What
Is
the
Difference
between
Law
and
Judgment
in
the
Work?
Article
No.
26,
1988
It
is
known
that
“law”
means
without
intellect,
meaning
above
reason.
That
is,
there
is
no
reasonable
way
to
answer
why
this
was
done
this
way,
or
why
it
should
be
done
this
way,
in
the
way
and
manner
that
the
Torah
requires
of
us.
For
example,
our
sages
said
(Minchot
29b),
“Rav
Yehuda
said,
‘Rav
said,
‘When
Moses
went
to
heaven,
he
found
the
Creator
sitting
and
tying
crowns
to
the
letters.
He
said
to
Him:
‘Master
of
the
world,
who
is
holding
You
back?’
(RASHI
interprets
that
‘crowns’
are
like
the
tags
[markings]
in
a
book
of
Torah.
‘Who
is
holding
You
back?’
refers
to
what
You
wrote,
that
You
must
add
tags
to
them).
He
told
him,
‘In
a
few
generations
time,
there
will
be
a
man
whose
name
is
Akiva
Ben
Yosef.
He
will
interpret
myriad
laws
over
each
and
every
dot.’
He
said
to
Him:
‘Master
of
the
world,
you
have
such
a
person,
yet
You
are
giving
the
Torah
through
me?’
He
replied,
‘Be
quiet!
Such
was
My
thought.’
He
said
to
Him:
‘Master
of
the
world,
You
showed
me
his
Torah
[law],
show
me
his
reward.’
He
saw
that
his
flesh
was
being
weighed
in
a
slaughterhouse.
(RASHI
interprets
that
this
is
the
place
where
butchers
weigh
meat,
as
said
in
Berachot,
p
61,
that
his
flesh
was
combed
with
iron
combs.)
He
said
to
Him:
‘Master
of
the
world,
this
is
the
Torah,
and
is
this
its
reward?’
He
replied,
‘Be
quiet!
Such
was
My
thought.’’’”
We
see
Moses’
above
reason
in
two
ways:
1)
Above
reason
that
the
Creator
gave
to
Moses,
as
it
is
written,
“Moses
will
delight
with
the
gift
of
his
lot,
the
gift
of
the
Torah
that
will
come
through
him,
which
is
certainly
only
the
salvation
of
the
Lord.”
A
person
does
not
know
why
he
deserves
such
a
great
gift.
That
is,
Moses
saw
that
this
was
not
according
to
his
actions.
In
his
view,
the
Torah
should
have
been
given
through
Rabbi
Akiva
and
not
through
him.
2)
Above
reason
in
the
opposite
way:
Moses
asked,
“This
is
the
Torah,
and
is
this
its
reward?”
It
seems
to
be
a
punishment.
Above
reason,
he
had
to
say
that
this
was
a
reward
and
not
a
punishment,
as
Moses
thought.
This
is
called
“the
law
of
above
reason,”
which
the
mind
cannot
attain.
It
follows
that
when
a
person
takes
upon
himself
the
burden
of
the
kingdom
of
heaven,
the
body
asks,
“What
will
you
get
out
of
it?”
There
should
be
two
answers
to
this:
1)
Lo
Lishma
[not
for
Her
sake].
That
is,
a
person
should
make
up
for
himself
some
answer
that
the
body
will
understand
with
its
reason
that
the
goal
is
worthwhile.
This
is
called
Lo
Lishma
and
it
is
called
“within
reason.”
As
we
explained
(Essay
No.
23,
Tav-Shin-Mem-Het),
we
should
discern
five
manners
in
Lo
Lishma,
and
a
person
should
sort
out
the
Lo
Lishma
in
the
state
that
he
is
in,
so
the
body
will
understand
that
it
is
worthwhile
to
work
because
of
the
Lo
Lishma,
that
now
it
understands
that
it
is
worthwhile.
