SIMPLICITY IN TORAH AND MITZVOT (PART II)

Simplicity in mitzvot means performing the mitzvah because God commanded me to do so!

The Jewish people have a “shulchan arukh” (a “set table”) upon which all the laws have been laid out for us. More specifically, this set table is a collection of legal rulings from the Talmud and successive Codifiers, all of whom clarified the more obscure sections of the Talmud. Compiled by Rabbi Yosef Caro and annotated by Rabbi Moshe Isserles, each ruling which appears in this work known as the Shulchan Arukh was carefully considered by these two outstanding Torah scholars. They weighed the assessments and opinions offered by the numerous halakhic authorities who preceded them and arrived at the proper balance; their conclusions being the most appropriate solution for those areas where there were differing and/or opposing views. The decisions they recorded stand as law.

Now, when it comes to complying with Halakhah (the Codes), we too should adopt balance as our guide. There is no need for us to be overly-stringent, nor overly-lenient, in the observance of the mitzvot. Someone who gravitates to one of these extremes is considered either a fool or wicked (see Eruvin 5b). We have to be careful. We have to seek a balance. Even so, this does not mean, for example, that if a person can afford a choice lulav and etrog that he should not extend himself financially or otherwise when seeking a suitable palm branch and citron for the Sukkot holiday. What it does mean is that when the Four Species which a person has are acceptable halakhically, there is no need for him to spend additional time or money seeking and searching for precisely the one lulav and etrog that might be acceptable to “all views”. There is a great difference between “beautifying a mitzvah” and trying to comply with “all the views.”

Someone who gravitates to one of these extremes is considered either a fool or wicked (see Eruvin 5b). We have to be careful. We have to seek a balance.

In summary, simplicity in mitzvot means performing the mitzvah because God commanded me to do so. Reading my own special meaning into the mitzvah gives it a specific “shape and form” which is really a constriction or limitation of the mitzvah. In addition, when I think I understand the meaning of the mitzvah and am motivated to fulfill it because I understand, this is sophistication. I am actually setting myself up for a fall. There may come a time when things go against my understanding, or a situation arises that contradicts the specific structure I had given to the mitzvah. What happens then? (Likutey Halakhot, Devarim Min HaChai 4:49).

Reb Noson’s son-in-law, Reb Boruch, once told Reb Noson that he agrees with Rebbe Nachman’s system of Torah Study. Reb Noson said to him, “If you follow that system because Rebbe Nachman advises so (with faith), then you’ll stick to it. But if you study that way because you understand that it’s right, then there will come a time when you’ll reject it. Sure enough, Reb Boruch later returned to his father-in-law and acknowledged that Reb Noson had been correct. He had indeed begun to understand differently (Rabbi Eliyahu Chaim Rosen).

We have to seek a balance…

Thus, whenever the question arises, “What is the Breslover custom in such and such a case?” the answer is, “Look in the Shulchan Arukh. Whatever it says there, that’s what Rebbe Nachman did!” Naturally, where the Codes themselves offer differing opinions, each of us should follow his family’s customs. Rebbe Nachman’s way, his advice and directives, were never intended as a set of halakhically binding rules. The Rebbe was more concerned in teaching his followers to fulfill the spirit of the mitzvot. Even where an established Breslov community does have particular customs, adherents who come from different backgrounds will continue to practice the way their families (Sefardic, Ashkenazic) always have.

(taken from the book: Crossing the Narrow Bridge –  A Practical Guide to Rebbe Nachman’s Teachings; chapter 1: Simplicity pp. 15-17).