NASSO – INSIGHTS IN RASHI - THE POWER OF VISION

Bamidbar, Rashi, 6:2, sv. When a man will separate himself:…”Why was the section of the Nazir put next to the section of the Sotah? It comes to tell you that anyone who sees a sotah in her state of disgrace, should take upon himself to abstain from wine [by becoming a nazir], because wine leads to adultery.” Rashi, based on the Gemara, notes the juxtaposition of the passage of the sotah to the passage of the nazir. He explains that this comes to teach us that a person who sees the episode of the sotah should take on the nazirite oath in order to avoid the damaging effects of wine that caused the sotah to sin. The commentaries point out a difficulty in this Gemara: They ask that the seeing of the sotah’s degradation in and of itself should be sufficient to motivate a person to be extra careful in avoiding the factors that caused her to sin. Why, then do they need to take on the nazirite oath in order to ensure their future zehirus (care) from sin. Rav Yosef Leib Bloch zt”l offers a fascinating answer to this question. He argues that seeing the sotah can actually have a deleterious effect on the onlookers. For at the same time that he is seeing the sotah undergo great disgrace, he is also coming face to face with the person who has allegedly committed a serious sin. The yetser hara is so powerful that it can make him ignore the degradation that her sin caused her, and instead hone in on the sin that was committed and the lust that caused it. The following sad story proves this point: There was a man who was a hopeless drunkard. His son in desperation brought his father to see another drunk whilst that man was in a state of total degradation laid out on the street. However, instead of arousing the father to change, he actually went to the drunkard and asked him from where he attained his alcohol! Because of this powerful effect, the person who sees the sotah needs to take an extra undertaking to prevent himself from being drawn after the effects of sin. It still needs to be understood how the mere vision of the sotah can have such a powerful negative effect. Rav Yosef Leib’s son, Rav Elya Meir Bloch, zt”l, explained by quoting the Gemara in Megilla that tells us that it is forbidden to look at the face of an evil man. This is so serious because merely looking at something brings it into the soul of a person and makes a permanent imprint. The Ran says further that this imprint accompanies him for eternity. Accordingly, seeing an evil man can negatively affect the spiritual level of a person. This also works in a positive sense, whereby seeing holy people or things can have a strong positive effect on a person. This is demonstrated in the Gemara in Eruvin where Rebbe Yehuda HaNasi explains why he merited to be on a higher level that his contemporaries; the reason was that he once merited to see the back of the great Rebbe Meir. He adds that had he seen Rebbe Meir’s face then he would have been even greater. Another example of how what one sees changes the person is brought out based on the maamer Chazal that when Yaakov Avinu saw Yosef after so long he commented that Yosef had not stumbled in looking at forbidden things. How did Yaakov know that? The answer is that Yaakov could see in Yosef’s being that he had not sinned with his eyes - had he done so then Yaakov would have seen the imprint of those visions in Yosef. This again proves that what one sees actually affects a person permanently. The ramifications of Rav Bloch’s idea are very pertinent to our own lives. The most obvious lesson is that guarding our eyes from forbidden visions is something of utmost importance to our level of kedusha. A less apparent point is that even seeing things that are not necessarily forbidden can do great damage to one’s spiritual well-being. One example is that bombardment of violent images in the secular world. Studies show that the average teenager has seen more than a thousand deaths on various media. Exposure to such unhealthy images certainly affects a person’s sensitivity to violence. Another, somewhat surprising point is brought out by Rav Shimshon Pincus zt”l: He discusses whether women should be careful with regards to looking at immodest images. One may have thought that there is no problem for a woman to do this since technically there is no prohibition for a woman to see another woman immodestly dressed. However, in truth he writes that there is great damage done to a woman’s soul by looking at such images. This is because of the point made above, that the images we see penetrate our inner beings, and therefore, immodest images cause damage. He goes even further and says that women are even more influenced by what they see than men. Accordingly, a woman should also be vigilant in avoiding seeing immodest visions. To end on a positive note, the power of vision can also be used to elevate us; the sefarim hakedoshim teach us of a number of visions that elevate a person. These include looking at one’s tzitsit, holy books, shuls and batei midrash, the shin on the head tefillin, and as said earlier, looking at tzaddikim. May we merit to sanctify our eyes and thereby attain greater closeness to HaShem.

MAKING PEACE BETWEEN BODY AND SOUL - SHAVUOS

The Gemara in Pesachim teaches us a fascinating lesson about Shavuos; the Gemara brings a machlokes (disagreement) between Rebbe Yehoshua and Rebbe Eliezer with regard to how a person should conduct himself on the Yamim Tovim. Rebbe Yehoshua holds that one should devote part of his time to spiritual pursuits, and the rest of his time to physical enjoyment. Rebbe Eliezer argues that it is impossible to be involved in both ruchnius (spirituality) and gashmius (physicality) , rather one must choose to totally focus on one or the other. The implication of Rebbe Eliezer's approach is that one should focus purely on spiritual activities such as learning and praying, to the exclusion of physical pleasures such as eating and drinking. However, the Gemara then points out with regards to Shavuos, even Rebbe Eliezer agrees that one should also involve himself in eating and drinking. The reason given is that this is the day that the Torah was given .

The commentaries find great difficulty with this Gemara, in particular they ask why the fact that the Torah was given on Shavuos means that one should eat and drink more. It would have seemed more appropriate that one should totally devote himself to spiritual pursuits on this holy day. The emphasis of physical enjoyment on Shavuos indicates that there must be some deeper connection between physicality and Shavuos.

