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Mesilat Yesharim / Path of the Just
by Rabbi Moshe Chaim Luzzato zt'l
Chapter 10 - Trait of Cleanliness
with select commentaries
copyright 2018 dafyomireview.com

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Abbreviations used in this translation:
SR - Rabbi Yechezkel Sarna (1890–1969) (from hebrewbooks.org/41769)
ER - Rabbi Avraham Erlinger (from hebrewbooks.org/52042) (with author's permission)
SP - Rabbi Yosef Spinner (from hebrewbooks.org/51471) (with author's permission)
CS - Rabbi Moshe Chaim Shalenger (with author's permission)
MB - Mesilas Yesharim im Biruim (with author's permission)
NE - Netiv Eliezer by Rabbi Eliezer Lopian (with author's permission)
NH - Nefesh HaMesilah (with author's permission)
OG - Oros Genuzim by Rabbi Dovid Tzvi Hoffman (with author's permission) download
SO - Shaarei Orah, Vaadim by Rabbi Avigdor Miller (excerpts with book author's permission)
LS - Leket Sichot Mussar by Rabbi Yitzchak Isaac Sher (1875–1952) (Vol.2, Kuntras Mesilat Yesharim, with permission of Slabodka Rosh Yeshiva (R.Shmuel Zacks), Bnei Brak. download hebrew original)

• Min - (level 1) for basic commentaries as relating to the plain meaning (Pshat).
• Med - (level 2) elaborates more into the theme.
• Max - (level 3) deeper in, including mystical excerpts from the Orot Genuzim commentary (Sod).
• Max+ - (level 4) more commentaries for those familiar with the text.

Suggestion: Read once without commentaries (or min). Then a second time with.

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*** CHAPTER 10 - TRAIT OF CLEANLINESS ***פרק 10 - בבאור מדת הנקיות
 

The trait of Cleanliness is that a man be completely clean of all bad traits and all sins. [This applies] not only for sins which are familiar and recognized but also for those to which one's heart is enticed to rationalize that it is permissible; but when we truthfully examine the matter, we find that it appeared to the person justified only because his heart was afflicted by some desire and not entirely purified of it. Therefore, it pulled him to be lenient.

מדת הנקיות היא היות האדם נקי לגמרי מכל מדה רעה ומכל חטא. לא די ממה שהחטא בו מפורסם וגלוי, אלא גם כן ממה שהלב נפתה בו להורות היתר בדבר, שכאשר נחקור עליו באמת נמצא שלא היה ההיתר ההוא נראה לו, אלא מפני היות הלב עדיין נגוע קצת מן התאוה, כי לא טהר ממנה מכל וכל, על כן תמשכהו להקל לו.

CS - "completely clean of all bad traits and all sins" - we are not to understand that the "Clean" man will never sin, for scripture and the sages teach us that even the great pious luminaries sinned and were punished for their sins. Rather, it seems the intent is that the "Clean" person has escaped from the primary roots of sins: evil character traits, evil aspirations, crooked reasoning stemming from deception of the Yetzer (evil inclination) who presents reasons to permit something which is in truth a sin. But if the "Clean" person sins sometimes this is due to some incidental mishap due to momentary forgetfulness or the like.

ER - "bad traits and sins" - to be clean of sins, one must be clean of bad traits. For lust and desire blur his vision and ability to judge and he does not see the details of sins which are not widely recognized. By purifying the character traits, he will also find cleanliness in the fine details of sins... and in the Vilna Gaon's words "the main [purpose for] life is for a person to always strengthen himself to break his character traits. For if not this, why should he be alive?"

MB - "completely" - this is the main point added on in Cleanliness, that a person be completely clean. For through Watchfulness, a person will be clean of most acts of transgression but not all of them. But through cleanliness he will be clean of all of them.

MB - "bad traits" - for it is evident that a man is not clean until he does not have inside him any bad trait (as Rabeinu states in chapter 11: "Just like Cleanliness is needed for the deeds, so too cleanliness is needed for the character traits...". See Rambam (Teshuva ch.7): "a person should not think that repentance is only necessary for those sins that involve deed... Rather, just as a person is obligated to repent from these, similarly, he must search after the evil character traits he has. He must repent from anger...". see there. See also Vilna Gaon on Mishlei 14:13 "a man is alive only in order to break a trait he did not yet break until now".

