A person is about to walk into a store. He sees a sign 'Beware of the Dog' He has to buy something urgently, so he walks in, somewhat timidly. As he approaches the counter he looks down to see a mangy old dog, barely breathing, lying in front of the counter.
As he pays for his purchase, he asks the shopkeeper "I can't resist asking - how come you have a sign saying 'Beware of the Dog'? This dog looks like it could barely even move let alone attack anyone" "That's why the sign is there - before, everyone used to trip over him."
This slightly silly story nonetheless brings out our point - laziness and inaction may not seem as obvious as vicious aggression but they can be hazardous nonetheless.
An interesting story but how does that translate to real life? I'm glad you asked...
Some of the Jewish sages and some current Chassidic Rabbis, interpret it as a problem of inaction:They think of Jacob and Esau. Esau, the epitome of bad, is characterized by a great burning energy and fire. On the surface, this is a bad thing. Fiery ambition, misdirected, isn't that surely worse than being passive (neither good nor bad)?
Not necessarily so. There are two kinds of commandments in the Torah - positive commandments, such as saying certain prayers, or giving charity - and negative commandments, such as not eating certain animals, not stealing, etc. For all readers, we'll use the example of the Ten Commandments (or the Seven Noahide laws, applicable to everyone).
It's true that if a person misses a positive commandment, we'll say 'law' (thou shalt...); nothing can make up for the missed opportunity. Each positive law draws down spiritual energy, elevating the person and their environment. That moment cannot be regained.
On the other hand, by transgressing a negative law (thou shalt not...) and later experiencing sincere regret (real sincere is not easy), the energy which was channeled into the negative, is "converted" to a positive cause and becomes a merit, a credit to that person (an unusual concept).
Certainly this is not to encourage anyone to go out and be more "pro-active" in transgressing these laws. Nonetheless we see that when the energy is there, like with Esau, but is not being channeled in the correct direction, there is a hope that at a point in the future that energy will be transformed to the positive.
And here's the big one: The very energy that was used to commit that transgression of that negative law, becomes a credit to one, if sincere regret is there, apologies made, and compensation given for that particular transgression - as I said, this opportunity is not to be tested, it's dangerous.
... Chicken Soup for the Soul ...
