Rabbi Zamir Cohen - Why We Struggle Between Body and Soul

[00:00:00]Good evening and welcome. Today we're going to discuss a subject that troubles every normal person. Anyone who lives in this world feels from time to time an inner struggle. On the one hand, the body pulls us in one direction, our natural desires, our impulses. On the other hand, the soul, the spiritual side of us pulls in a completely different direction. and a person feels confused.

[00:00:29]How do I overcome my natural urges? How do I deal with the evil inclination that uses the body to drag us downward? King Solomon in the verse before us gives us a way of thinking through a parable and its deeper meaning as is his style that helps us look at this struggle correctly and draw strength to walk the right and good path that every person truly wants to walk. Solomon says, "Good understanding grants favor, but the path of the treacherous is harsh."

[00:01:03]Let's first understand the parable and then the deeper meaning. Good understanding refers to the mind of a good person. In the parable, Solomon speaks about people. In the deeper meaning, he is speaking about the good inclination and the evil inclination.

[00:01:23]In the parable he says that when a good person, someone with good judgment gives you advice and you listen to him, it grants favor. What does that mean favor?

[00:01:35]Like the verse says about Noah, Noah found favor in the eyes of God. You find favor in people's eyes. Your spouse is happy with you. People enjoy being around you. Socially, things go smoothly. When you ask for something, people respond positively because you are pleasant. Because you carry favor.

[00:01:58]You are someone others like. And we see this clearly in real life. Sometimes a person's appearance isn't especially impressive. Sometimes quite the opposite.

[00:02:09]But people still say about him, he has something special. He finds favor. And that has nothing to do with physical appearance. It's personality. It's the way a person carries himself. The inner quality that makes people feel good around him. So, King Solomon says, "When you listen to a good person, someone with good understanding, who truly wants what's best for you, even if his advice doesn't always feel comfortable, even if you feel an urge to do the opposite, you tell yourself, "This person has life experience. He is wise. He genuinely wants my good. When you follow such advice, the result is good understanding grants favor. You gain that quality of grace and acceptance in the eyes of others. Now look at the opposite side.

[00:03:06]But the path of the treacherous is harsh. Who are the treacherous?

[00:03:11]These are people who appear to love you, but behind your back are the complete opposite.

[00:03:18]They present themselves as friends, but in reality, they don't want your good.

[00:03:24]Notice how precise Solomon's language is. When he speaks about good advice, he uses the word understanding.

[00:03:33]But when he speaks about treacherous people, he does not use that word at all. Why? Because there is no true understanding there. There is no logic.

[00:03:44]It's all manipulation, all deception.

[00:03:47]Such a person may give you advice, but his advice is driven by personal interests. He wants to benefit himself even if it causes you to fail. That's why Solomon calls him a traitor, a betrayer. And therefore, he doesn't say understanding of traitors, but rather the path of the treacherous.

[00:04:07]It's a crooked path.

[00:04:09]And what is the result? Harsh, painful, difficult. This is the opposite of favor. Instead of being pleasant in people's eyes, such a person becomes hard, rigid, unpleasant because he listens to guidance that comes from people who don't truly care about him. Up to this point, this is the parable.

[00:04:32]Something all of us recognize from everyday life. We all know that a person who truly loves you and is wise can give you good advice. Advice rooted in life experience.

[00:04:43]And we also know the opposite. There are people whose inner intentions don't match their outward appearance. They present themselves as caring and friendly, but in reality they lead others to a low place. Sadly, we hear about such cases all the time. And on the other hand, there are people you know genuinely love you. But love alone is not enough. That person must also be wise, capable of giving you the right guidance. Deep inside, he knows that God exists. But in order to allow himself to do things that are forbidden, he begins to speak words of denial, even though that denial is not his true belief. And you can see this clearly in moments of real crisis.

[00:05:28]When a person is suddenly in danger of losing his life, you hear him crying out, "God, save me." But who is he talking to? To the air. If according to him, God doesn't exist, then why is he turning to him? Yet in the moment when he feels the airplane is about to crash, you see that suddenly he does believe.

[00:05:52]And it's not a calculated thought.

[00:05:55]Maybe yes, maybe no. Let's try. It comes straight from the heart. He feels instinctively that there is a creator of the world and that his life is in God's hands at that moment.

[00:06:08]Every person has a natural good inclination and also an evil inclination that stems from the body.

[00:06:16]And this is exactly how God created us body and soul deliberately from the very beginning.

