(continued)
The human species cannot survive without שמחה. Human beings crave happiness (if you were in any doubt, check out the American Declaration of Independence). HKB"H created us that way. Part of the צלם א-לקים is our ability to experience joy. Joy is a prerequisite of our service of HKB"H (Devarim 28, 47). A prophet cannot merit prophecy unless they are in a state of joy, it is a prerequisite.
As with all things that exist in this world, the source is from Heaven. Our parnasa is from Heaven (through the Shulchan and Lechem Hapanim) and also our simcha. The source of simcha is in the 5th level in Heaven called Ma'on.
In the level below Ma'on (Zvul) we have the Beit Mikdash shel Ma'ala. When Aharon HaKohen offers korbanot on the mizbeach in the Mishkan, he parallels the angel Michael bringing korbanot in the Beit Mikdash shel Ma'ala in Zvul. The Heavenly and earthly Batei Mikdash are connected and are in sync.
You would think that bringing Korbanot is the highest level one could achieve in this world, but this is not so. When the Levi'im sing Shira to accompany the Korbanot, they thereby elevate them to one level higher – to the level of Ma'on, where simcha originates. Simcha, Shira is a higher level than the korbanot!
Who is in charge of bringing korbanot up in Heaven? The angel Michael. Who is in charge of simcha in Heaven? An angel of much higher stature – the מַלְאַךְ הַמָּוֶת, or by another name ס"מ, or the יֵצֶר הָרַע. When he was created, the ס"מ was the highest-ranking angel in Heaven – with twelve wings (the other angels only had six). The ס"מ was entrusted with one of HKB"H's most precious treasures – joy.
The plan was for mankind and the ס"מ to work in symbiosis, with the ס"מ providing the joy necessary for mankind to exist and serve HKB"H, but with mankind having the "controlling hand" on the tap, deciding how much and when to apply the joy.
Adam Harishon was commanded to perform the mitzva of פְּרוּ וּרְבוּ, but at first did not fulfil this commandment (only after the sin and he was expelled from Gan Eden, did he do so). The reason that it was impossible for Adam Harishon to do פְּרוּ וּרְבוּ before, was because he was totally devoid of and disconnected from the yetzer harah. Adam Harishon was totally disconnected from anything earthly, including his wife, Chava. Adam Harishon "learned" this from Moshe Rabbeinu.
HKB"H commanded Moshe Rabbeinu וְאַתָּה פֹּה עֲמֹד עִמָּדִי וַאֲדַבְּרָה אֵלֶיךָ (דברים ה, כז), Moshe had to be on call 24/7 to hear the word of HKB"H. For this reason, Moshe had to totally remove himself from any earthly connection. He went forty days and nights without eating/drinking, he separated from his wife Tzipporah so that טומאה would not be an issue.
Chazal say that without the yetzer harah, פְּרוּ וּרְבוּ cannot take place, because a prerequisite for פְּרוּ וּרְבוּ is simcha and this is the domain of the yetzer harah. Adam Harishon's mistake was detaching himself from the yetzer harah before performing פְּרוּ וּרְבוּ. When Moshe detached himself from earthly matters, he had already fulfilled this mitzva – he already had two sons, Gershom and Eliezer.
As a result, Adam Harishon was not complying with HKB"H's plan to procreate and perpetuate the human species and he aroused the קָטֵגוֹר, none other than the custodian of simcha itself, the ס"מ. This led to the nisayon with the עֵץ הַדַּעַת in which, unlike Avraham Avinu, Adam Harishon did not prevail. Instead of being master of his yetzer harah, like Avraham was, and using the kochot that the only the yetzer harah has, to elevate his service of HKB"H to the highest level, Adam prematurely blocked out the yetzer harah totally and therefore did not realize his destiny. The plan had to be delayed another twenty generations until Avraham.
Although he was essentially only doing his "job", the ס"מ was demoted and stripped of six of his twelve wings. Why was he demoted if he was only doing his job?
Because there was more involved. The ס"מ was one of the angels who did not want mankind to be created in the first place and although angels supposedly do not have jealousy, something else was there between the ס"מ and Adam Harishon. We do not understand the affairs of angels so we cannot fully understand this. Suffice it to say that Chazal tell us that the ס"מ was demoted and that when the Geulah arrives, HKB"H will totally eliminate him.
Until then HKB"H does not want us to be devoid of yetzer harah, He wants us to rule over our yetzer harah, like Avraham did and like Yosef did with eshet Potiphar. R' Shalom Dov Ber Schneerson, the אדמו"ר הרש"ב, the 5th Lubavitche Rebbe (1860 – 1920) in his sefer Kuntres Eitz Hachayim, chap. 3 says that HKB"H gave us the Torah as a spice to the yetzer harah.