MB - "enticed to rationalize that it is permissible" - this is the primary point which one works on in Cleanliness, namely, the things one does due "horat heter" (rationalizing to oneself that it is permitted), not by being completely intentional (mezid). For in Watchfulness, he already guards from all evil known to him.

MB - "but when we truthfully examine the matter" - a typical investivation does not save him because there is a "rationalizing permission" (horat heter). But a truthful investigation saves a man. For it reveals everything.

MB - "heart was afflicted" - in the whole matter here, he speaks of lackings of the heart - that it is not pure and clean to make a sound judgment. Rather it is biased from lust which inclines it to go after the lust. We can say that Cleanliness is not only regarding cleanliness in deed but even in cleanliness of the heart - which, in truth, is the means to acquire cleanliness in the deeds.. And in the Vikuach (page 108): "it is that a man be clean in his understanding so that he can weigh the matters to their truth such that lust does not incline him to not rationalize permissions for himself... rather he will be completely clean and pure so that he will not have in his hands even a trace of sin.

But the man who was completely purified from this affliction and has been cleansed of all trace of evil which lust leaves in its wake, behold his vision will be perfectly clear and his discernment will be pure. He will not be swayed by any desire. He will recognize anything which is a sin. Even for the most minuscule, he will see its evil and will distance from it. On this our Sages referred regarding the men of Sheleimut (Wholeness) who purified their deeds to such a great extent as to leave not even a stirring of evil - "the clean minded men of Jerusalem" (Sanhedrin 23a).

אך האדם אשר טהר מזה הנגע לגמרי ונקי מכל רושם רע שמשארת התאוה אחריה, הנה ראייתו תהיה ברורה לגמרי והבחנתו זכה ולא תטהו החמדה לשום דבר, אלא כל מה שהוא חטא, אפילו שיהיה קל שבקלי החטאים, תכירהו שהוא רע ותרחיקהו ממנו. וכלשון הזה אמרו חכמים על השלמים המטהרים מעשיהם טהרה רבה שלא יהיה בהם אפילו נדנוד דבר רע (סנהדרין כג): נקיי הדעת שבירושלים.

SP - "clean minded men" - clear sight and pure discernment. Cleanliness of deeds depends on cleanliness of mind. And in the Vikuach he writes: "clean of mind - that he is able to weigh things out in his mind truthfully, without being swayed by lust to rationalize permissions for himself..." Hence, cleanliness is two fold, cleanliness of mind which makes it possible to attain cleanliness of deeds.

ER - they were not called "men of clean deeds" but rather of clean mind. For the root of cleanliness is for one's mind to be free from the desire of the physical and its derivatives. His only care is to be a servant of G-d. Then, automatically all of his deeds will be with cleanliness for he will immediately sense all the branches of sin and evil.

MB - "vision...discernment" - these are the two powers which are lacking in man all the time he is afflicted by his lust.

MB - "vision" - this is the power to grasp the matters as they are.
"discernment" - this is an intellectual power to examine the true situation of what he sees and to know what kind of act it is.

MB - "recognize...and will distance from it" - he recognizes that it is evil and then certainly will distance from it since he is already Watchful of all things known to be evil and lacked only its detection.

ER - the trait of cleanliness also gives one siyata d'shmaya (divine help) in his Torah study and King David said: "I am Your servant give me understanding to know your testimonies" Tehilim 119:125.

You can now see the distinction between the Watchful and the Clean man. Even though both are similar in their matters, the Watchful is cautious in his deeds and sees to it that he does not sin in what he already knows and which is familiar to everyone that it is a sin. But he is still not master over himself to keep his heart from being pulled by natural lusts so that they do not sway him to rationalize that certain things are permitted regarding the things whose evil is not so well known. For even though he strives to conquer his evil inclination and to subdue his lusts, he will not change his nature because of this. He will not be able to remove bodily lust from his heart. He will at most be able to subdue it and be governed by wisdom instead of it. But nevertheless the darkness of the physical will inevitably do its work to entice and seduce him.