In
this
manner,
he
will
have
fuel
for
work
and
he
will
always
have
a
place
to
work.
However,
a
person
should
also
try
to
begin
to
work
and
seek
tactics
by
which
to
get
to
Lishma
[for
Her
sake],
since
a
person
does
not
know
what
is
Lishma.
Its
literal
meaning
is
“to
work
for
the
sake
of
the
Creator,”
and
who
does
not
know
what
is
to
work
for
the
sake
of
the
Creator?
Still,
before
a
person
begins
to
engage
in
work
in
order
to
achieve
this
“for
the
sake
of
the
Creator,”
he
cannot
know
what
“for
the
sake
of
the
Creator”
means,
since
in
the
work,
what
counts
is
the
feeling,
not
the
intellect.
For
this
reason,
any
person
who
wants
to
achieve
Lishma
must
take
time,
part
of
his
workday,
meaning
his
Lo
Lishma,
and
begin
to
work
on
Lishma.
Then
he
will
understand
the
meaning
of
“above
reason,”
meaning
that
the
body
does
not
understand
why
it
needs
to
work
for
the
sake
of
the
Creator.
At
that
time,
he
also
begins
to
understand
what
it
means
that
a
person
must
believe
above
reason.
Conversely,
in
Lo
Lishma,
it
is
not
so
difficult
to
believe
in
the
Creator
since
the
body
understands
that
it
is
worthwhile
to
observe
Torah
and
Mitzvot,
as
it
is
written
(Essay
No.
23,
Tav-Shin-Mem-Het)
that
there
are
five
manners
of
Lo
Lishma,
and
when
the
body
finds
something
for
which
it
is
worthwhile
to
observe
Torah
and
Mitzvot
[commandments/good
deeds],
it
is
regarded
as
“working
within
reason.”
Since
the
body
understands
within
reason
that
the
matter
is
worthwhile,
that
he
will
gain
more
by
being
secular,
meaning
that
his
body
will
enjoy
more
than
one
who
does
not
observe
Torah
and
Mitzvot,
for
this
reason,
the
Lo
Lishma
is
called
“within
reason,”
meaning
that
the
need
for
it
makes
sense.
But
if
he
takes
some
of
the
time
he
has
dedicated
to
Torah
and
work
on
the
basis
of
Lo
Lishma,
for
example
half
an
hour
a
day,
and
begins
to
ponder
whether
it
is
worthwhile
to
work
for
the
sake
of
the
Creator,
meaning
not
for
his
own
benefit.
Then,
the
body
begins
to
ask
the
person
Pharaoh’s
question,
who
said,
“Who
is
the
Lord
that
I
should
obey
His
voice?”
We
should
ask,
How
come
before
he
began
to
think
of
working
Lishma,
he
was
content
with
faith
in
the
Creator
and
the
body
did
not
ask
those
questions,
whereas
now
that
he
is
thinking
only
about
walking
on
the
path
of
bestowal,
the
body
begins
to
ask
such
questions?
The
answer
is
that
we
see
that
when
a
person
works
for
an
employer,
we
should
consider
who
is
the
employer
and
what
is
the
salary
that
the
employer
pays.
However,
although
he
wants
to
know
the
employer,
it
does
not
matter.
That
is,
even
if
he
never
sees
the
employer,
but
he
is
confident
about
the
reward,
a
person
agrees
to
work.
Moreover,
even
if
he
is
told
that
he
will
never
see
the
employer,
it
will
still
not
matter.
Rather,
what
matters
is
the
salary.
This
determines
if
the
work
is
worthwhile.
But
if
a
person
is
told,
“There
is
an
important
person
here
who
needs
people
to
work
for
him.
However,
he
does
not
pay
anything
for
the
work.”
In
this
case,
he
needs
to
see
for
whom
he
needs
to
work.
That
is,
he
wants
to
know
if
he
is
really
an
important
person
worth
working
for
without
any
reward.
