Shemirat HaLashon שמירת הלשון

Our sages (Yoma 39a) have said on the verse (Vayikra 11:43): "And do not make yourselves unclean by [eating] them [sheratzim (creeping things)], that you be rendered unclean by them"— If one makes himself unclean a little, they make him unclean a lot; [if he makes himself unclean] in this world, they make him unclean in the world to come." Rashi explains there: "They permit him to become unclean a lot," but this does not accord with "they make him unclean."

However, according to the aforementioned holy Zohar, this is understood plainly, viz.: "Through his forbidden words, the spirit of uncleanliness comes to rest upon them, after which the chitzonim [the "external," profane forces] take these forbidden unclean words and defile through them all the [subsequent] words of holiness, so that they cannot ascend above as a gift before the Blessed L-rd, the spirit of uncleanliness reposing upon them. And this is the intent of Chazal's 'they make him unclean a lot,' and 'from below— they make him unclean from above.' That is uncleanliness is drawn down from above upon the source of his soul, too."

As to their saying "They make him unclean in the world to come," that is, when he dies and his soul returns to G-d, who gave it [to him], to render there din and accounting (and he will certainly wish that they bring it to Gan Eden), the destructive agents will forestall it and clothe it in a despicable, unclean vestment created by its sins (and who can conceive of the greatness of the shame and mortification this vestment will cause it), and it will be compelled thereby to descend to Gehinnom, a place of darkness and shadow, to cleanse itself there of the filth of its sins.

To what may this be compared? To a groom who is being brought by his groomsmen to the marriage canopy, and, on the way, is accosted by some empty fellows who bespatter him with mud and mire from the soles of his feet until his head. When the groomsmen shout at them: "Empty ones, where did you get so much filth?" they show all [who are assembled there] that the groom is one of their companions and that he himself prepared all the mud and mire. So is it, exactly, in our instance. A man himself, through the filth of his sins, creates this revolting, unclean vestment, and, perforce, dons it and cannot rid himself of it, since he himself prepared it. As Scripture states (Isaiah 50:11): "Walk in the flame of your fire and in the brands that you have kindled. By My hand has this come to you." And Chazal have said, similarly (Avodah Zarah 20b): "Let a man not think [lewd thoughts] in the daytime and come to uncleanliness at night." They have hereby taught us that if he had not first put the thought into his mind, the spirits of uncleanliness could not have cleaved to him and defiled him.

And all of this was alluded to in the verse concerning Yehoshua ben Yehotzadak, the high-priest, viz. (Zechariah 3:1): "And He showed me Yehoshua the high-priest standing before the angel of the L-rd. And the Satan was standing on his right, to accuse him… (4) …Remove the dungy vestments from him [Yehoshua]." The "dungy vestments" connote the uncleanliness of transgressions, which are as repulsive as dung. And "Remove … from him" indicates that he was clothed in them against his will. And this is what Scripture tells us tersely in (Vayikra 11:43): "Do not make yourselves unclean in them, lest you become unclean through them."

And Scripture states (Ibid. 49): "And you shall make yourselves holy, and you shall be holy, concerning which Chazal say (Yoma 39a): "If a man sanctifies himself a little, they sanctify him a lot; from below, they sanctify him from above; in this world, they sanctify him in the world to come." And now, everything is plainly understood. The Holy One Blessed be He, being the source of the good and of chesed— when a man suppresses his yetzer and draws himself a little to the side of holiness— the Holy One Blessed be He confers upon him "a lot" of holiness, a "full handful." As Chazal say (Shir Hashirim Rabbah 5): "The Holy One Blessed be He said: "Open before Me an opening like that of a [fine] needle, and I will open for you an opening like that of an entrance hall." "from below, they sanctify him from above." That is, holiness is drawn down from above upon the source of his soul. "in this world, he is sanctified in the world to come." That is, when he ascends above and has to stand before the throne of the L-rd, he is clothed in vestments of the majesty and glory of sanctity (as it is written of Yehoshua ben Yehotzadak (Zechariah 3:4): "And I have dressed you with festive garments.")

