“Who may ascend the mountain of Hashem? He who has clean hands and a pure heart.”
— Tehillim 24 : 3–4
In Mesilat Yesharim the transition from Nekiyut (Cleanliness) to Taharah (Purity) marks the midpoint of the moral ascent.
Ramchal defines Nekiyut as the state in which “a person is clean of all the branches of transgression” (Mesilat Yesharim 11 : 1). Every trace of ethical compromise—however minute—is removed.
Six chapters later, Taharah is introduced as “the correction of the heart and the thoughts, that a person’s deeds and service be purified from any motive other than for the sake of the Blessed One alone” (Mesilat Yesharim 16 : 1).
The first category concerns the external integrity of conduct; the second, the internal transparency of intention. The passage from Nekiyut to Taharah thus functions as the bridge between ethics and spirituality: from precise obedience to selfless devotion.
Avraham’s refusal of the spoils after the battle of the four kings—
“I will not take from a thread to a sandal-strap, lest you say, ‘I have made Avram rich’” (Genesis 14 : 23)—
illustrates Ramchal’s Nekiyut in practice.
In MS 11 Ramchal devotes several paragraphs to economic probity: “Most people experience a taste of theft in their business dealings… they may tell themselves, ‘Business is different’ ” (Mesilat Yesharim 11 : 3–4). Avraham anticipates precisely this rationalization. His moral fastidiousness detaches gratitude from gain, preserving the independence of covenantal wealth.
Bereishit Rabbah 43:5 — “וַיֵּצֵא מֶלֶךְ סְדֹם לִקְרָאתוֹ … The king of Sodom went out to meet him … they built a great platform, seated Avraham upon it, and said, ‘You are king, you are ruler, you are god.’ He replied, ‘Let the world not lack its King, nor its G-d.’”
In academic terms, this midrash functions as the ethical prooftext for Avraham’s Nekiyut—his moral and theological cleanliness. He refuses both material contamination (Genesis 14:23, refusal of spoils) and spiritual contamination (refusal of deification). The Ramchal’s analysis of Nekiyut as purification from even the subtlest traces of sin or self-interest (Mesilat Yesharim 11) aligns precisely with this depiction: Avraham’s integrity extends beyond behavior to motive and identity. Likewise, his covenant with Avimelech (Genesis 21 : 22–34) demonstrates the same trait on the political plane: “The Holy One desires only faithfulness (emunah)” (Mesilat Yesharim 11 : 27-29), and Avraham’s oaths are expressions of such faithfulness.
Ramchal’s Nekiyut requires vigilance not only against overt sin but against the appearance of self-interest. Avraham’s conduct before kings and allies exemplifies that precision.
Once the outer act is purified, Ramchal moves inward. In Mesilat Yesharim 16 : 2–3 he distinguishes:
“Purity in action means doing the deed only for the sake of Heaven; purity in thought means cleansing the heart of vain or selfish desires.”
At the Akeidah (Genesis 22), Avraham reaches this second plane. His earlier alacrity (“He rose early in the morning,” 22 : 3) manifests Zerizut; his unflinching submission, even when the command is revoked, manifests Taharah. The offering sought is not Isaac’s body but Avraham’s motive—service lishmah, “for its own sake.”
The Ramchal explains—“the pure person serves not for reward or honor but because the act is truth itself” (Mesilat Yesharim 16 : 4-5)—reads almost as an exegetical gloss on Avraham’s declaration, “Hashem yir’eh” (22 : 14): G-d perceives the heart and what's in it.
In Mesilat Yesharim 11 Ramchal enumerates the principal inclinations that threaten cleanliness—desire (ta’avah), pride (ga’avah), and the pursuit of honor (kavod). Each finds its counter-example in Avraham’s narrative:
Wealth — Refusal of Sodom’s reward (Gen 14 : 23) — Avoidance of theft and unjust enrichment (Mesilat Yesharim 11 : 3–5).
