To my Dear Talmid R’ Immanuel shlit”a, It brought me much joy to hear that you are planning on publishing a sefer of essays on . In this work you present the holy words of and explain them in the only way that their meaning can be properly understood, namely, through the words of the Gedolim of the generations, and . In this sefer you draw upon a unique combination of qualities which have been characteristic of you since your days in our : broad knowledge based on a wide range of sources, depth of thought and a clear and engaging presentation. May you continue to teach and spread , through the oral and written word, in a way which will help others to appreciate both its greatness and its beauty, lehagdil Torah uleha’adirah. haskama

I have seen the wonderful Sefer written by my dear friend Rabbi Immanuel Bernstein shlit”a, elucidations of Torah fundamentals based on the Aggados of Chazal. Rabbi Bernstein has merited to publish a number of high quality sefarim. However, I see exceptional significance in this special work. The sefer allows the English reading public who are seeking authentic Torah ideas and ideals to find them in these pages. The work has been written in a way which is both lucid and accessible, and I am certain that anyone who reads and reflects upon it will reap enormous benefit. It is my bracha to the author shlit”a that Torah knowledge be increased through him, and may he merit always to spread the beauty and grandeur of Torah, in joy and tranquility. With Torah blessings Contents

Acknowledgments 9 Introduction: The World of Aggadah 15 What is Aggadah? / Revealed and Concealed Aggados / Mountains, Ants, Teeth and Axes / Rambam’s Three Groups / Return to Og’s Mountain / Argumentative Waters and Talking Cows / Closed Ideas inside Open Statements / Part of a Bigger Picture / like Coals of Fire / Why Did the Sages Use Allegory? / Is Every Concealed Idea a Secret? / The Goal of Aggadah / The Goal of this Book

Section A. Fundamentals Chapter 1. Free Will 33 A Matter of Circumstance / A Matter of Insight / left with No Choice / Sichon’s Mistake / Virtual Decisions

Chapter 2. Nisayon 44 Flax, Jugs and Cows / The Purpose of Divine Tests / Back to the / Suffering as Nisayon: Between Ruth and Iyov / Avraham’s Final Test / Defying Rome vs. Helping the Poor / The Unlimited Value of Half a Prutah / The Test of Greatness / The Burial of Sarah / Great Principles and Tragic Errors

Chapter 3. Emunah 58 Bribery: The Blinding Effects of Palm Grease / When High Priests Meet Low Temperatures / A Servant’s Quandary / Between the Eye and the Mouth / A Question of Honor / Not a Whole Lot of Sense / Critique of Pure Reason / Crowns and Necklaces / Was Everyone Cured? / The Day the Sun Refused to Shine

CONTENTS 11 Chapter 4. Bitachon 71 Sentenced to Two More Years / Synergy / Method and Mad- ness / Reuven and Gad: Waging War before Whom? / The Shape of Hishtadlus / Sending Spies / The Mood of Bitachon / A Jewish Heart / Putting the “El” Back into Yisrael

Section B. Tools and Concepts Chapter 5. The Individual and the Environment 87 Ayin Tovah: Making the Weather / Bells and Pomegranates / Bells, Pomegranates and the Throne of Glory / Mirror Image / Defying Environment vs. Defining Environment / The Evil Eye / Politically Incorrect / Windows of the Soul / Hashem’s Name and Noah’s Ark

Chapter 6. Inspiration and Realization 101 Dots of Silver vs. Lines of Gold / Where Are They Now? / Under the Mountain / The True Face of Avraham / Re-digging the Wells / Alchemy / When are the “Good Days”? / Es and Vahev

Chapter 7. Lashon Hara 112 Coming Down with a Case of Four Exiles / Closed Away / The Cause of Lashon Hara / Explaining Something that Has No Rea- son / Wanderings of the Mind / Dead Man Talking / Three Exits / TheOriginal Exile / Understanding the Four Exiles / In- dividual and National Exile / “Who Wants Life?”

