Many are the instances in which a person toils towards a
specific goal, but along the way, due to his intensive
involvement, he simply loses direction, forgets about his
original direction and gets sidetracked. He may even work
against his stated purpose altogether. Such things may happen
in physical or material areas, but they are also common with
spiritual matters.
This is man's nature. When he is totally engrossed in
something, he sees only the isolated act that he is involved
with at that given moment. And despite the fact that he may
have a long-range purpose for that act, he cannot be bothered
to remember it and remind himself of it at that specific
time. Thus is created the sad situation where a person toils
and exerts himself but in reality, his actions do nothing to
promote the stated goal that he officially and ostensibly set
out to achieve.
The ways and pitfalls of bureaucracy illustrate this point
excellently. A narrow-minded clerk can shoo away a potential
foreign millionaire investor just by being a stickler with
forms and minutiae. This, despite the very fact that the
office in which this petty clerk is employed was specifically
created in order to stimulate and encourage foreign
investment. A teacher can also become steeped in the world of
exams and grades when his very purpose is to mold a G-d-
fearing Jew who will study Torah and keep its commandments
through love; the value of all the means which he employs
should be subsidiary to the very end goal and he should never
lose sight of that.
Sometimes the primary difference between a good administrator
of a plant and its workers is anchored in the fact that he
constantly bears in mind the purpose of the business, and
examines all the details of the ongoing activities according
to the yardstick of that goal. His workers may sometimes
forget that goal in an energetic drive to express their own
creativity. A constant self-reminder of the final objective
can help each of us conduct our lives productively. Our lives
are the most important enterprise that concerns us and we owe
it to ourselves to conduct that life in the best possible
manner. Halacha is meant to teach us that, as well.
The opening paragraph of the Kitzur Shulchan Oruch
quotes and comments, "`Shivisi Hashem . . . —
Hashem is always before me' is a major premise in the Torah
and in the achievements of tzaddikim." It may strike
us as surprising that the author of this work began it with
an axiom in the achievements of tzaddikim, for the
Kitzur Shulchan Oruch is really meant for the layman,
for simple folk. The learned and pious do not need this
abbreviated Code of Laws. They can refer to the original and
comprehensive Shulchan Oruch itself. Why address this
to men of high caliber?
A constant review and reiteration of one's end purpose is an
obvious rule in the world of business. Every businessman and
entrepreneur would be considered a fool if he does not bear
in mind at all times that his main object is to make money.
This aim is deeply ingrained in the fiber of his being and it
is present before his mind's eye at every step and turn.
The situation is different, however, when it comes to
spiritual matters. It is not easy to constantly think and
remember that your goal in life is to perform mitzvos and
cause pleasure to your Creator. This object is far more
difficult to remember than the goal of increasing one's
wealth, for example. Wouldn't it be good if we could find a
way to present that very goal in a more simple, obvious
manner?
There is a rule in chinuch that states that a living
example speaks far better than any verbal harangue. Fortunate
are those people who attended Torah scholars, for their
masters served as the living examples of their life's
philosophy. These students needed no bolsters as to the
abstract goal in life for the very image of their master
constituted the living examples of all that Torah stood for.
Sometimes, a mere momentary flash reminder of the master's
figure was sufficient to illuminate the way for them during
times of obfuscation and confusion.
Detailed vignettes of the exalted figures of our Ovos occupy
a significant place in the Torah. They serve to help a Jew
execute the demanding obligation of his constantly asking
himself: When shall my deeds reach the level of the deeds
of my ancestors?
According to one opinion of Chazal (see Rashi, Bereishis
39:11), Yosef Hatzaddik was saved from sin thanks to the
image of his father that rose suddenly before his view in the
window.
This, apparently, was not a physical image of his father, for
had it been, Yosef would surely have run to the window in
order to embrace his beloved father whom he had not seen
since he had been sold into slavery. Rather, it was the
abstract form that rose in Yosef's mind's eye, framed in the
window.
This exalted figure of Yaakov Ovinu served as a living
example, a concrete object of adulation of how a person must
look and to what he must always strive. In view of the memory
of this exalted figure, that of his father Yaakov, who was
perfect in his noble character and ethical personality, the
animal desire which had been aroused dissipated into
nothingness, to be replaced by the courage of kedushoh
to resist temptation that suffused all of his limbs and
organs.
They tell of one of the students of Yeshivas Volozhin who
went off the track. Years later, he wrote to the Rosh
Yeshiva, Netziv ztvk'l HaGaon R' Naftoli Tzvi Yehuda
Berlin, as follows, "I ruined my World to Come with my own
hands. But you are to blame for ruining my Olom
Hazeh."
What he meant was that whenever he indulged in the so-called
pleasures of this world, he could never fully savor them for
he would involuntarily conjure up the exalted image of his
outstanding Rosh Yeshiva which caused him to feel the inanity
of the vanities and foolishness in which he sought to
indulge.
The highest pinnacle to which the Torah directs us is
encompassed in the commandment of, "To Him shall you cleave"
(Devorim 10;20). Cling to Hashem! Emulate Him! Just as
He is merciful, so shall you be. Just as He performs acts of
lovingkindness, so shall you.
The constant thought that Hashem is, as it were, standing
opposite a person and sees all of his deeds and knows all of
his thoughts is a perennial reminder of the end purpose of
every deed and of every shortcoming throughout a person's
life. When this objective is firmly established in one's
consciousness, everything is clear and simple. This
determines one's actions and the actions one refrains from
committing, the asei and the lo sa'aseh and the
quality of every action that is executed.
The objective is also what connects each of the isolated acts
into one well-defined succession, a forward progression
towards the final goal, similar to a string that is threaded
with beads. Without the string, the beads are of no
consequence; they are for all intents, worthless. Even those
who are replete with mitzvos are considered `empty' if their
individual deeds are just a conglomerate pile devoid of
meaning and ulterior function and purpose (Mussar
Vodaas).
A person's envisionment of his Creator necessarily varies
from one to another according to his knowledge, emotions and
the experiences that make up his recognition and
acknowledgement of his Creator and are bound up in his
treasury of memories.
Depth of awareness varies from person to person. One who has
studied a great deal of Torah and has introspected into its
commandments in depth, will surely have a greater and more
profound appreciation and understanding of what Hashem wants
from us; He will better fathom Hashem's deeds and be able to
emulate them in a more effective manner. He will perceive
Hashem in his mind as the symbol of perfection, even more
— as perfection itself. Hashem is justice and
righteousness, probity, compassion and truth. He is peace and
everything that our minds and hearts perceive as positive and
admirable.
All of a learned person's vast knowledge, his intellect and
his emotions, are wholly concentrated in the recognition of
Hashem as Creator of the whole world and all of its denizens.
Whoever remembers Hashem and conjures up His Essence before
him always can be compared in all of his actions to a builder
who lays each brick according to a carefully scrutinized
overall blueprint before him. This is how the person builds
himself and his life, with every detail of his activity
complying to the blueprint of the world and the design of his
own life.
While "Shivisi Hashem — I conjure up Hashem's
Image before me, always" is a major rule in Torah and in the
achievements of tzaddikim, however since life on earth
requires us to successfully raise ourselves constantly in an
increased awareness of Hashem, who can allow himself to waste
his life without making use of this rule?
