Q&A: What Are the Chances of Being Righteous?
What Are the Chances of Being Righteous?
Question
Hello Rabbi Michi,
What are the chances for an average person in our generation to end his life as a “righteous person”?
My question is, of course, with respect to the current halakhic requirements demanded of us, which include a very heavy religious ritual load—very tiring, and in my opinion usually also depressing…..
My question is, so to speak, what the Holy One, blessed be He, “had in mind” when He burdened us with so many demands and so many restrictions and prohibitions, despite of course clearly knowing that very few people (if any) would be able to live up to them???
In short, what are the chances of succeeding in being a servant of God, righteous, God-fearing, etc.????
*) There’s no way this doesn’t come at the expense of something else essential
Answer
I have no idea what He had in mind, and I don’t even know whether all this burden comes from Him. But I didn’t understand your claim. You have to observe what needs to be observed. It is definitely possible to succeed at that. You may enjoy it more or less, but it seems to me that everyone has the option of focusing on the commandments they enjoy more or suffer less from. I don’t think the daily obligatory load is all that problematic.
The chances are zero.
It is explicitly written: “There is no righteous person on earth.”