Chapter 8. Physical and Spiritual Acquisitions 125 Missing the Point / Dream Analysis / Yair and Novach / Finding Treasure / Houses and Vessels / A Faithful House in Israel

Chapter 9. The Art of Gratitude 135 Water and Dust / Intellectual Truth and Emotional Truth / But No “Thanks” / Entitlement / Overturning Goodness / Swept Away / The Victim of Ingratitude

12 AGGADAH Chapter 10. Truth 146 Anything You Can Do I Can Do Holier / “And Now Say Amen” / Divine Commandments as Blunt Instruments / The Art of Machlokes / The Day Rabban Gamliel Was Deposed / In the Study Hall / The Wool at the Tip of the Spear

Chapter 11. Innerness and Outerness 158 The Beast of the Reed / There’s No Such Thing as a Half-Kosher Lunch / Pig’s Feet / Stomachs and Claws / Did Esav Ever Have a Chance? / Meet Mr. White / The Shape of the World / Reading the Signs / An Empire of Reeds / The Dying Art of Authentici- ty / Esav’s Nemesis

Chapter 12. Values and Chutzpah 171 Demolish or Perish / The Footsteps of the Mashiach / Then Why Am I Laughing? / Kosher Laughter / Holy Chutzpah / Copper Plating / Portrait of a Torah Revolutionary / Mother of Royalty / White Fire

Section C. The Torah Day Chapter 13. Prayer 187 Noticeably Absent / Bikkurim: Fruit for Thought / When Lines Become Circles / One from Sixty / Prayer as Bikkurim / Rabbi Eliezer’s Advice / Dumbstruck / The Most Important Word in Prayer

Chapter 14. Torah Study 198 A Mystifying Encounter / Torah as Song / Staying in Touch / Means and Ends / Heart to Heart / Enjoying Learning / Living Torah / Combustion / A Concluding Note

Chapter 15. Mitzvos 211 The Case for Physical Existence: I Am Therefore I Do / The Role of Mitz- vos / Reasons for Mitzvos / Two Types of Reasons / A Question of Approach / Ha’osek B’mitzvah vs. Multitasking / Reclaiming Joy in Mitzvos

CONTENTS 13 Chapter 16. Brachos 224 Bought for a Song / The Meaning of the Word “Baruch” / How Brachos Work / Silent Costs / War of the Worlds / Brachos: Bridges into God’s World

Section D. Special Times Chapter 17. Making Shabbos 235 A Gift, a Partnership and Good for the Eyes / What Does Shabbos Commemorate? / Who Sanctifies the Shabbos? / Two Levels of Sanctity / How Many Shabboses Are There? / When Was Creation Completed? / Where Cosmic Consciousness Meets National Desti- ny / Restoring Vision / The End — and Beginning — of the Week

Chapter 18. Lessons from Chanukah 247 The Missing Miracle / The Horn of an Ox / The Original Sacri- fice / The Nature of the Beast / Darker than Dark / Defining Victory / In Those Days, and in Our Times / To Kindle a Memo- ry / Shedding Light on Human Nature / The Gift of Chanukah: A Mezuzah for the World Outside

Glossary 260 Selected Bibliography 263 About the Author 266

14 AGGADAH CHAPTER ONE Free Will

One of the foundational principles of Judaism is the idea that man has free will, i.e., that he has the ability to choose his course of action. This principle lies at the basis of the Torah’s commandments. Without this abil- ity, man would not be responsible for his actions; he would be deserving neither of reward for his mitzvos, nor punishment for his sins. This idea is summed up succinctly in a famous Aggadic statement in the Gemara: הכל בידי שמים חוץ מיראת שמים Everything is in the hands of Heaven, except for fear of Heaven.1

In light of this basic principle, let us consider an episode that is re- counted elsewhere in the Gemara:2

There was a certain group of criminals who lived in ’s neighborhood who were tormenting him excessively, to the extent that he was praying that they should die. Said Bruriah, his wife, to him, “What is your rationale? Is it because the verse says: ?Let sin cease from the world’3 — יתמו חטאים מן הארץ‘ — חטאים sinners? It says — חוטאים Does the verse say sins! Rather, pray for them that they should repent.” Rabbi Meir prayed for this, and indeed they repented.4.

1 Brachos 33b. 2 Brachos 10a. 3 Tehillim 104:35. 4 We should note that although on the face of it, it seems as if Rabbi Meir simply misread the verse and Bruriah corrected him, in fact the simple meaning of the verse really supports Rabbi Meir’s .has two meanings. It can mean sins, but it can also mean sinners חטאים understanding. The word

Free Will 33 The Maharsha5 raises a simple question:

How is it possible to pray that someone else should repent? Do we not say that everything is in the hands of Heaven except for fear of Heaven? If so, then this is the only matter that one cannot pray for! The question of whether or not they repent is entirely up to them!

