The Secret of the Walls of the Mind: How Can One Be Saved from the Flood of the Final Generation?

Class No. 215 | Tape 215, Sunday, Parashas Lech Lecha, the eve of 8 Cheshvan 5760, Certificate Distribution Party at the Shaarei Torah Yeshiva Ketanah.

In our generation, the tests are harder than those of the generation of the Flood, because impurity has entered deep inside our homes. The only way to cope with the temptations and be saved from sinking into worldly desires is by building "walls of the mind" through learning Gemara in-depth, which illuminates the soul with the light of the Geulah (Redemption).

"On the evening of the fourteenth [of Nissan], we search for the chametz (leavened bread)."

There are fourteen eyes that search after a person, watching him in every corner he goes. The holy Baal Shem Tov zy"a says in his holy books that indeed, they are looking at you and seeing you from Heaven. The question arises: What will you do? How can you overcome such a terrible evil inclination, an inclination that we truly never knew and never realized such things existed?

The Flood of Our Generation

In our generation, young men have to endure tests that are worse than the generation of the Flood. Everything written in the Midrashim about the generation of the Flood is absolutely nothing compared to what is happening today. In the generation of the Flood, a person could lock himself in his home. Noach had a yeshiva with tens of thousands of students, as did Mesushelach and his father Lemech. The holy Zohar asks: Where were all those tzaddikim when the Flood arrived? The answer is that Hashem, may He be blessed, ensured that they would pass away from the world before the Flood, so they would not have to build tens of thousands of arks.

While the streets in the generation of the Flood were terrible, and the Midrashim describe horrific things there, inside the homes it was possible to lock oneself away. It was possible to close the shutters and the windows, not to see what was happening outside, to sit and learn Torah, and not to commit sins.

Today, Hashem have mercy, impurity has entered deep inside the homes through computers and screens. A young man is exposed to things he never knew, and he falls into the abyss. After he sees what he sees, he can no longer cope. He wants to cut off his peyos, run in the streets, and escape. Today, it is no longer possible to simply "close the rooms" as it was in the past.

We have reached the generation before Mashiach ben David, before the complete Geulah (Redemption). Therefore, we undergo such tests and narrow straits from every side. But on the other hand, we are given the opportunity to achieve "You shall make a window for the ark" — to reach immense spiritual lights that no generation has ever merited. These lights cannot be reached except through learning Gemara in-depth.

Noach's Test: A Branch from the Garden of Eden

Rebbe Nachman says that the verse "He established the boundaries of the nations according to the number of the Children of Israel" is fulfilled when one's learning is "sapphire and clear." When one learns Torah with enthusiasm, the learning shines like a sapphire stone. Whoever survives the Flood merits the promise of the Haftarah:

"O afflicted, storm-tossed one, who has not been consoled; behold, I will set your stones with fair colors, and lay your foundations with sapphires."

After the Flood, the dove returned to Noach: "And behold, an olive leaf freshly plucked in her mouth." The holy Zohar reveals that the dove brought Noach the soul of Mashiach ben David, who is called a "fresh olive tree." They wanted to bring Noach a fourth son who would be the King Mashiach and bring the Geulah (Redemption). But corresponding to this immense light, says the Gaon Rabbi Yechezkel Levenstein zt"l, Noach was given a terrible test.

They brought him a grapevine branch from the Garden of Eden. Noach saw the soul of Mashiach ben David approaching, he saw that the Holy Temple was about to be built and the entire world would do teshuvah (repentance). But his mistake was that he first planted that grapevine branch. From wine, one can get drunk. Even if it is a branch from the Garden of Eden, in this world wine must be consumed in measure, only for Kiddush. The preserved wine is reserved for the Future to Come, when Mashiach ben David will arrive and we will have pure and holy bodies.

Fleeing from Physical Pleasure

The Vilna Gaon zt"l was once asked why he does not sleep on Shabbos, since "sleep on Shabbos is a pleasure"? The Gaon answered: "The moment they say 'pleasure' — run away! Even if it is a mitzvah, even if it is from the Garden of Eden. The moment there is a pleasure that the body can enjoy, you are prioritizing the body over the soul." A person must flee from anything physical and coarse, and cry if he has fallen into the pleasures of this world.

