NUM181 See [[DEUT205]] Deuteronomy 6:5 heart DUTIES 13-15

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NUM180 R. Me'ir said: Whoever occupies himself with the study of Torah for its own sake merits many things; and not only that, but the entire world is worthwhile because of him. … it puts him far from sin and brings him near to virtue. … Pirkei Avot, Perek VI, mishnah 1. We cannot shut out or control the world about us. At times the leering visage of sinful temptation will loom before us. Then we must remember the Torah's words, "you shall not follow after your heart and after your eyes" [this verse]. True, sin may rise up unbidden to tempt your heart or lure your gaze. But you need not follow after it. You need not welcome it, dwell upon it, explore the possibilities. The beginning of sin, say the Sages, is in the heart's cogitation. (Talmud, minor tractate Derech Eretz Zuta vi). Neither judo nor karate can deal with the evil Tempter when the heart is seized with wicked thoughts. Therefore the Sages advise, "If this repulsive degenerate [Satan, the Tempter] encounters you, drag him into the beth midrash, the House of Study. If he is stone, he will be dissolved; if iron, he will be shattered to smithereens…" (T.B. Sukkah 52b, Kiddishin 30b). The strongest temptation will not survive in an atmosphere of Torah. It is said you must fight fire with fire (Montaigne, Essays (1594), iii 5 ("Fire is put out by fire"; Shakespeare, Romeo and Juliet (1595), i 2, 46 ("One fire burns out another's burning"). If sinful temptation can inflame the passions with desire, the Torah can counter it. In Moses' Divine imagery, "The Lord came from Sinai ... at His right hand a fiery law ..." for, as the Sages envisioned it, the Torah was primordially written in "black fire on white fire" (Deuteronomy 33:2 and Rashi on it; Midrash Tahuma, B'reshith 1; Zohar III 132a). Its flaming truth alone, given amid fire at Sinai by the Diety, Himself described as a consuming fire (Deuteronomy 4:24, 9:23. That it was given amid fire, see Exodus 19:18, Deuteronomy 4:11-12, 5:4, 20-22), can subdue man's base animal passions. For it sensitizes and deepens our awareness of right and wrong, then ingrains in us the great, transcendent principle of reward and punishment. Through the Torah man learns that his deeds bring a response--good for good, evil for evil. And as it weans man from the pursuit and gratification of his animal drives and vile passions, it gives him a vision of higher goals to attain. The ordinary man may need a beth midrash, saturated with the Torah's atmosphere, to help him overcome evil temptation. The dedicated student of Torah has his own "built-in protection." With constant study he has absorbed its teachings of reward and punishment; with its mitzvoth he has learned to regulate and control his life in accord with the Divine will.

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NUM183 The factors that undermine th[e] virtue [of piety] are [the result of] insufficient examination in the aforementioned matters, i.e., the lack of awareness regarding the base nature of pleasure, the pursuit of honor, and insufficient preparation for the service of the Eternal. The first two factors sway a person's thinking, lowering him toward other motives, like an adulteress who consorts unfaithfully with other men. These externally oriented motives are called "the adultery of the heart," as it is written [this verse]: "And you must not be searching, following your heart and your eyes after which you [tend to] stray." For the tendency of the heart is to stray from the ideal perspective that it was meant to cleave to, [embracing instead] vanities and false appearances. And [the latter factor] – preparing oneself insufficiently – prevents the removal of one's heart of that innate thoughtlessness that derives from the material world. This thoughtlessness befouls the Divine service with its stench.

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NUM182 Said he [Rabban Yohanan ben Zakkai] to them: Go out and see which is the good way to which a man should cling. Rabbi Eliezer said, A good, kindly eye; Rabbi Joshua said, A good friend; Rabbi Yose said, A good neighbor; Rabbi Simeon said, One who foresees, reckons the outcome of things; Rabbi Elazar said, A good heart. Said he to them: I appreciate the words of Elazar ben Arach above all your statements, for in his words yours are included. Pirkei Avot, Perek II, mishnah 13-14. This seems to denote a spontaneous, open love for the good everywhere, and intuitive grasp of what is good in every situation, and a desire for it. This would appear to have a little to do with the reason or intelligence. As people say, "The heart has its reasons that reason does not know." (Blaise Pascal (1623- 1662), Pensées, iv, 277). If someone can cultivate within himself such an educated perception and appreciation of the good, then he has, indeed, the "master key." This is the "good way" to take in life, that includes within it all other ways. It is the "royal road" to spiritual achievement. The Five Books of Moses end with the letter lamed (Deuteronomy 34:12) and begin with the letter beth (Genesis 1:1). Put them together and you have the word lev, heart. This is indeed the most crucial organ of all. For Judaism the heart symbolizes the seat of freedom, the decision-making element in man. He who has a "good heart" has won all. He who has an "evil heart" has lost the innermost citadel. In commanding us to wear tzitzith, fringes, the Torah exhorts, "Do not go astray after your heart" [this verse]. The "heart" can be trained and educated through the mitzvoth to the point where it chooses good. "Above all diligence guard your heart, for from it flow the springs of life" (Proverbs 4:23). The heart is the ruler, sending directions to the body to be acted on. "Then will you understand the reverence of the Lord, and find the knowledge of God..." says the wise Solomon, "when wisdom will enter your heart and knowledge will be pleasant to your spirit" (Proverbs 2:5, 10).