Now, we should note that this question would seemingly arise re- gardless of this story, and on a daily basis. One of the blessings in the Amidah prayer is about repentance, and in it we say: “Bring us back, our Father, to Your Torah… and bring us back in full repentance before You.” How are we able to pray for repentance when it is not in the hands of Heaven to grant? The Maharsha explains that this second question — about our- selves — is far less problematic than the case of Rabbi Meir, for the very fact that we are praying for repentance indicates that we wish to repent. Our choice has been made. Any endeavor requires Divine assistance in order to succeed, even a spiritual one, and it is for that assistance we are praying. In Rabbi Meir’s case, however, the criminals had made no such deci- sion, and he seems to be praying that Heaven should make the decision for them! 1. A Matter of Circumstance In order to answer this question, let us explore the idea of free will, and try to gain a sense of perspective regarding the notion that we are the ones who make our decisions. First, while it is true that ultimately everyone chooses their actions, it is also true that different circumstances will either help or hinder

has a dot in the middle known (ט) How can we tell which is the intended meaning? If the letter tes as a dagesh, then the reference is to sinners (see, e.g., Bereishis 13:13 referring to the people of Sodom). If not, then the word means sins. In the verse in Tehillim, the letter tes has a dagesh, and therefore the simple meaning is that sinners themselves should cease, as Rabbi Meir indeed understood. Bruriah’s response is seemingly something of a drash (homiletic), whereby since the word is written in a way that could also imply sins, it is therefore worthwhile praying for them to repent (Tosafos Harosh, Brachos, ibid.). 5 Commentary to Aggadah, Brachos, ibid.

34 AGGADAH the making of those decisions. A person can always decide whether or not to steal, but someone who is poor and hungry will have a harder time making the decision not to steal than someone who is well-off. Indeed, the very same person may choose differently depending on the circumstances he finds himself in. Conversely, everyone may choose whether to recognize Hashem in the world, but it may be harder for someone who is wealthy and thus feels self-sufficient and in no need of Divine assistance. This is the sentiment expressed by Shlomo Hamelech in Mishlei,6 where he asks of Hashem:

Give me neither poverty nor wealth… for perhaps I will be satisfied and deny and say, “Who is Hashem?” or perhaps I will be impoverished and then steal.

Therefore, in response to the question raised by the Maharsha re- garding Rabbi Meir’s prayers that these criminals repent, R’ Yehudah Adel7 suggests that perhaps their criminal behavior was the product of adverse circumstances. Perhaps they were poor, and for some reason unknown to us blamed the Rabbi for their lack of prospects. Perhaps they had too much money and thus felt they could torment whomever they liked. Bruriah’s suggestion to Rabbi Meir was, therefore, to pray that they be dealt circumstances which would bring out a better side of their personalities. These external circumstances are indeed in the hands of Heaven, and it is possible to pray for them. That said, it remains true that even when conditions around them changed, the decision to im- prove their behavior could only come from them.8

6 30:8. 7 Commentary Iyei Hayam to Brachos 10a. See also to Bereishis 17:18, with commentaries Gur Aryeh, Nachlas Yaakov and Maskil LeDavid there. Cf. Chazon Ish, end of vol. Orach Chaim. 8 See Igros Moshe, Orach Chaim, vol. 4 resp. 40, sec. 13, for a similar response to this question. they can also be ,חוטאים This idea also explains why although the normal word for sinners is which is also the word for sin itself. There are two types of sinners. There are ,חטאים called There are others who sin .חוטאים those who sin due to external circumstance, who are called regardless of circumstance, for they have become entrenched in sinful behavior to the point for they are synonymous with the ,חטאים that they will sin wherever they are. These are called sin itself. The deeper understanding of the exchange between Bruriah and Rabbi Meir, is that Even though the word really does .חטאים she was pointing out that the verse uses the term