Honor — Intercession for Sodom (Gen 18 : 23–33) — Acting purely for the good of others; “He whose inside is not like his outside is unworthy — "כל תלמיד חכם שאין תוכו כברו – אינו תלמיד חכם" (Yoma 72b).
Physical desire — Covenant of circumcision (Gen 17 : 23–27) — The sanctification of the physical as service (avodah be-chomer) is articulated most clearly in Mesilat Yesharim 26, on Kedushah. Whereas Nekiyut (Ch. 11) disciplines desire and Taharah (Ch. 16–17) purifies intention, Kedushah transforms both into positive sanctification—where physical acts themselves become instruments of divine will. The progression thus moves from moral restraint to spiritual transparency, and finally to ontological holiness.
Ramchal’s Chapter 16-17 outlines the discipline through which Taharah is attained:
“Purity is attained through continual reflection on the lowliness of the material and the preciousness of closeness to G-d, until even natural desires become instruments of service.” (Mesilat Yesharim 16 : 3-4)
Avraham embodies this contemplative posture. His daily acts—hospitality, travel, and prayer—are all prefaced by intention. When he plants an eshel to nourish travelers (Genesis 21 : 33), the Sages see in it an inn that publicized the Divine Name. His chesed becomes theology in motion, illustrating Avodah be-Taharah—worship purified of self.
Ramchal distinguishes two modes of reflection necessary for attaining Taharah: bodily and devotional.
Ramchal distinguishes between two dimensions of Taharah, each requiring deliberate contemplation.
“Just as we divided the purity of thought into two divisions — one in bodily actions, and one in the actions of divine service — so too the contemplation required to acquire it divides into two” (Mesilat Yesharim 17:3). Through disciplined iyun, one learns to perceive every physical act as potential avodah and every mitzvah as selfless love. When this purification is complete, writes Ramchal, “the soul is ready for holiness.”.
The first concerns the purification of bodily actions (ma‘asim guphaniyim): training the self so that physical activity—eating, earning, intimacy—no longer seeks pleasure or advantage, but serves as an instrument of the Divine will. Through reflection, one recognizes the fleeting worth of indulgence and the enduring joy of serving the Creator even in material acts.
The second concerns the purification of acts of worship (ma‘asei ha-avodah): refining spiritual intention so that prayer, Torah study, and charity arise from no trace of vanity or self-congratulation, but from love and awe alone. Here, iyun—careful inner examination—becomes the discipline by which devotion is stripped of pride and redirected wholly toward Heaven.
When these two dimensions converge, the heart and deed are unified; desire itself becomes transparent to purpose. At this point, writes Ramchal, the soul stands poised for its next transformation—from Purity to Kedushah. The Jerusalem Talmud (Shabbat 1:3) expresses this ascent in its chain of virtues:
“Zeal leads to Cleanliness; Cleanliness to Separation; Separation to Purity;
Purity leads to Saintliness; Saintliness leads to Humility;
Humility leads to Fear of Sin; and Fear of Sin leads to Holiness.”
Purity thus serves as the luminous bridge between moral vigilance and sanctity. Once the inner life is purged of self-interest, the soul can naturally cleave to the Divine. In Ramchal’s spiritual architecture, Taharah is not the end of refinement but its threshold—the readiness for Kedushah, where even the physical becomes a vessel of holiness.
Within the architecture of Mesilat Yesharim, Nekiyut and Taharah together delineate the transition from ethical discipline to spiritual intimacy.
Nekiyut ensures that the covenantal act is beyond reproach; Taharah ensures that the covenantal heart is beyond calculation.
Avraham’s narrative embodies this double purification. His deeds are stainless before men; his motives, transparent before G-d. In the idiom of Ramchal, he attains tohar ha-lev, the lucid interior from which holiness can emerge. Thus the verse “Clean hands and a pure heart” (Psalms 24 : 4) becomes both description and diagnosis: external and internal righteousness united.
