Concerning
Respecting
the
Father
Article
No.
5,
1986
It
is
written
in
the
holy
Zohar
(Vayera,
item
141):
“Rabbi
Shimon
started
and
said,
‘A
son
honors
his
father,
and
a
servant
his
master.’
‘A
son
honors
his
father’
is
Isaac
with
respect
to
Abraham.
He
asks,
‘When
did
he
honor
him?
When
he
tied
him
at
the
altar
…
and
he
did
not
resist
doing
his
father’s
will.’
‘And
a
servant
[honors]
his
master’
is
Eliezer
with
respect
to
Abraham.
When
he
sent
Eliezer
to
Haran,
who
did
there
all
that
Abraham
wished,
he
honored
him,
as
it
is
written,
‘And
the
Lord
has
blessed
my
master.’
And
it
is
written,
‘He
said:
‘I
am
Abraham's
servant,’’
to
honor
Abraham.
Indeed,
a
man
who
brings
silver
and
gold
and
gems
and
camels,
and
who
is
respectable
and
handsome,
did
not
say
that
he
was
Abraham’s
beloved
or
his
kin.
Rather,
he
said,
‘I
am
Abraham's
servant,’
to
raise
Abraham's
merit
and
honor
in
their
eyes.”
(In
item
145)
He
says,
“This
is
why
it
is
written,
‘A
son
honors
his
father,
and
a
servant
his
master.’
And
you,
Israel,
My
sons,
it
is
a
disgrace
for
you
to
say
that
I
am
your
father
or
that
you
are
My
servants.
‘If
I
am
a
father,
where
is
My
honor?
And
if
I
am
a
master,
where
is
the
fear
of
Me?’”
We
should
understand
the
words
of
the
holy
Zohar
when
it
says
that
“The
Lord
says,
‘And
you,
Israel,
My
sons,
it
is
a
disgrace
for
you
to
say
that
I
am
your
father.’”
This
implies
that
we
need
to
tell
someone
that
the
Creator
is
our
father,
but
we
cannot
say
it
because
we
are
ashamed.
So
we
must
know
to
whom
we
are
to
say
that
He
is
our
father.
We
must
also
know
what
is
the
shame
for
which
we
are
unable
to
say
it,
as
it
is
written,
“It
is
a
disgrace
for
you.”
This
is
generally
perplexing.
After
all,
each
day
we
say,
“Our
father,
our
King.”
And
during
the
Eighteen
Prayer
we
say,
“Return
us,
our
Father,
to
Your
law,”
so
to
whom
else
are
we
to
say
that
the
Creator
is
our
father
and
we
are
ashamed
to
say
it,
and
for
which
the
Creator
is
angry
and
says,
“If
I
am
a
father,
where
is
My
honor?”
We
should
interpret
this:
We
need
to
say
that
“The
Lord
is
our
father”
relates
to
the
Creator.
We
always
say,
“Our
Father,
Our
King,”
and
for
this
the
Creator
is
angry:
how
are
you
not
ashamed
to
say
to
Me
that
I
am
your
father
while
you
show
Me
no
respect,
as
it
is
said,
“If
I
am
a
father,
where
is
My
honor?”
That
is,
the
Creator
says
it
is
a
disgrace
for
you
to
call
Me
“Our
Father,”
and
I
see
that
to
you,
My
honor
is
in
the
ground,
which
is
called
“Shechina
[Divinity]
in
the
dust.”
Thus,
how
are
you
not
ashamed
to
call
Me
“Our
Father”?
“And
if
I
am
a
master,
where
is
the
fear
of
Me?”
You
say
that
you
are
all
servants
of
the
Creator,
but
I
do
not
see
that
you
have
fear,
meaning
the
fear
of
heaven
that
you
should
take
upon
yourselves.
A
servant
is
one
has
no
authority
of
one’s
own,
as
our
sages
said,
“He
who
has
bought
a
slave
has
bought
his
Rav.”
Rather,
he
is
annulled
before
the
master,
and
all
that
he
receives
from
the
master
is
only
so
he
can
serve
the
master
and
not
for
himself.
But
I
see
that
you
are
taking
the
opposite
route.
That
is,
you
want
Me
to
serve
you,
meaning
that
I
will
satisfy
your
self-love,
and
all
you
are
coming
to
ask
of
Me
is
how
to
increase
your
authority.
That
is,
you
are
the
masters
and
I
am
your
servant,
and
you
walk
around
all
day
with
complaints
about
Me
that
I
owe
you
and
that
if
you
could
receive
from
Me
by
force
you
certainly
would.