Free Will 35 Thus, we see that when we say man is responsible for his decisions, it means that he is ultimately accountable for them, but it does not mean to say that there are no other factors in the equation which could influence those decisions. 2. A Matter of Insight Let us proceed to consider another influential factor on decision making which is in “the hands of Heaven.” As a prelude to sending the spies into the Land of Canaan, the verse9 tells us that Moshe changed the name of his disciple Hoshea to Yehoshua. The Gemara10 explains now began with Hashem’s יהושע that by adding the letter yud, the name May — יה יושיעך מעצת מרגלים“ ,and Moshe was thus praying ;(יה) name Hashem save you from the counsel of the spies.” Here, again, we encounter the same problem: How can Moshe pray that Hashem should save Ye- hoshua from making the wrong decision? That is a prayer which is not in the hands of Heaven to grant! Moreover, if Moshe feels it is possible to pray for someone to make the right decision, why does he pray only for Yehoshua? Yehoshua is the one least at risk in this enterprise; the other spies are much more in need of Divine assistance. If they act correctly, Yehoshua will be fine! Why, then, doesn’t Moshe pray for them? R’ Yosef Chaim of Baghdad11 explains: For the other spies, the issue of whether to bring back a good or bad report about the land was a moral one. As we will discuss elsewhere,12 based on a statement of the Zohar, the spies feared that they would be demoted from their posi- tions of authority once the Jewish people entered the Land of Israel. They thus felt impelled to try and convince the Jewish people not to go in. This being the case, the decision whether or not to do the right thing was one which could only be made by them, for it related to the

refer to sinners, nonetheless it is to the type of sinners who would sin regardless of circum- stance. She claimed that Rabbi Meir could not know this to be the case with his tormentors, sinners who could change. The only way to find out is indeed to ,חוטאים for perhaps they are pray for a change in their circumstances. 9 Bamidbar 13:16. 10 Sotah 34b, quoted in Rashi to Bamidbar, ibid. 11 Author of the Ben Ish Chai, in his commentary on Aggados, Ben Yehoyadah to Sotah, ibid. 12 See chap. 3.

36 AGGADAH distinctly human faculty known as “fear of Heaven.” A prayer offered by someone else in this area could not help them. For Yehoshua, the matter was different. It was already known that he would take over as leader of the Jewish people when they entered the Land of Israel.13 As such, Yehoshua was in danger of falling in league with the spies’ arguments — out of fear of Heaven! The worry was that his humility might make him doubt his resistance to the words of his peers, and he may come to be swayed by them. For Yehoshua, the an- tidote was not a boost in moral fiber, which he had in abundance, but added insight to allow him to see through the specious nature of the spies’ claims. Added insight is also something that is in the hands of Heaven, and thus Moshe was able to pray for Yehoshua, even though that insight would directly affect Yehoshua’s decisions.14 Perhaps it was for this reason the Sages formulated their statement regarding free will by saying that “everything is in the hands of Heaven except for fear of Heaven.” Why did they not say simply, “Except for free will”? Ultimately, it is only the fear of Heaven, representing the moral

13 See Rashi to Bamidbar 11:28 quoting Sanhedrin 17a. 14 R’ Tzaddok Hakohen of Lublin (Likutei Ma’amarim, sec. 44) reveals a further dimension within the adding of the letter yud to the beginning of Yehoshua’s name. Although motivated by a desire for status, the spies developed a philosophical platform from which to try and convince the people to stay in the desert. They claimed that to enter the Land of Israel would actually be spiritually detrimental to the Jewish people, at least at this stage. As long as they were in the desert, they ate manna from heaven, encamped around the Mishkan and had the opportunity of learning from Moshe on a daily basis; their plane of existence was entirely spiritual. Once they entered into the Land, they would have to be involved in a much more earthly and mundane existence. Thus, they exclaimed, “The land consumes its inhabitants,” which the Sfas Emes explains to mean, “In- volvement in matters pertaining to the Land will consume us!” Although their argument seemed worthy, in fact, entering into the more earthly sphere of the Land of Israel was in order to attain a higher spiritual level, namely, that of bringing the spirituality of the Torah and mitzvos into day- to-day living. The letter hei is actually a word in Hebrew; it means, “here it is” (see Bereishis 47:23). The letter yud, by contrast, refers to the future, as we see that a word in the future tense begins with the letter yud. Initially, Hoshea’s name began with a hei, which left him inclined to relate to a situation the way it appears in front of him now. This would leave him prone to agreeing with the argument of the spies that it is not a good idea to enter the Land, for at face value they were right. By having the letter yud added to the beginning of his name, Yehoshua received the capacity to judge a sit- uation in terms of what could come from it. This helped him stay firm in his understanding that ultimately the idea of moving from the desert to the Land of Israel was a good one.

