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Chapter Nineteen: ON REMEMBERING

Remembering is a trait without which the world could not endure, for all transactions of this world depend upon memory, and no man would trust another or loan him anything if he could not rely on the latter's memory. And all the affairs of the world involve remembering; for example, in buying and selling, if the people were to forget what they had said previously, they would not be able to do business, and they could not agree on terms if they did not possess the quality of rememering. It is not necessary to expatiate on this for it is a matter of common knowledge. Therefore, a man should employ this quality in all his affairs, for memory is a fence to truth, and it helps a man to fulfill his vows. If there is a matter between him and his companion, he must remember it and not alter his words. If someone tells him a secret and commands him not to reveal it, he must remember this and not reveal it.

If a person borrows money or household utensils from a friend, he must remember exactly what he has borrowed and take care to return everything. One who has many business interests and is very busy should be very careful not to borrow money or things from people, since he is liable to forget everything and not remember. If someone has done him a good deed he should make a point of remembering it so that he can reciprocate. Concerning charity, one must remember the poor and constantly keep their distress in mind, and thus he will be able to help them. And if a man comes to give testimony in a court of law concerning what he has seen and what he knows, he must be very careful to remember and he must not diminish from or add to that which he saw. See how the Holy One, Blessed be He, has warned us concerning memory. As it is said, "Beware lest thou forget the Lord thy God, in not keeping His commandments and His ordinances" (Deut. 5:11). And it is very important to remember God in all of one's deeds. And thus did David say, "I have set the Lord always before me" (Ps. 16:8).

Memory is a very lofty quality and it is an instrument that strengthens all the commandments and all the Torah. Concerning the fringes, it is said, "And remember all the commandments of the Lord and do them … that ye may remember and do all My commandments" (Num. 15:39-40). Concerning the tefillin, it is said, "And it shall be for a sign upon thee upon thy hand, and for a memorial between thine eyes, that the law of the Lord may be in thy mouth" (Ex. 13:9). And it is written, "And thou shalt remember that thou wast a bondman in Egypt; and thou shalt observe and do these statutes (Deut. 16:12).

And since everything depends upon memory, I must list thirty ** The idea of organizing one’s wisdom into thirty precepts is based upon the kere of Proverbs 22:20. things that you ought to remember twice a day. And you should place them in the depths of your heart, and in your thoughts. Do not remember them with your mouth alone, but write them on the tablet of your heart. Then your service will be well received by God, Blessed be He, and you will obtain favor and kindnesses before Him.

The first thing to remember is how the Creator, Blessed be He, brought you forth from nothing to existence. And remember the goodness which He did for you from the time of your birth until this day, and how He has raised you and lifted you up over all creatures. And all of this He did for you, not because He was obligated to do this to you, but of His own free will and out of His great kindness He has rewarded you with all this. Because of this you are obligated to thank the Creator, Blessed be He.

The second thing that one must remember is the kindness of God for giving him a healthy body, for if he were ill in a single limb and a doctor came and healed it, how grateful he would be to that doctor. All the more so must he be thankful to God, who made him completely healthy.

The third thing to remember is the kindness of God, who has given him wisdom and knowledge. For if a man were so mad as to rip up his garments, how difficult life would be for him, and he would be reckoned as being worthless. And if a doctor were to heal him of his madness, how much would be have to praise him for this healing. All the more so, ought he to praise the Creator, Blessed be He.

The fourth thing a person ought to remember is the good that God bestowed on him in giving him His holy Torah, thus teaching him the proper paths in which to attain the proper service of God. And he should eagerly give thanks to God, for through the Torah he will attain the light of life and to enjoy the radiance of the Divine Presence.

The fifth thing to remember is the mercy of God, who has shown mercy to him by giving him His pure Torah. Now if a king of flesh and blood had sent him a letter and he read it through and there was something in it that he did not understand, what anguish he would feel because he did not understand what the king was commanding him. And there is no doubt that if there was in the vicinity even a very insignificant person who knew how to explain that which he did not understand, he would hasten to go to him and would not be ashamed at all to inquire. How much more, then, should he be grateful for the Torah of our God (which explains everything).

The sixth matter which he should remember is to consider if there is within him any flaw which would make him transgress what his Creator had commanded him. And he should think about this, that all the things which the Creator made, obey His commandments : the donkey carries the burden, the horse and the ox plow, and not for one day do they rebel against their master. The sun each day does what God has commanded it. And if there were one day when the sun did not shine, and there was darkness, how astonishing this would be in the eyes of the world. Or if the earth did not produce its food and its fruit, then all the world would die. And now, see how all of the things that God created do his bidding. And should man not be ashamed if he does not accustom his limbs which were created in order to observe the Torah to do so, and if instead he alters their function and accustoms them to transgress the Torah?

