42) Don't Make G-d your Idol:

The Torah says; “A molten god do not make for yourself”.[1]

This statement is generally understood as an injunction against worshiping an idolatrous image. 

But the Kotzker interprets 'god' to mean 'G-d ' (the Hebrew ‘Elokei’ can mean both).

He says; “Do not turn G-d into a god that you fashioned for yourself”.[2]

Religion can become self serving when G-d is made to fit our perceptions and expectations, instead of the other way around.

At that point it becomes no better than man made idolatry.

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[1] Shemot 34:17

[2] Amud HaEmet p 64, par. 4

41) When Even Idolatry Is 'Spiritual':

The Kotzker Rebbe asks; “Why did G-d forgive us for the sin of the Golden Calf even though we did not repent – while He did not forgive us for the sin of the Spies even though we did repent?

The answer is that the sin of idolatry at least had some semblance of spirituality where the people were searching (albeit misguidedly) for G-d – whereas the episode of the Spies was crude (and lacking of any desire for spirituality)[1].”[2]

A genuine thirst for spirituality, even if we consider it imprudent in the extreme, must never be entirely dismissed, ignored, ridiculed or downplayed.

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[1] There are other Chassidic interpretations, however, that do ascribe spiritual connotations to the reluctance of the Spies to go to the Land of Israel. They wanted to remain within the spiritual confines of the purity of the dessert where they were fed by G-d etc, and not have to go to the ‘land’ which symbolized physicality.

[2] Amud HaEmet p. 63, par. 3

40) Be There!

G-d says to Moshe; “Go up the mountain and be there and I will give you the stone Tablets.”[1]

The Kotzker Rebbe comments; “This verse is difficult to understand because surely if Moshe goes up the mountain, he will (obviously) ‘be there’?

But the fact is that it is possible to ostensibly and physically be on the top of the ‘mountain’ and yet spiritually and intellectually be somewhere else. 

The main thing is not the ‘mountain’ but the ‘being there’"![2]

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[1] Shemot 24:12

[2] Amud HaEmet p.59 par.2

39) We Are Elevated By Deeds Not Thoughts:

The Torah says na’aseh ve’nishma, ‘we will do and then we will understand’[1]. Everybody knows that this means that we first observe the commandments, and only then do we try to, or come to understand them. 

Not the other way around where commitment to mitzvos is predicated upon prior comprehension of their reasons.

The Kotzker understood it slightly differently; “We have some who contemplate G-d. But they can only reach as high as their intellect can take them. If, however, one introduces practices commensurate with one’s learning, one’s comprehension grows exponentially, beyond where their intellect could take them before. This is what ‘we will do and then we will understand’ means.”[2]

Contemplation of G-d, if it is to be meaningful and not just academic, must never be in a vacuum, nor void of action.

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[1] Shemot 24:7

[2] Amud HaEmet  p. 58 par. 5

38) Inner Striving Trumps Outward Performance:

Kotzk has some interesting views on the function and performance of mitzvos: 

Most schools of thought regard the actual act of performing a mitzvah to be the sacrosanct moment. 

In Kotzk, while obviously the act is vital, it is the hachana or preparation beforehand that is sacrosanct  -  and the actual mitzvah act is carried out on a rather perfunctory level, quickly and without fuss.[1]

For example, the Kotzker Rebbe was known to have prayed quickly and without any ostensible, undue or external signs of movement or emotion. 

The act does not hold the pearl of spirituality as much as does the preparation. 

The essence and focus of spirituality is therefore to be found in the build up, anticipation and preparation towards the mitzvah, instead of the ritual itself.[2]

In a similar vein, The Kotzker says that a person should be loved, not for whom they are or for what they have done, but rather for the type of person they are striving to be.

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[1] He connects this concept, poetically, to the verse; ‘...to bring you to the makom (place) that I have prepared (hachinoti)’ [Shemot 23:20]. One is brought towards the Makom (which can also mean G-d) only through preparation (hachana). The Hebrew reads; ‘velahaviacha el hamakom asher hachinoti’

[2] Amud HaEmet p. 58 par. 3

37) Humanly Holy:

“You shall be a holy people (anshei kodesh) to me.”[1]

The Kotzker Rebbe reads this verse a little differently. 

He says; “Be holy. But humanly holy. G-d has enough angels in heaven.”[2] 

In other words, the expression anshei kodesh (holy people) is a composite of two entities, holy and people. Holiness must always be within the bounds of normalcy and humanity.

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[1] Shemot 22:30

[2] Amud HaEmet p.57, par. 4  - ‘Mentshlish heilig zolt ihr Mir zein’ which is Yiddish for; ‘humanly holy shall you be to Me.’

36) Sometimes The Yetzer Hora Is The Beis HaMedrash:

The Kotzker Rebbe explained that the evil inclination is very devious. It doesn’t only try persuade us to commit sins. It also sometimes persuades us do to mitzvos, but for the wrong reasons.

It requires acute spiritual and psychological awareness to recognize the latter[1]. This is because religion is often a great mask, preventing us from dealing with deeper problems lurking within.

The Kotzker Rebbe once met a student in the Beis HaMedrash (study hall) and asked him what he was thinking. The student responded that he was thinking about this exact concept; - to which the master responded; “Good on you”.[2]

Kotzk was known to acknowledge the great irony that acts of religious piety are often rooted in spiritual pathology.

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[1] This is based on a typical Kotzk technique of re-reading verses of the Torah. Thus ‘Im bamachteret yimatzei haganav’(Shemot 22:1) does not read; ‘If while tunneling (into a house in order to steal) the thief is found. Rather a comma is inserted after ‘bamachteret’, and the verse reads; ‘If one searchers diligently, one will find the thief (yetzer hara)’.

[2] Amud HaEmet p. 56 par. 4

35) Are You Staying For The Party?

During the great spectacle of the Sinai experience, the Torah says; “And the people saw the thunder and flames...and Moshe entered the cloud where G-d was.”[1]

The Kotzker Rebbe explains that there are two very different ways of experiencing Judaism.

One is on a popularist and social level where one is drawn towards all the trappings and constructs of superficiality.
This is where the ‘people’ miss the essential and see only the ‘thunder and flames’ – the external show of sound and light.

The other is on a real and profoundly deep level, where there is no show, but like Moshe one simply enters silently and alone into the cloud.[2]

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[1] Shemot 20:15-19

[2] Amud HaEmet p. 54 par. 1