והנך רואה עתה ההפרש שבין הזהיר והנקי, אף על פי שקרובים הם זה לזה בענינם, הזהיר הוא הנזהר במעשיו ורואה שלא יחטא במה שכבר נודע לו ומפורסם אצל הכל היותו חטא. אמנם עדיין איננו אדון בעצמו שלא ימשוך לבו מן התאוה הטבעית, שלא תטהו להראות לו התירים באיזה דברים שאין רעתם מפורסמת. וזה, כי אף על פי שהוא משתדל לכבוש את יצרו ולכפות את תאוותיו, לא מפני זה ישנה את טבעו ולא יוכל להסיר מלבו התאוה הגופנית, אלא שיכבוש אותה וילך אחר החכמה ולא אחריה, אך על כל פנים חשק החומריות עושה את שלו להסיתו ולפתותו.

MB - "conquer his evil inclination and subdue his lusts" - "conquer" - since it is evident that it is impossible to be even Watchful without waging a mighty war on his Yetzer and lusts.

MB - "his evil inclination... - he speaks of subduing one's lusts and associates it with conquering the Yetzer because it is the Yetzer Hara (evil inclination) which entices him to go after his lusts. Thus he uses the term conquer by the Yetzer for he is the true enemy but since the lusts are merely vessels, he uses the term subdue.

SP - a man is composite of two things - physical (chomer) and intellect (sechel). The body tends to the physical and the soul to intellect. The [pursuit of] physical for its own sake is darkness. And when the intellect governs him he receives light. The war of the Yetzer is the war between the physical and the intellect (for all its matters are the opposite of reason). The Watchful man goes after wisdom, but he has not [completely] ruled the intellect over the physical. Therefore, he is still afflicted by lust of the physical unlike the "clean" man who is far from matters of physical.

But after a man habituates himself to a great extent in Watchfulness till he has cleansed himself a first cleansing of the well known sins and has habituated himself in the service of G-d with Zeal, and love and yearning to his Creator has grown strong within him (i.e. inner desire to draw close to Him - CS), behold the power of this habituation will distance him from physical matters and cling his intellect towards spiritual perfection, and eventually he will be able to attain perfect Cleanliness. The fire of bodily lust will extinguish from his heart due to the intensifying within him of the yearning to G-d. Then his sight will be clear and pure as I wrote earlier, so that he will not be seduced nor deceived by the darkness of the physical and his deeds will be completely clean.

אמנם, אחר שיתרגל האדם הרגל גדול בזהירות הזה עד שינקה נקיון ראשון מן החטאים המפורסמים, וירגיל עצמו בעבודה ובזריזותה, ותגבר בו האהבה אל בוראו והחמדה אליו, הנה כח ההרגל הזה ירחיק אותו מעניני החומר וידביק דעתו אל השלימות הנפשיי עד שסוף סוף יכול להגיע אל הנקיון השלם, שכבר יכבה אש התאוה הגופנית מלבו בהתגבר בו החמדה האלהית, ואז תשאר ראייתו זכה וברה, כמו שכתבתי למעלה, שלא יפתה ולא ישיגהו חשק חומריותו, וינקה במעשיו מכל וכל.

SR - "intensifying within him of the yearning to G-d" - it comes out of this, that the avodah (work) of midot (character traits), which is the war against the leanings and tendencies which causes a person to rationalize heterim (permissions), is not an avodah one engages in from the beginning. Rather it is after one has already attained Watchfulness and Zeal which result in intensifying of the longing to G-d. This is logical, for if his heart is still burning with the bodily lusts and he is drowning in the darkness of the physical, behold, he has no heart to discern and stand on the truth and purify himself. Whatever he does will only accomplish that he exchanges one Yetzer (evil inclination) for another Yetzer (evil inclination) but never for cleansing from the evil inclinations.