[00:06:24]Because the entire purpose of creation as the Ramul explains based on the Zohar is this. Why did God create the world at all? God is complete in every way. He lacks nothing. When a human being acts, it's because something is missing. He eats because he's hungry. But God lacks nothing. He is perfect eternally. He was, he is, and he will be. So why did he create creation? The Ramhol explains it is clear that God does not need human beings. He functions perfectly without us but he made a decision to bestow goodness upon others. I use the word decision not desire because desire implies a lack. When we say that God wanted to give good that is borrowed language. It does not mean desire in the human sense. Rather it means that God decided I will bestow goodness. That is why he created beings because God is absolute goodness. As the verse says, the Lord is good to all.

[00:07:32]Out of his perfect goodness, he created beings in order to benefit them. If so, one might ask, why not create just a soul without a body? After all, the soul is the real person. And indeed, the ultimate goodness is spiritual goodness.

[00:07:51]Material pleasure, like a delicious cake or any physical enjoyment, is limited.

[00:07:57]It ends. It is not complete. It is not eternal. True, eternal pleasure is spiritual pleasure. So in order for a person to cleave to God and you who cling to the Lord your God are all alive today as the verse says in order to delight in God and enjoy the radiance of his presence. In the words of the Ramhal, God created the true human being as a soul, a spiritual entity capable of connecting to spirituality and experiencing that ultimate pleasure.

[00:08:29]That is the purpose of creation. If you stop a religious person on the street who hasn't deeply studied this and ask him why did God create you? He might answer to keep Torah and mitzvot. But Torah and mitzvot are not the goal. They are the path. They are the means God gave us to reach the goal. And what is the goal? To delight in God and to enjoy the radiance of his presence. And that by the way explains why all of us are so driven to seek enjoyment. People invest enormous amounts of money in pleasure.

[00:09:04]Most of what people earn goes toward enjoyment. To simply survive, you don't need much. A mattress on the floor is enough. Basic food is enough. You don't need luxury. Yet, people work very hard to enjoy life. Where does that drive come from? From the soul. The soul knows deep inside that it was created to delight in God and to enjoy spiritual closeness to him. But while a person lives in this world, that good and natural drive can be misdirected, taken to unhealthy places to improper forms of pleasure. That is why God placed the soul inside a body for a limited time. And he says to the person, "Now you have a body. This body has desires. deal with them. It is difficult.

[00:09:57]The desires pull the person with temptation. And it's important to understand bodily desire is not only the physical urges themselves. There is also a spiritual force, an angel that God created for this very purpose. As God says to Cain, "Sin crouches at the door and its desire is toward you." Meaning there is an active force there waiting, pulling, challenging the person at the entrance. That is the inner struggle every human being faces. Sin is crouching at the door and its desire is toward you and but you can rule over it.

[00:10:38]The evil inclination has nothing else on its mind except you. Its entire focus is to trap you and bring you down. But God says you can rule over it. Know that I created you stronger than it.

[00:10:50]The choice is in your hands.

[00:10:53]The inclination comes with a lot of intimidation. It makes you feel weak. It convinces you that you have no chance, that you must fall. But in reality, it's like a cardboard wall painted to look like massive stones. From a distance, it looks solid and terrifying. But push one stone, and the whole thing collapses. It was just cardboard. That's how the evil inclination works. It comes at a person with pressure, temptation, stimulation, trying to convince him that he has no choice. But a person can say to himself, "What is this nonsense? I've decided that I'm not doing this." And he walks away like Joseph did. Joseph faced a powerful temptation with the wife of Potipher. And the verse says, "He left his garment in her hand and fled outside." He said to himself, "That's it. I'm not failing. I'm not throwing away my entire spiritual world for a few minutes of foolish pleasure."

[00:11:59]A person always has the power to overcome the inclination.

[00:12:03]The Remhal explains that God could have created the human being as a soul without a body and immediately placed him in the garden of Eden to delight in God and enjoy the radiance of his presence.

[00:12:18]But in such a situation there would be two fundamental flaws and God does not give flawed goodness.

[00:12:26]The first flaw is called bread of shame.

[00:12:29]Imagine a man with a family who has been unemployed for years. His refrigerator is empty. He looks for work but can't find any. You are a millionaire and you want to help him. You have two options.

[00:12:44]Option one, you tell him, "Come to me at the beginning of every month and I'll give you a check for 14,000 shekels from my charity fund." There are many wealthy people who do this and it's wonderful.

