Harmony

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Chapter 2 Mishnah 1. Rebbe [Rabbi Yehuda HaNassi] would say: Which is the straight path for the man to choose for himself? Whatever is harmonious for the one who does it, and harmonious for mankind... 

What does he mean by asking, "Which is the right path for the man to choose for himself?" Isn't there a clear verse that teaches us the proper way to act is the Torah way, "straight are the ways of Hashem," Isn't that clear enough? We must conclude that within Torah there is a straight path that is beyond the letter of the law and that needs clarifying. 

Then he answers, "Whatever is harmonious for the one who does it," This sounds like do whatever you feel is right. Is everyone in a position to be the arbitrator of right and wrong? Isn't that anarchy? "And harmonious for mankind." This sounds like unprincipled leadership. Take a poll of what the people want and base your judgment on that. What if they want what is bad in the eyes of Hashem, which is commonly the case. 

How does this connect to the one who says it, Rabbi Yehuda HaNassi? 

"Whatever is harmonious for the one who does it," doesn't mean that you should do whatever you feel like doing, rather it means that you should work on yourself to be a better person, to do what is best for you, the Torah way. And "harmonious for mankind..." means the work that you do with others, what is best for them, acts of kindness. 

These are usually mutually exclusive things, either you like to work on yourself or you like to work with others. What Rabbi Yehuda HaNassi is asking us to do, is to have a good mix of both in our daily lives. You can do both, and you can find satisfaction and fulfillment in both areas. 

This specifically pertains to Rabbi Yehuda HaNassi, because he was a Nassi, not only that but it was part of his essence, that was what he was called, Rabbi Yehuda HaNassi. A Nassi is the leader of the Jewish people and as the Nassi he was in the unique position to mesh them both, to be concerned with the needs of others, the people of his generation and at the same time, he had to work for his own good. On the other hand, a regular person doesn't have to be concerned so much with both, he can focus mostly on one. 

Rabbi Yehuda Hanasi was a Shepherd of the Jewish people and he wanted that each and every one of us to have the two simultaneously, to be there for others and at the same time, work on ourselves. 

The word tiferes here is translated as harmony, but it can also mean beauty. Avraham's attribute was chessed, kindness, Yitzchak's was gevurah, strength, Yaakov is tiferes, and every  Nassi has a little bit of Yaakov in them. 

Harmony is when you have two or more things working together simultaneously, and that is beautiful. When two people sing and they sound good together, it's beautiful. Beauty is the same, beauty is the meshing of soft and sharp features, if one has only sharp features it's not beautiful, and the same is with only soft features. When someone has both and they work together well, it's beautiful. 

Tiferes is when you are able to mesh chesed and gevurah in perfect harmony. 

That is what Rabbi Yehuda Hanasi is asking of us, to mesh doing for others and working on ourselves in perfect harmony. 

This is truly the perfect mix, because you are working on yourself and giving to the world, to others. And if we do that, we will surely merit the coming of Moshiach. May he come soon.