‘Don’t Be Very Righteous’
There appears to be a problem in always following the Arizal. Here’s one example. The Arizal says one should not set one’s fixed study session of Scripture at night. (This is the most lenient and, I think, accurate interpretation. The Ari was/is taken by many Chassidim to “forbid” reading even Tehillim or Chumash at night, and the like!) This sounds reasonable for those whose time is their own. But what of a blue-collar worker who finishes work late and whose only viable daily learning opportunity is a Tanach class? Was the Arizal speaking only of extra piety, or ‘Midas Chassidus’?
