The Secret of Life and Guarding the Eyes: How to Defeat the Angel of Death
Lesson No. 174 | * Sunday, Parashas Va'eira, the eve of 23 Teves 5759 - Awakening Gathering in Netanya
Hashem, may He be blessed, created man to live a long and good life, but blemishes of the eyes create the Angel of Death, which brings illnesses and suffering. By overcoming this through guarding the eyes and learning Shas...
The ultimate purpose of man is to be attached to Hashem, may He be blessed. The sign of this attachment is the Tefillin, and the Land of Israel is the spiritual concept of Tefillin, since all of creation exists for the sake of the Land of Israel. Man is composed of body and soul, matter and form, wisdom and foolishness, light and darkness. All of our spiritual work in this world is to reach the light and emerge from the darkness, reflecting the concept of "the advantage of light over darkness."
To achieve this, a person must acquire da'as (spiritual awareness and intellect), as we ask in our prayers: "And graciously bestow upon us from Yourself wisdom, understanding, and knowledge." Only after a person possesses da'as is he capable of forgiving his fellow, which is why immediately afterward we say, "The Gracious One who pardons abundantly." The Sages say: "Great is knowledge, for it was placed between two Divine Names," as it is stated:
"For Hashem is a God of knowledge."
The main thing is to acquire this da'as, to study Shas and Gemara (the Talmud), about which it is said: "Wisdom preserves the life of him who has it."
The Angel of Death Clothed Within the Eye
Hashem, may He be blessed, wanted man to live for a hundred and twenty years, living a beautiful, good, and wonderful life. Why, then, does a person die early or become ill? Regarding this, it is stated:
"They die, but without wisdom."
When a person is immersed in blemishes of the eyes and immorality, he burns his soul and destroys his life. True life is breaking free from blemishes of the covenant (sexual impurity), guarding the eyes, and maintaining holy and pure thoughts. Hashem made man upright, and He wants man to live in holiness and purity, with clean and clear eyes.
One must know that the Samech-Mem (the Evil Inclination) is clothed within the eye. The word 'Ayin' (eye) in gematria (numerical value) is 130, and with the kollel (adding one for the word itself), it is 131, which is exactly the gematria of Samech-Mem. When a person wants to look at forbidden sights, it is not the true desire of the soul, nor even of the body; rather, it is the Samech-Mem within the eye that draws him to it. A person must extract the Samech-Mem from his eyes through the holy Divine Name of Mah (whose expanded back-letters equal 130 in gematria).
Burning the Angel of Death
The Gemara in Tractate Avodah Zarah (page 20b) states:
"The Angel of Death is entirely full of eyes."
Every person has an Angel of Death that surrounds him. Every forbidden look creates another part of the Angel of Death. If a person stumbles in a million forbidden sights, his Angel of Death is surrounded by a million eyes, and it is this entity that brings upon him all illnesses and cancers, and shortens his life.
However, the moment a person decides to guard his eyes and does teshuvah (repentance), he stops and nullifies the Angel of Death. A person must know with all his strength that he can break free from this! The moment a person overcomes his desires by guarding his eyes, he burns the Angel of Death, and at that very moment, he becomes healthy. If they were to test him, he would come out completely clean, because all illnesses are merely the spreading of the Angel of Death that was inside the eye.
The Shas is a Well of Living Water
To merit life and healing, a person must learn Shas, because the Shas is the source of life. The words 'Be'er Mayim Chaim' (a well of living water) equal 361 in gematria (Be'er=203, Mayim=90, Chaim=68). The word 'Shas' with the kollel also equals exactly 361! Additionally, Shas in gematria is also 'Mayim Tehorim' (pure water) (Shas=360, Mayim=90, Tehorim=270). When a person learns Shas, he pours pure water upon himself and enters into a well of living water.
A person should strive to learn for eight hours a day. Samson Wertheimer was the Finance Minister of Austria and managed entire countries, yet he still sat and learned for eight hours a day. It is possible to manage countries, engage in parnassah (livelihood), sleep, and still learn for eight hours. A person is forbidden to forget his learning, as "anyone who forgets a single thing from his study, Scripture considers it as if he bears guilt for his soul."
Sowing Tomatoes on the Donkey
Every person has the intellect to learn Torah. The Midrash HaGadol tells the story of Rabbi Akiva, who until the age of forty did not know how to learn. When his wife Rachel demanded that he fulfill his promise and learn Torah, he argued, "I am already forty years old; I will sit in a room with three-year-old children and everyone will laugh at me."
What did Rachel do? She brought a donkey with a deep hole in its back, filled the hole with soil, and planted tomatoes and peppers in it. When the plants grew, she took the donkey to the market. On the first day, everyone rolled with laughter at the sight of the donkey with a garden on its back. On the second day, they laughed again, but by the third day, they had already gotten used to it and stopped laughing. Rachel said to him, "Do you see? People get used to things. On the first day they will laugh at you, on the second day they will laugh, and then they will stop."
We all need to agree to let the holy Torah be planted upon us, even if at first it seems difficult or others might laugh. Today, Baruch Hashem (thank God), our minds are open and we have all the means to learn. Anyone can start learning the Daf Yomi (daily Talmud folio) and know it by heart, because without learning Torah, a person has no life.
Part 1 of 4 — Lesson No. 174