Tonight, we’re learning how important it is not to be lazy. A person can sometimes be lazy, heaven forbid in a million years. This is one of the biggest meniyot: biggest holding back of serving Hashem is being lazy. The Mesillat Yesharim teaches us this. What does that mean? We are made out of Afar. What is Afar? Afar is ashes. What are dust and ashes? And we have a Neshamah (soul). The Neshamah was given from God. The ashes are from the ground. Therefore, a person sometimes feels maybe, maybe, maybe a little lazy, heaven forbid. He has to break it. How do you break it? Even though you’re not in the mood, you do it anyway. For example, let’s say you don’t want to do certain things. So, it’s brought down; the Mesillat Yesharim says this: the outside reflects the inside. When you go, “I’m going to do it. I don’t care,” and you move your body, all of a sudden, the inside wakes up.
Let’s look at mood. Have you ever seen an athlete who isn’t in the mood, they can’t, this, that, that? What do they do? They’re not going to do this. They just move their hands. “Let’s go, let’s go, let’s go!” That gets an engine started so they can perform at the highest. That guy isn’t in the mood to learn. What do you do? “Let’s go, let’s learn, let’s go, let’s go, let’s go, let’s go!” Pump yourself up, even if you have to move a little bit. “Let’s go, let’s go, we’re going to learn, let’s go! Right now, let’s go!” So when you move a little bit, this is already on a high level.
There was a story—I love this story with a passion. I really love this story. It’s about Rav Aharon Kotler. First of all, if you read about his life, it’s unbelievable. Literally, I mean it: unbelievable. You don’t know. It’s like the next level of greatness. The next level of greatness. You have to understand: when you read the biographies of the rabbis, about their lives, you get Chizuk (encouragement) yourself. You see what they aspired to. I’m excited: I learned a Masechet (tractate). Then you read about somebody, a gadol (great sage), and he says, “Oh, I did it 300 times. I learned it from cover to cover 300 times.” You hear concepts like that, and it’s like, “Wow, 300—I never thought of that.” Imagine finishing a Masechet 300 times. We’re used to 100 times, maybe 50 times, you know. You’re going to finish Shas 300 times. You finish Shas 500 times—what’s going on? 500 times Masechet Shabbat. You hear that? Someone was telling me, “You read about Masechet Shabbat 500 times.” Can you do Masechet Shabbat from cover to cover 500 times? These are just beyond, but at least it’s in your head as an aspiration. Let’s go! Let’s make it happen! Let’s grow! You hear what I’m saying or no? This is very important.
So, a lot of times, people do things on the outside in order to trigger what’s inside. Sometimes a person is very cheap. He can’t spend a dollar. Sometimes, I don’t know, he’s so cheap. What’s going on? To pull money out of the—forget about it. I’m telling you, it’s like moving a whole building, carrying the whole building. What happened? Give money, khalas. Sometimes it’s hard. You don’t know the answer for some people, but hopefully it’s not with you. At the end of the day, you have to be easygoing about giving, if you have it. If you don’t have it—but you have it—be easygoing. Okay, yalla, no problem. Here, take, take.
But anyway, so now, Rabbi, a guy is cheap. What are you going to do? Very simple: let him be mit'orer (awaken himself). Do it anyway. “No, no, right now, right now, right now. Boom, all right, let’s go.” It’s going to hurt the first time. It’s going to hurt the second time. It’s going to hurt the fourth time. It’s going to hurt the fifth time. But by the 8th, 10th time, he’s going to break it. That’s why there’s a very famous question in Halacha (Jewish law). What’s the question? Let’s say you have $100. You give it to one person. Or you have—what’s—$5. How much? $100? Oh, you have $10. How many tens do you have? 100? Huh? You went to school or no? Oh, very good. So, they tell you good? The honors class? All right. This is what they teach you in the honors class, yes. So, you have 10 tens in the $100, yeah? What happens? You have 10 tens in the $100. Now, let’s say I’m in shul (synagogue), and people are walking around collecting money. I can give it to 10 people, or I can give it to one person. What do I do? I’m not going to tell you the answer, yes or no. I’m not going to tell you. I’m not going to tell you the answer. But I’m telling you, if a person has a problem with giving, if he has that problem, then if he gives one, again and again and again and again, it builds his muscle of giving. Understand? Giving once, giving twice, giving three times. Understand? It builds your muscle of giving. That’s why in life you have to grow.
I’m going to end off with this. I told you about the Rav Aharon Kotler story, but listen. Remember, there was a time when one guy, one bachur (guy), a yeshiva bachur, came to Rav Aharon Kotler. “I have no cheshek (desire) to learn.” Sometimes it’s not the easiest thing. Then you wake up, you little, little this, that. “I have no cheshek to learn.” The rabbi said, “I’m jealous of you.” “Jealous of me? Why are you jealous of me?” “I’m jealous of you,” he said. “Because you, by me, I never had that experience of not having a desire to learn and learning anyway. I always had a desire to learn. But you don’t have the cheshek to learn, and you’re learning anyway? Imagine?” This is really the next level.
And therefore, a person, like we said, has to break the laziness. You have to break it. How do you break it? One of the ways is to do it anyway. We gave examples about tzedakah (charity): do it anyway. And about learning: get yourself pumped. “Let’s go, let’s go! We’re doing.” Because the outside triggers the inside. The outside triggers the inside. This is a great lesson that we have to learn about laziness.