However,
if
there
are
people
who
respect
him
and
he
sees
that
he
will
be
honored,
meaning
that
people
who
know
the
important
person
will
respect
him
for
his
work
because
he
is
serving
an
important
person,
he
can
work
even
if
he
himself
will
never
see
him
and
will
never
be
able
to
see
if
what
they
say
is
true
so
that
he
will
grasp
his
greatness
and
importance.
This
is
also
because
this
honor
is
not
that
the
important
person
respects
him,
but
he
derives
pleasure
from
people’s
respect
for
him
because
he
is
serving
an
important
person.
It
follows
that
here
it
is
enough
that
he
sees
the
people
who
respect
him,
and
therefore
does
not
have
such
a
great
need
to
see
the
employer.
Rather,
he
is
content
with
knowing
the
people
who
pay
his
salary
through
their
respect
for
him.
That
is,
it
is
enough
for
him
to
see
the
people
who
pay
his
reward,
which
is
called
“respect.”
Conversely,
if
he
is
in
a
place
where
there
are
no
people
who
respect
that
important
person,
meaning
he
sees
that
according
to
the
service
that
people
give
him,
he
sees
that
they
appreciate
him
as
one
who
is
a
little
bit
important,
and
only
a
handful
of
people
regard
him
an
important
person,
but
those
people
are
not
important
in
the
eyes
of
those
who
have
little
regard
for
him.
In
that
state,
a
person
faces
a
dilemma:
Should
he
listen
to
those
people
who
are
not
appreciated
among
the
respected
people?
That
is,
people
of
influence
in
the
general
public
say
that
that
person
should
be
appreciated
because
of
his
importance,
but
only
to
a
degree,
not
simply
admire
him
above
reason,
meaning
more
than
seems
reasonable.
But
a
person
sees
that
the
influential
people
are
the
majority
and
the
most
valued,
and
if
he
listens
to
them,
meaning
serve
him
according
to
their
appreciation
of
him,
these
people
will
respect
him.
Or,
he
should
slightly
obey
those
who
are
not
influential,
or
even
worse,
that
it
is
a
disgrace
to
openly
say
that
he
has
connected
to
these
lowly
people
who
say
that
he
is
an
important
person
and
worth
serving
devotedly.
Since
the
rule
is
that
the
majority
rule
over
the
individual
with
their
views,
when
a
person
begins
to
work
in
order
to
bestow
and
not
accept
any
return,
each
time,
the
majority
view
awakens—perhaps
it
is
not
worthwhile
to
work
and
serve
him
with
his
heart
and
soul.
For
this
reason,
Pharaoh’s
question
awakens
each
time:
“Who
is
the
Lord
that
I
should
obey
His
voice?”
It
follows
that
the
reason
that
the
“who”
question
appeared
is
the
“what”
question,
which
is
the
wicked’s
question.
It
is
written
about
it,
“A
Wicked,
what
does
he
say?
‘What
is
this
work
for
you?’”
That
is,
when
a
person
wants
to
go
against
the
general
public,
who
say
that
they
settle
for
working
Lo
Lishma
because
Lishma
is
for
people
who
can
go
above
reason,
and
we,
the
majority
of
Israel,
settle
for
being
able
to
observe
Torah
and
Mitzvot
with
the
aim
to
benefit
ourselves,
and
doing
everything
with
the
aim
to
benefit
the
Creator
is
no
business
for
us.
Yet,
he
does
want
to
work
in
order
to
bestow
and
not
receive
at
all.
At
that
time
the
body
asks,
“Who
is
the
Lord?”
That
is,
are
you
sure
that
He
is
so
important
that
it
is
worthwhile
to
work
for
Him?
In
other
words,
working
for
respect,
meaning
to
work
in
order
to
be
respected,
does
not
apply
here
because
the
general
public
does
not
appreciate
him
because
he
is
working
in
order
to
bestow.
