Judaism,
therefore, teaches us to take care of our powers and abilities, to
perfect them and apply them actively. It, therefore, forbids all idle
pleasure not based on labour, all idleness which hopes for the help of
others."
This is beautiful and wise, and this is just what we Russians lack.
Oh, if we could educate our unusual powers and abilities, if we had
the will to apply them actively in our chaotic, untidy existence,
which is terribly blocked up with all kinds of idle clack and
home-spun philosophy, and which gets more and more saturated with
silly arrogance and puerile bragging. Somewhere deep in the Russian
soul--no matter whether it is the "master's" or the muzhik's--there
lives a petty and squalid demon of passive anarchism, who infects us
with a careless and indifferent attitude toward work, society, people,
and ourselves.
I believe that the morality of Judaism would assist us greatly in
overcoming this demon,--if only we have the will to combat him.
In my early youth I read--I have forgotten where--the words of the
ancient Jewish sage--Hillel, if I remember rightly:
"If thou art not for thyself, who will be for thee? But if thou art for
thyself alone--wherefore art thou?"[1]
The inner meaning of these words impressed me with its profound
wisdom, and I interpreted them for myself in this manner: I must
actively take care of myself, that my life should be better, and I
must not impose the care of myself on other people's shoulders; but if
I am going to take care of myself alone, of nothing but my own
personal life,--it will be useless, ugly and meaningless.
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