he Three Qualities of a Complete Servant of God
Published in המגדל, תשכ"ב — CITADEL, 1962
Important note:
These words were written many years ago. The currently accepted version of this teaching is different from that which is written here. The accepted version explains that there are three words of praise with which one praises another - Good, God-fearing, and Wise. Rabbi Bunim says: only good - is a promiscuous, only God fearing - is a priest, only wise - is a thief.
The wise Rabbi Bunim of Pzhysha, a sixth generation Zaddik of East European Hasidism once said: "If someone is merely good, he is a debauched lover; if he is merely pious, he is a thief; if he is merely clever, he is a disbeliever." He who relates himself to his fellow man with a vague sort of love, unfounded upon a higher spiritual tie which gives it purpose and direction, unshaped by wisdom which gives it meaning, his love is corrupt. He who attempts to emotionally relate himself to God without concerning himself about the world, without relating himself intellectually to God or the world, has stolen his relation to God. Only through the love of man and the understanding of the world can the love of God be reached, for the world, God's creation is the only lens through which He can be viewed. the merely pious claim a relation they can never truly possess and thus are as thieves. Finally, he who exercises his intellect alone can be attached to God only by external ties, at best traditionally transmitted religion and morals, a lifeless body without the spirit of goodness and piety. Thus the merely clever can have only the weak hold of an inert relation, and can never rise to true belief. Rabbi Bunim concludes: "Only when a person has all these three qualities combined is he capable of serving God completely."
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