The seventh matter he should remember is that if a slave sees that his master deals bountifully with him and provides him with all his needs, how much ought that slave take it upon himself to revere his master and to love him and submit to him and try with all his power to find favor in the eyes of his master. All the more so, should a man accept the yoke of the kingdom of Heaven, and consider himself as a servant submissive before his master and not adopt a domineering or arrogant attitude.

The eighth thing to remember is how all of the king's servants are quick and industrious in their work, and when their duties involve wisdom and counsel they clear their minds of all other matters and concentrate all their thoughts and all their wisdom, in order to do with understanding and with wisdom and with proper intent and with all their heart the matter which the king turned over to them. And if such a man comes to praise the king, and to thank him for the good which he did to him, whether in a letter or orally, he would search his heart for pure and beautiful words with which to praise the king. All the more so should a man do so before the King of Kings, and place all of his intentions in the service of the Lord, Blessed be He, to do that which is right and fitting. Now all of the deeds in the service of the Lord are divided into three types. The first is the obligation of the heart alone : if he occupies himself in his thoughts in communion with God he must cleanse his heart of all other thoughts so that his communion with God may be complete. The second type involves the employment of the heart and the limbs in the service of God, as in prayer. He must cleanse his heart of all other affairs and stand with great intent before the Great God, Blessed be He. The third type is that involved when he prepares a lulav or fringes or the like, which are precepts for the limbs alone and here intent does not occupy the central position it does in prayer, these precepts being addressed to the limbs rather than to the heart. Yet even here, before a man fulfills the commandments of putting on the fringes or waving the lulav, he must remember for whom he does so. And he must always embellish a commandment, even by paying up to one-third more (than the price of an ordinary religious article and buying a more expensive one) to honor the Master of the Universe

The ninth thing one should remember is that he who has a wife whom he loves as himself, or a son whom he loves with all his heart, always exerts himself to supply their every need and fulfill their every wish; and he does not do so because he fears them or because they will do good to him because he fulfills their wishes, but because of his great love for them. All the more so should he act so before God, and earnestly direct all of his deeds to His Great Name alone. He should not fulfill the Commandments out of love or fear of men or out of the hope of deriving some benefit, but he should unify all of his deeds to God's Great Name alone and not mix this with any other motives.

The tenth thing he should remember is what all his deeds have been until the present day. If he has occupied himself with the service of his Creator, he should recall every day how he has served the Lord and in what manner he may have rebelled against Him. He should always set his mind on occupying himself more with the service of God, Blessed be He, than with his own needs. And if he has not heretofore devoted himself to the service of the Creator, then at least let him do so from now on.

The eleventh thing a man should remember is how alert he is and how he hastens in his business in order to make money and how he thinks about this night and day and he is not anxious to love any man except him who helps him accumulate gold and silver. All of his labors in the pursuit of wealth may be for nothing and there is always the possibility that he will lose all he has, or that his money will be his undoing, or that he will die before long, yet in spite of all this he exerts himself in this way. If this is the case, what should a man do for the sake of his soul which lives forever? Moreover, how obliged a man is to mend his ways and be constantly alert to remember to purify and cleanse his soul with a cleansing that lasts forever and ever. Now, see what a difference there is between the two worlds, and the excellence of one over the other is like that of light over darkness.

The twelfth thing a man should remember is that the Holy One, Blessed be He, sees the thoughts of his heart. See how a man who goes to minister before the king adorns and beautifies himself, as it is written, "For you may not enter within the king's gate clothed with sackcloth" (Esther 4:2). And as we see in the story of Joseph, "Then Pharaoh sent and called Joseph, and they brought him hastily out of the dungeon. And he shaved himself, and changed his raiment, and came in unto Pharaoh" (Gen. 41:14). And behold and see that he who stands before the king always does not adorn himself (as lightly) as he who stands before the king for one moment. If this is so, then we who stand before the King of Kings forever — for He sees the thoughts of our hearts whether secret or revealed, and there is no escape from Him, for He is everywhere — should think always of His greatness and agree in our hearts to do His will and to adorn ourselves in our thoughts before Him.