On
the
contrary,
they
degrade
him
and
say
about
him
that
he
is
a
fool.
For
this
reason,
he
must
establish
the
importance
of
the
Creator
by
himself.
Here
is
where
man’s
ascents
and
descents
begin.
Those
two—the
“who”
and
“what”—come
together
and
ask
him
their
questions,
and
a
person
cannot
always
overcome
them.
It
follows
that
the
main
reason
why
a
person
begins
to
ask
questions,
and
he
is
seemingly
asking
because
he
is
ready
to
do
the
holy
work
and
has
no
lowliness
in
himself,
except
it
is
hard
for
him
to
go
with
faith
above
reason,
this
is
why
he
asks
the
“who”
question.
But
in
truth,
the
questions
arise
out
of
man’s
lowliness,
since
he
is
immersed
in
self-love
and
cannot
overcome
his
self-love.
It
is
human
nature
that
it
is
difficult
for
him
to
say
that
he
is
wrong,
that
he
does
not
have
a
view
about
himself,
but
that
he
follows
his
heart,
as
our
sages
said,
“A
wicked
is
in
the
hands
of
his
heart,”
as
it
is
written,
“And
Haman
said
in
his
heart.”
For
this
reason,
it
is
better
for
him
to
say
that
if
he
knew
the
Creator,
he
would
certainly
serve
the
Creator.
But
since
the
mind
does
not
understand
the
whole
matter
of
faith
above
reason,
it
argues,
“Who
is
the
Lord
that
I
should
obey
His
voice?”
But
in
truth,
his
will
to
receive
claims
that
it
only
wants
to
understand
if
this
is
true,
and
wants
an
answer
to
the
question,
“Who
is
the
Lord
that
I
should
obey
His
voice?”
That
is,
when
we
say
to
the
body
that
we
need
to
work
for
the
sake
of
the
Creator
and
not
for
our
own
sake,
this
is
why
he
asks
the
“Who
is
the
Lord”
question.
But
when
he
worked
with
the
intention
Lo
Lishma,
he
did
not
need
to
ask
the
“Who
is
the
Lord”
question,
since
the
work
Lo
Lishma
is
within
reason.
Hence,
the
acceptance
of
faith
is
also
within
reason
for
him.
That
is,
both
the
mind
and
the
heart
are
built
above
reason,
and
both
need
the
Creator’s
help
in
order
to
be
rewarded
with
mind
and
heart.
It
follows
that
“law”
means
that
it
is
above
reason,
and
the
intention
pertains
to
faith,
and
by
faith
above
reason
he
becomes
Israel.
Conversely,
before
he
was
rewarded
with
faith
above
reason,
he
is
regarded
only
as
“sacred
still,”
called
“dust.”
That
is,
he
still
tastes
in
the
spirituality
that
he
attains
the
taste
of
dust.
This
is
called
“Shechina
[Divinity]
in
the
dust.”
This
is
so
as
long
as
he
does
not
accept
above
reason.
This
is
as
we
said
above,
that
we
must
ask
the
Creator
to
give
us
the
strength
to
be
able
to
go
above
reason
and
not
be
enslaved
to
our
reason.
Conversely,
the
Torah
is
called
“judgment,”
which
is
specifically
within
reason.
In
other
words,
he
must
understand
the
Torah,
called
“the
names
of
the
Creator.”
However,
it
is
impossible
to
attain
the
Torah,
called
“within
reason,”
before
he
is
rewarded
with
“Israel,”
as
it
is
written
(Hagigah
13a),
“Rabbi
Ami
said,
‘One
does
not
deliver
words
of
Torah
to
idol-worshippers,
as
it
was
said,
‘He
did
not
do
so
to
any
nation,
and
they
do
not
know
the
ordinances.’’”
From
this
we
see
two
things:
1)
The
Torah
is
called
“judgment,”
as
it
is
written,
“and
they
do
not
know
the
ordinances.”