Free Will 37 decision to do the right thing, which is entirely in the person’s hands. Beyond that, numerous elements which may greatly influence his free will are indeed in the hands of Heaven. 3. Left with No Choice Let us develop this idea further by considering one of most the famous cases in history of someone who was “left with no choice.” The verse states in a number of places that Hashem “hardened Pharaoh’s heart.”15 This idea raises a basic question among the commentators: How could Pharaoh be considered culpable for refusing to let the Jewish people go; after all, he had no choice! There have been many answers offered to this question.16 A most original and illuminating approach to this concept is found in the writings of the Maaseh Hashem.17 We may be inclined to under- stand that what happened was that Hashem reached into Pharaoh’s decision-making apparatus and turned off the switch, leaving him fun- damentally incapable of deciding to let the Jewish people go. However, the Maaseh Hashem understands this idea in a much more natural way. Very often, people are in situations where they may say that they have “no choice” but to pursue a certain course of action, when in real- ity what they mean is their personality traits govern them to an extent which leaves them no choice. Someone who feels he has been insulted may be “forced” to leave the room. Of course he can choose to stay if he wants, but his pride will not allow him to do so. Similarly, someone who is egocentric may feel compelled to cover up a mistake or a weakness. In truth, he is fully capable of admitting his error — but his ego withholds this option from him. The Maaseh Hashem explains that it was in this sense that Hashem hardened Pharaoh’s heart. Let us consider: It is quite striking to note that the first meeting between Moshe and Pharaoh did not go very well at all. In fact, as a result of that meeting, things only got worse for the Jewish people.

15 See, e.g., Shemos 7:3. 16 See, e.g., Rambam, Hilchos Teshuvah 6:3, and commentaries of Ramban and Seforno to Shemos 7:3. 17 Shemos, chap. 11.

38 AGGADAH As a result of that meeting, Pharaoh actually increased their workload. Indeed, following that first episode, Moshe returns to Hashem and complains, “Why did you send me? From the time that I came to Pharaoh to speak in Your name, he bestowed evil upon this people, and You have not even begun to save Your nation!”18 To this, Hashem responds, “Now you will see what I will do, for with a strong hand he will send them out.”19 Here we ask: How has Hashem’s response addressed Moshe’s com- plaint? Moshe asks why things went badly so far, and Hashem respond- ed that from this point on things will go well! Seemingly, the question still persists: why did the first meeting have to go badly? The answer is that Hashem is telling Moshe that now that things have gone badly in the first meeting,that is what has set the scene for Pharaoh sending the Jewish people out “with a strong hand.” Many commentators explain that the term “strong hand” refers to the idea of the hardening of Pharaoh’s heart. How exactly was his heart hardened? The answer is: through the first meeting going badly for Moshe and well for Pharaoh! This initial victory allowed Pharaoh to conclude that he was indeed stronger than whatever force Moshe represented, a con- clusion which he was only too happy to embrace. Once Pharaoh had reached this conclusion, it was possible to smite him with any number of plagues knowing that he would not relent, for to do so would be for him to admit that his initial assessment of the situation had been mis- taken. Pharaoh’s ego would never allow him to make such an admission, and thus was his heart hardened. 4. Sichon’s Mistake It is most interesting to note a similar discussion of the concept of “hardening someone’s heart” in the writings of one of the earlier com- mentaries. There is another, lesser known, case of this phenomenon in the Chumash. When the Jewish people were approaching the Land of Israel,

18 Shemos 5:22–23. 19 Ibid., 6:1.

Free Will 39 Sichon, the king of the Amorites, went out to wage war against them.20 The Midrash points out that this was an act of great folly on his part, for his cities were heavily fortified, and in leaving that protected setting he exposed himself to enormous harm. Why did he leave his cities? In referring to this event later on, the verse states: “For Hashem hardened his spirit, and fortified his heart, in order to deliver him into your hands.”21 Once again, we encounter the idea of Hashem hardening someone’s heart and forcing them to make a decision which they otherwise would not have made. How was this done? TheSefer HaIkarim22 explains that the back- ground to this event is described earlier on, when the Jewish people send a delegation to the king of Edom and ask for safe passage through his territory into the Land of Israel. The king of Edom refuses this request, and then threatens the Jewish people with military action should they try and pass through his land. In response to this threat, the Jewish people back away and move toward the territory of Sichon with the same request.23 Sichon views the evasive action of the Jews as a sure sign of weakness, for if they were capable of conquering the army of Edom, surely they would have done so! Having thus concluded that the Jews are not as strong as Edom, Sichon, who is stronger than Edom, is convinced that he will be able to go out and destroy them. Thus, he leaves his fortified cities, and rushes headlong to his defeat. Here, too, we see the idea of Hashem hardening someone’s heart through a presentation of events which is then misinterpreted by their corrupt perception, leading them to make decisions which are ultimate- ly their undoing. Understanding the idea of the hardening of Pharaoh’s heart in this way will clearly have major implications when we come to consider whether he was ultimately responsible and culpable for his decisions. He could hardly claim immunity from the consequences of his actions simply because he was egotistical and stubborn. At every point in the

20 See Bamidbar 21:21–24. 21 Devarim 2:30. 22 Sec. 4, chap. 25. A similar explanation of this episode is found in Akeidas Yitzchak, chap. 36. 23 See Bamidbar 20:17–21.