The thirteenth thing to remember is that his deeds do not match his wisdom, that he has money but is not doing good commensurate with his wealth. And he should think : Is there a man who if another man comes along and says, "Take these hundred gold coins on condition that you give to my friends ten gold coins" — would he not accept the offer? All the more so should he do this before the Lord Blessed be He. And he should not say, "If I had attained such and such an amount of wealth, or if I possessed more knowledge than I do, I would do what I am obligated to do in the service of God" — for all of this is a lot of nonsense on the part of him who speaks thus, for this is all at the urging of the Evil Inclination. Let a man instead do at once what he can, according to his wisdom and his wealth, in the state in which he is at present, and if he should have more at some future time, then let him do more.

The fourteenth thing a man should remember is how a person tends to love one who is friendly towards him, as it is written : "As in water face answereth to face, so the heart of man to man" (Prov. 27:19). All the more so, if a man sees that a king receives him with a friendly countenance and shows him that he loves him, how much will the man love him and praise him and extol him for this. All the more so are we obliged to love with all our hearts the Creator, Blessed be He, who has informed us that He loves us and has assured us that He will continue to love us in every generation. As it is said, "And yet for all that, when they are in the land of their enemies, I will not reject them, neither will I abhor them, to destroy them utterly, and to break My covenant with them" (Lev. 26:44).

The fifteenth thing to remember is that a man prepares his needs before he actually requires them, although he does not know if he will live to enjoy them or not. And a man who sets forth on a distant journey, how he prepares food for the journey! All the more so should we "prepare food" for the long eternity which is a long path indeed when God suddenly sends his messenger to bring man before him.

The sixteenth thing a man should remember is that his companions, better and stronger than he, enjoyed much pleasure but did not live long, and that Death does not delay coming at any moment and is not subject to the rule of man. A man should keep in mind that the soul is a pledge temporarily in his hand and that he does not know when the Owner of the pledge will come and demand the return of His pledge. Therefore, he must quickly cleanse the pledge so that he returns it as clean as it was when he got it.

The seventeenth thing to remember is that it is a very good quality to keep away from people when he can save himself from them, and sit in his room alone. For most transgressions are committed by two or more — for example, fornication, gossip, lies and flattery — and from all of these he who sits alone is saved for he will not vaunt himself over any man and he will not hear their idle talk. For when he stays with them he is obliged to rebuke them in three ways : either by striking the offender, as Phinehas did when he took the javelin in his hand (Num. 25:7); or with words, as Moses our Teacher did, when he said to the wicked man, "Wherefore smitest thou thy fellow?" (Ex. 2:13); or in one's heart, as David said, "I hate the gathering of evil-doers, and will not sit with the wicked" (Ps. 26:5). And who can constantly keep quarreling with such people, inasmuch as they constantly transgress? But when you sit alone you avoid all this guilt and you are saved from many transgressions. But pious people one should join and one should sit near them and learn from them, as it is written, "He that walketh with wise men shall be wise" (Prov. 13:20).

The eighteenth thing one must remember is the kindness of God, Who saves him from the afflictions of the world. For he sees so many people dying in great pain from hunger, from thirst, from poison, from leprosy, from the sword, from drowning, and from fire, and he knows in his heart that he deserves to be visited with all sorts of afflictions because of many transgressions which he has committed, and that he has not guarded that which God has placed in his care. And even though he is a completely wicked person, God has had pity upon him and saved him from all these afflictions. He should know how fitting it is for him to be submissive before his Creator and ask Him to guard him against all the distress that takes place in the world. As it is said, "If thou wilt diligently hearken to the voice of the Lord thy God… I will put none of the diseases upon thee, which I have put upon the Egyptians; for I am the Lord that healeth thee" (Ex. 15:26). And it said, "And the Lord will take away from thee all sickness; and He will put none of the evil diseases of Egypt, which thou knowest, upon thee" (Deut. 7:15). And our Rabbis, of blessed memory, said, "It is not the lizard that slays, but it is sin that slays" (Berakoth 33a).

The nineteenth thing one should remember is that if he has money, it is a pledge in his hand, for when God wishes he can take it from his hand and entrust it to someone else. Therefore, a man ought not feel pain at paying what he owes. For example, if he has stolen something, he should be glad to return what he has stolen, and give praise to God that he was in a position to return what he had stolen. And he should be careful not to fear the cruel happenings of the times against him, but he should think that what God, Blessed be He, is pleased to do should be acceptable to him as His decree, for everything belongs to him. When He desires He gives it into his hand, and when He desires He takes it from him. He should not despise a poor man because of his poverty, nor should he think that it is because of his own merit that he himself has acquired his wealth, but he should think that God in His mercy gave it to him, and he should ask Him to let him so dispose of his money as to the will of the Creator, and that his wealth should not be kept by its master for its master's own evil.

