We are Both God’s
Servants and His Children. How Do We
Relate as Servants? How Do We Relate as
Children?
In this week’s parsha, God’s calls us His servants, “כִּי־לִי בְנֵי־יִשְׂרָאֵל עֲבָדִים
עֲבָדַי הֵם .../For the children of Israel are servants to me, they are my
servants …” (VaYikra 25:55) Yet,
Moshe Rabbeinu at the end of his life told the nation, “בָּנִים אַתֶּם לַה' אֱ-לֹהֵיכֶם .../You are children
to God your Lord …” (Devarim 14:1)
In what respect are we servants and in what respect are we
children? How can our relationship with
God reflect that of servants and children at the same time?
The Zohar[1] in
this week’s parsha addresses these questions and explains that a servant is
required to do his master’s bidding whether or not he understands the reasoning
behind it. A son, on the other hand, is
permitted and in fact encouraged to search and understand the mysteries and
secrets of his father.
The Zohar is teaching us that we are required to serve God
both as servants and as sons. As
servants, we are required to learn the plain meaning of the Torah in order to
know how to fulfill the mitzvos. Even if
we do not understand the reasons for the mitzvos we are enjoined to fulfill them
simply because they are God’s decrees.
As God’s beloved children, though, we are encouraged to delve into the
mysteries of the Torah, to try our best to understand the Torah at deeper levels.
The Sfas Emes delves deeper into the nature of our
relationship with God as reflected in the servant approach and the child
approach. The Sfas Emes notes that it is
a difficult task for a servant to fulfill his master’s bidding without knowing
the reasoning underlying the request. A
son, on the other hand, more easily understands his father. A son, unlike a servant, is naturally drawn
after his father. It does not take a lot
for the son to understand his father’s reasons or to agree with them. They are almost his own.
The Sfas Emes teaches us that this dichotomy between the
“servant” approach to learning Torah and performing the mitzvos and the “son”
approach, is apparent in the difference between Shabbos and the days of the
week.
During the week it is difficult to be sensitive to the
Godliness that permeates everything in the Creation. Godliness is more concealed during the week
and more revealed on Shabbos. Also, we
are busy during the week with our own issues.
Nevertheless, we must work at overcoming our own desires and God’s
concealment, cultivate a strong belief that God permeates the Creation and
strive to fulfill His will. This is not
an easy task. The Sfas Emes relates it
to the “servant” approach of serving God.
Just as the servant needs to fulfill his master’s wishes even though he
may not understand them, so too, must we fulfill God’s wishes even though He is
not revealed to us. Both require
work. Significantly, the Hebrew for
servant – עֶבֶד
– has the same root as the word for work – עֲבוֹדָה.
On Shabbos it is far easier to experience the spiritual. Chazal[2]
quote God as saying, “I have a good gift in my treasure house and it is called
Shabbos.” A treasure house is generally
a hidden place. One does not open his
treasure house to the world. God’s
treasure house is a metaphor for the hidden spiritual light that is inherent in
the Creation. When God says that His
treasure house contains Shabbos, He is alluding to the spiritual light that is hidden
during the week and more easily revealed on Shabbos.
The Sfas Emes relates Shabbos to the “son” approach of
serving God because a son is close to his father and more easily understands
him. Like the relationship between a son
and his father, on Shabbos it easier for us to approach God and experience Him,
to understand His mysteries and secrets than during the week.
May we merit fulfilling the dictate of the Zohar, serving God
both as servants, because He decreed it, and as children, delving into His
mysteries and secrets.
