Thanks, Eli from Sydney

Rav Ephraim answers: This issue is like this: When HaShem says something, it is etched out in the clearest way that this is the way it will be, with no possibility for it to be otherwise. When HaShem gave the ten commandments at Har Sinai, they were given in the singular tense to Moshe Rabbeinu. Only after Moshe passed them on to Am Yisrael, did they have free choice (as explained in the video shiur).

Free choice involves those things which are unclear to a person, or not clear enough. When you know something clearly and simply, there is no reason for free choice. For example, a person is careful about everything he understands needs caution. How careful is he? To the extent that it is clear to him that he must be careful. And to the extent that it is not clear, he is not careful.

Our free choice today always involves things on which we are unclear. We think another way is possible... The point where it is unclear to us, or not clear enough, is the point where free choice exists. Because whenever the danger is obvious, we are careful according to the information we have about the greatness of the danger. We thus act with the appropriate measure of caution.

After the exodus from Egypt, Am Yisrael saw all of the miracles and no doubt they were on an extremely high level. So what happened? Amalek came along and minimized all of the great and awesome things. He simply minimized them, putting on them something like a half question mark. He cooled off all of their excitement and spiritual awakening.

We are in the same situation today. Whatever we think we need to do, the thoughts come: "...but it's possible to do it another way..." or "...it's not so much like that..." It is precisely here where we need to put things in their place in a very clear way, in a way that won't shift into two sides. What do we really need to do? What is our role?

When you are clear about your role or function, then you can adjust yourself accordingly. But if you are not so clear, then you lack the basic tools to cope. The completion to this situation generally comes through learning halacha, Jewish law, regularly. This is how we can know exactly what HaShem wants from us. We do or don't do... Whatever is written in the halacha is exactly what we need to know in order to do or not do. Halacha is a revelation of what HaShem wants. Happy is the person who is not drawn after all the doubts and thoughts that cool off his spiritual awakening. Instead, whenever he is unclear, he knows to quickly run and check the halacha for clarity.

When we do this, there is now a chance to exit from the difficulties inherent in free choice. We see within the process of how the Torah was given to us, that it was davka in a way that grants us free choice, not the opposite. HaShem indeed wants us to serve Him out of free choice, and to clarify for ourselves in the Torah exactly what He wants from us in every situation. We do this by learning halacha and seeing how it holds in any circumstance. Through this, we will not have the difficulties that come with free choice.

HaShem should be our help, and may we hear many good tidings.

Comments

[Steve Lack]

Dear Breslev Tsfat,

Thank you.

I'm sure the Rav included this in his thoughts, but it bears mention I think:

In addition to studying halacha to help clarify our free choice, each of us needs to be close to a Tzaddik, a Rav - or even someone who simply knows more halacha than we. This way, we can have no excuse about not having studied and usually we can quickly dispel any doubt (safek=amalek) about the "choice" we must make.

Regards from Guatemala,
Steve Lack