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?
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