MJ Prisut

Rabbi Akiva said: Merriment and frivolity accustom one to sexual licentiousness; Tradition is a fence to the Torah; Tithes a fence to wealth, Vows a fence to abstinence; A fence to wisdom is silence.

There are three principal divisions of Separation: There is Separation related to the pleasures, Separation related to the laws, and Separation related to the conducts.

If you contemplate and consider the matter, you will see that there are three different levels here:

(1) The prohibited things themselves.

(2) Their "fences", namely, the decrees and safeguards instituted by our sages, of blessed memory, enacted for every Jew.

(3) The distancing measures incumbent on every Parush (man of Separation) to make for himself to withdraw in and build [additional] personal fences, namely, to abstain from permitted things themselves which are not forbidden to every Jew and separate from them in order to keep far away from the evil a great distance.

Why then should we now adopt new decrees which they did not see fit to enact? Furthermore, there is no end to this matter. Thus, a man would soon be desolate and afflicted, deriving no enjoyment whatsoever from this world, while our sages, of blessed memory, said: "a person will in the future be held accountable before G-d on all that his eyes beheld and he did not want to eat from it" (Yerushalmi Kidushin 4:12). This is even though it was permitted to him and he had the ability to do so. They brought support for this from scripture: "all that my eyes desired I did not deprive them" (Kohelet 2:10).

They further said (Pesikta D'Rav Kahana 6:2): "'the righteous man eats to sate his soul' - this refers to Chizkiyahu, King of Judah, whose meal consisted of two bunches of vegetables and a litra of meat. The Jews would mock him saying: 'this is a king?'".

They further said (Yalkut Shimoni 247:830): "before a man prays that the words of Torah enter his innards, he should first pray that food and drink not enter them".

The explanation is that the matter certainly involves many fundamental distinctions. There is [good] Separation which we are commanded in and there is [bad] Separation which we are warned not to stumble in. This is what king Shlomo said: "do not be overly righteous" (Kohelet 7:16).

For example: food and drink, when clean of all dietary prohibition are permitted to eat. But filling one's belly draws after it removal of the yoke of Heaven, and drinking of wine draws after it licentiousness and other evils. All the more so, once a person habituates himself to satiate [his belly] with food and drink. For then if but one time he lacks fulfilling his habit, it will greatly pain and disturb him.

Due to this, he inserts himself in the rush of business toil and acquiring possessions in order that his table be set as he wishes. From there he is further drawn to wrongdoing and theft, and from there to taking [false] oaths and all other sins which follow. He thus goes away from the divine service, and from Torah study and prayer.

If you ask: if this is so necessary and essential, why did the sages not decree this like they decreed on the various fences and enactments? The answer is clear and simple for "our sages do not impose an enactment upon the people unless the majority of the public will be able to abide by it" (Bava Kama 79b). The majority of the public are not capable of being Pious so it is sufficient for them that they be Tzadikim (righteous).

But upon the remnant few among the nation who desire to attain closeness to Him, blessed be He, and to benefit, through their attainment, the rest of the masses who depend on them - on them is incumbent to fulfill the Mishna (code) of the Pious which others are not capable of fulfilling.

These duties are the aforementioned orders of Separation. In this G-d has chosen. For it is impossible for the nation that each individual be equal in level because there are various ranks, each man according to his level of understanding.

Behold, at least there should be a few treasured individuals who prepared themselves completely, and through these few the non-prepared will also merit to receive His love, blessed be He, and the indwelling of His Shechina (Divine presence).

As our sages, of blessed memory, expounded on the four species of the Lulav: "let these come and atone on those" (Vayikra Raba 30).

Separation in conducts consists of secluding and separating oneself from societal company in order to turn one's heart to the divine service and to proper reflection in it. This is on condition that one does not turn in this to the opposite extreme. For our sages, of blessed memory, already said: "a person's mind should always associate with others" (Ketuvot 17a). Likewise they said: "[what is the meaning of the verse] "A sword is upon the boasters (baddim) and they shall become foolish" (Yirmiyahu 50:36) - A sword is upon the enemies of the disciples of the wise, who sit separately [bad bebad] and study Torah. [What is more, they become stupid]" (Makot 10a). Rather, one should associate with the good for whatever time he needs, for his Torah study or livelihood, and then seclude himself afterwards to cling to his G-d, and to attain the ways of the just and the true service.

Included in this [type of separation] is to minimize one's conversation and to guard from idle talk, and not gaze outside one's four cubits, and the like, of the [noble] things a man can habituate himself in until they become as second nature within him.

It is better to go to the house of mourning, than to go to the house of feasting: for that is the end of all men; and the living will lay it to his heart.

More important than everything else is solitude. For when he removes worldly matters from before his eyes, so too he removes lust for them from his heart. King David, peace be unto him, praised solitude saying: "Oh, that I had wings like a dove! I would fly away and be at rest; yes, I would wander far away; I would lodge in the wilderness forever" (Tehilim 55:7-8). And we find that the prophets Eliyahu and Elisha would set their dwelling place in the mountains due to their practice of solitude. And the early pious sages, of blessed memory, followed in their footsteps. For they found solitude to be the best path to acquire perfection in Separation, so that the vanities of their neighbors would not lead them to also become vain like them.

That which a person must be cautious of in acquiring Separation is to not desire to skip and jump to the other extreme all at once. For this will certainly not succeed. Rather, he should move gradually in Separation, little by little, acquiring a bit today, and adding a bit more tomorrow, until he habituates so completely that it becomes like second nature to him.