Know
Today
and
Reply
to
Your
Heart
Article
No.
17,
1985
It
is
written
in
The
Zohar,
Vaera
(item
89):
“Rabbi
Elazar
started
and
said,
‘Know
today
and
reply
to
your
heart
that
the
Lord,
He
is
God.’
He
asks,
‘It
should
have
said,
‘Know
this
day
that
the
Lord,
He
is
God,’
and
in
the
end,
‘And
reply
to
your
heart,’
since
knowing
that
the
Lord
is
God
qualifies
him
to
respond
so
to
the
heart.’
He
answers,
‘But
Moses
said,
‘If
you
want
to
insist
on
it
and
know
‘that
the
Lord
is
God,’
then
‘reply
to
your
heart.’
Thus,
we
cannot
know
‘that
the
Lord,
he
is
God,”
except
by
replying
to
the
heart.’
This
is
why
the
text
first
brings
‘reply
to
your
heart,’
to
know
by
this
that
‘the
Lord
he
is
God.’”
We
should
interpret
this
in
the
work.
The
order
of
the
work
is
not
what
seems
logical,
as
is
the
view
of
the
nations
of
the
world—first
“we
will
hear,”
and
then
“we
will
do.”
Rather,
first
“we
will
do,”
and
then
“we
will
hear,”
as
Israel
said,
“We
will
do
and
we
will
hear.”
Our
sages
said
(Shabbat,
88),
“When
Israel
preceded
doing
to
hearing,
a
voice
came
out
and
told
them,
‘Who
told
my
sons
this
secret,
which
the
ministering
angels
used?’”
It
follows
that
by
saying,
“We
will
do
and
we
will
hear,”
they
became
similar
to
the
ministering
angels
and
not
to
people.
We
should
understand
the
reason
for
this:
An
angel
is
called
a
“messenger.”
There
are
two
types
of
angels:
1)
Those
who
do
not
mind
what
the
sender
tells
them
to
do
and
take
no
interest
in
the
act
itself.
Similarly,
one
who
gives
a
package
to
give
to
another
is
not
interested
in
the
content
of
the
package
or
the
connection
between
the
sender
of
the
object
and
the
messenger.
But
if
he
wants
to
carry
out
the
sender’s
instructions
he
does
it
willingly.
Certainly,
the
messenger
receives
some
reward
for
this
action,
and
this
is
called
“serving
the
rav
[great
one/teacher]
in
order
to
receive
reward.”
2)
Sometimes,
if
the
sender
is
an
important
person,
his
reward
is
the
privilege
of
serving
the
rav,
and
he
does
not
need
any
other
reward,
called
a
“prize.”
It
follows
that
the
messenger
has
no
interest
or
need
to
know
the
connection
between
the
sender,
who
is
sending
the
object
to
the
receiver
of
the
object.
Also,
he
has
no
need
to
know
what
is
the
object,
meaning
what
is
in
that
package
that
he
has
received
from
the
sender
to
bring
to
this
or
that
person.
This
is
the
meaning
of
“we
will
do,”
like
a
messenger
who
is
not
interested
at
all,
since
we
want
to
serve
the
king,
to
give
him
pleasure,
and
our
pleasure
is
in
having
the
possibility
to
serve
him.
This
is
the
meaning
of
being
an
angel,
meaning
a
messenger.
“We
will
hear”
means
that
he
already
listens
and
understand
the
matter
through
and
through.
That
is,
at
that
time
he
is
not
regarded
as
an
angel,
a
messenger.
Rather,
at
that
time
he
becomes
the
receiver
of
the
gift
from
the
messenger.
And
then
it
is
not
regarded
as
messenger
and
sender,
but
as
receiver
and
giver,
since
he
knows
what
is
in
that
package
because
the
giver
wants
him
to
receive
the
package
and
see
the
importance
of
the
gift
he
is
giving
him.
According
to
the
above
we
can
interpret
that
the
meaning
of
“reply
to
your
heart”
as
“we
will
do,”
which
is
faith
above
reason.
Afterwards
we
can
be
rewarded
with
“the
Lord,
He
is
God,”
which
is
“we
shall
hear.”
An
act
means
potential
action,
when
he
has
nothing
to
reply
to
the
body’s
question.
He
sees
that
what
the
body
is
asking
is
a
correct
question,
to
which
he
has
no
answer.
At
that
time
there
is
no
room
for
deliberation
because
it
is
asking
correct
questions.
At
that
time
there
is
only
one
answer:
“above
reason.”
That
is,
although
the
body
objects
to
all
the
things
he
wants
to
do
for
the
Creator,
he
should
say,
“a
Mitzva
[good
deed]
induces
a
Mitzva.”
And
since
he
has
one
Mitzva,
which
he
always
keeps,
the
Mitzva
of
circumcision,
a
Mitzva
that
the
body
cannot
resist,
if
he
can
be
happy
with
one
thing,
even
that
he
is
keeping
the
Creator’s
commandment,
if
he
is
thinking
about
keeping
this
Mitzva,
of
which
the
body
has
no
opinion,
by
that
he
can
reawaken
his
work
and
toil
diligently
once
again,
as
he
did
prior
to
the
descent.