The key to understanding this connection is a Gemara in Shabbos: The Gemara tells us that after the Giving of the Torah, Moshe Rabbeinu went up to Shamayim (heaven) in order to learn the entire Torah from Hashem. However, the Malachim (angels) took exception to the appearance of a mere human being in the higher realms. They argued that man is not deserving of the holy Torah because of his lowly physical nature, rather they should be its recipients. Hashem instructed Moshe Rabbeinu to refute their argument. He did so by pointing out numerous aspects and laws of the Torah that are clearly directed at physical beings; for example, the Torah commands that one should not do melacha (forbidden activity) on Shabbos but they do not do any melacha at any time so how is Shabbos relevant to them?!. Hashem and the Malachim themselves accepted this argument .

Rav Chaim Friedlander zt"l, discusses at length the interaction between the Malachim and Moshe Rabbeinu. He points out that the Malachim's desire to receive the Torah instead of man is difficult to understand. They were surely aware of the Torah's contents and realized that they were clearly directed at physical beings so how could they hope to receive it themselves?! He explains that the Torah can be understood on many levels, and that the simple understanding that we relate to is just one of many ways of understanding it. Accordingly, the Torah also applies to Malachim on their level of existence; for example there is a spiritual version of refraining from melacha on Shabbos that relates to them, and so is the case with every word in the Torah. The Malachim argued that it should remain in Shamayim where they could learn it on a far deeper level, untainted by Olam HaZeh (this world).

Moshe Rabbeinu understood that this was the Malachim's argument, nevertheless he argued that the Torah was made to be understood and applied on a physical level. He proved this by mentioning numerous Mitzvos that demonstrated that the Torah was deliberately written in such a way that it could be applied by physical beings. The reason for this is that there is a far greater increase of Kavod Shamayim when a human being overcome his physical nature in order to fulfill Ratson Hashem (Hashem's will) than when a purely spiritual being acts according to his nature. Thus, Moshe proved to the Malachim that they could not properly fulfill the Mitzvos in the Torah in such a way that would bring about the most Kavod Shamayim in the world.

This Gemara teaches us of the central nature of the body with regard to receiving the Torah. The fact that human beings are attached to the physical world was the very reason that we merited to receive the Torah. We can now understand the connection between Shavuos and the focus on one's body. Shavuos is the very day that the spiritual world and physical world combined at Har Sinai. On this unique occasion, the purely spiritual Torah was clothed in physical garb in order that we could elevate ourselves through its observance.

We asked why Rebbe Eliezer agrees that on Shavuos we must also provide enjoyment for our bodies. The Beis HaLevi answers that we must show an extra level of gratitude to our bodies because they were the cause of Moshe's victory over the Malachim . We therefore deliberately involve ourselves in physicality. It is possible to add that Rebbe Eliezer argued that on other Yom Tovim one cannot combine spiritual pursuits with physical involvement. It seems that he held that an excessive focus on gashmius would inevitably harm one's ruchnius. However, he agreed that Shavuos was different - on Shavuos there is a special energy whereby physicality and spirituality need not contradict each other, rather they can work together to bring about a greater revelation of Kavod Shamayim. In this vein, the Maharal notes that Shavuos is the only festival in which we offer a Communal Korban Shelamim . He explains, writing that "on this day there is peace and a strong connection between the upper and lower worlds. "

We have seen how Shavuos involves a unique connection between the body and soul and that everyone agrees that it is appropriate to be involved in physical pursuits on this Holy day. This lesson can also be applied to the rest of the year through our efforts to elevate our physical activities. Nonetheless, it is no easy task to attain the correct balance between the two and a person is always at risk of overly focusing on gashmius for its own sake. Rav Avigdor Miller zt"l offered a way of avoiding this possible pitfall; he suggested that at least one action we perform each day should be done with a conscious effort to be leshem Shamayim . He suggests applying this exercise specifically in the area of one's eating. For one time in the day, a person should try to focus on eating so that he will be strong and healthy to perform Avodas Hashem as opposed to satisfying his more base physical desires. Through efforts at self-growth such as this a person will be able to elevate his physical pursuits.

SHAVUOS - STAYING AWAKE

One of the most prominent features of Shavuos is the universal Minhag (custom) for men to stay awake all night learning Torah. The Magen Avraham explains the reason for this Minhag; he brings Chazal who say that the Jewish people went to sleep on the night of Matan Torah (the giving of the Torah) and Hashem had to wake them up in order to receive the Torah. Accordingly, we stay up all night in order to rectify this failing of our ancestors . The Arizal states that one who stays awake learning Torah on Shavuos night is guaranteed that he will complete the year without experiencing any harm .

This explanation seems quite difficult: How can we understand that such great people would oversleep on the most momentous occasion of their lives ? We know that they were willing to receive the Torah to the extent that they accepted its laws before they were even aware of its content so why would they act in such an unenthusiastic fashion on the night leading to Matan Torah?! It also needs to be understood how staying awake all night rectifies their error.

The commentaries explain that the Jewish people deliberately went to sleep on that night; they felt that they could reach a higher level of connection to G-d in a state of sleep. This explanation fits with an important principle that whenever great people sinned, they had seemingly valid reasons for choosing their course of action. Nonetheless, the fact that they ultimately sinned indicates that on a subtle level, there was some kind of yetser hara that pushed them towards their error . What was this underlying motivation that caused them to sleep on this fateful night?

