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TALMUD BAVLI TRACTATE DEREK
ERETZ ZUTA.
CHAPTER I.
1. The qualities of the sages are: Modesty, meekness, eagerness, courage, bearing wrongs done to them, and being endeared to every one; submission to the members of their household, fear of sin, and judging every one according to his deeds.
In our last classes, we discussed Modesty , Humility, and Meekness. Today I invite you to explore with me the middah, trait, of Eagerness.
On a simple level eagerness is defined as a positive feeling of wanting to push ahead with something. We would label this as zeal. Its root is from the Latin, acer, meaning sharp or biting. The Talmud refers many times to this sharpness, as it relates to the eagerness to do Mitzvoth, the commandments, including the study of Torah. Talmud Bavli Tractate Kiddushin 30a comments: "The words of Torah shall be sharp in your mouth so that if someone asks you something, you shall not fumble and then tell it to him, rather you shall tell it to him immediately."
Talmud Bavli Tractate Pirkei Avot 5:20 defines eagerness, quoting Rabbi Ben Teima, this way: "Be brazen as a leopard, light as an eagle, quick as a gazelle and strong as a lion in performing the will of your Father in heaven." Eagerness is broken down to these middoth (traits) : boldness (leopard), speed and alacrity (eagle and gazelle) and strength (lion). Rav Pinchas Ben Yair , in the final mishnah in Talmud Bavli Tractate Sotah lists the trait of 'zerizut' – the eagerness, promptness and enthusiasm with which a person fulfills a mitzvah.(commandment).
The 15th century Mussar classic, Orchot Tzaddikim, (Ways of the Righteous), by Yom-Tov ben Solomon Lipmann-Muhlhausen , (d. circa 1425, Germany, original title was Sefer ha-Middoth, Book of Traits ) contains an entire chapter on the trait of zerizut, eagerness, zeal, or enthusiasm. The author states that zerizut is the foundation of all other traits. For example, we cannot do acts of ahavath chesed, loving kindness, if we don't have the eagerness, the zest, to get out of our house, and do these acts. Yet zerizut depends on another trait.
We call this trait in modern terms, mindfulness. In (001) The Handbook to Jewish Spiritual Renewal - Rabbi Arthur Segal a path of transformation, mussar, there is an entire chapter as well on Walking with God Mindfully throughout the day. Orchot Tzaddikim says : "Zerizut depends upon the state of a person's heart. When a person frees his heart of all other thoughts that reside in it and seizes upon one thought, then he will be a zeriz, without doubt."
I have written in our past classes on spiritual schizophrenia, and even drew on the story of the Four Sons in our Passover Hagaddah as an example of this. When we are not of a single mind when it comes to living life by God's will, and not our own will, we are not integrated. When we don't have integration, shlema, we do not have shalom, serenity. We can not be happy, joyous and free. We are in conflict with ourselves, and then find ourselves in conflict with others. This life of spiritual disconnection is what the rabbis call pizzur ha nefesh, our souls being scattered.
We rationalize, lie to ourselves, about our laziness, our procrastination , to do what is '' right and just in God's eyes.'' Proverbs 26:16 nails this spot on: "A lazy person considers himself wiser than seven sages." This is why I always say Jewish Spiritual Renewal is for those that want it, not for those that need it. Many many need it (just hang out at most Oneg Shabbats, defined by the actions of many as " The Lashon Ha Ra ,gossip, Hour''), but do not yet wish to transform.
Rav Yosef Karo (1488 Spain- 1575 Safed) in his introduction to Shulchan Aruch, did not quote this entire list. He writes only about the strength of a lion to spiritual awaken us to doing God's will. Why is there the of the rest of list? The Taz (Rav David Halevi Segal 1586 - 1667, Poland, author of a critique of Karo, Turei Zahav , "Rows of Gold", from which he began being called TaZ. Segal's descendants were the Russian rabbinical family Paltrowitch, which produced 33 rabbis over several generations; American actress Gwyneth Paltrow descends from said family.), claimed that the strength of a lion in combating the yetzer ha ra, our evil inclination, our ego, or desire to do our will, is the most desired trait. Rav Yosef Karo left out the other three to emphasize the trait of spiritual eagerness. This leads us back to the root of the word eagerness as being sharp and biting, especially when juxtaposed with the jaws and teeth of a lion.
So eagerness from a Talmudic Derek Eretz (derech eretz) perspective brings one to do his best to "Shiviti Hashem le-negdi tamid" ("I place Ha Shem before me always" – Ps. 16:8). Eagerness, and other middot (traits) and how we can attain them. as well as how we can rid ourselves of negative traits, such as procrastination, and most of all, how we can deal with our yetzer ha ra, our ego, are discussed in detail in (001) The Handbook to Jewish Spiritual Renewal - Rabbi Arthur Segal . The middot that Moshe Rabbanu and other people mentioned in the TaNaK, the Hebrew scriptures, are located in (002) A Spiritual and Ethical Compendium to the Torah and Talmud - Rabbi Arthur Segal .
Pirkei Avot 4:2 reminds us of this eagerness: '' R' Ben Azzai would say: Run to pursue a minor mitzvah, and flee from a transgression. For a mitzvah brings another mitzvah, and a transgression brings another transgression. For the reward of a mitzvah is a mitzvah, and the reward of transgression is transgression.''
What are your ideas about eagerness? How does eagerness play a role in your spiritual life? How have you combated procrastination?
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