2)
It
is
forbidden
to
teach
judgments,
meaning
Torah,
to
idol-worshippers.
The
question
is,
Why
is
it
forbidden
to
teach
an
idol-worshipper
Torah
if
he
wants
to
learn?
It
stands
to
reason
that
it
should
be
to
the
contrary:
By
learning,
there
will
be
sanctification
of
the
Creator.
That
is,
even
the
idol-worshipper
will
acknowledge
the
importance
of
the
Torah,
so
why
the
prohibition?
We
should
interpret
this
in
the
work.
It
means
that
idol-worshippers
and
Israel
are
in
the
same
person.
Before
one
is
rewarded
with
the
law,
called
“faith
above
reason,”
he
is
still
not
called
“Israel,”
who
can
attain
the
Torah
as
“the
names
of
the
Creator,”
regarded
as
“within
reason.”
In
the
work,
there
is
a
rule
that
Baal
HaSulam
said,
that
where
it
is
written
“forbidden,”
it
means
“impossible.”
This
is
the
meaning
of
the
Torah
being
given
specifically
to
Israel,
since
Israel
is
the
quality
of
Yashar-El
[straight
to
the
Creator],
which
means
that
all
his
actions
are
for
the
sake
of
the
Creator.
This
is
called
Dvekut
[adhesion],
“equivalence
of
form.”
When
a
person
is
rewarded
with
this
law,
then
comes
the
time
when
he
can
be
rewarded
with
the
judgment
called
Torah.
This
is
the
meaning
of
the
Torah
being
given
only
to
Israel.
It
therefore
follows
that
“judgment”
is
the
first
nine
Sefirot,
which
is
regarded
as
the
Torah.
This
is
received
within
reason.
It
is
as
our
sages
said
(Baba
Metzia
59b),
“Rabbi
Yehoshua
stood
on
his
feet
and
said,
‘She
is
not
in
heaven.’
Rabbi
Yirmiah
said,
‘For
the
Torah
has
already
been
given
on
Mount
Sinai.’”
By
this
we
will
understand
the
side-locks,
which
are
like
the
edges
of
the
field.
We
must
leave
a
side-lock,
as
the
ARI
wrote
(The
Study
of
the
Ten
Sefirot,
Part
13),
“Malchut
de
Galgalta
is
called
Pe’ah
[side-lock].
This
is
known
from
the
words,
‘You
shall
not
reap
the
sides
of
your
field.
Leave
them
for
the
poor
and
for
the
stranger.’
Malchut
is
the
last
of
them,
like
the
edge
of
the
field
that
remains
after
the
harvest.
Likewise,
after
one
shaves
the
hair
of
the
head,
which
is
like
the
harvesting
of
the
field,
one
should
leave
the
side-lock,
which
is
as
the
Malchut
of
the
hair.
It
follows
that
the
Pe’ah
[side-lock]
is
forever
Malchut.”
Accordingly,
we
see
in
the
words
of
the
ARI
that
he
likens
the
reaping
of
the
field
to
the
shaving
of
the
hair
of
the
head.
A
person
must
not
receive
for
himself
the
Pe’ah,
which
implies
Malchut.
Rather,
both
on
the
field
and
on
the
hair
of
the
head,
the
Pe’ah
must
be
kept,
implying
Malchut.
The
meaning
is
that
Malchut
is
regarded
as
faith
above
reason,
when
a
person
has
no
clue.
This
is
the
intimation
that
a
person
has
no
permission
to
receive
into
his
reason,
but
that
he
must
leave
this
to
the
Creator.
That
is,
a
person’s
hand
does
not
reach
there,
and
“hand”
means
“attainment,”
from
the
word
“If
a
hand
attains.”
This
is
called
“law.”
Conversely,
the
Torah,
which
pertains
to
the
upper
nine,
is
regarded
as
“judgment,”
which
pertains
specifically
to
man.
