From the Teachings of the Lubavitcher Rebbe Rabbi Menachem Mendel Schneerson, Zt”l
This week's Torah portion, Mishpatim, delineates the four categories of guardianship:
An unpaid keeper - one who serves as trustee for another person's property and does not receive payment; A paid keeper - one who is remunerated for his guardianship; One who "rents" the use of another person's possessions; and a borrower - a person who uses someone else's belongings without paying for the privilege.
The seventeenth-century Sage, known as the "Shaloh," explained that these four categories of guardianship correspond to the four different types of Jews who serve G-d, as every Jew is charged with "guarding" G-d's universe through the observance of Torah and mitzvot (commandments).
The first and highest level of this charge is the "unpaid keeper." This refers to a person whose focus is entirely on guarding the owner's property, without consideration for his own benefit. A person in this category serves G-d with the utmost dedication and devotion, for his sole aim is to serve his Master, unmindful of the reward his actions will bring. Maimonides refers to this type of person as "one who serves G-d out of love...and not because of any other consideration...not in order to accrue benefit, but one who does the true thing because it is true."
The second level of guardianship is the "paid keeper." This person also devotes himself to safeguarding the owner's possessions, but expects to be paid for his labors. This category refers to a Jew who serves G-d with genuine vitality and enthusiasm, at the same time anticipating that he will be rewarded for his observance of Torah and mitzvot.
The third level of guardianship is one who pays for the use of the owner's property. For this person, the enjoyment he derives from the object is his main goal, yet he feels compelled to recompense the owner for granting him the privilege. In the spiritual sense, this refers to a person whose principal desire is to enjoy the pleasures of this world, all the while cognizant that it is G-d Who is allowing him to do so. This type of Jew serves G-d solely out of a sense of obligation and duty.
The lowest level of guardianship is that of the "borrower." This person is only interested in his own gratification, and does not even feel the need to compensate the one who has lent him the object. In terms of our G-dly service, this refers to one who delights in the pleasures of this world without even thinking of "paying" G-d back for His beneficence.
Yet even the "borrower" is considered a guardian, for he too observes Torah and mitzvot, albeit without perceiving the connection between his service of G-d and the blessing he receives from Above.
This person is convinced that all of the goodness and bounty in his life has been granted to him simply because he is deserving!
What is the point in a mitzva done for personal considerations?
Our Sages explain: "A person should always busy himself in the observance of Torah and mitzvot, even when it is not for its own sake." For we are assured that from the wrong considerations, one will come to observe for the right reasons. Every Jew is promised that ultimately, he will perfect his service of G-d, achieving the level of the "unpaid keeper."
Reprinted from the Parashat Mishpatim 2003/5763 edition of L’Chaim, a publication of the Lubavitch Youth Organization. Adapted from Likutei Sichot of the Rebbe, Vol. 31
