The Secret of Sharpening the Mind: The Power of Decided Halacha to Nullify the Yetzer Hara
Lesson No. 189 | Sunday, Parashas Acharei Mos-Kedoshim, 2 Iyar 5759
Many mistakenly think that the essence of serving Hashem is solely emotion and enthusiasm, but the truth is that specifically the study of decided Halacha (Jewish Law) is the key. An in-depth article on the power of studying the Poskim (Halachic decisors) to sharpen the mind, uproot heresy from the heart, and bring a person to inner peace and true deveikus (cleaving to Hashem).
I was told about a certain Jew in Toronto, a man who appeared far from Torah and fear of Heaven, deeply immersed in billion-dollar businesses. He was offered to sign a massive contract, but the date fell on Tisha B'Av (the fast day mourning the destruction of the Temple). He said, "I am not signing on Tisha B'Av; I am willing to lose twenty million dollars." And indeed, he lost the deal.
Afterward, the company he had wanted to buy went bankrupt, and no one wanted to purchase it. Its price plummeted by two hundred million. Ultimately, he bought it at a much cheaper price, earning a profit of one hundred and eighty million dollars. From here we see that even Jews who seem distant suddenly exhibit mesirus nefesh (self-sacrifice) over a point of Halacha.
There are subtleties in Halacha that only those truly immersed in it merit to feel. Rebbe Nachman of Breslov says that one feels these subtleties only when a person studies Halacha. When a person immerses his head in the books of the Poskim—in the Pri Megadim, in the Shulchan Aruch, in the laws of meat and milk—he sharpens his mind and acquires the tools to answer the heretic.
A Great Mitzvah to Sharpen the Mind
People have fallen into a terrible mistake, thinking that Breslov Chassidus means only reciting Tehillim (Psalms), doing Hisbodedus (personal prayer) in the field, or dancing all day. These are wonderful and good things, but who said this is the main thing? What is actually written in Likutey Moharan? "It is a great mitzvah to sharpen the mind." This is what is called Breslov—that a person should have a sharp and keen intellect, to understand everything thoroughly.
Through sharpening the mind via the study of Halacha, the following is fulfilled within a person:
"And know what to answer the heretic"
The main thing is to answer the heresy that lies deep within a person's own heart. There are questions that can be explained and resolved, and there are questions that stem from the "Vacant Space" (the primordial void in Kabbalah) for which there is no answer at all. But when a person immerses his head in the letters of the Gemara, in the letters of the Ba'er Heitev, the Shach, and the Taz (classic Halachic commentaries), he receives the mochin (spiritual intellect) to know how to answer and explain.
Conversely, if a person does not study Halacha, the pathways of his mind become blocked. Suddenly, he has no answers for the simplest things. Slowly but surely, he is liable to lose his Emunah (faith), to see that the world supposedly "gets along fine" even without Torah, and to develop a crookedness in his heart that is difficult to escape.
Uprooting the Heresy in the Heart
A person needs to study many hours of Halacha a day in order to nullify the Yetzer Hara (evil inclination). Our spiritual work is to serve Hashem with both inclinations, as it is written:
"And you shall love Hashem your God with all your heart—with both of your inclinations"
In order for the heart to be whole with Hashem, the Yetzer Hara must be transformed into a good inclination, so that a person does not have a "divided heart"—a heart that is split and full of doubt. If a person knew with absolute certainty that the whole earth is filled with His glory, and that Hashem stands over him during prayer and listens to him, he would certainly pray with tremendous enthusiasm and be meticulous to direct his words with proper intent.
The concealment of this knowledge comes from the Yetzer Hara. The fact that a person does not feel that he is speaking with Hashem during prayer—this is his drop of heresy. After all, it is inconceivable that a person would speak with his friend and not know what he is saying, yet during the Shemoneh Esrei prayer, a person can mumble words and not even know where he is holding. The reason a person lacks the intellect and the feeling that he is standing before Hashem is because he does not study Halacha.
Rectifying the Dispute in Holiness
How do we rectify this? How do we escape from bad thoughts and from the Yetzer Hara? The root of the Yetzer Hara stems from the "dispute in holiness"—the disagreements of the Tannaim and Amoraim (Talmudic sages) in the Gemara, where one forbids and the other permits. When we do not study decided Halacha, an evil inclination cascades down from there, causing a person to fall from Emunah.
However, when we study Halacha and reach a conclusion and a Halachic ruling—we rectify the dispute in holiness, and consequently, the Yetzer Hara is nullified. The Halachic ruling is peace. It is the resolution of the dispute between the Tannaim and Amoraim. Through the study of the Poskim, peace is made within the person's very bones.
Halacha opens all the pathways of the mind, gives a person a sharp and clear intellect, and enables him to answer all the heretics in the world. All of this is accomplished through the resolution and peace of studying Halacha. Therefore, the Hebrew word Shalom (peace - שלום) hints at the letters of the phrase: Shetashiv L'apikoros V'da Mah (שתשיב לאפיקורס ודע מה - "know what to answer the heretic"). Just as Halacha makes peace between all the Poskim and peace within the person himself, so too it gives him the power to answer the heresy in his own heart.
This is what King David hinted at in Tehillim (Psalms):
"I will thank You with an upright heart when I learn Your righteous judgments"
When will I merit an "upright heart," a complete heart with both inclinations, that can pray with intention and feel that Hashem is standing right in front of me? Specifically "when I learn Your righteous judgments" — through the study of Halachah (Jewish law) and the Poskim (halachic authorities).
Part 2 of 3 — Lesson No. 189