{"id":43040,"date":"2018-10-30T13:13:57","date_gmt":"2018-10-30T11:13:57","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/?p=43040"},"modified":"2022-05-24T16:18:01","modified_gmt":"2022-05-24T13:18:01","slug":"what-is-the-greatest-principle-of-the-torah","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/en\/what-is-the-greatest-principle-of-the-torah\/","title":{"rendered":"What Is The Greatest Principle Of The Torah?"},"content":{"rendered":"
<\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"","protected":false},"author":50634,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[281],"tags":[686,687,685],"acf":{"old_id":"43040","type":"no","iframe":"","writer":33923,"related_cahpter":"79","type_929":"2","show_author_image":false,"old_url":"","post_main_content":{"description":"Ben Pazzi\u2019s surprising response (hint: it has to do with sheep)","content":"

The ancient Hebrew word for hard work is <\/span>avodah<\/span><\/em>. It is also the word that means \u201cserving God\u201d. <\/span>What applies in the arts, sciences, business and industry, applies equally to the life of the spirit<\/span><\/em>.<\/em> Achieving any form of spiritual growth requires sustained effort and daily rituals.<\/span><\/p>\n

Hence the remarkable aggadic passage in which various sages put forward their idea of <\/span>klal gadol ba-Torah<\/span><\/em>, \u201cthe great principle of the Torah\u201d. Ben Azzai says it is the verse, \u201cThis is the book of the chronicles of man: On the day that God created man, He made him in the likeness of God\u201d (Gen. 5:1). Ben Zoma says that there is a more embracing principle, \u201cListen, Israel, the Lord our God, the Lord is one.\u201d Ben Nannas says there is a yet more embracing principle: \u201cLove your neighbour as yourself.\u201d Ben Pazzi says we find a more embracing principle still. He quotes a verse from this week\u2019s parsha: \u201cOne sheep shall be offered in the morning, and a second in the afternoon\u201d (Ex. 29:39) \u2013 or, as we might say nowadays, Shacharit, Mincha and Maariv. In a word: \u201croutine\u201d. The passage concludes: The law follows Ben Pazzi.<\/span><\/p>\n

The meaning of Ben Pazzi\u2019s statement is clear: all the high ideals in the world \u2013 the human person as God\u2019s image, belief in God\u2019s unity, and the love of neighbour \u2013 count for little until they are turned into habits of action that become habits of the heart. We can all recall moments of insight when we had a great idea, a transformative thought, the glimpse of a project that could change our lives. A day, a week or a year later the thought has been forgotten or become a distant memory, at best a might-have-been.<\/span><\/p>\n

The people who change the world, whether in small or epic ways, are those who turn peak experiences into daily routines, who know that the details matter, and who have developed the discipline of hard work, sustained over time.<\/span><\/p>\n

Judaism\u2019s greatness is that it takes high ideals and exalted visions \u2013 image of God, faith in God, love of neighbour \u2013 and turns them into patterns of behaviour. Halakhah, (Jewish law), involves a set of routines that \u2013 like those of the great creative minds \u2013 reconfigures the brain, giving discipline to our lives and changing the way we feel, think and act.<\/span><\/p>\n