[00:12:57]God gave me I give to others. For him this is a lifesaver.

[00:13:04]Option two. You ask him where do you live? He says Jerusalem. You ask which neighborhood and you realize that you own a business there. You ask him what he knows how to do. You say excellent.

[00:13:19]You're hired. Every month he earns 14,000 shekels as a salary. Which option is more perfect?

[00:13:27]giving him charity every month or giving him a job. Clearly the job. With charity, yes, he will eat. But how does he feel inside? All month long, he knows he receives something for nothing. It's kindness. But it's also embarrassing.

[00:13:45]It's bread of shame. But when he works and earns a salary, even if you could have managed without him, he knows I worked. I earned this. This is mine by right, not by handout. That is a more complete form of goodness. Now, someone might ask, but God is all powerful.

[00:14:05]Couldn't he create a reality where a person receives without shame? The answer is simple. God operates according to the truth of divine values. Just like we could ask, could God declare cruelty to be good?

[00:14:19]Does he have the power to do that? Of course, he does.

[00:14:23]But he didn't.

[00:14:25]Why not? Because cruelty contradicts divine truth. Divine truth defines cruelty as evil and kindness as good.

[00:14:34]Therefore, the Torah says, "Be compassionate, be kind, love your fellow as yourself." In the same way, God cannot define receiving without effort as a perfect good.

[00:14:46]Divine truth says that a person who sits idle doing nothing and lives off others that is not a complete state. And here we must clarify this does not refer to Torah scholars who dedicate their lives to learning. As the Rambam writes, we are all obligated to support them because their Torah protects the Jewish people and they become the ones who guide us, answer questions, and preserve our spiritual life. Not everyone can sit and learn. But those who do are like a lighthouse illuminating the way for all of us.

[00:15:25]So God created the human being as a soul placed within a body with desires, challenges and struggles.

[00:15:33]So that when he overcomes them, he earns his reward with dignity, fulfillment, and joy. That struggle itself is what makes the reward real. And that is why the human being was created exactly as he is, with a body, with a soul, and with the power to choose, overcome, and grow. Sin is crouching at the door, and its desire is toward you, but you can rule over it. The evil inclination has nothing else on its mind except you. Its entire focus is to trap you and bring you down. But God says, "You can rule over it. know that I created you stronger than it. The choice is in your hands. The inclination comes with a lot of intimidation.

[00:16:20]It makes you feel weak. It convinces you that you have no chance, that you must fall. But in reality, it's like a cardboard wall painted to look like massive stones. From a distance, it looks solid and terrifying. But push one stone, and the whole thing collapses. It was just cardboard.

[00:16:42]That's how the evil inclination works.

[00:16:45]It comes at a person with pressure, temptation, stimulation, trying to convince him that he has no choice. But a person can say to himself, "What is this nonsense? I've decided that I'm not doing this." And he walks away like Joseph did. Joseph faced a powerful temptation with the wife of Piper. And the verse says, "He left his garment in her hand and fled outside." He said to himself, "That's it. I'm not failing.

[00:17:17]I'm not throwing away my entire spiritual world for a few minutes of foolish pleasure. A person always has the power to overcome the inclination."

[00:17:26]The Ramal explains that God could have created the human being as a soul without a body and immediately placed him in the garden of Eden to delight in God and enjoy the radiance of his presence. But in such a situation there would be two fundamental flaws and God does not give flawed goodness. The first flaw is called bread of shame. Imagine a man with a family who has been unemployed for years. His refrigerator is empty. He looks for work but can't find any. You are a millionaire and you want to help him. You have two options.

[00:18:01]Option one, you tell him, "Come to me at the beginning of every month and I'll give you a check for 14,000 shekels from my charity fund." There are many wealthy people who do this and it's wonderful.

[00:18:15]God gave me I give to others. For him, this is a lifesaver.

[00:18:22]Option two, you ask him, "Where do you live?" He says, "Jerusalem."

[00:18:28]You ask, "Which neighborhood?" and you realize that you own a business there.

[00:18:32]You ask him what he knows how to do. You say, "Excellent. You're hired." Every month he earns 14,000 shekels as a salary. Which option is more perfect?

[00:18:44]Giving him charity every month or giving him a job. Clearly the job. With charity, yes, he will eat. But how does he feel inside? All month long, he knows he receives something for nothing. It's kindness, but it's also embarrassing.