What
did
the
Creator
do
so
they
would
not
receive
by
force?
He
did
something
small:
He
created
darkness
in
the
world,
called
“concealment,”
in
case
the
creatures
are
unwilling
to
be
servants
and
work
for
Him,
called
“receiving
in
order
to
bestow
contentment
upon
one’s
Maker,”
as
our
sages
said,
“cleave
on
to
His
attributes.”
It
is
known
that
as
long
as
one
is
in
vessels
of
reception,
the
more
one
receives,
the
worse
one
is,
meaning
farther
from
the
Creator.
Therefore,
He
has
made
a
great
correction
that
when
the
vessels
of
reception
govern
a
person
he
does
not
see
anything
of
Kedusha
[holiness]
from
which
he
can
derive
pleasures.
Rather,
he
sees
only
those
pleasures
that
he
can
see,
called
“pleasures
of
separation.”
It
is
as
the
holy
ARI
says,
that
the
Klipot
[shells/peels]
were
given
a
slim
illumination
for
all
the
corporeal
pleasures
so
they
may
exist.
This
light
of
corporeality
is
all
that
we
can
see
as
having
pleasure.
But
over
spirituality
lies
a
cloud
of
darkness
that
covers
all
the
spiritual
pleasures.
Thus,
they
do
not
receive
by
force
when
the
landlord
does
not
want
to
give
because
they
see
no
pleasures.
Hence,
those
whose
wish
is
only
self-love
flee
from
any
true
thing
where
there
is
delight
and
pleasure
because
darkness
covers
the
earth.
For
this
reason,
a
person
cannot
begin
to
work
Lishma
[for
Her
sake]
right
away,
but
must
begin
in
Lo
Lishma
[not
for
Her
sake].
In
Lishma,
which
is
the
true
way,
the
body
must
flee
from
this
work,
as
every
kind
goes
to
its
kind.
Since
man
was
created
with
vessels
of
reception
in
order
to
receive,
when
he
sees
a
thought,
word,
or
action
that
does
not
yield
anything
for
his
vessels
of
reception,
he
promptly
flees
from
them
because
this
is
not
his
kind.
His
kind
is
the
nature
in
which
he
was
created—receiving
in
order
to
receive,
and
not
to
give
anything.
In
order
for
a
person
who
begins
the
work
of
the
Creator
not
to
flee
from
the
work
of
bestowal
because
this
is
not
his
kind,
we
must
begin
with
Lo
Lishma.
That
is,
he
keeps
the
Torah
and
Mitzvot
[commandments]
that
the
Creator
has
commanded
us
in
return
for
reward
from
Him
for
our
work.
This
is
so
because
we
could
work
only
for
corporeal
things,
to
make
money
and
gain
respect,
and
enjoy
rest.
We
relinquish
obtaining
money,
honor,
and
other
lusts
that
the
body
requires
of
us
to
do,
and
which
would
delight
us,
and
instead
keep
the
Torah
and
Mitzvot
that
the
Creator
has
commanded
us.
We
see
that
when
we
demand
something
of
the
body,
that
it
will
relinquish
the
pleasures
it
thinks
it
can
enjoy,
it
asks,
“What
will
you
get
out
of
it?”
That
is,
“These
new
works
you
want
to
do,
will
they
give
you
greater
pleasures?
If
not
then
why
do
you
need
to
change
your
work-place?
You
are
used
to
working
for
this
landlord
but
now
you
want
to
work
for
the
Creator
because
He
needs
your
work?
Will
He
pay
you
a
higher
salary,
meaning
more
pleasures?
Will
you
enjoy
more
than
in
the
work
you
are
already
used
to?”
We
should
say
to
it:
“Until
now
we
had
small
gains,
meaning
imaginary
pleasure,
but
now
you
will
make
great
profit
and
your
pleasure
will
be
real
pleasure
because
the
Creator
wishes
to
give
you
a
spiritual
reward.
However,
without
work
it
will
be
bread
of
shame,
which
is
why
we
were
given
Torah
and
Mitzvot,
and
we
must
believe
that
He
will
certainly
pay
us
for
relinquishing
our
needs,
from
which
we
could
enjoy,
in
return
for
a
real
reward,
which
is
a
spiritual
reward.
And
although
we
do
not
know
yet
what
is
spirituality,
we
nonetheless
believe
it
is
a
great
thing
compared
to
which
all
the
corporeal
pleasures
are
as
a
tiny
candle,
as
explained
in
the
words
of
the
ARI,
who
says
that
due
to
the
breaking
of
the
vessels
and
the
sin
of
the
tree
of
knowledge,
sparks
fell
into
the
Klipot
in
order
to
sustain
them,
so
they
would
not
be
cancelled
as
long
as
they
are
needed.
