but he is unaware of all these things [i.e. demands]- which thing to avoid and how to execute profoundly the wish of the Creator. For this reason, the Sefer Hasidim was written so that all who fear God and those returning to their Creator with an undivided heart may read it and know and understand what is incumbent upon them to do and what they must avoid. The quest to fulfill the Ratzon Haborei was not just a commendable, optional one; rather, as the introduction to the book details, it was a requisite aspect of proper divine service: And we find in the Torah that anyone who was capable of understanding [a demand] even though he was not [explicitly] commanded is punished for not realizing [the requirement] on his own. “And Moses was angry with the officers of the army . . . who had come from the service of the war. And he said to them, ‘Have you let all the women live?’” (Num. 31: 14-15). Why did they not reply, “You did not command us, for you did not tell us to kill the women”? But Moses knew that they were wise and perspicacious enough to infer [this command] on their own. For this reason I set myself to writing a book for the God-fearing, lest they be punished and think [it is] for no reason. Far be it from God to do such a thing! (Gen. 18:25). . . . Therefore I have set forth this Book of Fear so that those who fear the word of God can take heed. “More than these, my son, must you take heed” (Eccl. 12:12). Sefer Hasidim is replete with edicts that illuminate this theme of searching beyond the revealed instructions of the written and oral Torah and searching for the Ratzon Haborei. A specific example of this type of statute in Sefer Hasidim is the law of Chelev. Even though the oral law states clearly that one is permitted to derive benefit from Chelev, the Sefer Hasidim posits that if not for man's weaknesses it would have been forbidden, and thus it is forbidden to derive benefit from Chelev for any pious person. The elitism of this group of Hasidim was another theme present in Sefer Hasidim. The Hasid is assertive, elitist, and in certain senses extreme in his efforts to impose his system upon his surroundings. The Hasid