The Jewish people clearly wanted to receive the Torah, as indicated by their pronouncement of 'Naaseh v'nishma' (we will do and we will hear). However, it is possible that on a subtle level they also felt a degree of uneasiness about receiving the Torah. They realized that accepting the Torah would enforce numerous obligations and responsibility upon them. It is certainly true that whilst the life of a Torah observant Jew provides the ultimate satisfaction, it nonetheless involves a great amount of effort and self-growth. Thus a person may be tempted to ‘escape’ these challenges in various manners. One of the most common forms of ‘escape’ is sleep - by sleeping a person can, at least temporarily, avoid the challenges of life . Accordingly, people who experience pain or difficulty have a tendency to want to sleep more than their bodies require. This is in fact a manifestation of their desire to escape their pain.

In this vein, it is possible that, on a subtle level, the Jewish people were apprehensive of the new accountability that was soon to be thrust upon them. Thus, on a subconscious level they sought to ‘escape’ from the daunting specter of receiving the Torah. This desire to escape manifested itself in its ultimate form - sleep.

The Minhag to stay awake all night learning Torah is a rectification of this subtle flaw. Remaining awake whilst we are tired shows that we are willing to face the responsibilities that accompany Torah observance. We realize that whilst fulfilling the Torah is no easy task, it is ultimately the most rewarding path. Escaping the challenges does not provide true satisfaction, rather facing them head on is the only way of achieving life fulfillment. Rav Noach Weinberg zt”l would consistently instill in his students that nothing meaningful in life is achieved without difficulty. Any truly meaningful experience inevitably involves a great amount of hard work and self-sacrifice. This is particularly the case with regard to the learning and observing of the Torah; the greatest geniuses failed in Torah learning if they were unwilling to exert tremendous effort in understanding the depths of Torah. Only those who were prepared to push themselves experienced the true pleasure of Torah learning and attained greatness.

There are people who disagree with the Minhag to remain awake all night learning Torah. They point out that a person probably learns for less time by staying awake in the night than if he would keep to his regular schedule of sleeping. In an arithmetical sense this claim seems correct. Those that do not sleep in the night commonly sleep for a few hours on Erev Shavuos, then sleep after Shacharis, and often go to sleep a further time after the Yom tov morning meal! However, my Rebbe, Rav Yitzchak Berkovits Shlita points out the error of this argument; if the goal of Shavuos was to learn as much Torah as possible then this claim would be correct and it would be more sensible to sleep in the night and learn more in the daytime. However, this is not the purpose of learning on Shavuos. As we have seen , its purpose is to inculcate in ourselves the readiness to meet head-on the challenges that the Torah presents. By sacrificing sleep on this one night, we show that we have no desire to ‘escape’, rather we recognize that the only path to true meaning is to face difficulties head on and surpass them. May we all merit to receive the Torah with complete eagerness and anticipation.

THE FREEDOM OF TORAH - NASSO AND SHAVUOS

The parsha discusses the mitzva of Nezirus, whereby a person takes a vow to abstain from wine, to avoid coming into contact with a dead body, and to let his hair grow . The author of Toras Avraham, Rav Avraham Grodzinki zt”l , discusses a number of difficulties with regard to the spiritual standing of the Nazir. He notes that at one point the Torah describes him as ’holy’ for depriving himself of physical pleasure . However, soon after, in the process of describing the sacrifices that he brings, it tells us that he must bring a sin-offering to atone for a certain aveira that he has committed. What is that aveira? Rashi brings the opinion of Rebbe Elazar Hakappa that his sin was that he caused himself pain by depriving himself of the enjoyment of drinking wine . Thus there is a blatant contradiction as to whether the Nazir is doing a great mitza or is in fact committing an aveira.

The Toras Avraham answers that the Nazir is doing the right thing - he is someone who feels an unhealthy tendency towards physical pleasure, and therefore deems it necessary to make the drastic step of taking a vow of Nezirus. However, there is an element of sin in this action that requires atonement. The Toras Avraham explains that G-d created man with a body and soul and that it is wrong for man to totally neglect his body. Man‘s job in this world is to live in the physical world but to elevate it. The Nazir feels that he cannot do this without totally abstaining from wine. He is correct for acting this way, but in doing so, he causes his body considerable discomfort because it has a certain level of shibud (attachment) to the physical world and feels pain at being deprived of the pleasures that the physical world has to offer. Consequently, he is considered ‘holy’ for undertaking such a bold process of purification, but simultaneously needs to bring a sin offering for causing pain to his body .

Having explained the duality in the act of Nezirus, the Torah Avraham then poses a new problem. He brings the Ramban at the beginning of Parshas Kedoshim who writes that it is not sufficient to merely observe mitzvas but live a life full of indulgence, rather the Torah requires us to ’be holy’. To fulfill this mitzva, he writes that one must abstain from physical pleasures. He even equates the holy man to the Nazir who is described as being holy for abstaining from wine. However, he makes absolutely no allusion to any sin committed by abstaining from physical pleasures even though it seems to cause pain to the ’holy’ man’s body. The Toras Avraham writes that this Ramban is discussing the level of a ‘Talmid Chacham’, a person who strives to separate himself from the luxuries of this world. This leads to the obvious question: What is the difference between the Nazir who sinned by abstaining from wine, and the Talmid Chacham who commits no sin in following a similar process?!