ER - "Cleanliness" is not a conduct of habituating oneself to be meticulous in the commandments. For all the time he is in the situation of subduing the Yetzer (evil inclination) he is still being seduced by his Yetzer. For the desire bribes him and entices him against seeing the truth and living in constant investigation of the details of his deeds. Only through cultivating Zeal till he longs for spiritual till there is no longer importance to bodily lusts. For the fire of lust has extinguished from his heart through desire and longing to Torah, mitzvot, and closeness to G-d - then he will be able to discern well and live in Cleanliness. Fortunate is he who has merited this exalted level.
We also recognize from Rabeinu the words of the Chovot Halevavot (Gate 8 ch.3 #25): "just like a vessel cannot contain water and fire simultaneously, so too the heart of the believer cannot simultaneously contain love of this world and love of the Olam Haba" (which is love of closeness to G-d).

On possessing this trait David would rejoice saying: "I will wash my hands in Cleanliness and I will go around Your altar, O G-d" (Tehilim 26:6). For in truth, only he who is completely clean from any trace of sin or iniquity is fit to appear before the presence of the King, G-d. For without this, he has only to feel shame and disgrace before Him as Ezra the Scribe said: "O my G-d, I am ashamed and embarrassed to lift up my face to You [for our iniquities have increased over our head...]" (Ezra 9:6). Certainly, it requires great work to attain Shelemut (perfection) in this trait. For the recognized and well known sins are easy to guard from for their evil is apparent. But the scrutiny which is necessary for Cleanliness is the most difficult. For the sin is concealed by rationalizations that it is permitted as I wrote and as the sages of blessed memory said: "the sins which a man treads with his heels surround him at the time of Judgment" (Avodah Zara 18a).

והנה על מדה זו, היה דוד שמח בעצמו ואומר (תהלים כו): ארחץ בנקיון כפי ואסובבה את מזבחך ה'. כי באמת רק מי שינקה לגמרי מכל נדנוד חטא ועון, הוא הראוי לראות את פני המלך ה'. כי זולת זה, אין לו אלא לבוש ולהכלם מלפניו, וכמאמר עזרא הסופר (עזרא ט): אלהי בושתי ונכלמתי להרים אלהי פני אליך. והנה ודאי כי מלאכה רבה היא לאדם להגיע אל שלימות המדה הזאת, כי העבירות הניכרות וידועות קלות הם להשמר מהם, כיון שרעתם גלויה. אך הדקדוק הזה המצטרך לנקיות, הוא הקשה יותר, כי הוראת ההיתר מכסה על החטא, וכמו שכתבתי. והוא כענין מה שאמרו זכרונם ברכה (ע"ז יח): עבירות שאדם דש בעקביו, סובבות אותו בשעת הדין.

ER - "judgment" for he does not repent for these sins, unlike the big sins which he recognizes and repents for.

Along these lines they said (Bava Batra 165a): "the majority of people are guilty of theft, a minority in immorality, but all are guilty of the dust of slander" (i.e. traces of slander). For due to its extremely fine details, all human beings stumble in what they fail to recognize of it.

ועל דרך זה אמרו זכרונם לברכה (בבא בתרא קסה): רובם בגזל, ומיעוטם בעריות, וכולם באבק לשון הרע. כי מפני רוב דקותו, כל בני אדם נכשלים בו במה שאין מכירים אותו.

CS - "extremely fine" - something which is extremely subtle is not recognizable to the eye without great contemplation. So too for this sin ("dust" of slander) its forbiddenness does not stand out therefore the masses stumble in it.

The sages of blessed memory said David was watchful and cleansed himself completely from all these things. Therefore, he would engage in war with strong trust in G-d requesting "May I pursue my enemies and overtake them, not turning back till I have destroyed them" (Tehilim 18:38), something not asked by Yehoshafat, Asa, and Chizkiyahu since they had not attained such perfect cleanliness (see Midrash Eicha Raba peticha 30).

ואמרו זכרונם לברכה (איכה רבתי טו): שדוד היה נזהר ומנקה עצמו נקיון גמור מכל אלה, ועל כן היה הולך למלחמה בבטחון חזק, והיה שואל (תהלים יח): ארדוף אויבי ואשיגם ולא אשוב עד כלותם, מה שלא שאלו יהושפט אסא וחזקיה לפי שלא היו מנוקים כל כך.

