Mesilas Yesharim, Perek 7 Part 1/2

AI summary (may contain mistakes)

Why call delaying a mitzvah a danger? Any moment of delay leaves room for something to come up, and the sefer compares mitzvos to gold and diamonds, so each one missed is a real loss. Zerizus means starting a mitzvah on time and then completing it well, without rushing and without stopping in the middle. Perhaps Chazal's harsh words about leaving a mitzvah unfinished can be read as midda k'neged midda.

Key points

• Zerizus has two parts, starting a mitzvah on time and completing it once begun.
• The Gemara counts some missed mitzvos worse than an aveira, since they cannot be made up.
• The Mechilta reads guarding the matzos as guarding the mitzvos, so a mitzvah never becomes chametz.
• In the Gemara, Lot's elder daughter acted first, so her descendant Rus came four generations earlier.
• Zerizus after starting means finishing without stopping midway, not rushing, like an efficient ambulance crew.

In this shiur

1. 0:00Two parts of zerizus
2. 5:21The Gemara on missing a mitzvah
3. 7:53Midrash on anointing Shlomo HaMelech
4. 9:36Guarding the matzos and the mitzvos
5. 10:42The daughters of Lot
6. 13:44Zerizus in Olam Haba
7. 17:44Zerizus after starting a mitzvah
8. 23:38Chazal on leaving a mitzvah unfinished

Topics

• Zerizus
• Yetzer Hara
• Mesilas Yesharim