The Torah is not an antidote to cancel the yetzer harah, but a "spice" to sweeten the yetzer harah. He brings an example of a dish of bitter radishes cooked with honey (bitter radishes is a mashal for the yetzer harah and honey is a mashal for the Torah). The resulting dish of the combination of the radishes and the honey, tastes better than just the radishes alone and even the honey alone.
Mankind cannot live without joy. The ס"מ is in charge of dispensing joy. We decide how and when the ס"מ dispenses the joy. If we do not control the ס"מ, the joy he dishes out will be momentary joy – instant gratification! The forms of instant gratification joy are extremely intense but momentary/instant and then they are gone.
This type of joy can be likened to a drug addict on a trip. The elation and ecstasy of such joy is so intense that the person can no longer live without it, they have to have more and more. This craving for more and more places the ס"מ in control, not us. Not surprisingly, these kinds of joy are most often destructive and not part of HKB"H's plan.
It is also not surprising that HKB"H programmed us with the biology and chemistry to experience joy. Scientists have managed to identify certain areas of the brain that are called "pleasure centers".
These areas in the brain "light up" when a test subject in an MRI scanner is stimulated by various impulses that cause different kinds of pleasure/joy – tactile (being hugged, having your hand held, being kissed etc.), auditory (hearing the voice of a loved one, an inspiring aria or concerto, etc.), olfactory (smelling the scent of a loved one, or a delicious aroma like Saidel's challahs, etc.), gustatory (eating something sweet like chocolate, etc.), visual (seeing a loved one, a breathtaking view or a painting, etc.), chemical (drugs or natural hormones like dopamine, endorphins, etc.), emotional (a feeling of power, etc.), metaphysical (generosity, selflessness, inspiration, etc.).
Stimulation by these impulses causes pleasure and even joy and requires regulation. Inadequate regulation of these stimuli causes addiction.
Controlling our yetzer harah therefore is to a large degree regulating the stimulation of physical pleasure centers in the brain, but that is only half of the equation. The passuk says וְלֹא תָתֻרוּ אַחֲרֵי לְבַבְכֶם וְאַחֲרֵי עֵינֵיכֶם (במדבר טו, לט). Retaining control over our yetzer harah is a joint effort between the eyes and the heart. Either/or can trip us up. Not regulating our eyes refers to the physical stimuli. Not regulating our hearts refers to our thought processes, which are metaphysical.
Usually, the loss of control begins with the "heart", the thought process. Two people can see the same thing but process what they are seeing in completely different ways, one in an innocent way and another in a manipulative way.
When a five-year-old boy sees an attractive woman, his thought process is completely different to the thought process of an adult man when he sees the same woman. Two adult men, one happily married and the other single also have different thought processes when they see the same woman with their eyes.
Just like we are required to regulate our physical senses, we are required to regulate our thought processes. Inadequate regulation of either/or can result in loss of control to the yetzer harah and addiction.
HKB"H created us with the ability to experience and feel joy, the joy of the senses, the joy of enjoying delicious food, the joy of inspiring music, art, intellectual activity, like studying the Torah, the joy of a relationship with a spouse, the joy of giving birth to children, the joy of friendship, the joy of selflessness, the joy of feeling rain on our cheek, seeing the deep blue sky, etc. Along with this ability comes a responsibility – to regulate and direct this joy in our service of HKB"H.
Eretz Yisrael is blessed with Seven Species of food. One of the joys of living in Eretz Yisrael is having the privilege of eating these special foods. The Torah does not seek to deny us joy, it specifically highlights all the wonders of Eretz Yisrael, one of which are the Seven Species.
However, the gift comes packaged with a responsibility and a warning. Just like a food product comes with warning labels on the packaging (Beware: excessive sugar/salt/fat/alcohol/etc.) so too do the Seven Species come with a warning label.
The first group of five have the warning label – "Beware: these foods tripped up Adam and Chava!" They are permissible and even recommended to eat, but make sure you do so without repeating Adam and Chava's mistakes. Regulate your intake and control your yetzer harah.
The second group of two are not fruits that are straight off the tree – food directly from HKB"H, they are indirect byproducts that require earthly intervention. Oil requires processing the olives to extract the oil. Honey requires extraction from the fruit to get the honey (bees extract the nectar from flowers to make the honey).