[00:19:02]It's bread of shame. But when he works and earns a salary, even if you could have managed without him, he knows I worked. I earned this. This is mine by right, not by handout. That is a more complete form of goodness. Now, someone might ask, "But God is all powerful.

[00:19:24]Couldn't he create a reality where a person receives without shame? The answer is simple. God operates according to the truth of divine values. Just like we could ask, could God declare cruelty to be good? Does he have the power to do that? Of course, he does. But he didn't.

[00:19:41]Why not? Because cruelty contradicts divine truth. Divine truth defines cruelty as evil and kindness as good.

[00:19:49]Therefore, the Torah says, "Be compassionate. Be kind. Love your fellow as yourself. In the same way, God cannot define receiving without effort as a perfect good. Divine truth says that a person who sits idle doing nothing and lives off others, that is not a complete state.

[00:20:08]And here we must clarify this does not refer to Torah scholars who dedicate their lives to learning. As the Rambam writes, we are all obligated to support them because their Torah protects the Jewish people and they become the ones who guide us, answer questions, and preserve our spiritual life. Not everyone can sit and learn, but those who do are like a lighthouse illuminating the way for all of us.

[00:20:35]So God created the human being as a soul placed within a body with desires, challenges and struggles so that when he overcomes them, he earns his reward with dignity, fulfillment and joy. That struggle itself is what makes the reward real. And that is why the human being was created exactly as he is with a body, with a soul and with the power to choose, overcome and grow. The Talmud tells of a woman named Kimit during the time of the temple. She was asked, "What did you merit that all of your sons became high priests?"

[00:21:16]Even having one son who becomes a high priest is an extraordinary merit. And she merited that all of her sons reached that level. She answered, "The beams of my house never saw the hair of my head."

[00:21:29]meaning it never happened that the ceiling of her home saw her uncovered hair even when she was alone.

[00:21:36]Now this is an extraordinary level of stringency.

[00:21:40]A woman who is alone is not obligated to cover her hair even in the presence of her husband. There is no obligation.

[00:21:49]Hair covering is required only in front of strangers. Yet she went beyond what was required.

[00:21:56]She was so careful that even when she needed to change her head covering, she would place a sheet over her head first so that her hair would never be exposed, even when no one was there.

[00:22:10]Because of this level of self-discipline, she merited seeing the spiritual greatness of all her children.

[00:22:16]The cabalists explain why such conduct has a spiritual impact on children. But the broader point is this. When a person changes habits and overcomes desires, he builds his spiritual world. This is one reason the Ramhall says that God created the evil inclination in the world so that a person would have something to overcome and would receive reward in return for effort. But the Ramal gives the second deeper explanation in Dere Hashem. He says that the most perfect form of giving is to elevate the recipient to your own level as much as possible. For example, if you have $10 million and you give someone $100,000, that is generous, but it is not perfect.

[00:23:05]The most complete form of giving would be to give him 5 million, making him your equal. God, however, cannot make a human being equal to him. A person cannot become the creator. So what is the most complete form of giving possible?

[00:23:21]God says to the human being, just as the good within me is intrinsic, I did not receive it from anyone. You too must create your own good. You are created.

[00:23:32]You are not God. But you can generate your own goodness. Do not receive your reward as a handout. Create it yourself.

[00:23:41]How? By overcoming the evil inclination.

[00:23:45]by struggling by building your spiritual world and then you receive reward that is truly yours. The malbeam explains that this is the deeper meaning of the verse. Good understanding grants favor.

[00:24:00]Good understanding refers to the wisdom of the good inclination, the inner voice that gives you true guidance. A human friend can make mistakes.

[00:24:10]Even someone who loves you can give you the wrong advice.

[00:24:14]But the good inclination when aligned with the Torah, with what God himself created, is never mistaken.

[00:24:23]It is like following the manufacturer's instructions. It tells you, "Do this, you gain. Do this, you lose." When a person follows good understanding, he gains favor. You see it clearly in real life. People who work on their character according to God's will become genuinely pleasant people. They were not born perfect. No one is born perfect. One person struggles with anger, another with jealousy, another with desire, another with hatred. Everyone has their own challenges.

[00:25:00]But they work on themselves.

[00:25:03]They read ethical texts. They listen to lectures and classes.

[00:25:08]And most importantly, they practice. Not just learning how to speak wisely while living differently. They train themselves because Torah is not like that. There's a story told about a professor who once gave a 1-hour lecture with slides and graphics about the dangers of smoking. He showed how lungs become blackened and diseased. He completely killed everyone's desire to smoke.