The twentieth thing a man should remember is to consider the difference between what is high and what is lowly, and he should understand that he is small and lowly in comparison with the higher things and he should understand that the Holy One, Blessed be He, has apportioned to him a good portion, for He has made him to rule over all the world, over the cattle, over the animals, over the fish, over the fowl, over the fruit and over the herbs, and He has let him know the secrets of His Greatness and of His Might and of His Wonders, how much is he obligated to give thanks to Him because of all this, like a lowly slave whom his master has raised up over all of his chiefs and servants. All the more so should he do this because he has reached the stage of knowing his Creator, who is the Lord of Lords, that he is certainly obligated to humble himself before Him and praise Him with fear and awe.

The twenty-first thing a man should remember is always to be mindful of all the commandments of the King, and he should accustom himself to do what is good until it becomes a habit with him, and after that he must continue even more. He should ask God to help him and give him wisdom and to strengthen his limbs to bear the burden of His commandments and to ascend from step to step.

The twenty-second thing you should remember is always to do good to your companions, to help them with their burdens and their troubles, and you should love for them what you love for yourself and hate with respect to them that which you hate with respect to yourself. And you should try to acquire faithful brothers and friends who will help you in your study of the Torah, for if your heart is completely sincere with them, they will love you and there will be many who will seek your welfare — but reveal your secret only to one in a thousand.

The twenty-third thing a person should remember is the greatness of God, Blessed be He. And he should understand the creation of the world, the large things and the small, and revolving of the spheres, and the nature of the sun and the moon and the stars, and the falling of the rain, and the blowing of the winds, and many more wonders too numerous to relate. Inasmuch as a man sees these marvels constantly, he does not wonder in his heart about what he sees, but when there is an eclipse of the sun or the moon, then he wonders exceedingly because this is not usual and customary as the circling of the sun each day from east to west. Therefore, look upon them and let it seem as though you have never seen these wonders before, and let them appear as though you were blind heretofore and that now you have opened your eyes. Then, this will become most wonderous in your eyes. So must you do with yourself, every day, and thus did David say, "Wonderful are thy works; and that my soul knoweth right well" (Ps. 139:14).

The twenty-fourth thing one should remember is that a man whose eyes are weak cannot see the fine engraving on gold and silver dishes. Even though he sees all these things, he cannot perceive them as clearly as one whose eyes are strong. Thus, if a man has studied Torah and wisdom in his youth and it appears to him that he understands them properly, let him not rely upon that childhood understanding, for wisdom strengthens itself as one advances in years, and he now understands more clearly than he did in his youth. Therefore, when your wisdom becomes stronger, you should begin to consider well all the matters around you, and then you will understand and increase your ability to distinguish, and you will know the matter more clearly than you did previously. And you must continue always to search out from every man what you do not know, as it is said, "From all my mentors I have learned" (Ps. 119:99). And you should not think that no one can tell you anything new that you did not know when you were young. Concerning this it is said, "Seest thou a man wise in his own eyes? There is more hope of a fool than of him" (Prov. 26:12).

The twenty-fifth thing that a person should always remember is the pleasures of the world-to-come; he should put the love of this world out of his heart and the love of the world-to-come should grow ever stronger within him. As one of the pious men has already said, "Just as water and fire cannot be united in one vessel, so can you not unite in a faithful heart love of this world and love of the world to come." And one should have some love for this world only because from this world he will take provision for the word to come.

The twenty-sixth thing one should remember is that those who stand subject to the king's command are fearful and terrified of the king's punishment. All the more so should one fear the punishment of the King of Kings, the Holy One, Blessed be He, and hasten to serve him.

The twenty-seventh thing one should keep in mind is that if someone angered the king and was sentenced to death, but the king then lightened his punishment and visited him with afflictions or loss of money in place of the death that was to have been his penalty, then surely the king has done kindness with him. Therefore, he should receive everything from God with joy and with love, and this will be a great sign that he willingly accepts the decree of the Creator.