Avraham, whose faith has been refined through vigilance, zeal, and purity of intent, stands precisely at that juncture—prepared for Kedushah. His life embodies the Ramchal’s ascent: zehirut guarding the deed, zerizut quickening it, taharah purifying the motive. Now, every act flows wholly for Heaven’s sake—thought and action joined in selfless service. In this state, Avraham reaches the threshold where taharah yields to kedushah—when purity ripens into presence, and the physical itself becomes a vessel of the Divine.”—naturally leading to the next rung, Kedushah (Holiness). Avraham, whose hands are clean and whose heart is pure, now becomes the vessel in which the Divine Presence can dwell. The following chapter in this series therefore turns to Part V Kedushah (Sanctity and the Indwelling Presence), where purity ripens into communion.
Theme: Clean hands, covenantal integrity.
Theme: Purity of motive in service.
Theme: Integrity in possession and promise.
Theme: Purity tested amid moral ambiguity.
Theme: The transmission of purity.
#6 — To sanctify G-d’s Name — Leviticus 22:32
In Lech Lecha / Vayeira: Avraham refuses Sodom’s spoils and rejects deification, keeping G-d’s honor unsullied; the Akeidah is service lishmah that magnifies Kiddush Hashem.
Narrative roots: Genesis 14:22–23; 21:22–34; 22:1–14; Bereishit Rabbah 43:5.
#7 — Not to profane G-d’s Name — Leviticus 22:32
In Lech Lecha: By declining gain “from a thread to a sandal-strap,” Avraham avoids appearances of self-interest that would demean the covenant.
Narrative roots: Genesis 14:23; 21:22–34.
#4 — To love G-d — Deuteronomy 6:5
In Vayeira: The Akeidah clarifies love purified of self—avodah for its own sake (taharah), even when the command is withdrawn.
Narrative roots: Genesis 22:3–14.
#5 — To fear G-d — Deuteronomy 10:20
In Vayeira: “Now I know that you fear G-d” anchors Ramchal’s move from clean deed to pure intent—yir’ah without self-regard.
Narrative roots: Genesis 22:12.
#11 — To emulate His ways — Deuteronomy 28:9
In Vayeira / Chayei Sarah: Hospitality and integrity become disciplined habits; taharah aligns bodily acts with Divine kindness and truth.
Narrative roots: Genesis 18:1–8; 23:3–16.
#499 — Buy and sell according to Torah law — Leviticus 25:14
In Lech Lecha: Nekiyut demands transparent commerce; Avraham’s stance models dealings free of advantage-seeking.
Narrative roots: Genesis 14:22–24; cf. Mesilat Yesharim 11 on ona’ah.
#500 — Not to overcharge or underpay — Leviticus 25:14
In Lech Lecha: Ramchal’s “taste of theft” is fenced by ona’ah; Avraham’s refusal of enrichment is the narrative counter-example.
Narrative roots: Genesis 14:23; Job 31:7 (as cited by Ramchal on subtle theft).
#469–471 — Honest weights and measures — Leviticus 19:35–36; Deuteronomy 25:13–16
In Chayei Sarah: Negotiating Ephron’s field without manipulation reflects nekiyut in valuation—clean hands in public transaction.
Narrative roots: Genesis 23:10–20.
#467 / #474 — Not to steal; Not to rob — Leviticus 19:11, 13
In Lech Lecha: Ramchal’s nekiyut extends beyond the act to its traces; Avraham’s economic restraint guards against even perceived gain.
Narrative roots: Genesis 14:22–24.
#209–215 — Oaths, truthfulness, and keeping vows — Leviticus 19:12; Exodus 20:7; Deuteronomy 23:24–23:25
In Lech Lecha: Covenantal treaties and sworn commitments (Avimelech) are kept without self-serving spin—taharah of speech and intent.
Narrative roots: Genesis 21:22–34.
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