Description: Chapter 2 - 03
Derech Hashem
Chapter 2 – 03
Hashem created a whole world, with an unfathomable amount of varied and unique creations. There are myriads of living creatures, millions of insects, millions of plants. There are countless kinds of rocks, earth, sand, minerals and other lifeless parts of the world. All these are in the world for the purpose of reaching shelaimus – to achieve perfection! That was the purpose of creation, and everything was created to reach that goal. How does a rock achieve perfection? What does an insect do to become close to Hashem?
There is only one creation in the world which contains within it the natural ability to either become close to Hashem or to distance itself from Hashem. This creation is the human being. Every person was created with intellect and a soul, the ability to recognize and appreciate Hashem and become close to Him. Every person also contains a multitude of character traits which drag them down, and is clothed with a physical form which pulls them away from spirituality and perfection, and distances them from Hashem. The challenge we all face as people is to find our way between these two aspects of ourselves, and connect to Hashem.
All the creations in the world, are here to become part of that struggle. Either they play a role in bringing us closer to Hashem, or they play a role in distancing us from Hashem. If we as humans utilize the world for the purpose of finding Hashem within it, and connecting to Hashem, then that part of the world has realized its perfection, and has achieved a connection with Hashem. That is the purpose why it was created. If a person makes use of the different parts of this world for self-gratification and distances themselves from Hashem, they are also distancing that part of the world from Hashem, and condemning it to chisaron, to darkness, and imperfection.
The prime purpose of the world is mankind – everything else, whether they are greater creations than man or lesser creations than man, are there only for his benefit, to assist in his battle towards perfection. They are all secondary to mankind.
This is the end of the second chapter of Derech Hashem. This concept is developed famously in the first perek of Mesilas Yesharim as well, and there he quotes a source from Chazal, the famous Rashi that says that when Yaakov Avinu wanted to rest his head on the rocks he had assembled, each one was arguing, ‘alay yaniach hatzaddik es rosho,’ The tzaddik should rest his head on me! He also quotes a medrash in Koheles, that says that when Hashem created the world, he took Adam Harishon and gave him a tour of all the beautiful trees in Gan Eden, and said, ‘Do you see My creations, how beautiful and praiseworthy they are? See to it that you don’t ruin and destroy My world!’
To quote the language of the Mesilas Yesharim:
כי אם האדם נמשך אחר העולם ומתרחק מבוראו הנה הוא מתקלקל ומקלקל העולם עמו. ואם הוא שולט בעצמו ונדבק בבוראו ומשתמש מן העולם רק להיות לו לסיוע לעבודת בוראו הוא מתעלה והעולם מתעלה עמו.
Derech Hashem
Chapter 2 – 03
Hashem created a whole world, with an unfathomable amount of varied and unique creations. There are myriads of living creatures, millions of insects, millions of plants. There are countless kinds of rocks, earth, sand, minerals and other lifeless parts of the world. All these are in the world for the purpose of reaching shelaimus – to achieve perfection! That was the purpose of creation, and everything was created to reach that goal. How does a rock achieve perfection? What does an insect do to become close to Hashem?
There is only one creation in the world which contains within it the natural ability to either become close to Hashem or to distance itself from Hashem. This creation is the human being. Every person was created with intellect and a soul, the ability to recognize and appreciate Hashem and become close to Him. Every person also contains a multitude of character traits which drag them down, and is clothed with a physical form which pulls them away from spirituality and perfection, and distances them from Hashem. The challenge we all face as people is to find our way between these two aspects of ourselves, and connect to Hashem.
All the creations in the world, are here to become part of that struggle. Either they play a role in bringing us closer to Hashem, or they play a role in distancing us from Hashem. If we as humans utilize the world for the purpose of finding Hashem within it, and connecting to Hashem, then that part of the world has realized its perfection, and has achieved a connection with Hashem. That is the purpose why it was created. If a person makes use of the different parts of this world for self-gratification and distances themselves from Hashem, they are also distancing that part of the world from Hashem, and condemning it to chisaron, to darkness, and imperfection.
The prime purpose of the world is mankind – everything else, whether they are greater creations than man or lesser creations than man, are there only for his benefit, to assist in his battle towards perfection. They are all secondary to mankind.
This is the end of the second chapter of Derech Hashem. This concept is developed famously in the first perek of Mesilas Yesharim as well, and there he quotes a source from Chazal, the famous Rashi that says that when Yaakov Avinu wanted to rest his head on the rocks he had assembled, each one was arguing, ‘alay yaniach hatzaddik es rosho,’ The tzaddik should rest his head on me! He also quotes a medrash in Koheles, that says that when Hashem created the world, he took Adam Harishon and gave him a tour of all the beautiful trees in Gan Eden, and said, ‘Do you see My creations, how beautiful and praiseworthy they are? See to it that you don’t ruin and destroy My world!’
To quote the language of the Mesilas Yesharim:
כי אם האדם נמשך אחר העולם ומתרחק מבוראו הנה הוא מתקלקל ומקלקל העולם עמו. ואם הוא שולט בעצמו ונדבק בבוראו ומשתמש מן העולם רק להיות לו לסיוע לעבודת בוראו הוא מתעלה והעולם מתעלה עמו.