ER - "strong trust" - hence he did not need to fear the enemy only the sin. And in the merit of the trait of Cleanliness that he knew he had merited to attain, he did not have cause to be afraid.

This is what David himself said later in his words: "Reward me, O G-d, according to my righteousness, according to the purity of my hands repay me" (ibid 18:21) and "the L-ord has recompensed me according to my righteousness, according to the purity of my hands before His eyes" (ibid 18:25). This refers to this purity and cleanliness which we have mentioned. He then further said: "For by You I run upon a troop (trusting in You without fear - CS)... I have pursued my enemies and overtaken them" (Tehilim 18:30). And he himself further stated: "Who will ascend upon the mountain of G-d, who will stand in His Holy place? He who has clean hands and a pure heart.." (Tehilim 24:3). Certainly this trait is difficult to attain. For man's nature is weak. His heart is easily seduced and he permits for himself things that allow for self-deception. Undoubtedly, one who has attained this trait has already reached a very high spiritual level. For he has stood in the midst of the raging battle and emerged victorious. We will now explain the details of this trait.

והוא מה שאמר הוא עצמו בתוך דבריו (שם): יגמלני ה' כצדקי כבור ידי ישיב לי. ואמר עוד (שם): וישב ה' לי כצדקי כבור ידי לנגד עיניו, והוא הבור והנקיון הזה שזכרנו. ואז חזר ואמר (שם): כי בך ארוץ גדוד וגו', ארדוף אויבי ואשיגם. והוא עצמו אמר עוד (שם כד): מי יעלה בהר ה' ומי יקום במקום קדשו נקי כפים ובר לבב. ואמנם ודאי, שהמדה הזאת קשה, כי טבע האדם חלש ולבו נפתה על נקלה, ומתיר לעצמו הדברים שיוכל למצא בהם כדי הטעאה. ובודאי שמי שהגיע לזאת המדה, כבר הגיע למדריגה גדולה, כי בפני מלחמה חזקה עמד ונצח. ונבוא עתה לבאר פרטי המדה הזאת.

OG - (Kabalistic) the trait of Cleanliness draws its power from the Sefira of Yesod. We have mentioned already that the Sefira of Yesod is among those of the middle line... The Sefirot of the middle line are of Rachamim (mercy). The sefirot on the right line are Chesed (kindliness) while those on the left are Din (judgment)... The middle sefirot are the synthesis of the two... Furthermore, the closer the Sefira to the Ein Sof, the more perfect it is due to its proximity to the Ein Sof, blessed be He.... And each subsequent Sefira below collects within it, its own lights plus all the lights of all the Sefirot above it. Hence Yesod collects within it lights of all 9 Sefirot, from Chachma till Yesod. Hence, it has enormous lights which it transmits to Malchut. Therefore, this Hashpaa has enormous potential to rectify all of Yisrael and the entire creation... (skipping a long discussion)... We have clarified the enormous power of the trait of Cleanliness in the ladder of the service of G-d. Just like Yesod is the most perfect of the 3 Sefirot Netzach, Hod, Yesod, so too Cleanliness is the most perfect of the 3 lower levels, Watchfulness, Zeal, and Cleanliness. And just like Yesod collects inside it all the lights of the Sefirot, therefore it is the Yesod (foundation) of the world. So too, Cleanliness is the summit of the Gate of Righteousness which every Jew is obligated in and capable of attaining. Furthermore, Cleanliness along with Watchfulness and Zeal are together the construction crane with which the servant of G-d can reach the Gate of Piety (consisting of the traits: Separation, Purity, and Piety) and afterwards to the Gate of Holiness (Humility, Fear of Sin, Holiness).

