This Shabbat is the last of the year! We always read the parashah Nitzavim – Standing Firm – before Rosh Hashanah – the Jewish New Year. One reason for this is that at the beginning of the Nitzavim section, Moses gives a blessing to the Jewish people on the day of his death, so that all the people may "stand firm" before God in community and brotherhood, with one another, from those of the highest spiritual level to those of the lowest. A good preparation for the coming year.
As a new year approaches, one should reflect on their own life, their relationship with God, and their relationships with others. Moreover, one's relationship with God defines and shapes their relationships with others. This introspection should encompass all aspects of life, which generally fall into three categories: Torah, referring to Torah study; Avodah (lit. Work), referring to prayer; and Gemilut Chasadim (acts of kindness), which generally refers to the observance of the commandments. Regarding this last point, I would like to explain something that is, ultimately, a wish for this new year.
There are acts of kindness and acts of true kindness. What makes the difference is the motivation behind each act. If the motivation stems from the satisfaction of having done good, it's possible that when that satisfaction is lacking, the person will refrain from doing good again. On the other hand, if the motivation is neither a feeling nor a rational deduction (such as "He needs it more than I do," or "He deserves it for having behaved in such and such a way"), the person will do good even when they derive no benefit from the act, neither emotional, like satisfaction, nor material, like a reward.
Now, this idea is based on a Kabbalistic concept that explains that God sends His energy to the world in two ways: internal energy (memale col almin, fills the worlds, in Aramaic) and transcendental energy (sovev col almin transcends the worlds).
Internal energy is measured according to the receiver's capacity to receive it. Each creature receives precisely what it can bear. In turn, this energy generates a sense of self-existence within creation. Being a limited energy, each creature can perceive and enjoy it, as if to say it can feel God, just as each person feels alive because they have a soul within, even without understanding what a soul is or how it resides within them, yet they know it exists.
Transcendental energy, as its name suggests, transcends creation. It is the same for all creatures and in all worlds. However, this very characteristic makes it hidden. Creation could not capture this energy and continue being creation as it is now; it would negate itself, like trying to get close to the sun and not being burned by its light...
These two forms of energy represent service to God based on understanding and rationality, and irrational service to God (in a positive sense). In the first case, the person connects with God for a reason, a motivation that seems to make sense to them, such as because God is great, because they receive a benefit, and so on. In the second case, there is no motivation that the person can understand, no rational deduction, and certainly no benefit derived from Divine service; it is simply action because God commands it.
That's why I say there are acts of kindness and acts of true kindness. True kindness is when a person does good to their neighbor even if it doesn't make sense, even if they don't derive satisfaction from the act, even if it causes them harm. It's irrational, but it's through these acts that a person connects with the essence of God, with that which transcends worlds.
Only in the time of Messiah will we have both things at the same time, a paradox, but that is what Messiah means: to be able to grasp the transcendental energy of God, and continue being a creature, not to be annulled or, in other words, to understand with the intellect that which transcends it.
May God bless us in this new year, so that we may do good because it is right (according to what the Torah defines as good) and that, through this behavior, we may bring the greatest good to all humanity: the coming of Messiah NOW!
Ktivá veHatimá Tová, leShaná Tová uMetuká
May they be registered and sealed for a good and sweet year.