Consciousness
Over the past months, we have seen Pirkei Avot’s delineation of the proper view of life. Internalizing and maintaining our consciousness of this view in a way that forges our life’s compass can often be challenging. Rav Ovadia MiBartenura points out that most sins emanate not [just] from desire, but [also] from a [temporary] loss of perspective.1 Having the right values and goals is not enough; we need to be conscious of and driven by them
The mishnayot of Avot speak about how to accomplish this. Two of Avot’s perakim begin with advice on how to generate the consciousness that helps one avoid sin. The third perek opens by quoting the guidance given by Akavya ben Mahalalel (a tanna who lived in the first tannaitic generation) while the second quotes Rebbi (Rebbi Yehudah HaNasi who lived at the end of the Tannatic period).2
Though both tannaim advise us to focus on three things3, they each recommend a different set of three. This week we will study Rebbi’s three.
What’s Up
Rebbi encourages reflecting upon Hashem’s presence and omniscience. “Look at three things and you will not come to sin: know what is above you, a seeing eye, and a listening ear, and all of your actions are recorded.”4
The type of consciousness Rebbi recommends has earlier sources in Torah and Nach. The Torah5 commands us to wear tzitzit so that seeing them will help us avoid sin by reminding us of Hashem and His mitzvot.6 Dovid HaMelech went beyond remembering God and constantly imagined himself in His actual presence.7 Rebbi takes the idea a step further by encouraging us to focus on the omniscient aspects of Hashem’s presence. Consciousness of Hashem’s awareness of our actions motivates people to not only avoid sin, but also keep far away from it.8
The Seeing Eye
The first aspect is “the seeing eye” — Hashem sees everything in our world. Rabbeinu Yonah explains that the seeing eye means more than just abstract knowledge; it means that Hashem is always watching.9 Many studies have indicated that people are more hesitant to do the wrong thing when they know that others are watching — or even if they see the picture of an eye in front of them.
Students were asked to participate in the so-called “Dictator Game,” in which one is given money together with the opportunity of sharing any or none of it with an anonymous stranger. Beforehand, and without realizing it was part of the experiment, some of the students were briefly shown a pair of eyes as a computer screen saver, while others saw a different image. Those exposed to the eyes gave 55 percent more to the stranger than the others.
In another study, researchers placed a coffee maker in a university hallway. Passers-by could take coffee and leave money in the box. On some weeks a poster with watchful eyes was hanging on the wall nearby, on others a picture of flowers. On the weeks where the eyes were displayed, people left on average 2.76 times as much money as at other times.10 Ara Norenzayan, author of the book Big Gods, from which these studies are taken, concludes that “watched people are nice people.”11
Obviously, knowledge of God’s eyes constantly upon us can have an even stronger impact.12 That is part of what makes religion a force for honest and altruistic behavior and mitzvah observance: the belief that God sees what we do. It is no coincidence that, as belief in a personal God has waned in the West, surveillance by CCTV and other means has had to be increased.
The Hearing Ear
The “hearing ear” expands God’s omniscience. In addition to seeing our actions, God also hears our words. Many of the commentaries see Hashem’s eye and ear as able to know our thoughts as well. As Hashem said to Shmuel:“Man sees only up till the eyes (of the other) while Hashem sees straight through to the heart.”13
Running Record
Rebbi adds that our actions are also recorded for posterity. This means that what we do is remembered and has long term significance. We are not always careful about our actions because we see them as lacking significance. The Medrash14 tells us that, had Reuven known that his saving Yosef would be recorded in the Torah, he would have picked him up on his shoulders and taken him back to Yaakov. Similarly, if Boaz had known that Nach would record the way he cared for Rut, he would have given her a four-course meal. We should recognize that all of our actions- even those that seem insignificant to us- are recorded and have great significance.15
Rebbi’s Mishneh In the Tech Age
The Chofetz Chaim used this mishnah to explain the technological developments of the beginning of the 20th century. He commented on the invention of the phonograph that: “Earlier generations more readily believed that God sees, hears and records our actions. Unfortunately, in our (his) generation, people have less faith. Therefore, the phonograph had to be created so people could believe that God is recording our actions and our voices.”
