(יב) וְעַתָּה֙ יִשְׂרָאֵ֔ל מָ֚ה יְהוָ֣ה אֱלֹהֶ֔יךָ שֹׁאֵ֖ל מֵעִמָּ֑ךְ כִּ֣י אִם־לְ֠יִרְאָה אֶת־יְהוָ֨ה אֱלֹהֶ֜יךָ לָלֶ֤כֶת בְּכָל־דְּרָכָיו֙ וּלְאַהֲבָ֣ה אֹת֔וֹ וְלַֽעֲבֹד֙ אֶת־יְהוָ֣ה אֱלֹהֶ֔יךָ בְּכָל־לְבָבְךָ֖ וּבְכָל־נַפְשֶֽׁךָ׃ (יג) לִשְׁמֹ֞ר אֶת־מִצְוֺ֤ת יְהוָה֙ וְאֶת־חֻקֹּתָ֔יו אֲשֶׁ֛ר אָנֹכִ֥י מְצַוְּךָ֖ הַיּ֑וֹם לְט֖וֹב לָֽךְ׃
And Rabbi Ḥanina said: Everything is in the hands of Heaven, except for fear of Heaven. Man has free will to serve God or not, as it is stated: “And now Israel, what does the Lord your God ask of you other than to fear the Lord your God, to walk in all of His ways, to love Him and to serve the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul” (Deuteronomy 10:12). The Gemara asks: Is fear of Heaven a minor matter that it can be presented as if God is not asking anything significant? Didn’t Rabbi Ḥanina say in the name of Rabbi Shimon ben Yoḥai: The Holy One, Blessed be He, has nothing in his treasury other than a treasure of fear of Heaven, as it is stated: “Fear of the Lord is his treasure” (Isaiah 33:6). The Lord values and treasures fear of Heaven over all else. The Gemara responds: Indeed, for Moses fear of Heaven is a minor matter. As Rabbi Ḥanina stated: It is comparable to one who is asked for a large vessel and he has one, it seems to him like a small vessel because he owns it. However, one who is asked for just a small vessel and he does not have one, it seems to him like a large vessel. Therefore, Moses could say: What does the Lord your God ask of you other than to fear, because in his eyes it was a minor matter.
(טו) הַכֹּל צָפוּי, וְהָרְשׁוּת נְתוּנָה, וּבְטוֹב הָעוֹלָם נִדּוֹן. וְהַכֹּל לְפִי רֹב הַמַּעֲשֶׂה:
(15) Everything is foreseen yet freedom of choice is granted, And the world is judged with goodness; And everything is in accordance with the preponderance of works.
כי אמנם יתכן מה שכתבתי בדבר שהוא קל אצל אומרו וא"א שיהיה קל אצל זולתו. אבל זה הענין יש לו טבע אחר שהוא ענין שיוכל כל אדם להשיגו. ואשר השיגו שופט ומשפטו אמת שהוא ענין נקל להשיג בבחינה שכל הטורח והעמל שטרח להשיגו אינו נחשב למאומה כנגד הדבר הנשגב אשר השיג. עד שמי שיצייר אותו על אמתתו מאשר יחשוק הענין הנכבד ההוא גם בעת טרחו לא יהיה עליו לטורח. כענין שנאמר (בראשית כא) ויהיו בעיניו כימים אחדים באהבתו אותה. ומי שלא יצייר הענין ולא יבחנהו יראה אצלו דבר קשה להשיג. עם היות שעל דרך האמת הוא דבר נקל ג"כ בחקו. וזה דומה למי שיבחן מלאכה אחת מהמלאכות ומצאה קלה. שהוא אומר ליתר האנשים אשר יחשבוה לכבדה מאשר לא בחנוה. והוא מודיע אליהם ואומר דעו נאמנה שהיא מלאכה קלה. שאין ספק שכאשר תקרינה בעולם מצוקות ותלאות, הוא יותר נקל לאדם לשוב לבוראו למי שאינו שב בעתו בעונה הזאת בזמן הזה. על החיל אשר נגע השם בלבם לפשפש במעשיהם ולשוב בתשובה הן בעבירות שבין אדם למקום הן בעבירות שבין אדם לחברו:
(28) But the above-cited words of our sages (Berachoth 33b): "Is fear of the L-rd a small thing? Yes, to Moses it is a small thing. The situation is analogous to a man's being asked for a large vessel, etc." — these words still demand explanation. Our reservation applies only in respect to something that is easy to the speaker and not possibly easy to the one he is addressing, but this state [fear of the L-rd] is of an entirely different nature, being within the capabilities of all men. And the man who has attained it describes it truthfully as easy of attainment in the respect that all of the exertion and toil expended in its attainment are as nothing compared to the exalted thing that is attained; so much so, that one who pictures it to himself in all the glory of its exaltedness will not find its pursuit toilsome even in the very midst of his toils to attain it, as in (Bereshith 29:20): "And they were but as a few days in his love of her." But one who does not picture and discriminate it as such will see it as extremely difficult of attainment, though in truth it be very easy in point of its nature. This can be compared to one's having tried out a certain occupation, having found it easy, and telling others who think it difficult because they have not tried it out: "Believe me, it is quite easy."
