DEUT1693 … if a man were free from labor and did not have to exert himself for his food, he would be recalcitrant and would pursue transgression, as it is written [this verse]: "And Yeshurun grew fat and he kicked." And our Rabbis of blessed memory have said (Avos 2:2): "The ideal is study of Torah combined with the pursuit of a livelihood, for the exertion required by both causes one to forget transgression." But now the Exalted God has relegated two occupations to man, his own and that of Torah. And a man must follow the middle course between the two occupations and devote specified hours to the work of Torah and to the work of this world respectively.

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DEUT1694 [Among the fundamentals of repentance]: (9) The breaking of desire. One must impress upon himself that desire vitiate all deeds. He must withdraw from luxuries, even those which are permissible. He must follow the ways of separation and eat only to sate his soul and maintain his body. The same applies to his conjugal relations. For as long as a man follows desire, he is influenced by material considerations and is drawn away from the path of reason, at which juncture his evil inclination overpowers him, as it is written [this verse]: "When Yeshurun waxed fat, he kicked," and (Mishlei 30:9): "Lest I be full and deny and say, 'Who is Hashem?'" The desire which is implanted in a man's heart is the root of all his actions. He should, therefore, hasten to properly order his desire, as we have described at length above. And there is another great benefit in the breaking of desire, for through it one demonstrates that his heart is good and just and that he despises the physical nature which causes him to sin. And if one separates himself even from what is permissible, he therefore constructs a great fence against contact with the forbidden, reasoning: "If I do not fulfill my appetite with what is permitted, how, then, can I stretch forth my hand to that which is forbidden?"

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DEUT1701 [After one is awakened to repentance, he will not be able to repent fully unless he impresses seven things upon himself:] Fourth, the sinner must know that all of the transgressions that he has ever committed, both great and small, all of his evil thoughts and idle talk, all of his affairs – small or great – – all are inscribed in the book, and there is no forgetfulness before the Exalted God, as it is written [this verse]: "Is this not stored up with Me, sealed up in My treasures?" and (Iyov 37:7): "With the hand of every man He seals it, to make every man know his dead." For if one thought that his sins would be forgotten, he would not regret them and would not ask forgiveness for them. Many think that because the Holy One Blessed be He defers the punishment for transgressions for so long, that they will be forgotten and no accounting will be exacted for them, as it is written Koheles 8:11): "Because punishment for the evil deed is not meted out quickly, therefore, the hearts of men are full within them to do evil."

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