השער האחד עשר - במעלות הצדיקים. CHAPTER XI Concerning The Virtues Of The Righteous
ידענו, כי הבורא אחד והנבראים רבים, וכל אשר ירחקו הנבראים מן הבורא ירבו, וכל אשר יקרבו ימעטו, כאשר הענפים רבים והעיקר אחד, וכל אשר ירחקו הענפים מן העיקר ירבו וישתרגו, וכל אשר יקרבו ימעטו. We know that the Creator is One and the created are many. The more distant the created are from the Creator, the more do they multiply in number, while those who are near to the Creator are less. Just as there are many twigs while the main branch is one. The more distant the branches are from the trunk, the more do they multiply and interlace, while those branches which are closer to the trunk are less.
ודע כי הברואים רבים, ולמעלה מכולם הנפש והשכל והמדע, והם שלושה, ולמעלה מהם החפץ, ולמעלה ממנו התכונה הראשונה, והוא הבורא. ועל כן נמצאו הרשעים רבים כפי רחקם מן הבורא יתברך, והצדיקים מעטים מפני קרבתם לעיקר, ועל כן הבנתיים אמצעיים, ובעבור זה צריך אדם להשתדל במעשה הצדק ולהיות מהמעטים, כי כל אשר תמעט חברתם, הוא לאות על מעלתם וקרבתם לבורא. ושים לבך לשער זה והבן אותו. Know that the creatures are many and above all of them is the soul, reason, and knowledge, and they are three. Above them is the will. Above that is the First Cause47A difficult phrase. Generally it has the meaning of "figure", "shape." It can also signify "place" (Harry A. Wolfson Crescas’ Critique of Aristotle, p. 689 n. 8) and perhaps this is the meaning here. God is the First Place, in that He is the "place of the world." and that is the Creator. Therefore, the wicked are many, according to their distance from the Creator, blessed be He. The righteous are few because of their nearness to God, and those who are between the righteous and the wicked are in the middle. Because of this a man should try by works of righteousness to be among the few, for the smaller the company, it is a sign of their virtue and their closeness to the Creator. Pay close heed to this chapter and understand it.