40 AGGADAH proceedings, he was essentially capable of choosing the right path, and thus he was punished for not doing so. Nonetheless, the manipulation of his defective character traits was so difficult to resist, his heart was considered hardened and his power to choose was effectively consid- ered neutralized. Indeed, this type of hardening of the heart is perpetrated (to a cer- tain degree) by some people on a routine basis. A gambling establish- ment which allows a customer a couple of easy wins, thus convincing him that he has worked out a strategy to win a fortune, has hardened his heart and rendered him (almost) unable to quit — even as he finds himself losing his own fortune. In a similar vein, an advertising agency which preys upon the vanity and insecurities of the public manipulates them and “forces” them to purchase a certain product which they “ab- solutely cannot do without.” 5. Virtual Decisions Free will is a uniquely human faculty. Indeed, according to a num- ber of commentators,24 when the verse says that Hashem created man in the Godly image,” it refers to endowing him with — בצלם אלוקים“ the faculty of free will. Hence, it must follow that it is only employed where one makes a decision that only a human being can make — a moral decision. In other words, not every decision that one makes utilizes free will. When a cat is hungry and encounters two trash cans, the laws of physics dictate that it will need to decide which one to go toward, for it cannot be in two places at once. However, that is not free will, for it is not a moral choice.25 Any choice made by a person which is essentially the equivalent of the cat’s dinner plans is not using the quality of free will. While chocolate cake and ice cream may both taste divine, no Divine faculties are employed when deciding which one to eat first.

24 See Malbim and Meshech Chochmah to Bereishis 1:26, and Tiferes Yisrael to Pirkei Avos 3:18. 25 Free will might take the form of the cat choosing not to approach either trash can as an act of solidarity for suffering cats elsewhere, which clearly will never happen.

Free Will 41 DRAWING THE LINES Even in areas involving moral and spiritual issues, we do not use our free will to the same degree with every decision. R’ Eliyahu Dessler26 illustrates this idea with a mashal to two countries at war. Although in a general sense the state of war exists throughout both countries, nonetheless, each country takes three territories into account: home territory, enemy territory and the line of battle. Home territory needs to be maintained and protected. Enemy territory, by contrast, has not yet been conquered. The battle line is where the conflict is. The goal is to succeed in pushing the battle line steadily forward, thus turning enemy territory into conquered territory. Similarly, with regard to any given trait or mitzvah, everyone has their “conquered territory,” “unconquered territory” and “line of battle.” Let us take the example of Shabbos. A Torah-observant Jew would never dream of driving a car on Shabbos; for him, it is conquered territory. On the other hand, there are righteous people who do not engage in any idle chatter for the duration of Shabbos. For the average Jew, this is not a practice they will be adopting any time soon; it is unconquered territory. This is true notwithstanding the fact that in principle a person is capable of making any decision at any time. Where is the battle line? In areas such as taking care regarding the details of forbidden melachah, refraining from talking about business matters, etc. This is where a person’s free will is exercised with the most vigor. A spiritually ambitious person thus needs to ask himself every so often: Where are my decisions taking place? Am I pushing the battle-line back, or am I perhaps only taking care of conquered territory?

We live in a world where choice abounds. Even relatively simple mat- ters are accompanied by multiple decisions. To a cup of coffee one first needs to decide which kind he would like: Instant or filter? If filter, then what type of beans? With milk or without? If with milk, what kind of milk? Full fat or skimmed? Cappuccino or latte? With sweetener, and if so, what kind? And what size coffee? Everything we could possibly want comes in a dozen varieties from which to choose. It seems like we are making deci- sions the whole day. But none of these involve actually using our free will, for they are not moral choices, and they do not make us better people.

26 Michtav Me’Eliyahu, vol. 3, p. 87.

42 AGGADAH