This was Noach's sin. There were thousands of trees to plant — peaches, almonds, olives, apples. If he had planted the grapevine at the end, after settling his mind and waiting, the Satan would not have been able to provoke him. But because he started immediately with the grapevine, the Satan came, slaughtered a sheep, a lion, a pig, and a monkey there, and defiled the vineyard with all the impurities.

Building the "Walls of the Mind"

We are at the end of the sixth millennium, drawing close to bringing Mashiach ben David. Corresponding to this immense light, they throw all the tests in the world at us. They bring all the impurities of the world into our homes. A child can be the best in the yeshiva, but one bad friend is enough, one click of a button, and tomorrow he could lose everything.

What will protect us against these terrible desires and tests? Rebbe Nachman says: Today there are no physical walls of a house. In the past there were walls and shutters, the child would be locked in the house and protected. Today, when impurity is available everywhere, a person must build the 'walls of the mind'.

A person must build within himself the intellect and awareness to understand that all the lusts of this world are vanity and nonsense. To understand that this is the lowest pit of hell, offering neither this world nor the World to Come. Today, it is impossible to fight unless one builds "partitions of the mind" (mechitzos hamochin)—spiritual barriers spread out against this terrible lust. Whoever, Heaven forbid, falls into this lust, loses his world. He is liable to end up rolling in the streets, losing his home and family, and becoming a broken vessel.

The End Result of Sinking into Lusts

The Midrash (Tanchuma, Shmini) tells of a son whose father was a drunkard. The son wanted to show his father what he looks like when he gets drunk and loses his human dignity. He took him to see another drunkard who was rolling in the streets, inside a sewage ditch, with filthy water flowing over him while children threw stones at him and mocked him.

The son said to his father, "Come see what you look like when you get drunk!" The father approached that drunkard who was lying unconscious in the sewage, woke him up, and asked, "Tell me, where did you get such good wine? Where do they pour wine like this?" The father was so deeply sunk in his lust that even the horrifying sight of the sewage and the disgrace did not deter him; it only awakened within him the desire for that "wine."

This is the state of someone who sinks into the lusts of the street. You have the choice right now; you can still stop yourselves. Whoever does not know the street cannot imagine what a cesspool it is. Baalei teshuvah (returnees to Judaism) can tell you what kind of sewage they came from. Today we have no choice, because there are no physical barriers to stop the impurity. Even if a father removes the computer from the home, the child will find it at a neighbor's, in the street, or with relatives. Only if we build the "partitions of the mind" will we be able to cope and emerge victorious.

The Power of In-Depth Study

How does one build those partitions of the mind? The answer is through studying Torah in depth (iyun). It is impossible to escape the "yoke of the government and the yoke of worldly struggles"—which represent the lusts, the evil inclination, and the blemishes of the covenant that burn up the mind, the soul, and the body—unless one studies Gemara in depth.

When a person delves into and understands the wisdom of the Torah, he builds his partitions of the mind. Rebbe Nachman says that until a person studies in depth, he will not have a mind, and he is liable to find himself one day rolling in the streets inside a ditch of filthy water. Today is the most dangerous generation, because we are just moments before the coming of Mashiach. In opposition to the soul of Mashiach ben David, they throw at us from every direction 'branches of a vine'—temptations designed to intoxicate and confuse us.

The only salvation is in-depth study. When a person learns and understands the wisdom of the Torah, he merits a "radiant countenance" (anpin nehorin)—his mind shines. And when the mind shines, he throws away all the nonsense. He attains the level of "A window you shall make for the ark" (Tzohar ta'aseh la'teivah), and sees immense spiritual lights that no technological device in the world can create. Through study and prayer with deep intention, all the subjugations, lusts, and bad character traits are nullified from him, and he merits a holy and pure body.

Part 1 of 3 — Lesson No. 215

Next Part ←

All Parts: Part 1 (Current) | Part 2 | Part 3