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Thursday

י"ח אדר ב’ התשפ"ד

Thursday
י"ח אדר ב’ התשפ"ד

חיפוש בארכיון

401. Running

It says in Tehillim that “I will run on the way of Your commandments!”, and Chazal say that one should always run to do a good deed even on Shabbos. They say in the holy Zohar that one who runs to do a good deed causes the defending angels in heaven to run and precede to present his merits in front of the judges, before the prosecuting angels arrive to present their accusations. In direct contrast to this, one who runs to commit a sin causes the prosecuting angels to be able to run to present their accusations. We have learnt in the Mishna “Run for a light commandment!”, and “Be light like an eagle and run like a deer to perform the will of your father in heaven.”.

However, the way he runs must be in a way that is balanced in that it should not be in a way that others will mock him and consider him to be a “pious fool”. Instead, he should take large steps in a hurried, respectful way according to his own dignity. This is the attitude of any good man in all of his ways that even if he has no business at all he should always walk in a hurried manner as if he was going to a business. One who walks in a leisurely manner where each step he puts his heel next to the big toe of the other foot is walking in an arrogant manner. Nevertheless, when walking to do a good deed he should hurry even more like one who is hurrying to find something precious. When leaving the synagogue even if one is a big hurry one should start exiting slowly so that it does not look as if staying in the synagogue was a burden.

“My brothers and my nation, take this sefer Torah, and with this, and like this learn well, so that you should have it good; listen and enliven your soul, and achieve gladness and joy in this world and the world to come” (From the author’s intro.)