Before the speeches ended, they were already singing
When I enter a mitzvah, am I waiting to be finished—or has my heart learned to hurry toward it?
Learn the source
Ramchal describes chassidus through a child who loves his father enough to understand what would bring him pleasure: “Once he can judge for himself that this thing would bring him pleasure.” The point is not merely obedience. Love notices what would give nachas ruach and begins moving before another instruction arrives.
This is an advanced middah, rooted in Torah knowledge and judgment—not permission to invent mitzvos or chase spiritual excitement. But the mashal gives an honest bechinah: does my avodah contain any willingness, or only compliance?
What happened
On October 3, after Simchat Torah, thousands gathered around Jerusalem for Hakafot Shniyot with Torah scrolls, JNS reported the following day.
At Liberty Bell Park, young men repeatedly broke into song before the brief remarks had finished; once the scrolls were lifted, the circles formed.
The Western Wall Heritage Foundation’s official notice separately scheduled a 10 p.m. Kotel celebration with music and more than 100 Torah scrolls.
JNS · Jerusalem Hakafot Shniyot · 4 October 2026 ↗Western Wall Heritage Foundation · Hakafot Shniyot 2026 notice ↗
Return to the news
The arresting detail was not the size of the crowd; it was the impatience. Young men kept singing before speeches ended because the dancing felt like the main event. Ramchal’s mashal asks whether avodah ever becomes that personal: not merely an instruction I complete, but something I understand would bring nachas ruach to the One I serve. Love changes not only what I do; it changes when I move. This is not a demand to manufacture emotion or invent extra practices. It is a cheshbon: in the next small mitzvah already mine, do I wait for another reminder, or can I take one willing step before the speech is over?
Stay with the thought
The detail that stays with a person is almost small: the speeches were still going, but the singing had already begun. Nobody needed to explain to those young men where the evening was headed. Their feet had understood before the program caught up.
A child who hears that someone beloved has reached the front door does not calculate how many steps remain; he runs before the bell has finished. The running does not create the relationship. It reveals what the arrival means to him.
Ramchal brings that mashal into avodah. Most of our mitzvos will not arrive with music or a crowd. They arrive as bentching after a weekday meal, answering someone patiently, opening the sefer when the room is quiet. The question is not whether I can reproduce Hakafot. It is whether one ordinary act can begin with less dragging and one grain more ratzon.
Mesilas Yesharim · chapter 18 · Chassidus ↗JNS · Jerusalem Hakafot Shniyot · 4 October 2026 ↗
Take one thing with you
Choose one ordinary mitzvah already yours and remove one small delay before it. Begin while the inner speech is still explaining why later would also be fine.
A reflection, not a personal halachic ruling.Sources & reporting notes 3 references
- JNS · Jerusalem Hakafot Shniyot · 4 October 2026 ↗
Sharon Altshul’s report, published October 4, describes events she attended in Jerusalem on October 3. JNS requires permission for syndication; Torah Lens supplies an original, compact summary with a source link and does not reproduce the article. No exact publication time is supplied.
- Western Wall Heritage Foundation · Hakafot Shniyot 2026 notice ↗
Official event notice retrieved October 4. It scheduled Hakafot Shniyot at the Western Wall Plaza for October 3 at 10 p.m., with music and more than 100 Torah scrolls. It corroborates that component of the citywide celebration; it does not independently establish every detail in the JNS report.
- Mesilas Yesharim · chapter 18 · Chassidus ↗
Exact approved corpus excerpt, checked in context. Ramchal compares loving service to a child who understands what would please his father. The wider chapter grounds chassidus in Torah knowledge and careful judgment; this application does not create an extra practice or claim that visible enthusiasm proves another person’s inner level. English is Torah Lens’s rendering; textual verification is not rabbinic approval.
Hebrew passages are quoted sources; English renderings are our own. The event connection and suggested reflection are Torah Lens’s application. Prepared with AI assistance. Rabbinic supervision has not yet been established.