Thought for the Day: The Trait of זהירות/Caution and Wariness Should be the First Step to Everything
I was helping my grandson (5th grade) with his math homework the other night... decimals. I explained something to him and he said, "Zeidy; I am pretty sure that is not the way my teacher does it." I know that can be a huge impediment to learning something new, but in this case I really couldn't think of any other way to do it, so I took a chance and said, "I am really pretty sure this is how your teacher does it." He looked thoughtful and replied, "Well, then I am pretty sure that I was not paying attention." Ah... we found common ground on which to agree.
I completely understand why my grandson zones out during math. (I might be worried about him if he paid too much attention, actually... I want him to be normal; not like his zeidy.) On the other hand, I've never met anyone thought it was a good idea to zone out while driving down the highway at 80 mph.
After clarifying the purpose of our creation, the מסילת ישרים begins the journey to accomplishing that mission by clarifying the trait זהירות/Caution and Wariness. The מסילת ישרים begins with a thought experiment: Imagine someone walking along the edge of a high shore line with a sheer drop into a raging river with a torrent of rapids. Would any rational human being close his eyes and just stroll along as if he were in a smooth path through a pasture? Even if a person were blind, he would certainly take an expert and careful guide to walk along the river; all the more so would someone who could see walk with caution and wariness!
Let's take a step back. מסילת ישרים is sole purpose is to teach the skills and behaviors necessary to successfully execute one's mission for being in this world. The need for זהירות/Caution and Wariness before all else is so incredibly and painfully obvious, that one ought to question why the מסילת ישרים doesn't just have the statement of R' Pinchus ben Yair as table of contents and then launch straight away into the chapter on זהירות/Caution and Wariness?
Asked a different way: Why is the vast majority of human kind just stumbling along the edge of the raging river we call life with their eyes firmly and resolutely shut tight? Let's go back to our 80 mph highway driver. The truth is, with the advent of cars with autopilot, there are more and more drivers lulled into a false sense of security and they are nodding off. It's a false sense of security because the current cars can handle the usual situations, but emergencies still require human intervention.
That, I believe, is why the מסילת ישרים has an entire introduction dedicated to proving that the world is absolutely not running on autopilot. The Gr"a is said to have investigated the first eight chapters of מסילת ישרים and found not a single extra word. The introduction is not "nice to know", it is critical to your success. The מסילת ישרים is explaining that you must have clarity about how important each and every moment of your life is, how danger can appear out of no where, how each decision you make affects you and everyone in the world from now and through eternity.
Yes, explaining the trait of זהירות/Caution and Wariness should be how מסילת ישרים begins. Before he does that, however, he has something very important to say: WAKE UP!
I completely understand why my grandson zones out during math. (I might be worried about him if he paid too much attention, actually... I want him to be normal; not like his zeidy.) On the other hand, I've never met anyone thought it was a good idea to zone out while driving down the highway at 80 mph.
After clarifying the purpose of our creation, the מסילת ישרים begins the journey to accomplishing that mission by clarifying the trait זהירות/Caution and Wariness. The מסילת ישרים begins with a thought experiment: Imagine someone walking along the edge of a high shore line with a sheer drop into a raging river with a torrent of rapids. Would any rational human being close his eyes and just stroll along as if he were in a smooth path through a pasture? Even if a person were blind, he would certainly take an expert and careful guide to walk along the river; all the more so would someone who could see walk with caution and wariness!
Let's take a step back. מסילת ישרים is sole purpose is to teach the skills and behaviors necessary to successfully execute one's mission for being in this world. The need for זהירות/Caution and Wariness before all else is so incredibly and painfully obvious, that one ought to question why the מסילת ישרים doesn't just have the statement of R' Pinchus ben Yair as table of contents and then launch straight away into the chapter on זהירות/Caution and Wariness?
Asked a different way: Why is the vast majority of human kind just stumbling along the edge of the raging river we call life with their eyes firmly and resolutely shut tight? Let's go back to our 80 mph highway driver. The truth is, with the advent of cars with autopilot, there are more and more drivers lulled into a false sense of security and they are nodding off. It's a false sense of security because the current cars can handle the usual situations, but emergencies still require human intervention.
That, I believe, is why the מסילת ישרים has an entire introduction dedicated to proving that the world is absolutely not running on autopilot. The Gr"a is said to have investigated the first eight chapters of מסילת ישרים and found not a single extra word. The introduction is not "nice to know", it is critical to your success. The מסילת ישרים is explaining that you must have clarity about how important each and every moment of your life is, how danger can appear out of no where, how each decision you make affects you and everyone in the world from now and through eternity.
Yes, explaining the trait of זהירות/Caution and Wariness should be how מסילת ישרים begins. Before he does that, however, he has something very important to say: WAKE UP!
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