The answer is that there is a fundamental difference between the prishus (separation) of the Nazir and that of the Talmid Chacham. The Nazir is subject to a strong physical drive for the baser pleasures such as wine. It is painful for him to withdraw from partaking of them, therefore he is considered to be sinning by causing himself pain. In contrast the Talmid Chacham feels no pain at avoiding physical self-indulgence because he is not bound to his physical drives. He has such a strong recognition of the futile and transient nature of physical pleasures that it is not difficult for him to abstain from them. Thus, whilst the Nazir needs atonement for causing himself pain, the Talmid Chacham is not considered to have committed any kind of misdemeanor.

We learn from here a fundamental principle; that the ideal way of separating from physical pleasures should not involve a painful process of self-deprivation. Rather it should emanate from a natural sense of the ultimate futility of physical gratification. This stands in stark contrast to the secular attitude to self-deprivation. This is most manifest in the widespread attempts of people to lose weight through intense diets. These largely fail and it seems that a significant reason for this is that denying oneself food is a cause of great self-affliction. The dieter does not free himself of a desire for pleasant tasting foods, rather often his craving for them actually increases. Thus he goes through a painful process of self-deprivation which invariably cannot last indefinitely. It seems that the Torah approach to food should automatically enable a person to eat healthily and even lose weight . If a person frees himself from his shibudim to physical pleasures, then abstaining from them will become a painless process. One ben Torah who was somewhat overweight and was known to eat large amounts of food, undertook to reduce his food intake through a gradual process of reducing his shibudim to food - in the process he lost about thirty pounds in a few months!

It still needs to be understood how a person can reach the level of the Talmid Chacham and be able to separate from physical pleasures without causing himself discomfort. The key seems to be that if one develops a strong appreciation for spirituality then he automatically frees himself of a shibud to physicality. A yeshiva bachur once asked Rav Noach Orlowek Shlita that he looked forward to lunch more than mincha - how could he change this? Rav Orlowek answered him that he should deepen his appreciation for tefilla and by doing so he would automatically reduce his preference for lunch.

This dichotomy is highly relevant to our relationship with Torah that we celebrate on Shavuos. The Mishna in Avos exhorts us that the way of Torah is to eat bread and salt, drink water and sleep on the ground . This does not necessarily mean that to become a Talmid Chacham one must live in this fashion, rather the Mishna is telling us that we should develop such a deep appreciation for Torah that the baser pleasures become meaningless. Consequently, for a person to aspire to be a Talmid Chacham he must be willing and able to live in a sparse way. Thus, even if he does have access to a higher standard of living he will nevertheless be able to focus on the higher pleasure of learning Torah. However, if he feels a great pull to physical comfort then it will be impossible for him to sufficiently devote himself to Torah.

This principle of freeing oneself from physical pleasures is connected to Shavuos in another way. The Magen Avraham discusses the widespread Minhag for men to stay awake on the night of Shavuos. He suggests that the reason for this is based on a Medrash that the Jewish people slept the whole night before Mattan Torah and Hashem had to wake them up. We try to metaken (fix) this error by staying awake for the whole night . What is the underlying meaning in this Minhah? It seems that whilst the Jewish people were ready to receive the Torah, nonetheless on a certain level, they also felt a degree of apprehension at the implications of doing so. It would require a high level of self-deprivation and place great demands on them. This apprehension manifest itself through sleep which represents the ultimate escape from the challenges of life. It is very common that when a person feels troubled or depressed he turns to sleep as a way of escaping his problems. The Jewish people were excited about receiving the Torah and knew that it offered them a far deeper and more meaningful form of existence but deep down they also felt a shibud to the physical pleasures that they would now have to forsake . In order to metaken this ‘sin’, we deprive ourselves of sleep to demonstrate that the joy of receiving the Torah far outweighs the loss of physical comforts such as sleep.


We have seen how there are two ways in which a person can deprive himself of physical pleasures. The Nazir’s self-deprecation causes him considerable discomfort, whilst the Talmid Chacham feels no pain in refraining from such pleasures. Our goal is to reduce our shibudim to the physical world through a heightened sense of appreciation for spirituality. Shavuos is an apt time to work on developing this love of spirituality by recognizing that the joy of learning Torah all night far outweighs that of sleeping!

MAKING PEACE BETWEEN BODY AND SOUL - SHAVUOS

The Gemara in Pesachim teaches us a fascinating lesson about Shavuos; the Gemara brings a machlokes (disagreement) between Rebbe Yehoshua and Rebbe Eliezer with regard to how a person should conduct himself on the Yamim Tovim. Rebbe Yehoshua holds that one should devote part of his time to spiritual pursuits, and the rest of his time to physical enjoyment. Rebbe Eliezer argues that it is impossible to be involved in both ruchnius (spirituality) and gashmius (physicality) , rather one must choose to totally focus on one or the other. The implication of Rebbe Eliezer's approach is that one should focus purely on spiritual activities such as learning and praying, to the exclusion of physical pleasures such as eating and drinking. However, the Gemara then points out with regards to Shavuos, even Rebbe Eliezer agrees that one should also involve himself in eating and drinking. The reason given is that this is the day that the Torah was given[1].

The commentaries find great difficulty with this Gemara, in particular they ask why the fact that the Torah was given on Shavuos means that one should eat and drink more. It would have seemed more appropriate that one should totally devote himself to spiritual pursuits on the holy day that the Torah was given. The emphasis of physical enjoyment on Shavuos indicates that there must be some deeper connection between physicality and Shavuos.