That
is,
he
must
attain
this
within
reason,
as
was
said
about
the
Torah,
“She
is
not
in
heaven.”
This
means
that
the
field,
except
for
the
Pe’ah
of
the
field,
is
called
“the
upper
nine,”
regarded
as
the
Torah,
which
pertains
to
man.
But
the
Pe’ah
of
the
field
and
the
Pe’ah
of
the
head
imply
Malchut
and
pertain
only
to
the
Creator,
meaning
above
human
reason.
This
is
called
“entirely
for
the
Creator,
and
man’s
hand
does
not
attain
there
at
all.”
The
Torah
is
the
opposite.
It
pertains
specifically
to
people,
to
accept
it
within
reason.
This
is
the
difference
between
Torah
and
Mitzva
[commandment/good
deed].
Concerning
the
Mitzva,
we
were
not
given
the
reasons
for
the
Mitzvot.
Rather,
we
accept
the
Mitzvot
without
any
rhyme
or
reason,
but
as
a
constitution.
But
the
Torah,
our
sages
said,
is
named
after
man.
That
is,
the
Torah
pertains
to
man.
The
question
is
that
once
it
is
written,
“He
desires
the
Torah
of
the
Lord,”
and
another
time,
it
is
written,
“He
will
contemplate
His
Torah
day
and
night.”
They
interpret,
first
it
is
called
“the
Torah
of
the
Lord,”
and
once
he
has
learned
it
and
has
internalized
it,
it
is
called
“his
Torah.”
This
is
why
Raba
said,
“The
Torah
is
not
his,
for
it
is
written,
and
he
will
contemplate
His
Torah
day
and
night”
(Kidushin
32b).
We
see
that
the
Torah
is
named
after
man.
That
is,
it
must
come
within
reason.
This
is
called
“judgment,”
the
opposite
of
“law,”
which
is
faith.
However,
this
work
of
faith,
which
is
regarded
as
Tzedakah
[righteousness/charity]
and
not
Torah,
should
be
with
joy,
as
it
is
written,
“Serve
the
Lord
with
joy.”
In
other
words,
a
person
taking
on
himself
the
kingdom
of
heaven
should
be
with
joy.
He
must
not
look
at
the
nature
of
humans,
that
it
is
hard
for
him
to
go
against
the
intellect,
and
that
instead,
he
wants
to
understand
and
to
know
what
he
wants.
And
since
a
person
cannot
immediately
assume
this
work
of
acceptance
of
faith
above
reason,
so
it
will
give
him
joy,
we
must
begin
this
work
coercively,
even
though
the
body
disagrees.
This
is
regarded
as
a
person
having
to
“take
upon
himself
the
burden
of
the
kingdom
of
heaven
as
an
ox
to
the
burden
and
as
a
donkey
to
the
load.”
However,
one
must
know
that
he
must
achieve
the
degree
of
joy
upon
assumption
of
the
kingdom
of
heaven.
It
is
as
we
say
after
reading
Shema
Israel
[Hear,
O
Israel],
“And
you
will
love
the
Lord.”
This
means
that
although
a
person
begins
coercively,
he
must
come
to
a
state
of
joy,
and
then
he
will
not
feel
“like
an
ox
to
the
burden,”
which
always
wants
to
throw
away
the
burden
because
it
cannot
stand
it.
Conversely,
when
he
is
glad
about
it,
it
cannot
be
said
that
he
regards
it
as
a
burden.
Now
we
can
interpret
the
meaning
of
the
“red
cow
on
which
no
burden
has
been
placed.”
Since
a
red
cow
is
called
a
“law,”
which
is
Malchut,
it
is
written,
“on
which
no
burden
has
been
placed.”
A
“burden”
means
that
he
is
still
not
in
gladness
and
still
cannot
observe,
“And
you
will
love
the
Lord
your
God
with
all
your
heart
and
with
all
your
soul.”