Oil and honey are like the Menorah and the Shulchan in the Heichal. Just as the Menorah uses olive oil to provide light, which is the light of the Torah, eating olive oil helps you to remember your Torah study. Just as honey belongs to the food group carbohydrates (fructose/monosaccharide), so too does the Lechem Hapanim (bread/starch/polysaccharide) which provides physical sustenance and energy to the body/world.
Incidentally, R' Chanina, one of the opinions in the Gemara (Menahot 94b) of the shape of the Lechem Hapanim (teiva perutza), made his fortune from trading in honey! The Menorah and the Shulchan Lechem Hapanim are connected, they are symbiotic.
This second group also comes with a warning label – "Beware: כֹּחִי וְעֹצֶם יָדִי alert!" They are permissible and even recommended to eat, but do not think for one minute that because you had a hand in preparing them that you are responsible for their existence.
HKB"H is responsible for their existence, He gave you the skill and the intelligence to make them. If you become a talmid chacham, don't attribute it to your own intelligence. HKB"H gave you that intelligence to enable you to become a talmid chacham. Don’t think that you are so wealthy because you are a good businessman or a smart investor.
HKB"H gave you that intelligence to enable you to make the right business decisions. Yes, we had a hand in it, but that is just our hishtadlut, nothing more. Without HKB"H's helping hand we would have gotten nowhere.
Both groups relate to regulation of yetzer harah, but from a different perspective. The first addresses the physical senses, the "eyes", the second group addresses the thought processes, the "heart".
Chazal say that honey is not good for the young, but is good for the elderly. Similarly, Chazal say that olive oil is beneficial to prevent the onset of dementia, it prevents you from forgetting your learning. It is not surprising that these two are preferred for the elderly, since when a person gets older, their control over their yetzer harah increases, as it says וְאַבְרָהָם זָקֵן בָּא בַּיָּמִים וַה' בֵּרַךְ אֶת אַבְרָהָם בַּכֹּל (בראשית כד, א). The Yalkut Shimoni says "R' Levi says שֶׁהִשְׁלִיטוּ בְּיִצְרוֹ".
Of all the Seven Species the most potentially dangerous is honey (from dates). The yetzer harah is strongest regarding "honey". It is the only item in the list where the fruit is not mentioned, only the end product. The danger is that we will lose the connection between the fruit and the end product, that we will see only the honey, but forget where the honey came from, forget that it came from HKB"H.
This leads to וַיִּשְׁמַן יְשֻׁרוּן וַיִּבְעָט and was the underlying cause of each and every one of Am Yisrael's lapses throughout history. The spelling of דְבָשׁ in "milui" format דלת בית שין hints to the potential danger of the yetzer harah through honey if not controlled properly. First it enters through the door דלת, then it is in the house בית, and finally it is in your mouth, a "sweet tooth" שין. If you allow the temptation past the door into your home, it is exponentially more difficult to resist it.
This is the reason why when eating olives and dates we say Borei pri ha'eitz before and bracha acharona after, but when eating olive oil and date honey we say she'hakol before and Borei nefashot after. We bless the source so that we will not forget the Source - HKB"H and be blinded by our own כֹּחִי וְעֹצֶם יָדִי.
The purpose of the Mizbeach is to atone for sins caused by our inability to regulate our yetzer harah, the inability to regulate the "honey". This is why "honey" (any kind of honey, not just date honey) has no place on the Mizbeach (chametz is another story – that has to do with laziness).
This is also the reason why this passuk is read in close proximity to טו' באב. The gematria of וְאָמַרְתָּ בִּלְבָבֶךָ כֹּחִי וְעֹצֶם יָדִי עָשָׂה לִי אֶת הַחַיִל הַזֶּה is the same as כִּי כָל שְׂאֹר וְכָל דְּבַשׁ לֹא תַקְטִירוּ מִמֶּנּוּ... בְּטוּ בְּאָב. It is also not incidental that our passuk above is perek ח, passuk ח, twice "חטא", hinting to the warning for the two groups.
Rabbeinu Bachyei says that the gematria of דְּבַשׁ is אִשָּׁה. Many lapses and collapses of Am Yisrael were caused by עֲרָיוֹת, like Chava with the serpent, like ba'al pe'or, it was one of the three central causes of the destruction of the first Beit Hamikdash. However, by far the most serious threat of honey is כֹּחִי וְעֹצֶם יָדִי and וַיִּשְׁמַן יְשֻׁרוּן וַיִּבְעָט. This is the most serious threat that we face in this generation.
The Seven Species are not simply a list of "yummy" things to eat, they are a user's manual for controlling our yetzer harah.
Shabbat Shalom
Eliezer Meir Saidel
Machon Lechem Hapanim
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