The key to understanding this connection is a Gemara in Shabbos: The Gemara tells us that after the Giving of the Torah, Moshe Rabbeinu went up to Shamayim (heaven) in order to learn the entire Torah from Hashem. However, the Malachim (angels) took exception to the appearance of a mere human being in the higher realms. They argued that man is not deserving of the holy Torah because of his lowly physical nature, rather they should be its recipients. Hashem instructed Moshe Rabbeinu to refute their argument. He did so by pointing out numerous aspects and laws of the Torah that are clearly directed at physical beings; for example, the Torah commands that one should not do melacha (forbidden activity) on Shabbos but they do not do any melacha at any time so how is Shabbos relevant to them?!. Hashem and the Malachim themselves accepted this argument[2].

Rav Chaim Friedlander zt"l, discusses at length the interaction between the Malachim and Moshe Rabbeinu. He points out that the Malachim's desire to receive the Torah instead of man is difficult to understand. They were surely aware of the Torah's contents and realized that they were clearly directed at physical beings so how could they hope to receive it themselves?! He explains that the Torah can be understood on many levels, and that the simple understanding that we relate to is just one of many ways of understanding it. Accordingly, the Torah also applies to Malachim on their level of existence; for example there is a spiritual version of refraining from melacha on Shabbos that relates to them, and so is the case with every word in the Torah. The Malachim argued that it should remain in Shamayim where they could learn it on a far deeper level, untainted by Olam HaZeh (this world).

Moshe Rabbeinu understood that this was the Malachim's argument, nevertheless he argued that the Torah was made to be understood and applied on a physical level. He proved this by mentioning numerous Mitzvos that demonstrated that the Torah was deliberately written in such a way that it could be applied by physical beings. The reason for this is that there is a far greater increase of Kavod Shamayim when a human being overcome his physical nature in order to fulfill Ratson Hashem (Hashem's will) than when a purely spiritual being acts according to his nature. Thus, Moshe proved to the Malachim that they could not properly fulfill the Mitzvos in the Torah in such a way that would bring about the most Kavod Shamayim in the world.

This Gemara teaches us of the central nature of the body with regard to receiving the Torah. The fact that human beings are attached to the physical world was the very reason that we merited to receive the Torah. We can now understand the connection between Shavuos and the focus on one's body. Shavuos is the very day that the spiritual world and physical world combined at Har Sinai. On this unique occasion, the purely spiritual Torah was clothed in physical garb in order that we could elevate ourselves through its observance.

We asked why Rebbe Eliezer agrees that on Shavuos we must also provide enjoyment for our bodies. The Beis HaLevi answers that we must show an extra level of gratitude to our bodies because they were the cause of Moshe's victory over the Malachim[3]. We therefore deliberately involve ourselves in physicality. It is possible to add that Rebbe Eliezer argued that on other Yom Tovim one cannot combine spiritual pursuits with physical involvement. It seems that he held that an excessive focus on gashmius would inevitably harm one's ruchnius. However, he agreed that Shavuos was different - on Shavuos there is a special energy whereby physicality and spirituality need not contradict each other, rather they can work together to bring about a greater revelation of Kavod Shamayim. In this vein, the Maharal notes that Shavuos is the only festival in which we offer a Communal Korban Shelamim[4]. He explains, writing that "on this day there is peace and a strong connection between the upper and lower worlds.[5]"

We have seen how Shavuos involves a unique connection between the body and soul and that everyone agrees that it is appropriate to be involved in physical pursuits on this Holy day. This lesson can also be applied to the rest of the year through our efforts to elevate our physical activities to a spiritual level. Nonetheless, it is no easy task to attain the correct balance between the two and a person is always at risk of overly focusing on gashmius for its own sake. Rav Avigdor Miller zt"l offered a way of avoiding this possible pitfall; he suggested that at least once action we perform in the day should be done with a conscious effort to be leshem Shamayim[6]. He suggests applying this exercise specifically in the area of one's eating. For one time in the day, a person should try to focus on eating so that he will be strong and healthy to perform Avodas Hashem as opposed to satisfying his more base physical desires. Through efforts at self-growth such as this a person will be able to elevate his physical pursuits.

[1] Pesachim, 68b.
[2] Shabbos, 88b. It is evident that this Gemara can be understood on many levels - in this piece we will only attempt to explain certain aspects of the Gemara on a basic level. For fuller explanations see Maharsha, Shabbos, 88b; Ben Yehoyada and Benyahu, Shabbos, 88b; Ben Ish Chayil, 2:2 and 4:2; Sifsei Chaim, Moadim, 2nd Chelek, 116-133.
[3] Parshas Yisro.
[4] This is a sacrifice - part of it is eaten by those who offer it. In contrast, a Korban Olah is completely given over to Shamayim.
[5] Tiferes Yisroel, Ch.25.
[6] This is literally translated as meaning, 'for the sake of Heaven', it means that one does an act with pure motivations.

STAYING AWAKE - SHAVUOS

One of the most prominent features of Shavuos is the universal Minhag (custom) for men to stay awake all night learning Torah. The Magen Avraham explains the reason for this Minhag; he brings Chazal who say that the Jewish people went to sleep on the night of Matan Torah (the giving of the Torah) and Hashem had to wake them up in order to receive the Torah. Accordingly, we stay up all night in order to rectify this failing of our ancestors[1]. The Arizal states that one who stays awake learning Torah on Shavuos night is guaranteed that he will complete the year without experiencing any harm[2].