However,
we
must
know
that
each
ascent
is
a
new
thing.
That
is,
when
a
person
ascends,
he
does
not
return
to
the
previous
state.
Rather,
it
is
always
a
new
discernment,
as
the
ARI
says,
“One
day
is
not
like
another;
and
one
moment
is
not
like
another;
and
one
cannot
correct
that
which
one’s
friend
will
correct.”
By
that
we
can
interpret
what
our
sages
said
(Minchot
43),
“When
David
entered
the
bath-house
and
saw
himself
standing
naked,
he
said,
‘Woe
unto
me
for
I
am
standing
naked,
without
Mitzvot
[good
deeds/corrections].’
When
he
remembered
the
Mitzva
of
circumcision
in
his
flesh,
his
mind
was
eased.
When
he
came
out
he
said
a
psalm
about
it,
as
it
was
said,
‘To
the
chief
musician
on
the
eighth,’
concerning
the
circumcision,
which
was
given
on
the
eighth.”
We
should
interpret
that
a
bath-house
is
when
a
person
comes
to
purify
himself.
A
state
of
purity
is
called
“bath-house.”
At
that
time,
when
he
looks
at
himself,
at
how
much
Torah
and
Mitzvot
he
has,
and
of
which
he
can
say
he
did
for
the
Creator,
he
sees
himself
as
naked.
This
concerns
the
past.
Afterwards
he
looks
at
the
present
and
sees
that
now,
too,
he
does
not
want
to
do
anything
in
order
to
bestow.
This
is
the
meaning
of
the
words,
“Woe
unto
me
for
I
am
standing
naked,
without
Mitzvot.”
“When
he
remembered
the
Mitzva
of
circumcision
in
his
flesh,
his
mind
was
eased,”
since
due
in
the
commandment
of
circumcision
he
had
no
foreign
thoughts
because
the
view
of
the
infant
did
not
participate
during
the
circumcision.
Now,
on
the
basis
of
the
circumcision,
he
begins
to
build
the
order
of
his
work,
meaning
that
it
will
be
above
reason,
too.
“When
he
came
out
he
said
a
psalm
about
it.”
That
is,
once
he
was
out
of
his
state,
meaning
during
the
ascent,
regarded
as
coming
out
of
the
bath-house,
when
he
has
been
purified,
“He
said
a
psalm
about
it,”
since
he
built
the
whole
structure
henceforth
on
that
basis
of
above
reason,
since
the
first
Mitzva
he
had
was
above
his
reason.
This
is
why
we
should
interpret
that
he
“saw
himself
standing
naked”
means
that
he
had
no
desire
to
do
Mitzvot.
Thus,
he
had
no
connection
to
Kedusha
[holiness],
since
the
body
resisted
anything
of
Kedusha.
But
“he
remembered
the
Mitzva
of
circumcision
in
his
flesh,”
to
which
the
body
cannot
resist.
Even
those
who
circumcised
themselves,
although
they
had
choice
while
they
were
circumcising
themselves,
at
the
time
they
were
in
ascent,
or
they
would
not
circumcise
themselves.
Afterwards,
during
the
descent,
they
no
longer
had
choice
concerning
the
circumcision.
But
women,
who
do
not
need
to
circumcise
their
bodies,
with
what
can
they
overcome?
It
is
possible
because
of
Arvut
[mutual
guarantee],
that
“Israel
are
responsible
for
one
another.”
That
Mitzva
was
literally
carved
in
his
flesh,
meaning
in
his
body,
and
not
in
a
practical
Mitzva,
which
is
from
the
externality
of
his
body.
“His
mind
was
eased,”
meaning
that
in
such
a
state
of
descent
he
is
still
connected
to
the
commandments
of
the
Creator.
This
can
give
him
room
to
build
his
structure
of
Kedusha
and
say
to
his
body,
“You
cannot
bring
me
to
despair,
since
you
see
that
you
are
detached
from
the
whole
issue
of
Torah
and
Mitzvot,
and
you
have
no
desire,
so
why
are
you
still
dreaming
that
it
is
possible
that
the
Creator
will
bring
you
closer
than
others?
You
see
that
you
are
worse
than
others,
so
where
do
you
get
this
insolence
that
He
should
bring
you
closer,
to
walk
on
the
path
of
truth,
which
is
to
bestow
and
not
receive
anything,
when
you
see
that
your
body
doesn’t
even
agree
to
engage
in
Torah
and
Mitzvot
Lo
Lishma
[not
for
Her
sake]?”
To
this
comes
the
answer
that
the
Creator
deliberately
left
a
Mitzva
in
your
body,
so
you
will
be
able
to
see
that
there
is
still
something
that
connects
you
to
the
Creator,
meaning
the
Mitzva
of
circumcision,
which
you
cannot
cancel.
This
is
the
meaning
of
saying,
“The
outcast
shall
not
be
outcast
from
Him.”
Rather,
everyone
will
approach
the
Creator.
This
is
why
his
mind
was
appeased
by
this,
for
he
began
to
build
all
of
his
reason
on
the
circumcision
in
his
flesh.
This
is
the
circumcision
that
was
given
on
the
eighth,
since
Bina
is
called
“eighth,”
which
is
covered
Hassadim,
meaning
above
reason.