What does this say about the explosion of recording technology in the hundred years since then? Maybe we need the reality of knowing that our every move is observed, heard, and recorded by cameras, eyes, and satellites to help us believe that Hashem is doing the same.
May the knowledge of the FBI’s records help us recognize Hashem’s similar capability and may our focus on this capability keep us far from sin and inspire us to live our lives properly.
*Summarized by Rafi Davis
Rabbi Reuven Taragin is the dean of overseas students at Yeshivat HaKotel.
1 Chazal (Talmud Bavli, Mesechet Sotah 3a) attribute sin to a ‘ruach shtut’ (silly spirit) that enters man.
2 The first perek of Avot tracks the ba’alei hamesorah all the way down to the generation of Hillel and Shammai. From Hillel and Shammai, the Mishnah moves to Rabban Gammliel, who was not technically the ba’al mesorah, but, rather, the son of Hillel. From there, we track by lineage, continuing with Rabban Shimon ben Gammliel and continuing down to the heritage of Rebbi Yehudah HaNasi (known as Rebbi), who lived in the last generation of the Tanna’im. He is chosen to open the second perek of Avot in order to highlight his central role in editing the Mishneh.
3 The fact that tannaim from both ends of the Tannaitic period encourage reflecting upon three things shows the relevance of this model to different historical periods.
4 Avot 2:1.
5 Sefer Bamidbar 15:39
6 See Rambam (Mishneh Torah, Hilchot Mezuzah 6:13) who uses tzizit as a model for the mitzvot of tefillin and mezuzah. All three mitzvot are meant to help us avoid sin by reminding us of Hashem’s presence in our lives.
7 Tehillim 16:8. See Rema who opens his comments on the Shulchan Aruch (Orach Chayim 1:1) by describing this pasuk as the great principle of the Torah and personal growth.
8 See the commentary of the Maharal where he explains that Rebbi uses the language of ‘l’dei aveirah’ to connote the need to keep far away from sin. Once one is caught in the throes of sin, it is hard to separate.
9 Sse Sefer HaChinuch (364) who explains that the mitzvah to confess sins is meant to express our recognition that Hashem has already seen what we did.
10 Based on Ara Norenzayan, Big Gods: How Religion Transformed Cooperation and Conflict, Princeton University Press, 2013, pp. 13-54.
Other studies have shown that fewer people cheat on tests after being exposed to words related to God or being asked to recall the Ten Commandments.
Rabbi Jonathan Sacks discusses this at length in Covenant & Conversation, Parashat Shelach 5775, 5782.
11 Big Gods, p. 19.
12 Rav Uri Zohar- a famous Israeli ba’al teshuvah who inspired many others to follow his parh- was once waiting at a traffic light. Another car pulled up next to him and the driver rolled the window down and asked Rav Zohar to convince him to do teshuvah before the light turned from red to green.
Rav Zohar replied: “well why did you stop at these lights? Why don’t you just go through the red light, there is nobody here?” The man retorted: “I’m afraid that maybe a policeman will suddenly emerge and perhaps my license will be revoked or a camera will see me and report my actions, send a letter to my house and fine me!”
Rav Zohar replied: “well you should know there is a camera focused upon you at all times, you think the world is empty but there is an eye above that always watches!” The driver was inspired to do teshuvah..
13 Sefer Shmuel Aleph 15:7. See the Abarvanel there.
14 Vayikra Rabbah 34:9
15 The Pirkei Moshe points out that instead of the verb “kotvin,” the mishneh uses the passive “nichtavin.” Hashem and His angels do not do the writing. The record is created automatically. Alternatively, the writing is done by our hand. The Gemara tells us that our own signatures appear in the book about our lives. As it says in Unetanah Tokef: “chotem yad kol adam bo — the signatures of each person are in it.”