For there is no doubt that when the world is visited with distress and adversity it is easier for a man to return to His Creator. How much more so should we return, in our time and in our epoch when the L-rd has smitten such a multitude, to examine our deeds and repent both of those sins between man and his Creator and those between man and his fellow man.
(א) דֵעוֹת הַרְבֵּה יֵשׁ לְכָל אֶחָד וְאֶחָד מִבְּנֵי אָדָם וְזוֹ מְשֻׁנָּה מִזּוֹ וּרְחוֹקָה מִמֶּנָּהּ בְּיוֹתֵר. יֵשׁ אָדָם שֶׁהוּא בַּעַל חֵמָה כּוֹעֵס תָּמִיד. וְיֵשׁ אָדָם שֶׁדַּעְתּוֹ מְיֻשֶּׁבֶת עָלָיו וְאֵינוֹ כּוֹעֵס כְּלָל וְאִם יִכְעַס יִכְעַס כַּעַס מְעַט בְּכַמָּה שָׁנִים. וְיֵשׁ אָדָם שֶׁהוּא גְּבַהּ לֵב בְּיוֹתֵר. וְיֵשׁ שֶׁהוּא שְׁפַל רוּחַ בְּיוֹתֵר. וְיֵשׁ שֶׁהוּא בַּעַל תַּאֲוָה לֹא תִּשְׂבַּע נַפְשׁוֹ מֵהָלֹךְ בְּתַאֲוָה. וְיֵשׁ שֶׁהוּא בַּעַל לֵב טָהוֹר מְאֹד וְלֹא יִתְאַוֶּה אֲפִלּוּ לִדְבָרִים מְעַטִּים שֶׁהַגּוּף צָרִיךְ לָהֶן. וְיֵשׁ בַּעַל נֶפֶשׁ רְחָבָה שֶׁלֹּא תִּשְׂבַּע נַפְשׁוֹ מִכָּל מָמוֹן הָעוֹלָם, כָּעִנְיָן שֶׁנֶּאֱמַר (קהלת ה ט) "אוֹהֵב כֶּסֶף לֹא יִשְׂבַּע כֶּסֶף". וְיֵשׁ מְקַצֵּר נַפְשׁוֹ שֶׁדַּיּוֹ אֲפִלּוּ דָּבָר מְעַט שֶׁלֹּא יַסְפִּיק לוֹ וְלֹא יִרְדֹּף לְהַשִּׂיג כָּל צָרְכּוֹ. וְיֵשׁ שֶׁהוּא מְסַגֵּף עַצְמוֹ בְּרָעָב וְקוֹבֵץ עַל יָדוֹ וְאֵינוֹ אוֹכֵל פְּרוּטָה מִשֶּׁלּוֹ אֶלָּא בְּצַעַר גָּדוֹל. וְיֵשׁ שֶׁהוּא מְאַבֵּד כָּל מָמוֹנוֹ בְּיָדוֹ לְדַעְתּוֹ. וְעַל דְּרָכִים אֵלּוּ שְׁאָר כָּל הַדֵּעוֹת כְּגוֹן מְהוֹלֵל וְאוֹנֵן וְכִילַי וְשׁוֹעַ וְאַכְזָרִי וְרַחֲמָן וְרַךְ לֵבָב וְאַמִּיץ לֵב וְכַיּוֹצֵא בָּהֶן:
(1) Each and every one of the sons of man has many innate tendencies which differ one from the other and which are extremely afar. There is one man of a feverish temperment, constantly vexed, and there is another man of a calm disposition, without angry moods whatever, and if he does show anger it is but one bit of anger in many years; one man is overmuch supercilious, and another man is extremely unobtrusive; one is sensual, whose being is never stilled by the pursuit of propensity, and one is so pure-hearted that he feels no craving even for the barest necessities of the body; one's being is so greedy that the world's money will not satisfy him, as the subject is spoken of: "He that loveth silver shall not be satisfied with silver" (Ecc. 5.10); and one's being is so restrained that he considers enough even part of the little which is insufficient for his need and he will not pursue to attain all needs; one suffers hunger in his effort of hoarding and does not eat a cent's worth of his own without great torture to himself, and another wastes his money with his own hand deliberately. And of such ways are all the rest of the tendencies, as the optimist and pessimist, miser and philanthropist, cruel and merciful, coward and stout-hearted and the like.