OG - "But after a man habituates himself.. in Watchfulness .. and has habituated himself in the service of G-d with Zeal.." - the Ramchal goes at length here to explain why the level of Cleanliness comes after Watchfulness and Zeal. Cleanliness must be after Watchfulness since first a man needs to train himself to guard from the well-known sins and only afterwards to toil to cleanse himself from rationalizing permissions on the sins which are not in peoples' awareness and which people imagine to themselves that they are not even forbidden at all. If so, it is clear that Cleanliness must come after Watchfulness. But why does Cleanliness need to also be after Zeal?

We wrote already that according to the order of the Sefirot it would seem proper that Rabbi Pinchas ben Yair should instead say: "Torah brings to Cleanliness..". For from below toward above, the rousing of the [bottommost] Sefira of Malchut transmits lights to Yesod above it. Then Yesod to Hod and Hod to Netzach. According to this, the correct order should be, "Torah (Malchut), Cleanliness (Yesod), Watchfulness (Hod), Zeal (Netzach). This, in my humble opinion, is the main question which stood before the Ramchal. But in his usual manner, he concealed the question and also the true answer. See also the Seder Vikuach pgs. 81-82 where he likewise speaks at length in this. But there too, he did not reveal his hidden thoughts.

The explanation appears to be as follows: The Sefira of Yesod is so vast and illuminating that the Cleanliness acquired by its hashpa (influence) is enormous and of great perfection. A man is unable to grasp it till he trains to guard himself very much from all things forbidden, whether well-known or received (in the Torah). Likewise, he needs to attain some wholeness in love of his Creator and yearning to Him. Only then, when the servant of G-d so much yearns to do Nachat Ruach (pleasing) to his Creator - only then will the fire of bodily desire extinguish from his heart and "the darkness of the physical and its heaviness will go off and be conquered under the intellect" (Vikuach pg.82). Hence, after acquiring Watchfulness and Zeal, he will find himself ready for the trait of Cleanliness which is the Yesod (foundation) of the world...

Only then can the Torah study mentioned in chapter 1 bring this servant of G-d also to cleanliness. After the Sefirot of Netzach and Hod illuminated him with powerful lights which brought him to Watchfulness and Zeal, these lights will descend further in their pathways to the Sefira of Malchut. When the Hashpa (flow) of these lights will reach the Sefira of Malchut, it will cause the servant of G-d to strengthen himself greatly in Torah study in breadth and depth. This strengthening will cause additional lights to flow from the Ein Sof, blessed be He, which will rouse him to greatly strengthen in the trait of Cleanliness.. He will feel tangibly at this time a great rise in Yira Shamayim (fear of G-d). Thus he will no longer be satisfied to guard only from the familiar sins and will purify himself from the non-familiar sins, those which many Torah observant Jews trample over with their feet. For due to lusts in their heart, they rationalize permissions for themselves in these things such as the "dust" of slander which is also a sin even though it is not as severe as slander (lashon hara) itself. The man who now stands on the level after Watchfulness and Zeal will certainly strengthen himself to purify and cleanse himself even from the "dust" of sins like the "clean minded of Jerusalem" who sensed even minuscule grains of the dust of the tiniest sins and purified themselves from them...

The trait of Cleanliness is the completion of the Gate of Righteousness. Namely, the first 3 levels after the level of Torah, Watchfulness, Zeal, and Cleanliness. Every Jew is obligated in them. [Of the 3 groups mentioned], those of wholeness of understanding, those of lesser understanding, and even the masses. Those of wholeness and the middle group will certainly continue to ascend to the Gate of Piety, some may even go to the Gate of Holiness and to Ruach Hakodesh and the ability to revive the dead. But for most people, it is enough that they be Clean as the Ramchal writes: "most of the public is not able to be a Chasid (pious) but it is sufficient for them to be Tzadikim (righteous)" (ch.13). Hence, the trait of Cleanliness along with the two previous traits are the minimum demand G-d asks as He communicated in the oral and written Torah and the sages added to guard from Torah prohibitions. Hence, one has attained Watchfulness, Zeal, and Cleanliness is a Tzadik Gamur (completely righteous). And according to what the Ramchal fixed in his Path, the trait of Cleanliness is the perfection which the Torah deems acceptable and also the sages for most of the masses who have difficulty ascending up the Gate of Piety and all the more so, up the Gate of Holiness...