Musar for Berakhot 12:29

We have set forth a little of the eminence of a man who is habituated to praying with a minyan, and the great increase of his mitzvoth and merits. The major thing here is that this mitzvah be a steady one, and not one that he slackens in. But if sometimes he performs it and sometimes slackens in it, G-d forbid, then he is in the class of (Vayikra 26:21): "But if you walk with Me by chance, etc." (see Rashi there). And thus have our sages of blessed memory said (Berachoth 6b), that when a man is accustomed to come to the house of study, and once does not come, the Holy One Blessed be He "inquires" after him as to why he has not come. And this is intimated in (Isaiah 50:10): "Who among you who fears the L-rd — who listens to the voice of His servant — has walked in the darkness, where it is not light for him?" (If he had gone to perform a mitzvah, it would have been light for him, but having gone on a mundane errand, it was not light for him) (Ibid.): "Let him trust in the name of the L-rd." Why has this befallen him" Because he should have trusted in the name of the L-rd and did not. R. Yochanan said; "When the Holy One Blessed be He comes to the synagogue and does not find ten men there, He becomes angry, viz. (Ibid. 2): 'Why, when I came, was there no man? when I called, was there no response?'" The intent is that even if a man were presented with an opportunity for profit at the time of his going to the synagogue, he should not pay heed to it, but trust in the name of the L-rd that what was set aside for him by Heaven will not be detracted from him. And, indeed, very often this is a test from Heaven for him. As our sages of blessed memory have said: "There is no man who is not subjected to tests. A rich man is tested; a poor man is tested, etc." And when a man reflects upon this, he sees this in his experience. He may sometimes stand a whole day in his shop and see very few customers, and when the time for the minchah prayer arrives [or on Sabbath eve before sunset], new customers come, whom he had never seen before, and beg him to sell to them — and all this, as a test, the Holy One Blessed be He testing him to see if his [Divine] service is dear to him [to be performed] with all of his heart and all of his soul.

ואם תלכו עמי קרי . We learn from here that a person must set aside a specific place for his Torah study and prayers, etc. He should not let this become a matter of coincidence, קרי.

Abraham suffered spiritually from having a foreskin. The foreskin may be perceived as an obstacle to receptivity of higher degrees of sanctity by the body. Only after Abraham became circumcised was he able to resume his spiritual ascent towards higher insights and a higher level of sanctity. His descendants after him achieved some permanent sanctity in space. Some of his descendants were not fit however, and, until Jacob, whose children were all loyal, no permanent site of holiness was established. When the Talmud Berachot 6b said that כל הקובע מקום לתפלתו אלוקי אברהם בעזרו, "Anyone who prays from a site permanently assigned for that purpose will enjoy the assistance of the G–d of Abraham," this is an allusion to the fact that Abraham was the first to establish sanctity of space on earth.

Until now we have spoken about the beginning of the verse (Psalms 34:13-15): "Who is the man who wants life, etc., Guard your tongue from evil, etc." And now, with the help of the L-rd, we shall explain the end of the verse: "Depart from evil and do good," as it applies to the beginning of the verse. It is well known what our sages of blessed memory have said about this, viz.: "Who is the man who wants life" — in the world to come, "who loves days to see good" — in this world. "Guard your tongue, etc. Depart from evil and do good." We shall precede [the explanation of this verse] with what is said in the name of the GRA on the verse (Isaiah 3:10-11): "Say of the tzaddik that [he is] good, for the fruits of their deeds shall they eat. Woe to the rasha [the wicked one], for he is evil. For the recompense of his hands shall be rendered him," viz.: If one fulfills the mitzvoth between a man and his Maker, the essence of his reward is in the world to come; and so, his punishment, when he transgresses them. And for the mitzvoth between a man and his neighbor, where he benefits his fellow men, he receives his reward in this world, too. Similarly, if he transgresses them, aside from the punishment awaiting him in the world to come, he is punished in this world too, for by his acts he also causes suffering to men. The terms "tzaddik" and rasha" apply to the relationship between a man and his Maker, and the terms "good" and "evil," to that between a man and his neighbor. And the verse is now resolved, viz.: "Say of the tzaddik that [he is] good," i.e., that by his acts he benefits also his fellow men — "for the fruits of their deeds [(those of the tzaddikim)] shall they [(their fellow men)] eat." "Woe to the rasha, for he is evil," i.e., even in the area of "between man and his neighbor" — "for the recompense of his [the rasha's] hands shall be rendered him [his fellow man]." And now, the aforementioned verse is also resolved, viz.: "Who is the man who wants life" — in the world to come; "who loves days to see good" — even in this world. "Depart from [doing] evil and do good," i.e., also the mitzvoth between a man and his neighbor, to do good to his fellow man, and through this to see good, even in this world. Now, "Depart from evil" includes all aspects of evil: theft, violence, wronging, interest, cheating, "whitening" one's face, and the like. And "do good," includes all aspects of good: charity, lovingkindness, supporting the indigent, burial of the dead, visiting the sick, welcoming guests, returning lost objects, returning a pledge, paying a hired worker on time, and many other such mitzvoth between a man and his neighbor. A man must set his heart on all of them and spur himself to fulfill them. As we have seen with the mitzvah of shofar, that all run to fulfill it, so should it be with all mitzvoth, to pursue them and to rejoice in their fulfillment. As we say every day: "Therefore, O L-rd our G-d, in our lying down and in our rising, let us speak in Your statutes and rejoice in the words of Your Torah and in Your mitzvoth forever." [And, in our many sins, we say to the Holy One Blessed be He that we shall do this, but we transgress it. And in us there is fulfilled what our sags of blessed memory have said (Berachoth 6b) on the verse (Psalms 12:9): "…when the vile are exalted over the sons of men" — "these [i.e., mitzvoth] are the things that stand at the height of the world, and the sons of men cheapen them."]

An important function of the six pillars which ensure this world's continued existence is that we, who perform the commandments which symbolise these six pillars, associate as closely as possible with the four supports. In metaphorical language: Since we have a tradition that G–d only has the four cubits of הלכה in this world, study and performance of the six pillars mentioned is equivalent to secluding oneself in the Tent of Torah. Our sages (Berachot 6b) have said that all our enemies will succumb if someone sets aside a special place for studying Torah.