For Heaven's sake! We're just having fun

Rabbi Yose HaKohen teaches (Avot 2:17):

(i) Let the property of your fellow be as precious to you as your own. (ii) Apply yourself to the study of Torah, for it is not an inheritance for you. (iii) And let all your deeds be for the sake of Heaven.

Often a teaching in Avot can be conveniently understood from its context, and many mishnayot that are split into three parts can be taken to relate to each other. This is not the case here, where “Let all your deeds be for the sake of Heaven” is not obviously connected to the first two teachings. But what do these words mean?

In his Chesed La’Alafim, at 231:3, Rabbi Eliezer Papo (the ‘Pele Yo’etz’) cites Rabbi Yose’s mishnah as support for the proposition that even ordinary everyday activities such as eating, drinking, sleeping and indeed all one’s bodily needs should be performed as a means of serving one’s Creator. The moment a person does an action—no matter how beneficial or meritorious—with his or her own benefit in mind, it is disqualified from being regarded as “for the sake of Heaven”. Rather, it is a sign of self-love. It is scarcely necessary to mention that the performance of any mitzvah in the hope or expectation of a reward fails the “sake of Heaven” test (Avot 1:3).

The situation for those whose actions result from self-interest, personal gain or even habit is not as bleak as it first appears.  In the case of Torah learning and doing mitzvot, the Pele Yo’etz reassures readers that at any rate a person should do these things even if it is not for Heaven’s sake because ultimately he or she will end up doing them for the right reason (citing Kalah Rabati 5:1).

This still leaves actions that are neither Torah learning nor mitzvot. Do they really all have to be “for the sake of Heaven”? Taking an occasional break from one’s learning in order to freshen up one’s mind has long been accepted as not only permissible but desirable since it helps to preserve one’s learning. But what about tiyulim, holidays, leisure activities? The Pele Yoe’tz expressly disapproves of such frivolities: while it may be necessary for a person to take a walk in the open air in order to lift his spirits and clear his head, the moment this objective is achieved he should head straight back to the Beit Midrash and resume his Torah learning.

Be that as it may, the fact remains that a great deal of our time today is spent on activities that are neither Torah nor mitzvot. We live in an age in which the availability of food, job security and the constant flow of new and improved domestic appliances has left us with more leisure time than the Tannaim could ever have imagined.  Most of us do not spend all our free time learning Torah and doing good deeds. Not just rank-and-file Jews but rabbis and communal leaders freely admit to taking holidays, attending concerts, watching sports events and even “chilling out”. We do not condemn them, but what would Rabbi Yose say to them? And how would they reply to him? Can these leisure activities be compliant with the principle that “all your deeds be for the sake of Heaven”? Are we just having fun, forgetting the observation of Rabbi Abraham J. Twerski (Visions of the Fathers) that “fun” is not a concept found in Tanach?

There are many possible responses to the challenge as to how we spend our time. For example:

·         Rabbi Yose’s teaching is not intended to be taken literally. Rather, it is a gentle exhortation to us to do things that are good and avoid things that are bad or harmful, things that would bring Heaven’s reputation into disrepute.

·         Rabbi Yose’s teaching only applies to deeds that can be of benefit the person who performs them, even though they may be mitzvot or good deeds, for example assiduously visiting an invalid (a mitzvah) who is wealthy and has no heirs (an ulterior motive based on self-interest).

·         Rabbi Yose is only encouraging us to question our own conduct, asking ourselves “am I doing this for Heaven’s sake?”, because it is a good way of ensuring that we fulfil the verse from Psalms: “I have placed God before me always …” (Tehillim 16:8).

·         Elsewhere in Avot, at 4:7, Rabbi Tzadok warns us not to use Torah as a crown in order to aggrandise ourselves or as a spade to dig with. Rabbi Yose’s words here merely seek to emphasise the same point.

·         God wants us to enjoy our life on Earth to the greatest extent possible, so long as we exercise our freedom of choice so as to keep our conduct lawful and respectable. Rabbi Yose’s teaching is designed to remind us that, even where our actions are pleasure-seeking, we do them in order the better to appreciate God’s beneficence in placing us in this world.

None of these responses really seems totally persuasive. Ultimately, it appears, we have become used to a lower level of commitment to God and to the sake of Heaven than our forefathers possessed. The Chesed La’Alafim, at 231:4, appears to prefer the first of the responses listed above, citing the baraita at the end of the sixth perek Avot (6:11) that everything God created in His world He created for His kavod—His honour or respect. From this the Pele Yo’etz understands that, before contemplating any action, be it going on a shopping expedition, attending a football game or doing a spot of sun-bathing, we should ask ourselves the following question: “does this damage God’s standing in the world?”  If the answer is “yes”, we shouldn’t do it.

That was 200 or so years ago. But what, then, should be the proper response of the committed Jew today to the words of Rabbi Yose? Ae they a threat, a challenge or an opportunity for self-improvement? Comments, please!