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NUM184 Wisdom and reason will serve any master with equal loyalty. It is the person's character and will that must provide the core of values within which each reason will operate. We know from Scripture and tradition how Solomon erred in his thinking about the law of the Torah which forbids a king to possess many wives (Deuteronomy 17:17). Since the Torah gives a reason for the prohibition, Solomon was confident that for him, with his superior wisdom, the reason did not apply: he could surely withstand or overcome the consequences foretold. Yet Solomon's wisdom did not stand by him in this instance. The evil results which the Torah predicted, befell him in full. "Fear of sin" had not come first, and wisdom went astray. This is the essential purpose of the mitzvah of tzitzith (fringes on the corners of four-corner requirements): to keep us mindful of our obligation to the Almighty, and reinforce in us an awareness of His meaningful presence. In commanding us to observe this precept of tzitzith, the Torah gives as the reason, "That you may not turn astray after your hearts and after your eyes which lead you to go astray" [this verse]. The eye reports what it sees, and the heart responds with desire. Unless "fear of God" acts as a break, the entire intellect, the entire capacity for rational explanation and justification will be used to "prove" that the desired object is good for you, good for your health, in step with the rest of humanity, and so forth. It is at this point that we need tzitzith. For the Sages tell us: "The thread of blue [Hebrew, t'cheleth--no longer included in our ritual fringes today, since we are uncertain of the proper dye to use. The statement is found in T.B. Hullin 89a; T.Y. Berakoth I, 2; Midrash T'hillim XC, 18; Zohar I, 121a; III, 175a and 301a] in the tzitzith reminds us of the ocean, the ocean reminds us of the heavens, and the heavens remind us of God." If we can develop within us a reverence of the Lord, a sense of awe before His presence we will be able to control our hearts and our minds, rather than have them control us.

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NUM185 It was taught: R. Levi said: "The heart and the eye are the two agents of sin, as it is written (Proverbs 23:26): "Give, my son, your heart to Me, and your eyes shall heed My ways." The Holy One Blessed be He is saying, in effect: "If you give Me your heart and your eyes, I know that you are Mine (Yerushalmi Berachoth 1:5)

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NUM186 This teaches us that the eyes follow the heart. But may it not be that the heart follows the eyes! Can you say so? Are there not blind men who perform all the abominations in the world! (Sifrei)

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NUM187 … all religions have developed their own technique for self-expression. Their leaders have felt that the religious sense, like any other, if left to itself, runs the danger of wasting away or returning to seed and of developing along irrational and anti-social lines, examples of which abound in history. They have, therefore, sought to direct into channels that are socially as well as personally useful. They have cast it into forms that are aesthetically satisfying and morally stimulating. Out of the experience of the group, nation or community, they have selected elements that may serve as behavior patterns and have set them up as signs and symbols of the sacred. These forms and ceremonies express the spiritual strivings and the moral ideals of the religious community. They serve as effective means in the religious education of the people in holding them together as a united body. Though often practiced blindly, they tend to evoke something of the spirit which called them forth. The Midrash calls attention to the sequence of the verbs in (this verse)--"Ye shall look upon it (the fringe), and remember all the commands of the Lord, and do them" – – and remarks that "seeing leads to remembering, and remembering to doing." Tanhuma, Old, Shelah, 15.

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NUM188 Judaism clearly separates between the desire to sin and the sin itself. In every realm of life, Judaism recognizes that Jews, as normal human beings, have desires to commit sins. The premise of the concept of the inner battle between a good inclination and the bad inclination is based on man's normal desire to sin, as alluded to in the Torah (Genesis 9: (sic 8:) 21). It is only because of the great natural desire that the Torah prohibits every Jewish man from being alone with a woman (the commandment of Yichud, as cited above). Similarly, because the Torah recognizes the normal desire among men to have homosexual activity, in certain societies Jewish law prohibits two men from being alone together (as discussed above). But although it is natural to have certain sexual feelings, the Torah says clearly that it is forbidden to act upon those desires [this verse]. Thus, while many sexual desires may be normal and not prohibited, acting upon those desires violates Jewish principles and Jewish law, whether they are between man and man or man and a (forbidden) woman. For example, while it may be normal for a heterosexual married man to desire a beautiful married woman who is not his wife, acting upon this desire violates the seventh of the Ten Commandments. Similarly, while the Torah may understand homosexual desires, acting upon it is forbidden. Therefore, the Midrash specifically says concerning all prohibitions in the Torah that a Jew's attitude should not be, "I have no desire for that which is forbidden (pork or even another man)," but a Jew should rather say, "What can I do, since God has commanded me not to act upon these desires (Midrash, Yalkut Shimoni, Vayikra 20). Every society, even secular society, demands that some sexual desires be held in check, and regulates man's acting upon his sexual desires. Judaism regulates illicit sexual activity as well and this prohibits man to act on his illicit homosexual desire.

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NUM189 It was taught: The section of tzitzith includes "the yoke of mitzvoth," as it is written: "and you shall see it, and you shall remember all the mitzvoth of the Lord" (Berachoth 12b)

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