[00:25:35]During the break, people saw him outside with a cup of coffee and a cigarette.

[00:25:39]They said to him, "You just gave a lecture about the dangers of smoking."

[00:25:44]He replied, "If I gave a lecture on engineering, would I need to become a triangle?"

[00:25:51]In other words, for him, there was no connection between knowledge and life.

[00:25:56]But in Torah, it doesn't work that way.

[00:25:59]In Torah, learning must change a person.

[00:26:02]A person falls and gets up. Falls again and gets up again. As the verse says, the righteous fall seven times and rise.

[00:26:13]The commentators explain that seven means many times, even far more than seven. Even when he falls, he is still called righteous because he gets back up. And that is the path of true spiritual growth. Why? Because he gets back up. He does not make peace with the fall. The moment a person accepts the fall and says this is where I am, he is no longer righteous because he has decided to remain below. But if he falls and even in the moment of falling wants to get up immediately, then even in his fall he is still called righteous. He says to himself, I don't want to fall. I will set boundaries for myself. From every fall, I will learn how not to fall again. This applies to anger, to working on character traits, to mitzvot between one person and another. Do not take revenge. Do not bear a grudge. And also to mitzvot between a person and God, such as to fill in and Shabbat. These are not about your friends. They are between you and God. A person who guards his eyes, who works on himself in all these areas. character refinement, interpersonal mitzvot and mitzvot between man and God becomes someone who naturally finds favor wherever he goes.

[00:27:37]Why? Because he has embraced good understanding.

[00:27:41]The guidance of the good inclination.

[00:27:44]The good inclination teaches him how to distance himself from the evil inclination and this builds him. It elevates his personality.

[00:27:54]How many times have Torah observant people told me that they met secular Jews who said to them, "You know, if all religious people were like you, that would be wonderful."

[00:28:07]And the person replies, but in the community I live in, there are many like this. No, they say, you are the exception.

[00:28:18]Why do they say that? Because anyone who truly serves God properly, not necessarily under a specific label, not necessarily about external appearance, someone who works on character traits, studies Jewish law, refineses relationships with people and with God, and spends his life striving for growth and integrity.

[00:28:40]Such a person radiates goodness. He feels good inside, and the people around him feel good, too. This is what the Vil Nagawan writes on this verse. Good understanding grants favor. He explains one who possesses understanding meaning Torah which includes mitzvot between people and mitzvot between man and God and who also has refined character traits grants favor because everyone praises him. This reflects what the sages say. fortunate is the one who learned Torah. The Gaon is referring to a passage in the Talmud tract.

[00:29:24]The Gamarra explains the verse, you shall love the Lord your God. How is God's name loved through you?

[00:29:32]By behaving in such a way that God's name becomes beloved through your actions. How does one do that? by studying scripture and reviewing the oral Torah. Learning Tanakh, Mishna, and Gimar by serving Torah scholars, meaning having a living connection to wise teachers from whom one receives guidance. A person who sits alone at home, newly religious, learning books on his own, can make serious mistakes in behavior, in outlook, in life decisions.

[00:30:04]One needs guidance from scholars who themselves were built gradually over many years. Not someone who until two years ago violated Shabbat and indulged in every desire and suddenly grows a beard, becomes a holy man, gathers followers and gives guidance and then humiliates anyone who disagrees with him. Torah leadership requires slow, patient construction, years upon years of effort and refinement.

[00:30:34]The Gamarra continues, "Let his business dealings be conducted calmly and pleasantly with others. Even when there is friction, he speaks gently, explains patiently, and is willing to compromise."

[00:30:48]What do people say about such a person?

[00:30:51]Fortunate is his father who taught him Torah. Fortunate is his teacher who taught him Torah. How pleasant are his ways. How refined are his actions about such a person? The verse says, "You are my servant Israel in whom I take pride."

[00:31:09]This says the gimar is the meaning of you shall love the Lord your God. That God's name becomes beloved through you.

[00:31:18]And this applies not only among Jews, it applies among non-Jews as well.

[00:31:24]When a Jew travels abroad for business or for pleasure, he must ensure that God's name is sanctified through him.

[00:31:32]Honesty, integrity, dignity, respect.

[00:31:37]There are hotels in the world that are willing to host Jews, but not Israelis.