From <\/span>Inspiration & Perspiration, Covenant & Conversation, Tetzaveh (<\/span><\/em>5776)<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n","image":{"ID":105101,"id":105101,"title":"-628cdaf622ba1--628cdaf622ba3ex29-sheep.png","filename":"628cdaf622ba1-628cdaf622ba3ex29-sheep.png.png","filesize":0,"url":"https:\/\/cetwpuploads.blob.core.windows.net\/wp929\/uploads\/2018\/10\/628cdaf622ba1-628cdaf622ba3ex29-sheep.png.png","link":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/en\/what-is-the-greatest-principle-of-the-torah\/628cdaf622ba1-628cdaf622ba3ex29-sheep-png\/","alt":"","author":"7","description":"","caption":"","name":"628cdaf622ba1-628cdaf622ba3ex29-sheep-png","status":"inherit","uploaded_to":43040,"date":"2022-05-24 13:17:42","modified":"2023-10-26 11:35:58","menu_order":0,"mime_type":"image\/png","type":"image","subtype":"png","icon":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-includes\/images\/media\/default.png","width":1280,"height":857,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/cetwpuploads.blob.core.windows.net\/wp929\/uploads\/2018\/10\/628cdaf622ba1-628cdaf622ba3ex29-sheep.png-150x150.png","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/cetwpuploads.blob.core.windows.net\/wp929\/uploads\/2018\/10\/628cdaf622ba1-628cdaf622ba3ex29-sheep.png-300x201.png","medium-width":300,"medium-height":201,"medium_large":"https:\/\/cetwpuploads.blob.core.windows.net\/wp929\/uploads\/2018\/10\/628cdaf622ba1-628cdaf622ba3ex29-sheep.png-768x514.png","medium_large-width":768,"medium_large-height":514,"large":"https:\/\/cetwpuploads.blob.core.windows.net\/wp929\/uploads\/2018\/10\/628cdaf622ba1-628cdaf622ba3ex29-sheep.png-1024x686.png","large-width":1024,"large-height":686,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/cetwpuploads.blob.core.windows.net\/wp929\/uploads\/2018\/10\/628cdaf622ba1-628cdaf622ba3ex29-sheep.png.png","1536x1536-width":1280,"1536x1536-height":857,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/cetwpuploads.blob.core.windows.net\/wp929\/uploads\/2018\/10\/628cdaf622ba1-628cdaf622ba3ex29-sheep.png.png","2048x2048-width":1280,"2048x2048-height":857,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/cetwpuploads.blob.core.windows.net\/wp929\/uploads\/2018\/10\/628cdaf622ba1-628cdaf622ba3ex29-sheep.png-1200x803.png","post_full_size-width":1200,"post_full_size-height":803,"home_baner":"https:\/\/cetwpuploads.blob.core.windows.net\/wp929\/uploads\/2018\/10\/628cdaf622ba1-628cdaf622ba3ex29-sheep.png-627x420.png","home_baner-width":627,"home_baner-height":420}},"embedded_video":"","video_duration":"","show_fb_comments":true,"credit_media":""},"tile":{"top_caption":"","main_caption":"What Is The Greatest Principle Of The Torah?","main_caption_size":"1","sub_caption":"Ben Pazzi\u2019s surprising response (hint: it has to do with sheep)","preview_embedded":"","preview_image":{"ID":105101,"id":105101,"title":"-628cdaf622ba1--628cdaf622ba3ex29-sheep.png","filename":"628cdaf622ba1-628cdaf622ba3ex29-sheep.png.png","filesize":0,"url":"https:\/\/cetwpuploads.blob.core.windows.net\/wp929\/uploads\/2018\/10\/628cdaf622ba1-628cdaf622ba3ex29-sheep.png.png","link":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/en\/what-is-the-greatest-principle-of-the-torah\/628cdaf622ba1-628cdaf622ba3ex29-sheep-png\/","alt":"","author":"7","description":"","caption":"","name":"628cdaf622ba1-628cdaf622ba3ex29-sheep-png","status":"inherit","uploaded_to":43040,"date":"2022-05-24 13:17:42","modified":"2023-10-26 11:35:58","menu_order":0,"mime_type":"image\/png","type":"image","subtype":"png","icon":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-includes\/images\/media\/default.png","width":1280,"height":857,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/cetwpuploads.blob.core.windows.net\/wp929\/uploads\/2018\/10\/628cdaf622ba1-628cdaf622ba3ex29-sheep.png-150x150.png","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/cetwpuploads.blob.core.windows.net\/wp929\/uploads\/2018\/10\/628cdaf622ba1-628cdaf622ba3ex29-sheep.png-300x201.png","medium-width":300,"medium-height":201,"medium_large":"https:\/\/cetwpuploads.blob.core.windows.net\/wp929\/uploads\/2018\/10\/628cdaf622ba1-628cdaf622ba3ex29-sheep.png-768x514.png","medium_large-width":768,"medium_large-height":514,"large":"https:\/\/cetwpuploads.blob.core.windows.net\/wp929\/uploads\/2018\/10\/628cdaf622ba1-628cdaf622ba3ex29-sheep.png-1024x686.png","large-width":1024,"large-height":686,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/cetwpuploads.blob.core.windows.net\/wp929\/uploads\/2018\/10\/628cdaf622ba1-628cdaf622ba3ex29-sheep.png.png","1536x1536-width":1280,"1536x1536-height":857,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/cetwpuploads.blob.core.windows.net\/wp929\/uploads\/2018\/10\/628cdaf622ba1-628cdaf622ba3ex29-sheep.png.png","2048x2048-width":1280,"2048x2048-height":857,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/cetwpuploads.blob.core.windows.net\/wp929\/uploads\/2018\/10\/628cdaf622ba1-628cdaf622ba3ex29-sheep.png-1200x803.png","post_full_size-width":1200,"post_full_size-height":803,"home_baner":"https:\/\/cetwpuploads.blob.core.windows.net\/wp929\/uploads\/2018\/10\/628cdaf622ba1-628cdaf622ba3ex29-sheep.png-627x420.png","home_baner-width":627,"home_baner-height":420}},"preview_video":"","external_link":"","link_for_pay":false,"tile_gallery_items":false,"credits":""},"alternate_tile":{"top_caption":"","main_caption":"","main_caption_size":"1","sub_caption":"","hide_media":false},"tile_group":{"preview_image_url":false,"main_caption":"","sub_caption":"","":null,"popup_package_extra_content":"","read_time":""},"home_color":"","home_gallery_top":"","home_gallery_middle":"","home_gallery_book":"","home_gallery_bottom":"","seo":{"seo_title":"","seo_description":"","seo_default_title":"","seo_default_description":""},"old_create_date":"","links":false,"send_noty":false},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/43040"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/50634"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=43040"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/43040\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":105102,"href":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/43040\/revisions\/105102"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=43040"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=43040"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=43040"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}