This explanation seems quite difficult: How can we understand that such great people would oversleep on the most momentous occasion of their lives[3]? We know that they were willing to receive the Torah to the extent that they accepted its laws before they were even aware of its content so why would they act in such an unenthusiastic fashion on the night leading to Matan Torah?! It also needs to be understood how staying awake all night rectifies their error.

The commentaries explain that the Jewish people deliberately went to sleep on that night; they felt that they could reach a higher level of connection to G-d in a state of sleep. This explanation fits with an important principle that whenever great people sinned, they had seemingly valid reasons for choosing their course of action. Nonetheless, the fact that they ultimately sinned indicates that on a subtle level, there was some kind of yetser hara that pushed them towards their error[4]. What was this underlying motivation that caused them to sleep on this fateful night?

The Jewish people clearly wanted to receive the Torah, as indicated by their pronouncement of 'Naaseh v'nishma' (we will do and we will hear). However, it is possible that on a subtle level they also felt a degree of uneasiness about receiving the Torah. They realized that accepting the Torah would enforce numerous obligations and responsibility upon them. It is certainly true that whilst the life of a Torah observant Jew provides the ultimate satisfaction, it nonetheless involves a great amount of effort and self-growth. Thus a person may be tempted to ‘escape’ these challenges in various manners. One of the most common forms of ‘escape’ is sleep - by sleeping a person can, at least temporarily, avoid the challenges of life[5]. Accordingly, people who experience pain or difficulty have a tendency to want to sleep more than their bodies require. This is in fact a manifestation of their desire to escape their pain.

In this vein, it is possible that, on a subtle level, the Jewish people were apprehensive of the new accountability that was soon to be thrust upon them. Thus, on a subconscious level they sought to ‘escape’ from the daunting specter of receiving the Torah. This desire to escape manifested itself in its ultimate form - sleep.

The Minhag to stay awake all night learning Torah is a rectification of this subtle flaw. Remaining awake whilst we are tired shows that we are willing to face the responsibilities that accompany Torah observance. We realize that whilst fulfilling the Torah is no easy task, it is ultimately the most rewarding path. Escaping the challenges does not provide true satisfaction, rather facing them head on is the only way of achieving life fulfillment. Rav Noach Weinberg zt”l would consistently instill in his students that nothing meaningful in life is achieved without difficulty. Any truly meaningful experience inevitably involves a great amount of hard work and self-sacrifice. This is particularly the case with regard to the learning and observing of the Torah; the greatest geniuses failed in Torah learning if they were unwilling to exert tremendous effort in understanding the depths of Torah. Only those who were prepared to push themselves experienced the true pleasure of Torah learning and attained greatness.
There are people who disagree with the Minhag to remain awake all night learning Torah. They point out that a person probably learns for less time by staying awake in the night than if he would keep to his regular schedule of sleeping. In an arithmetical sense this claim seems correct. Those that do not sleep in the night commonly sleep for a few hours on Erev Shavuos, then sleep after Shacharis, and often go to sleep a further time after the Yom tov morning meal! However, my Rebbe, Rav Yitzchak Berkovits Shlita points out the error of this argument; if the goal of Shavuos was to learn as much Torah as possible then this claim would be correct and it would be more sensible to sleep in the night and learn more in the daytime. However, this is not the purpose of learning on Shavuos. As we have seen , its purpose is to inculcate in ourselves the readiness to meet head-on the challenges that the Torah presents. By sacrificing sleep on this one night, we show that we have no desire to ‘escape’, rather we recognize that the only path to true meaning is to face difficulties head on and surpass them. May we all merit to receive the Torah with complete
[1] Magen Avraham, Orach Chaim, Simun 494.
[2] Mishna Berurah, Simu 494, sk.1.
[3] This generation is known as the Dor Deah, the 'Generation of Wisdom' because of the incredibly high level they reached.
[4] The commentaries adopt this approach with regard to sins such as Adam's eating of the fruit, the worshipping of the Golden Calf and the sin of the spies.
[5] Chazal say that sleep is one sixtieth of death; death is the ultimate form of escape whereby one can permanently avoid the challenges that he faces.

SHAVUOS - EATING ON SHAVUOS

The Gemara in Pesachim teaches us a fascinating lesson about Shavuos; the Gemara brings a machlokes (disagreement) between Rebbe Yehoshua and Rebbe Eliezer with regard to how a person should conduct himself on the Yamim Tovim. Rebbe Yehoshua holds that one should devote part of his time to spiritual pursuits, and the rest of his time to physical enjoyment. Rebbe Eliezer argues that it is impossible to be involved in both ruchnius (spirituality) and gashmius (physicality) , rather one must choose to totally focus on one or the other. The implication of Rebbe Eliezer's approach is that one should focus purely on spiritual activities such as learning and praying, to the exclusion of physical pleasures such as eating and drinking. However, the Gemara then points out with regards to Shavuos, even Rebbe Eliezer agrees that one should also involve himself in eating and drinking. The reason given is that this is the day that the Torah was given.

The commentaries find great difficulty with this Gemara, in particular they ask why the fact that the Torah was given on Shavuos means that one should eat and drink more. It would have seemed more appropriate that one should totally devote himself to spiritual pursuits on this holy day. The emphasis of physical enjoyment on Shavuos indicates that there must be some deeper connection between physicality and Shavuos.