The twenty-eighth thing a person should remember is that if someone gives his house to another man as an outright gift, and the recipient wishes to raze it and build it anew according to his own ideas, the giver of the house cannot restrain him. Thus a man should hand over his soul, his wife, his children and all his wealth into the hands of the Holy One, Blessed be He, and let them all be given to God as an outright gift. Inasmuch as he has from the start yielded himself into the hand of God, he has placed his complete trust in Him, and therefore he has already resolved in his heart that he will accept with love all that the Creator decrees concerning him. And even though it turns out that God sends him no evil, not in his body, not in his money, not on his children, not on his wife, he nevertheless obtains a great reward because of his firm frame of mind, because he prepared his heart to bear all things out of the love of his Creator.

The twenty-ninth thing one should remember, in regarding people, is that one man may out-weigh a hundred, not because of physical endowment but because of his understanding, his wisdom and his righteousness. Therefore, you must always improve your soul, for all qualities stem from it. For though a man were strong and healthy and handsome he would not be worth anything if he were a simpelton. And if a man were ugly and weak, but was distinguished by his wisdom, he would rise to greatness and to importance.

The thirtieth thing a person should remember is that if a man came to a foreign land where he knew no one, and no one knew him, and the master of the country had pity upon him and gave him food every day but warned him not to rebel against him and not to transgress his commandments, and informed him that he would receive a good reward for his service, and warned him concerning his return journey, but did not let him know the time of it — in truth, this servant surely ought to be submissive, abandon haughtiness and search out how to do the king's will. He should love every stranger as himself, and he should try to work hard to serve the master of that country most diligently, for there is no compassionate one who will plead for him. Thus, in truth, man is a stranger in the world. When the time comes for him to make his entry into the world, even if the whole world should try to advance or delay his birth even by a moment, or to bind one of his limbs, they would be unable to do so. And so also after his birth, nobody could give him food except the true God. And he is like a lone person who has no friend except his master who has pity upon him, and that is his Creator.

We have completed our brief list of the things a man ought to remember always. But everyone should continue to meditate on these according to his wisdom, and he will learn from them all sorts of good and pure qualities, and these will cleanse the soul and will beautify its ugliness. Be ever alert to remember them, and this will bring out in you a superior strength you never knew before. And a man is obligated to keep all of these thoughts in mind constantly, at every hour, at every moment. And he should be careful to remember them with his every breath so that he may never lose his awe and fear and shame before God, who looks upon him at all times. Go forth and learn from what the Torah warned the king to do, as it is written, … "that he shall write him a copy of this law in a book, out of that which is before the priests the Levites. And it shall be with him, and he shall read therein all the days of his life" (Deut. 17:18-19). And it is written, "This book of the law shall not depart out of thy mouth, but thou shalt meditate therein day and night" (Josh. 1:8). And it is written, "And these words, which I command thee this day, shall be upon thy heart; and thou shalt teach them diligently unto thy children, and shalt talk of them when thou sittest in thy house, and when thou walkest by the way, and when thou liest down, and when thou risest up. And thou shalt bind them for a sign upon thy hand, and they shall be for frontlets between thine eyes. And thou shalt write them upon the door-posts of thy house, and upon thy gates" (Deut. 6:6—9). And he has emphasized this matter in connection with the fringes, for it is written, "And it shall be unto you for a fringe, that ye may look upon it, and remember all the commandments of the Lord, and do them" (Num. 15:39—40). And according to this it is proper to remember God at every moment. And it is written, "Let thy garments be always white" (Eccl. 9:8).

See how the quality of remembering is very comprehensive, for through it one remembers all the good qualities, and if it were not for remembering, he would forget everything and would remain completely empty. Therefore, strengthen yourself in this quality which is the mightiest of all qualities. An excellent method of acquiring all the good qualities would be to go over this book at least once a week. Then he will remember all the evil qualities and repent of them. As to the references to these qualities in general that are writen in the beginning of this book, these he ought to review constantly. And he should examine himself repeatedly to see whether he has fallen short of acquiring these qualities until he becomes accustomed to fulfill all the good qualities that are listed in this book.

You should know that remembering leads one to right action, as it is written, "and remember… and do" (Num. 15:39). Therefore be very careful in exercising the quality of remembering, and with respect to every single precept remember for Whose sake you perform it, and Who is the Master of your work.

And a man should be very careful not to remember if his friend does a bad thing to him, and concerning this it is said, "Nor bear any grudge" (Lev. 19:18), but he should dismiss all hatred from his heart. But if he has done evil to another, he should remember it in order to make good what he did to him. And if he has heard idle talk he should not remember it. He should be like a sieve which gathers the fine flour and lets the poor flour go, and not like a strainer that collects the dregs and lets the wine go.

As to the subject of remembering the Torah, we shall explain this, with God's help, in the chapter on the Torah.