We’ll begin with a quote from the mishna in Pirkei Avos, a maamar that most of the people sitting here are familiar with: Make His will like your will (2:4).
Now this statement is usually explained to mean that you should do what Hakadosh Baruch Hu desires you to do. ‘Make His will, your will’ in the sense of fulfilling the commandments of Hashem; if He wants you to fulfill the mitzvos, then that’s what you should do.
And yet, even though this is not a wrong explanation, it’s not enough. There’s more to that statement. Much more.
What does it mean make the will of Hakadosh Baruch Hu, whatever He’s thinking, whatever He wants, into your will? It’s not merely a matter of fulfilling what He commands – it’s a matter of thinking like Hakadosh Baruch Hu thinks. That’s what Hashem wants from us, to think along with Him; that our minds should follow the patterns of His mind kiv’yachol.
More Than Doing
Now, if that’s so it means that this subject of making His will your will requires us to study not merely what we are expected to do. Of course we must know what to do. The Torah has all kinds of requirements; we must know the halacha, what’s commanded to do and what’s forbidden to do. The truth is that a large part of avodas Hashem is studying what you’re expected to do and what you’re expected to avoid. Very many people don’t know that even their l’maisah living, their acts, are being done many times incorrectly and therefore to learn halachos is very important.
But besides that, included in that obligation, there's also a great mass of information that Hakadosh Baruch Hu expects us to learn; patterns of thinking that will make His attitudes and ideals our own attitudes and ideals.