[00:31:42]When asked why, they say, "We hosted Israelis once. After they left, faucets were missing and other things disappeared. That is a desecration of God's name. A Jew who behaves dishonestly in the world profains God's name. Even if he tells himself they're non-Jews, why should I care? The Torah teaches us otherwise. In the teachings of our sages, we see clearly that even a person who is not Jewish is precious.

[00:32:12]Beloved is every human being, for he was created in the image of God.

[00:32:18]Stealing from a non-Jew is forbidden.

[00:32:21]One must sanctify God's name and honor every human being simply for being human created in the image of God.

[00:32:29]The Gamarra tells a story about Pinhas Benya who was well known as a righteous man through whom miracles occurred.

[00:32:37]He was deeply involved in the mitzvah of redeeming captives.

[00:32:41]The sages teach that one may even sell a Torah scroll in order to redeem captives. Such is the greatness of this mitzvah.

[00:32:50]Husba was one of the greatest scholars of his generation. Yet he personally exerted himself to travel from place to place collecting funds to redeem captives. On his return journey, he came to a river called the Guini River. The river had overflowed its banks. There was no bridge, no boat, and no way to cross. But the captives were in mortal danger, and the money had to reach them quickly. He stood by the river and decreed that it should split.

[00:33:22]We find similar events in Tanakh such as when the Jordan River split. Here too, Pinhus commanded the river to divide.

[00:33:30]The angel appointed over the river refused. He said, "According to nature, water must flow. You are not God. I do not obey you." Pinhaz replied, "If you do not split, I decree that no water will ever pass through you again."

[00:33:45]The sages say, "A righteous person decrees and God fulfills it." Why?

[00:33:52]Because God loves the righteous. Just as when a king deeply loves someone, he may do something not because he would normally choose to do so, but because his beloved requests it, so too with God and the righteous. When the angel heard this, he feared that the river would dry up completely, and so the river split.

[00:34:12]Binhas crossed. Then he saw a Jew approaching with a sack of flour intended for baking matzah. If the flower became wet, it would become hametts. Pinhas said to the river, "Do not close until he too has crossed."

[00:34:28]Again, this went against the river's nature. It wanted to return to its flow, but it remained open, and the Jew crossed safely. Then the Gimara says that a non-Jew riding on a donkey approached as well. He saw the rabbi crossing and then saw the Jew crossing.

[00:34:47]Pinha said, "Wait until he too crosses."

[00:34:52]He did not say, "He's a non-Jew. Why should I care? He had already altered nature, so why not for him as well? He is a human being. He must be honored."

[00:35:03]Beloved, is every human being created in the image of God. The fact that Jews are forbidden to marry non-Jews is a divine commandment, not God forbid, because Judaism seeks the harm of other nations.

[00:35:18]On the contrary, the Jewish ideal is that all humanity should thrive, that there should be no hunger anywhere, no wars, and that all people should live in peace.

[00:35:31]This is exactly what we pray for regarding the era of the Messiah. As the prophet says, "They shall beat their swords into plowshares and their spears into pruning hooks. Nation shall not lift sword against nation, nor shall they learn war anymore." That is the Jewish ideal to reach such a time. Now, let us return to our subject. In the allegorical meaning of the verse, King Solomon says, "Good understanding brings favor, but the path of the treacherous is harsh." Good understanding refers to the good inclination. The path of the treacherous refers to the evil inclination. The word harsh or unyielding can be positive or negative.

[00:36:16]In Hebrewan means strong, firm, powerful. It can be taken positively or negatively. Here it is used negatively. But for example, there is a psalm titled Muscul of Ethan the Ezraite.

[00:36:32]There are also people named Etan.

[00:36:35]Clearly the name itself is positive. So who is Etan the Ezraite? It is written in the Midrash that the book of Psalms was composed by 10 different individuals.

[00:36:47]Some people think that King David wrote all of Tahillim himself, but that is not the case.

[00:36:55]The majority was indeed written by King David and he also compiled and arranged the entire book. But there were other authors as well. For example, the psalm, a psalm of Assaf. Oh God, the nations have entered your inheritance. They have defiled your holy temple was not written by King David. It was written by Asaf who witnessed the destruction. Another psalm, a psalm, a song for the Sabbath day. It is good to give thanks to the Lord who composed that Adam the first man. So is a collection authored by 10 individuals though most of it is by King David. The verse a teaching by Eton the Ezra height. Our sages explain that Eton refers to Abraham our patriarch. Why was he called Etton? because he was strong and unwavering in his faith against everyone around him. The entire society worshiped idols and he stood firm and declared, "There is a creator of the world."