The key to understanding this connection is a Gemara in Shabbos: The Gemara tells us that after the Giving of the Torah, Moshe Rabbeinu went up to Shamayim (heaven) in order to learn the entire Torah from Hashem. However, the Malachim (angels) took exception to the appearance of a mere human being in the higher realms. They argued that man is not deserving of the holy Torah because of his lowly physical nature, rather they should be its recipients. Hashem instructed Moshe Rabbeinu to refute their argument. He did so by pointing out numerous aspects and laws of the Torah that are clearly directed at physical beings; for example, the Torah commands that one should not do melacha (forbidden activity) on Shabbos but they do not do any melacha at any time so how is Shabbos relevant to them?!. Hashem and the Malachim themselves accepted this argument.

Rav Chaim Friedlander zt"l, discusses at length the interaction between the Malachim and Moshe Rabbeinu. He points out that the Malachim's desire to receive the Torah instead of man is difficult to understand. They were surely aware of the Torah's contents and realized that they were clearly directed at physical beings so how could they hope to receive it themselves?! He explains that the Torah can be understood on many levels, and that the simple understanding that we relate to is just one of many ways of understanding it. Accordingly, the Torah also applies to Malachim on their level of existence; for example there is a spiritual version of refraining from melacha on Shabbos that relates to them, and so is the case with every word in the Torah. The Malachim argued that it should remain in Shamayim where they could learn it on a far deeper level, untainted by Olam HaZeh (this world).

Moshe Rabbeinu understood that this was the Malachim's argument, nevertheless he argued that the Torah was made to be understood and applied on a physical level. He proved this by mentioning numerous Mitzvos that demonstrated that the Torah was deliberately written in such a way that it could be applied by physical beings. The reason for this is that there is a far greater increase of Kavod Shamayim when a human being overcome his physical nature in order to fulfill Ratson Hashem (Hashem's will) than when a purely spiritual being acts according to his nature. Thus, Moshe proved to the Malachim that they could not properly fulfill the Mitzvos in the Torah in such a way that would bring about the most Kavod Shamayim in the world.
This Gemara teaches us of the central nature of the body with regard to receiving the Torah. The fact that human beings are attached to the physical world was the very reason that we merited to receive the Torah. We can now understand the connection between Shavuos and the focus on one's body. Shavuos is the very day that the spiritual world and physical world combined at Har Sinai. On this unique occasion, the purely spiritual Torah was clothed in physical garb in order that we could elevate ourselves through its observance.

We asked why Rebbe Eliezer agrees that on Shavuos we must also provide enjoyment for our bodies. The Beis HaLevi answers that we must show an extra level of gratitude to our bodies because they were the cause of Moshe's victory over the Malachim. We therefore deliberately involve ourselves in physicality. It is possible to add that Rebbe Eliezer argued that on other Yom Tovim one cannot combine spiritual pursuits with physical involvement. It seems that he held that an excessive focus on gashmius would inevitably harm one's ruchnius. However, he agreed that Shavuos was different - on Shavuos there is a special energy whereby physicality and spirituality need not contradict each other, rather they can work together to bring about a greater revelation of Kavod Shamayim. In this vein, the Maharal notes that Shavuos is the only festival in which we offer a Communal Korban Shelamim. He explains, writing that "on this day there is peace and a strong connection between the upper and lower worlds."

We have seen how Shavuos involves a unique connection between the body and soul and that everyone agrees that it is appropriate to be involved in physical pursuits on this Holy day. This lesson can also be applied to the rest of the year through our efforts to elevate our physical activities. Nonetheless, it is no easy task to attain the correct balance between the two and a person is always at risk of overly focusing on gashmius for its own sake. Rav Avigdor Miller zt"l offered a way of avoiding this possible pitfall; he suggested that at least one action we perform each day should be done with a conscious effort to be leshem Shamayim. He suggests applying this exercise specifically in the area of one's eating. For one time in the day, a person should try to focus on eating so that he will be strong and healthy to perform Avodas Hashem as opposed to satisfying his more base physical desires. Through efforts at self-growth such as this a person will be able to elevate his physical pursuits.
　

THE FREEDOM OF TORAH - NASSO AND SHAVUOS

The parsha discusses the mitzva of Nezirus, whereby a person takes a vow to abstain from wine, to avoid coming into contact with a dead body, and to let his hair grow. The author of Toras Avraham, Rav Avraham Grodzinki zt”l, discusses a number of difficulties with regard to the spiritual standing of the Nazir. He notes that at one point the Torah describes him as ’holy’ for depriving himself of physical pleasure. However, soon after, in the process of describing the sacrifices that he brings, it tells us that he must bring a sin-offering to atone for a certain aveira that he has committed. What is that aveira? Rashi brings the opinion of Rebbe Elazar Hakappa that his sin was that he caused himself pain by depriving himself of the enjoyment of drinking wine. Thus there is a blatant contradiction as to whether the Nazir is doing a great mitza or is in fact committing an aveira.

The Toras Avraham answers that the Nazir is doing the right thing - he is someone who feels an unhealthy tendency towards physical pleasure, and therefore deems it necessary to make the drastic step of taking a vow of Nezirus. However, there is an element of sin in this action that requires atonement; the Toras Avraham explains that G-d created man with a body and soul and that it is wrong for man to totally neglect his body. Man‘s job in this world is to live in the physical world but to elevate it. The Nazir feels that he cannot do this without totally abstaining from wine. He is correct for acting this way, but in doing so, he causes his body considerable discomfort because it has a certain level of shibud (attachment) to the physical world and feels pain at being deprived of the pleasures that the physical world has to offer. Consequently, he is considered ‘holy’ for undertaking such a bold process of purification, but simultaneously needs to bring a sin offering for causing pain to his body.

