Parshas
Nasoh
“Speak to the Bnai Yisrael and say to them: any man
whose wife shall go astray and commit treachery against
him. . . ” — Bamidbar 5:12
The Parsha
of Sotah
The Torah describes the details of a
sotah. If a woman acts in a manner that causes
her husband to suspect her of infidelity, he should warn
her not to go into seclusion with that other man. If she
violates this warning, then the husband is to take her
to the Kohain. The Kohain will give her
the “bitter waters” to drink. If she was unfaithful, she
will instantly die. If she was not unfaithful, she will
be redeemed and blessed.
When the Torah lays out the details,
it uses an unusual expression:
כי
תשטה “If a man will ‘tistheh’ his wife.”
The word “tishteh” comes from the root “shoteh,”
which means insanity. It’s as if to say, “If a man will
accuse his wife of insanity.”
Rashi is troubled by the use of this
expression. He explains, based on the Gemara,
adulterers do not sin until a wave of insanity enters
them. The Siftei Chachmim explains this to
mean, “until their yetzer harah teaches
them it is permitted.”
It seems clear from the Siftei
Chachaim that the modus operandi of the
yetzer harah is to convince the potential sinners
that the act tempting them is permitted. Only when it
succeeds, and they are convinced, will they then
transgress.
This statement — people only sin when
they are convinced that it is permitted — seems
difficult to understand. If we are dealing with a pious,
proper Jewish woman who got into a bad situation, she
knows that the act that she wants to commit is
forbidden. How can the yetzer harah teach her
that it is permitted? On the other hand, the Torah may
be speaking about the opposite extreme — a woman who has
gone off the path and just doesn’t care. Why does she
need the yetzer harah to tell her it is
permitted? She doesn’t care.
|
Who would believe the yetzer harah that
adultery is permitted? |
So on both sides of the spectrum, the
yetzer harah either should not be able to
convince the person that it is permitted, or it
shouldn’t need to convince them.
I never do
anything wrong
The answer to this question is based
on understanding one of the most consistent quirks of
human nature: “I never do anything wrong.”
Whether dealing with sophisticated adults or
schoolchildren, whether Supreme Court justices or
convicted felons, the human seems never to do anything
wrong. Wardens will tell you that their jails are filled
with self-proclaimed innocent men. Criminals aren’t
wrong. Thieves aren’t wrong. Murderers aren’t wrong. You
won’t find a gangster proclaiming, “Yes, it is evil to
murder and pillage, but what can I do? I am weak and
give into my desires.” Instead, you will hear an entire
belief system explaining that his approach to life is
actually better for society and the world.
The question is why? Why can’t man
just admit: it is wrong to steal, but I want to do it
anyway?
The inner
workings of the human
The reason for this has to do with
the inner working of the human. HASHEM created man out
of two distinct parts. One is comprised all of the
drives and passions found in the animal kingdom; it is
simply base instincts and desires. The other part of man
is pure intellect: holy, good and giving. That part of
me wishes to be generous and noble and only aspires for
that which is good.
Because this part of me is made up of
pure intellect and wisdom, it would never allow me to
sin. It sees the results too clearly. It understands
that all of HASHEM’s commandments are for my good and
that every sin damages me. Because of this crystal clear
insight, the human would not have the free will to sin.
In theory, he could be tempted to sin, but he would
never actually come to the act. It would be akin to
sticking his hand in a fire. In theory he could do it,
but it would never happen. It’s a dumb thing to do. So
if HASHEM created man with just these two parts, man
would not have free will in a practical sense.
To allow man to be tempted so that he
can choose his course and be rewarded for his proper
choices, HASHEM put another component in man:
imagination. Imagination is the creative ability to
form a mental picture and feel it as vividly as if
it were real. Armed with an imagination, man can
create fanciful worlds at his will and actually believe
them. If man wishes to turn to evil, he can create
rationales to make these ways sound noble and proper —
and fool himself at least. If he wishes, he can do what
is right, or if he wishes, he can turn to wickedness.
Even his brilliant intellect won’t prevent him. He is
capable of creating entire worldviews that explain how
the behavior he desires is righteous, correct, and
appropriate. Now man has free will.
The answer to the Rashi is on two
levels. First off, we see the power of rationalizing.
Even a fully mature, pious woman who grew up in the best
of homes can be convinced, on some level, that illicit
relations are permitted. The yetzer harah will
use her imagination and create clever and creative ways
to explain that black is white, in is out, and arayos
is permitted. As ridiculous as it sounds, that is the
power given to the yetzer harah.
The second idea is that even the
woman who seems to be off the derech and wouldn’t
need an excuse really does. No human can ever do
something that is wrong. Because of the greatness of her
soul and the truth that she knows deep down inside, she
understands that for a married woman to go to another
man is forbidden. The only way that she can perpetrate
this act is if she has a rational way of explaining how
in fact it is permitted. The human is incapable of doing
something wrong. The only way he can do something wrong
is by making it right.
I hope you find it meaningful,