[00:38:01]Nimrod said to him, "Either be like everyone else or I will throw you into the fiery furnace."

[00:38:08]Abraham replied, "Throw me into the furnace. You can burn my body, but not my soul. I will not betray God. He did not know that he would be saved. In the end, he was saved. But he entered the fire fully prepared to die. That is what it means. Strength, firmness, inner power.

[00:38:32]The word itan, strong or firm, can be understood positively or negatively.

[00:38:38]Even the final letter nuns carries a quality of stubbornness. A person whose name contains a final nun often has a trait of persistence. That trait can be used for good, insisting on what is right or for harm, arguing with everyone and insisting on what is wrong. There is an entire book Hatsen about the Hebrew letters explaining the spiritual challenges associated with each letter in a person's name and how to channel them positively.

[00:39:12]So when King Solomon says the path of traitors is eaten, he means that it leads to hardness and difficulty. The opposite of good understanding brings favor. A person who follows the evil inclination which Solomon calls a traitor eventually becomes difficult, conflicted and unpleasant to live with.

[00:39:33]He suffers both in this world and in the world to come. Why is the evil inclination called a traitor? Why does King Solomon use that term? The answer is that the evil inclination, that angel whose name we avoid saying in full and refer to only indirectly, is the same entity known as the Satan, the angel of death, and the evil inclination itself, as stated explicitly in the Talmud, Babatra 16a, and in the Zohar. It is the head of the forces of impurity. What the Aramaic sources call the sitra Ara, the other side. A traitor is someone who presents himself as your friend while in truth seeking your harm. That is exactly how the evil inclination operates.

[00:40:22]When it approaches a person, it tempts him and says, "Listen to me. You'll enjoy it. It will feel good. You'll benefit." But once a person fails and commits a transgression against God's will, that same angel, figuratively speaking, changes clothes, he removes the friendly disguise and puts on the robe of a prosecutor.

[00:40:47]He ascends above and accuses the person, saying, "Master of the universe, look at this audacious human being. You created him and instead of listening to you, he listened to me. Who am I that he should obey me? He deserves punishment. And the person says, "But you told me I would enjoy it." Yes, that is precisely the betrayal. That is his role. First to cause a person to sin and then to accuse him. This is not folklore or children's stories.

[00:41:22]It is written explicitly in the book of Job that on Rash Hashana the angel stood before God and Satan stood among them.

[00:41:30]He prosecuted Job and as a result Job suffered terribly.

[00:41:35]Just as there are angels such as Gabriel and Michael, God also created this angel, a spiritual being without a body, with no free will, whose sole mission is to fulfill God's command. And remarkably, when a person overcomes his evil inclination, that angel is not upset. He is happy. Why? Because his ultimate desire is the honor of God. God created him to test human beings. And when a person resists temptation, God's honor increases in the world.

[00:42:10]This is very different from the Christian notion of two opposing powers, as if God and Satan are rivals. In Judaism, Satan is a servant of God created for a purpose.

[00:42:22]There are even verses indicating that when a person overcomes the evil inclination, that angel rejoices.

[00:42:30]We once explained this with a parable.

[00:42:33]Imagine a man who is being considered for promotion to a senior position. His candidacy is discussed in the news and the media. He desperately wants the role. But unfortunately, after it becomes public that he is a candidate, as he is walking down the street, a car suddenly stops beside him. Several masked men jump out, abduct him, force him into the vehicle. He sees knives, hears Arabic being spoken. He understands immediately terrorists.

[00:43:04]They blindfold him and take him to some remote warehouse. He hears the call of the muazin and realizes he is in an Arab village. They begin to torture him, demanding information. They say you're a candidate. They tell him, "That means you no secrets." He replies, "I won't tell you anything." They threaten him.

[00:43:26]The first day is only threats.

[00:43:28]And we know how cruel people can be.

[00:43:31]After 3 days of threats, they return and say, "You see this stick? You're about to be beaten." They strike him lightly at first, not brutally yet, but he understands what they are capable of.

[00:43:44]Still, he stands firm. Even if you kill me, he says, I will not reveal anything.

[00:43:51]To his surprise, the moment he says this, they lower their knives and begin to smile. It turns out they are not terrorists at all. They are Shabbach agents. They abducted him to test whether he is truly fit for promotion.

[00:44:07]If he would reveal secrets under pressure, he could never be trusted in a senior role. The Muezin sound just a recording. Now ask yourself, when they discovered that he was loyal, were they sad or happy? They were happy. Why?

