Regarding “Which path is not just halakhically valid or ethically sound, but yashar—straightforward and elegant? That’s what tiferet is—the harmony of rightness within a given circumstance. “
Also in the Siddur, H”S called Yaakov’s name Yisroel and Yashar (upright, fair) because of G_D’s love for him and delight in him.
And a question of definition, is “Ashrei” related to the word “Yashar”?
Regarding “And that a mitzvah done with love, at the right time, with sensitivity, can change everything. “
Having read a chronicle of a family trapped in the time and place of the Shoah, I remembered a Mother who had just boarded a train with her children instructing her son to “quickly take your Father’s Tefillin to him! He forgot them!” Obeying his Mother, and running through the chaos of the nazzis and their dogs and others to the other train onto which his Father had gone, finding him(!) and giving him his Tefillin at the exact moment the train began to move, preventing him from returning to his Mother, but ultimately saving his life, which proves your thesis.
Regarding “the only merit that matters. That’s the only reward. To be close to God. To exist in His presence”,
A veritable reminder of, in my opinion, the most beautiful Tefillah of the night time for Shabbat which reads (and the translation makes a difference as well) “make understood to me the Derech of Chayiim שבע שמחות את פניך נעמות בימינך נצח״. Tehillim 16: 11.
Regarding “There is more to be considered than the isolated act itself. The way that it is performed, by whom, at what time, in what setting, is what makes all the difference.”
This helps one understand what HKBH said when expressing His rules for the offerings of the Beit HaMikdash, “Be careful to offer My sacrifices at the proper times.”
And since our Tefillah replace them, so the timing of Shacharis, Minchah and Maariv have inherited this Mitzvah of time constraints.
This is beautiful. I started to excerpt part of it to restack but could not stop reading and at the end felt that the entire article was worth keeping and rethinking.
Regarding “Which path is not just halakhically valid or ethically sound, but yashar—straightforward and elegant? That’s what tiferet is—the harmony of rightness within a given circumstance. “
Also in the Siddur, H”S called Yaakov’s name Yisroel and Yashar (upright, fair) because of G_D’s love for him and delight in him.
And a question of definition, is “Ashrei” related to the word “Yashar”?
Regarding “And that a mitzvah done with love, at the right time, with sensitivity, can change everything. “
Having read a chronicle of a family trapped in the time and place of the Shoah, I remembered a Mother who had just boarded a train with her children instructing her son to “quickly take your Father’s Tefillin to him! He forgot them!” Obeying his Mother, and running through the chaos of the nazzis and their dogs and others to the other train onto which his Father had gone, finding him(!) and giving him his Tefillin at the exact moment the train began to move, preventing him from returning to his Mother, but ultimately saving his life, which proves your thesis.
Regarding “the only merit that matters. That’s the only reward. To be close to God. To exist in His presence”,
A veritable reminder of, in my opinion, the most beautiful Tefillah of the night time for Shabbat which reads (and the translation makes a difference as well) “make understood to me the Derech of Chayiim שבע שמחות את פניך נעמות בימינך נצח״. Tehillim 16: 11.
Regarding “There is more to be considered than the isolated act itself. The way that it is performed, by whom, at what time, in what setting, is what makes all the difference.”
This helps one understand what HKBH said when expressing His rules for the offerings of the Beit HaMikdash, “Be careful to offer My sacrifices at the proper times.”
And since our Tefillah replace them, so the timing of Shacharis, Minchah and Maariv have inherited this Mitzvah of time constraints.
Also, your definitive explanations give focus to a reader’s understanding.
This is beautiful. I started to excerpt part of it to restack but could not stop reading and at the end felt that the entire article was worth keeping and rethinking.