DEUT275 See [[EXOD354]] Exodus 20:2 other DUTIES 63-7

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DEUT279 See [[NUM190]] Numbers 15:39 remember DUTIES 777-9

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DEUT293 ... a person should not expose himself to danger, relying on the Divine decree [that he will live a definite term], and ingest deadly poisons; or risk his life by battling lions or other wild animals if he does not have to, or by hurling himself into the sea or into fire; or undertake other adventures in which a person cannot be sure of his safety and endangers himself. Scripture has cautioned us in this regard, saying: “Do not try Hashem your God, as you did at Massah” (Devarim 6:16). For one who acts in this fashion cannot escape one of [the following] two possibilities] either he will perish or he will survive]. If he perishes through his rashness, he will have committed suicide, for which he will be held responsible as if he had killed another human being-- notwithstanding the fact that his dying in this way was in accordance with God's decree and took place with His permission. He is he has cautioned us not to kill any human being in any way, saying: “Do not murder” (Shemos 20:13). The closer his relationship to the murdered person, the more culpable is the murderer, as it is written: “Because he pursued his brother with the sword and cut off all pity” (Amos 1:11). Accordingly [as none is closer to a person than he is to himself], he who kills himself undoubtedly deserves severe punishment. For he may be compared to a servant whose master ordered him to guard a certain place for a certain amount of time, warning him not to abandon his post until the arrival of his messenger. When the servant saw that the messenger was late in coming, he abandoned his post before the latter came. [As a result], his master grew angry with him and punished him severely. So too, one who commits suicide leaves God’s service and rebels against Him, by exposing himself to lethal danger. That is why you will find that when Shemuel, peace be upon him, said, “How can I go? If Sha’ul hears of it, he will kill me!” (Shemuel I, 16:2), it was not considered a lapse in his reliance on God. Rather, God's answer to him indicates that his prudence was commendable, as He said to him: “Take a heifer with you and say, ‘I have come to sacrifice to God’” (ibid.). If [the prophet 's question] had been [considered] a lack of trust [in God], the reply to him would have been: “I put to death and bring to life, I wounded and I will heal” (Devarim 32:39), or the like, as when Moshe pleaded, “But I am slow of speech and slow of tongue” (Shemos 4:10), and God answered: “Who gave man a mouth? Who makes him dumb or deaf, seeing or blind?” (ibid. 4:11). Now, if Shemuel, with his perfect piety, did not take the liberty of exposing himself [even] to a slight risk of danger-- though his doing so would have been in [response to] the command of the Creator, may He be exalted, Who had said [to him], “Fill your horn with oil and go! I am sending you to Yishay of Beis Lechem” (Shemuel I, 16:1) -- then it would certainly be reprehensible if that were done by someone who was not [acting] in [response to] the command of the Creator, May He be exalted. (Continued at [[GEN1371]] Genesis 32:11 unworthy DUTIES 401-5).

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DEUT315 Service of God and secular affairs. The difference between the service of the Creator and secular activities in regard to trust in God, may He be exalted, is as follows. In secular affairs it has not been revealed to us which means are better or worse than other means, or which are harmful or not harmful; for we do not know which profession is best for us and more worthwhile for securing a livelihood, [preserving] health, and for general well-being, nor do we know which business venture, journey, or other worldly pursuit will succeed when we try them. It therefore follows that, both in making a choice and implementing it, we must trust in God that He will help us attain what is for our good. We must apply ourselves diligently to our work and beseech Him to stir our hearts to choose what is good and proper for us. But the service of the Creator is different, for He has already informed us of the right course to take, commanded us to choose it, and given us the ability to do so. If, then, we pray to Him in respect to the choice we should make and trust in Him to show us what is good for us, we will err in our words [of supplication] and be foolish in our trust, since He has already made known to us the ways of His service that will benefit us in this world and the next, as it says: “God commanded us to observe all these statutes, to revere Hashem our God, for our own good always” (Devarim 6:24); And in regard to reward in the World-to-Come it says: “It will be to our credit if we are careful to observe” (ibid. 6:25). Also, in secular matters, commendable means may become reprehensible, and those that are reprehensible may become commendable. This is not so, however, with service of God or transgression of His commands. In these, that which is reprehensible or commendable remain so and never changes.