[00:44:26]Because they were sent to test him and he passed. The evil inclination works the same way.

[00:44:32]That angel's role is to test a person.

[00:44:34]If you overcome him, he rejoices. You overcame me. Why? Because he is merely a messenger of God created to help you earn the world to come. But if you fail the test, then his role changes. He becomes the Satan, the prosecutor.

[00:44:53]As the Talmud says, he is the evil inclination. He is the Satan, and he is the angel of death. The angel of death does not only take souls. All the suffering we see in this world, sadness, anxiety, depression, illness, financial loss, all of it falls under his domain.

[00:45:14]On the side of holiness, there is only blessing, abundance, joy, and goodness.

[00:45:21]All suffering comes from that other side. That is why the verse says, "Your evil will correct you." A person's mistakes eventually come back to straighten him. Therefore, King Solomon teaches us, "This angel is called a traitor. He does not approach you with wisdom. Wisdom belongs to the good inclination. His way is the path of traitors and that path leads to hardness, pain, and suffering."

[00:45:50]Let us conclude with one more example that illustrates how the evil inclination operates and why it is called a traitor. Imagine a married man with children who barely manages to make ends meet. His income is 5,000 shekels a month. And even with his wife contributing a little, life is very difficult.

[00:46:13]One day he is walking through Jerusalem hungry, having eaten nothing since morning. He is searching for a falafel stand, anything to fill his stomach.

[00:46:24]Suddenly he sees a man his own age approaching him. elegantly dressed, clearly wealthy, carrying a fine briefcase.

[00:46:32]The man greets him with a wide smile.

[00:46:35]How are you? He looks at him confused.

[00:46:40]He has no idea who this is. What are you staring at me like that for? The man says, "You don't remember me, Moshe?

[00:46:49]We went to school together until first grade." He says, "Well, you look a little familiar." He doesn't really remember, but something sounds vaguely familiar.

[00:47:01]Remind me of your name, the man asks. My name is Yosi, he replies.

[00:47:08]Yosi, he says warmly. I'm so happy to see you. We haven't met in 25 years.

[00:47:14]What do you say we celebrate with lunch together? Yosi answers, forget it. I have no money. I barely get by. A falafel is enough for me. But the man insists, "Don't worry. Thank God I'm wealthy. I'm a successful lawyer. Come, the King David Hotel is right here. My treat."

[00:47:36]Uncomfortable but pressured, Yosi agrees. He has never been inside a hotel. Certainly not one this luxurious.

[00:47:44]The waiter approaches, impeccably dressed, almost like a groom at his wedding. He hands Yosi the menu and says, "Choose whatever you like." Yosi looks at the menu and is stunned. He looks at the menu and says, "A steak costs this much. This costs that much.

[00:48:04]What are these prices?" His companion replies, "It's fine. Go ahead and order." He begins ordering. His friend orders as well, adding more and more items. Yosi watches the total climbing in his head. 3,000 shekels. 7,000 shekels. And he keeps ordering. Then his companion asked the waiter, "Do you have a good wine? What do you mean by good? A wine age 30 years. That cost 2,000 shekels.

[00:48:39]No problem. Bring it." Yossi is in shock. The wine is poured. Glasses are served. And in the end, the lunch reaches 14,000 shekels. He cannot believe his eyes. Suddenly, this friend says, "I'll step out for just a moment and be right back." He leaves and never returns. The waiters arrive with the bill. Payment is demanded. 14,000 shekels. Yosi pays everything. It turns out this man was neither Mosha Levy nor his childhood friend. He simply wanted a lavish lunch at someone else's expense and he chose this poor man.

[00:49:20]That is betrayal.

[00:49:22]You present yourself as my friend and in the end you ruin me. I can barely make it through the month and now I'm expected to pay 14,000 shekels for lunch. That is exactly how the evil inclination operates. The evil inclination comes to a person as a friend. Come enjoy yourself. It says listen to me my treat. Don't worry.

[00:49:48]And in the end, who pays the price? The person himself pays for every mistake he made. That is why King Solomon says, "Be wise."

[00:49:58]Listen to the council of the good inclination.

[00:50:01]A good understanding grants favor. We conclude with a blessing to the entire audience and all viewers. May the words of Torah bring success to all. good matches, worthy children, sustenance with dignity. May God protect the people of Israel and the soldiers of Israel wherever they may be. Amen.