Having explained the duality in the act of Nezirus, the Torah Avraham then poses a new problem. He brings the Ramban at the beginning of Parshas Kedoshim who writes that it is not sufficient to merely observe mitzvas but live a life full of indulgence, rather the Torah requires us to ’be holy’. To fulfill this mtizva, he writes that one must abstain from physical pleasures. He even equates the holy man to the Nazir who is described as being holy for abstaining from wine. However, he makes absolutely no allusion to any sin committed by abstaining from physical pleasures even though it seems to cause pain to the ’holy’ man’s body. The Toras Avraham writes that this Ramban is discussing the level of a ‘Talmid Chacham’, a person who strives to separate himself from the luxuries of this world. This leads to the obvious question: What is the difference between the Nazir who sinned by abstaining from wine, and the Talmid Chacham who commits no sin in following a similar process?!

The answer is that there is a fundamental difference between the prishus (separation) of the Nazir and that of the Talmid Chacham. The Nazir is subject to a strong physical drive for the baser pleasures such as wine. It is painful for him to withdraw from partaking of them, therefore he is considered to be sinning by causing himself pain. In contrast the Talmid Chacham feels no pain at avoiding physical self-indulgence because he is not bound to his physical drives. He has such a strong recognition of the futile and transient nature of physical pleasures that it is not difficult for him to abstain from them. Thus, whilst the Nazir needs atonement for causing himself pain, the Talmid Chacham is not considered to have committed any kind of misdemeanour.

We learn from here a fundamental principle; that the ideal way of separating from physical pleasures should not involve a painful process of self-deprivation. Rather it should emanate from a natural sense of the ultimate futility of physical gratification. This stands in stark contrast to the secular attitude to self-deprivation. This is most manifest in the widespread attempts of people to lose weight through intense diets. These largely fail and it seems that a significant reason for this is that denying oneself food is a cause of great self-affliction. The dieter does not free himself of a desire for pleasant tasting foods, rather often his craving for them actually increases. Thus he goes through a painful process of self-deprivation which invariably cannot last indefinitely. It seems that the Torah approach to food should automatically enable a person to eat healthily and even lose weight. If a person frees himself from his shibudim to physical pleasures, then abstaining from them will become a painless process. One ben Torah who was somewhat overweight and was known to eat large amounts of food, undertook to reduce his food intake through a gradual process of reducing his shibudim to food - in the process he lost about thirty pounds in a few months!

It still needs to be understood how a person can reach the level of the Talmid Chacham and be able to separate from physical pleasures without causing himself discomfort. The key seems to be that if one develops a strong appreciation for spirituality then he automatically frees himself of a shibud to physicality.

A bocher once asked Rav Noach Orlowek Shlita that he looked forward to lunch more than mincha - how could he change this? Rav Orlowek answered him that he should deepen his appreciation for tefilla and by doing so he would automatically reduce his preference for lunch.
This dichotomy is highly relevant to our relationship with Torah that we celebrate on Shavuos. The Mishna in Avos exhorts us that the way of Torah is to eat bread and salt, drink water and sleep on the ground. This does not necessarily mean that to become a Talmid Chacham one must live in this fashion, rather the Mishna is telling us that we should develop such a deep appreciation for Torah that the baser pleasures become meaningless. Consequently, for a person to aspire to be a Talmid Chacham he must be willing and able to live in a sparse way. Thus, even if he does have access to a higher standard of living he will nevertheless be able to focus on the higher pleasure of learning Torah. However, if he feels a great pull to physical comfort then it will be impossible for him to sufficiently devote himself to Torah.

This principle of freeing oneself from physical pleasures is connected to Shavuos in another way. The Magen Avraham discusses the widespread Minhag for men to stay awake on the night of Shavuos. He suggests that the reason for this is based on a Medrash that the Jewish people slept the whole night before Mattan Torah and Hashem had to wake them up. We try to metaken (fix) this error by staying awake for the whole night. What is the underlying meaning in this Minhah? It seems that whilst the Jewish people were ready to receive the Torah, nonetheless on a certain level, they also felt a degree of apprehension at the implications of doing so. It would require a high level of self-deprivation and place great demands on them. This apprehension manifest itself through sleep which represents the ultimate escape from the challenges of life. It is very common that when a person feels troubled or depressed he turns to sleep as a way of escaping his problems. The Jewish people were excited about receiving the Torah and knew that it offered them a far deeper and more meaningful form of existence but deep down they also felt a shibud to the physical pleasures that they would now have to forsake. In order to metaken this ‘sin’, we deprive ourselves of sleep to demonstrate that the joy of receiving the Torah far outweighs the loss of physical comforts such as sleep.
　
We have seen how there are two ways in which a person can deprive himself of physical pleasures. The Nazir’s self-deprecation causes him considerable discomfort, whilst the Talmid Chacham feels no pain in refraining from such pleasures. Our goal is to reduce our shibudim to the physical world through a heightened sense of appreciation for spirituality. Shavuos is an apt time to work on developing this love of spirituality by recognizing that the joy of learning Torah all night far outweighs that of sleeping!