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Why does Hillel tell us to be "for ourselves" when most people already seem selfish? The shiur reveals that most people actually let others set their agenda through social pressure rather than establishing their own priorities. True laziness stems from psychological disconnection from life itself, which explains why procrastinators need external pressure to act and why developing personal integrity requires feeling genuinely alive and purposeful.
This shiur provides a profound psychological analysis of Hillel's teaching in Pirkei Avos: "If I am not for myself, who will be for me? And when I am for myself, what am I? And if not now, when?" Rabbi Zweig addresses the apparent contradiction - why would Hillel tell us to be more for ourselves when most people seem selfish already? The answer lies in understanding that most people actually allow others to set their agenda through social pressure, business demands, and peer influence, rather than establishing their own priorities based on their values. The rabbi examines two fascinating Midrashim about laziness. The first describes a lazy person who makes increasingly absurd excuses to avoid studying Torah (תורה) - first claiming there's a lion on the highway, then in the street, then in the building, and finally being too lazy even to eat. The second Midrash discusses an ant that gathers far more food than it could consume in its six-month lifespan, because "who knows if God will extend my life?" Rabbi Zweig asks why these examples seem so extreme and what they teach about laziness.
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Pirkei Avos 1:14
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