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DEUT333 In how many ways should a person hold himself to an accounting before God? I say that there are a multitude of ways in which to make such an accounting. Of these, I will point out thirty. They can clarify to a person what he owes God, if he will bring them to mind and undertake to reflect on them and remember them always. The love and service we owe the Creator comma in light of His love for us . … 14. A person should make an accounting with himself when he feels love, attachment, and yearning for one who, he thinks, has similar feelings toward him, as it is written: “As in water face answers to face, so the heart of man to man” (Mishlei 27:19). [His regard for his friend is likely to be] even higher if his friend is a notable or a lord, and all the more so if he sees in him signs that [the feeling is mutual]--for example, his friend becomes close to him and promises to help him, does favors for him and shows him kindness, though he [the friend] is not in need of him. In such a case, nothing would distract him from his love. He would hold none of his power in reserve for himself, but would put it all at his friend’s command and service, giving of himself, his wealth, and [the services of] his children in order to repay him [for his kindness]. Now, if we would go to such lengths for a fellow creature, a mere mortal, how much greater is our obligation to our Creator, may He be exalted, Who loves us, as the prophet has assured us, saying: “It is not because you are more numerous than all the nations that God cherished you and chose you.... Rather, it is because God loves you” (Devarim 7:7-8). Besides this assurance to us, we have seen signs--present and past-- of His love for us and His help to us, and how He has drawn us near and promised to stand by us in every generation, as He said: “Yet, for all that, when they are in their enemies’ land, I will not so abhor them and be disgusted with them as to destroy them and break My covenant with them” [Vayikra 26:44); and as Ezra said: “Though we are servants, our God has not abandoned us in our servitude” (Ezra 9: 9). To complete this reflection, we add what is apparent to all of us: if one had been a friend of our fathers and forefathers, we are bound to show him gratitude for his friendship by honoring and loving him, as the Wise One said: “Your friend and your father's friend, do not forsake” (Mishlei 27:10). The Creator, may He be exalted, reminds us of His covenant with our fathers and His providence over us for their sake, to keep His covenant with them, as He said: “Because He is keeping the oath that he swore to your fathers” (Devarim 7:8). And there are many such passages.

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DEUT337 See [[DEUT333]] Deuteronomy 7:7 chose DUTIES 715-7

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DEUT348 See [[GEN1370]] Genesis 32:11 unworthy DUTIES 311

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DEUT349 Why might God bestow favor upon a wicked man? As to God's favor bestowed on a wicked man-- this sometimes happens on account of a previous good deed, for which God rewards him in this world , as it says: “He repays His enemies to their face to destroy them” (Devarim 7:10), which the Early Ones rendered in the Targum as follows: “He repays His enemies during their lifetime [for] the good that they have done before Him, [so as ultimately] to destroy them.” Sometimes wealth is placed in his charge like a deposit, until God, May He be exalted, gives him a righteous son who is worthy of it, as it says: “He prepares it, but the righteous man will wear it ” (Iyov 27:17); “But to the sinner He gives the work of gathering and amassing, to hand over to one who was good before God” (Koheles 2:26). His wealth may also prove to be the primary cause of his death or undoing, as it says: “There is an evil affliction that I have observed under the sun: wealth reserved for its owner, for his misfortune” (ibid. 5:12). It may be that the Creator, May He be exalted, patiently bears with him until he repents and becomes worthy of his good fortune, as was the case with Menashe. Sometimes it is on account of the past piety of his father, in return for which it was proper to bestow benefits on the son, as was said to Yahu, son of Nimshi: “Four generations of your descendants will sit on the throne of Israel” (Melachim II, 10:30); and it says: “He who walks in integrity is a saint; blessed are his children after him!” (Mishlei 20:7); “I have been young and now am grown old, but I have never seen a righteous man forsaken, or his children begging bread” (Tehillim 37:25). Sometimes it is in order to try those who are deceptively and inwardly evil, who, when they observe [the prosperity of the wicked], hurry to turn away from the service of God and hasten to win the favor of the wicked and to learn from their actions. So too, the man who is pure toward God is identified and the man loyal in his service is recognized through his forbearance at a time when the wicked rule over him and humiliate him. For this he will receive reward from the Creator, May He be exalted, as you know from the account of Eliyahu and Izevel, and the account of Yirmeyahu and the kings of his time.

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DEUT355 See [[EXOD238]] Exodus 15:26 sickness DUTIES 733-5

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DEUT365 He who trusts in God has peace of mind and tranquility of soul ... A person’s trust in God will enable him to turn his heart away from worldly concerns and devote it wholly to the ways of His service. Then, in his tranquility of soul, peace of mind, and diminished anxiety, he will be like the alchemist-- one who knows how to turn silver into gold, and copper and tin into silver, through science and skill. Moreover, he surpasses him in ten respects. 1. The alchemist needs for his work certain materials, without which he cannot accomplish anything; and these materials are not available at all times and in all places. But one who trusts in God is assured of his sustenance by any one of the means available in the world, as it says in Scripture: “In order to teach you that not on bread alone can man live; rather, man can live on anything that proceeds out of the mouth of God” (Devarim 8:3). For at no time and in no place are the means of obtaining his livelihood withheld from him, as you know from the story of Eliyahu and the ravens (Melachim 1, 17:3-6); the widow [from Tzarfas] (ibid. 17:9ff.); the cake baked on coals and the cruse of water (ibid. 19:6); and the account of the prophets and Ovadyahu, who said: “I hid a hundred of God's prophets, fifty to a cave; and I provided them with bread and water (ibid. 18:13). It is also said: “Young lions are poor and hungry, but those who seek God lack nothing that is good” (Tehillim 34:11); “Fear God, you His consecrated ones, for those who fear Him lack nothing” (ibid. 34:10).

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