Not pillars but a conveyor belt

The first teaching in Avot that we learn in the name of any individual rabbi is the fundamental principle that the world stands on three things: Torah, service to God and acts of gemilut chasadim (human kindness). These three things are frequently described as “pillars”, since anything that stands on three pillars—or legs—is automatically stable, irrespective of the length of the legs. But Shimon HaTzaddik (Avot 1:2) does not specify what precisely it is that the world stands upon. This opens the mishnah up to other interpretations.

 I recently found another commentary on Avot abandoned in the streets of Jerusalem. It’s Etz HaSedah, a compilation of divrei Torah on Avot put together by one Tzvi Yehudah Gottlieb, published in Bnei Brak in 1988. This is a modest little book which does not purport to be an earth-shattering collection of chiddushim, novellae—but that should not detract from its utility.

Referencing the Vilna Gaon’s observation that Torah and gemilut chasadim are dearer to God than service to Him, Gottlieb contrasts the different qualities of the three items cited in the mishnah.

Torah, which emanates directly from God and expresses the Divine will, is holy and represents Heaven. Gemilut chasadim, acts of kindness done by humans to humans, can only be performed on Earth. This leaves serving God. What is its unique significance?

While Heaven and Earth are literally worlds apart, serving God is a means of linking heavenly with the earthly. By learning Torah, man is drawn upwards. By performing its precepts, man is bound to the material world. But serving God is the means of bringing Torah down to Earth while also taking the earthly and elevating it in holiness. As the agent of this service, humankind is improved and ideally perfected.

If service to God can be seen as a sort of two-way conveyor belt, bringing the holy and the spiritual down to Earth while at the same time elevating humankind towards greater closeness with God, we are still left with a question. Why should Torah and gemilut chasadim be preferred over serving God? The Etz HaSadeh does not offer an answer, but one can be suggested: Torah and gemilut chasadim are both ends in themselves, while serving God is a means by which these ends can be achieved.

Can anyone offer another, ideally more convincing, explanation?