The Secret of the New Soul: The Days When the Evil Inclination Disappears

Lesson No. 325 | Teves 5762, Bar Mitzvah at the Zvhil Hall

On the day of the chuppah (wedding canopy) and on the day of a Bar Mitzvah, a person receives a new, lofty soul, and the yetzer hara (evil inclination) departs from him completely. This is the exact time to seize the opportunity, flee to Torah study, and merit tremendous spiritual illuminations that will influence his entire life.

I was once told that I was forbidden to fast on Yom Kippur. Professor Franco from Mount Scopus told me that my body was completely poisoned, but in the end, I fasted. When a Jew has mesiras nefesh (self-sacrifice), he merits to overcome all obstacles.

Days Without the Evil Inclination

There are two days in a year when a person has no yetzer hara whatsoever: the day of his chuppah and the day of his Bar Mitzvah. On the day of his chuppah, even the wicked Esav considered converting, because on that day, the evil inclination departed from him entirely.

It is brought down in the Heichal HaBracha that if, on that day, Esav had grasped his own spiritual greatness, immediately run to the yeshiva, and begun to study Torah, he would have become a greater tzaddik than Yaakov Avinu (our Patriarch Jacob)! Why? Because he possessed a higher soul than Yaakov, and it is a known rule that whoever has a greater soul, also has a greater evil inclination.

On these special days, the evil inclination is weaker than the yetzer hatov (good inclination). It cannot cause a person to stumble in severe sins, so it approaches with cunning and tears. As Rabbi Yitzchak Isaac said: "He knows how to cry and say, 'Have pity on me, I am miserable, I am a little hungry, I am a little tired, I want to sleep and eat a little.'" But if a person seizes these days and gets into a momentum of holiness, he defeats the evil inclination.

Dedicating Life to Torah

Therefore, immediately after the chuppah, one must run to study Torah. The Gemara tells of Amoraim (Talmudic sages) who, right after their weddings, went to study Torah for many long years. The evil inclination tries to confuse a person and draw him into worldly matters, but the truth is that one must dedicate a set, quality amount of time to the home, and dedicate the rest of the time to Torah.

This was the practice of the Gaon Rabbi Chaim Yosef Sonnenfeld zt"l: He would sit with his wife every day, studying Mesillas Yesharim with her for half an hour, Kitzur Shulchan Aruch for half an hour, along with stories of tzaddikim. They dedicated an hour a day to the home, and the rest of the time was immersed in Torah study.

Secrets of the Torah: The Dispute Between Yosef and His Brothers

Part of spiritual elevation is immersion in the depths of Halacha (Jewish law). The Gaon Rabbi Nassan Tikolsky zt"l shared a wonderful chiddush (novel Torah thought) connecting the dispute between Yosef and his brothers to Chanukah. Tosafos asks why a Chanukah candle placed higher than twenty amos (cubits) is invalid; since it is only a Rabbinic mitzvah, shouldn't we be lenient? The answer is that the mitzvah of Chanukah is treated "like a Torah-level obligation" (k'ein d'Oraisa).

On Chanukah, there was no decree of physical annihilation as there was on Purim, but rather a spiritual decree against Shabbos and Bris Milah (circumcision). Therefore, the miracle is spiritual, and the Rabbinic enactment to give thanks and praise carries the weight of being "like a Torah-level obligation."

This was the root of the dispute between Yosef and his brothers: Did they have the halachic status of Bnei Yisrael (the Children of Israel) or Bnei Noach (the Children of Noah)? Yosef argued that the brothers already had the status of Bnei Yisrael, and therefore they were obligated in the Rabbinic prohibition of eating a limb from a living animal, which is treated "like a Torah-level obligation," just like the prohibition of the sciatic nerve (gid hanasheh) which was forbidden to them.

The Soul with Four Wings

Let us return to the spiritual virtue of the day of the chuppah and the Bar Mitzvah. The holy Zohar relates that Rabbi Shimon bar Yochai zy"a made a great seudah (festive meal) and invited all the Sages:

"Rabbi Shimon bar Yochai invited the masters of the Mishnah to eat at a great seudah that he made for them... and he was exceedingly joyous."

The Sages asked him: "What is the reason for the master's great joy on this day?" Rashbi explained to them that on this day, a holy soul with four wings descends upon a person. In order to guard this soul, a person must be immersed in Torah and be careful of even the slightest hint of a prohibition.

The Protection of Torah Study

It is told of a certain Rav whom others wanted to cause to stumble by feeding him chickens fried in pig fat. Because the Rav was deeply immersed in a Talmudic topic, studying Torah until the light of dawn, a miracle occurred for him: the chickens became covered in spider webs, and thus he was saved from the prohibition.

That same Rav was also saved from bribery. Once, one of the litigants tried to bribe him and hid three gold dinars under a ring that the Rav had purchased. Every time the Rav touched the ring, he felt an inclination to vindicate that litigant. He did not understand why, and postponed the judgment until the next day. At night, while studying, he discovered the dinars and shouted, "Wicked one! You want to bribe me?" Even a single dinar in a person's pocket that he is unaware of can already confuse his mind.

When a person is immersed in Torah, he is saved from all obstacles. Just as Rashbi (Rabbi Shimon bar Yochai) concluded that great seudah (festive meal) — they sat and learned Torah for three consecutive days, and all the secrets of the Torah were revealed to them.

Shiur #325