But
the
majority
of
the
delight
and
pleasure
is
found
in
the
worlds
of
Kedusha.
Therefore,
it
is
worthwhile
for
us
to
work
in
Torah
and
Mitzvot
by
which
we
will
be
rewarded
with
the
next
world
in
return
for
our
work
in
Torah
and
Mitzvot.
However,
once
a
person
has
begun
the
work
of
the
Creator
and
wants
to
know
the
real
work,
he
is
told,
“If
I
am
a
master,
where
is
the
fear
of
Me?”
That
is,
the
proper
way
is
for
the
servant
to
work
only
for
the
landlord
and
not
at
all
for
himself.
Yet,
you
are
working
only
in
order
to
be
rewarded
with
the
next
world;
you
want
reward
for
your
work.
The
slave
works
without
any
reward,
and
the
landlord
provides
his
needs
for
him
only
so
the
servant
will
be
able
to
work
for
Him,
but
the
servant
has
no
property
that
can
be
said
to
belong
to
the
servant.
Rather,
there
is
only
one
authority
there—the
authority
of
the
landlord.
Indeed,
all
our
work
in
Torah
and
Mitzvot
should
be
in
order
to
achieve
equivalence
of
form,
which
is
Dvekut
[adhesion]
with
the
Creator.
Engaging
in
Torah
and
Mitzvot
is
not
as
we
thought
before—that
the
Creator
wants
us
to
keep
His
Torah
and
Mitzvot
and
He
will
later
pay
us
for
this.
Rather,
the
Torah
and
Mitzvot
we
were
given
to
keep
is
because
we
need
it!
That
is,
by
keeping
Torah
and
Mitzvot
we
will
receive
the
light
of
the
Torah,
and
through
that
light
we
will
then
be
able
to
achieve
equivalence
of
form
because
the
light
in
it
reforms
him.
Thus,
what
is
the
reward
we
should
ask
for
in
return
for
the
body’s
work?
It
is
that
we
relinquish
the
needs
of
the
body
for
the
purpose
of
keeping
Torah
and
Mitzvot.
It
is
impossible
to
work
without
reward,
since
it
immediately
asks,
“Why
are
you
relinquishing
the
pleasures
that
you
can
enjoy?
What
will
you
gain?”
The
answer
is
that
all
our
gain
is
that
we
are
rewarded
with
serving
the
Creator.
This
is
very
important
because
it
is
true,
meaning
that
he
will
be
rewarded
with
clinging
to
the
King
of
Kings.
But
when
all
the
pleasures
he
has
are
built
on
taking
every
delight
and
pleasure
into
serving
himself,
and
receiving
pleasure
in
clothes
of
reception
pertains
to
animals
and
not
necessarily
to
humans,
the
highest
of
all
creatures,
so
he
enjoys
the
same
dresses
that
animals
enjoy.
This
is
unbecoming
of
him.
Rather,
all
the
dresses
where
man
wants
to
receive
pleasure
should
be
garments
of
vessels
of
bestowal.
That
is,
it
is
impossible
to
work
without
pleasure,
but
he
measures
his
pleasures
in
how
much
he
can
bestow
upon
the
King.
That
is,
if
he
wishes
to
know
how
much
work
he
receives
from
his
work
he
should
not
measure
how
much
he
enjoys
his
work,
meaning
how
much
pleasure
he
derives
from
serving
the
King.
Rather,
he
should
measure
by
actions,
meaning
how
much
he
wants
the
King
to
enjoy
his
work.
It
follows
that
all
of
his
importance
is
in
that
he
is
serving
the
King.
It
follows
that
if
one
wants
to
test
if
he
is
advancing
in
the
work,
he
should
do
it
in
two
ways:
1)
by
looking
at
the
reward
he
hopes
to
receive
from
the
Creator.
If
he
is
receiving
a
greater
reward
each
day
then
the
gauge
is
the
vessels
of
reception.
2)
How
much
he
enjoys
serving
the
Creator,
and
all
his
reward
is
that
he
is
bestowing
upon
the
Creator.
For
example,
if
he
is
serving
the
greatest
man
in
the
country,
he
enjoys
it.
But
if
he
is
serving
the
greatest
in
the
generation,
he
certainly
enjoys
it
more.
Therefore,
he
wants
the
Creator
to
be
greater
and
more
important
in
his
eyes
each
day.
This
is
the
real
measurement.