And this is the intent of (Bamidbar 15:40): So that you remember and do all of My mitzvoth and you will be holy to your G-d." Now, ostensibly, "so that you remember and do all of My mitzvoth" is superfluous, for it is written [just] before (Ibid. 39): "and you will remember all the mitzvoth of the L-rd and you will do them." And it should have been written there "and you will be holy to your G-d." But, the verse [39] intimates to us something essential, i.e., when are the mitzvoth of so much avail that through them a man will be "holy to G-d"? When he takes heed not to go astray after the thoughts of his heart and the sight of his eyes. As Chazal have said on this verse, (Berachoth 12): "'After your hearts' — this is heresy;" 'and after your eyes' — this is adultery.'" And the Chinuch writes that included in "heresy" are all of the thoughts that run counter to the perspective of Torah, and included in "adultery" is pursuing the lusts of the world.

To what may this be compared? To one whose house is full of mud and mire. Even if he will bring into his house the finest golden vessels, it will not be beautified thereby. He must first remove the mud and mire and then bring in the vessels. And so is it in our instance. The Jew has been given the power through his cleaving to Torah and mitzvoth to root in his soul the holiness of the L-rd, as it is written (Bamidbar 35:34): "I, the L-rd, dwell in the midst of Israel." But when is this? When he does not allow the yetzer to reside there through his false ideas or filthy thoughts. And this is the intent of "And you shall not go astray after your hearts and after your eyes, after which you stray." (That is, [this will occur] only if you guard yourselves in the future against your straying). "so that you remember and do all of My mitzvoth, etc." That is, if you are careful not to go astray, as mentioned above, the great result will follow that through the doing of the mitzvoth you will be holy to the L-rd. (As the Men of the Great Assembly have formulated for the blessing over a mitzvah: "who sanctified us with His mitzvoth." ["so that" refers to "and you will be holy" (i.e., "so that, in remembering and doing My mitzvoth, you will be holy to your G-d")]. But if, G-d forbid, you do go astray, the mitzvoth will not avail for your becoming holy. And this is the prophet's intent in (Jeremiah 4:3): "Plow for yourselves a furrow and do not sow upon thorns." Happy is he who reflects upon this. It will be good for him in this world and in the next.

[And in this manner I have explained the verse in Psalms 81:10: "There shall not be in you a strange god and you shall not bow down to a foreign god. (11) I am the L-rd your G-d who brought you up from the land of Egypt. Open wide your mouth and I will fill it." Now, ostensibly, it should first have been written "I am the L-rd your G-d, etc." and only then "There shall not be in you a strange god," as it is written in the Torah. Why is the order reversed? But, Chazal have told us (Shabbath 105b): "Which is the strange god in the body of a man? The yetzer hara." (In the beginning it incites him to commit transgressions which are not so severe; but, in the end, "transgression breeds transgression," and it permits him even to bow down to idols.) And the intent of the verse [in Psalms]: "I am the L-rd your G-d, etc." is: Have I not brought you up from the land of Egypt so that you receive the Torah, as it is written (Shemoth 3:12): "And this is the sign for you [Moses] that I have sent you. When you take out the people from Egypt, you will serve G-d on this mountain." For this [the receiving of the Torah] is the purpose of the exodus, as Rashi explains. Therefore, "open wide your mouth and I will fill it." This is like a rabbi's telling his disciple: "Open up your mouth and let your words shine forth." For the Holy One Blessed be He wishes to give each Jew a great share in the Torah. However, in truth, everything is dependent upon the power of the recipient, wherefore He says: "Open wide your mouth." That is, ready yourself to receive much, and I will fill it according to your widening. But this is prefaced by: When will this be fulfilled in you? When "there will not be in you a strange god," when the yetzer hara will not be a guest in your body. Then you will be able to open wide your mouth to Torah, and I will fill it. For it is to this end that I brought you up from the land of Egypt (As it is written (Ibid. 13:9): "And it shall be a sign upon your hand… so that the Torah of the L-rd shall be in your mouth.") But if there is a strange god in your body— that is, if it is full of lewd thoughts, G-d forbid, I will not be able to fulfill your wish to widen your mouth with Torah.

But still, one should not despair, even one for whom it is difficult to cleanse his thoughts and to entirely remove lewd thoughts from his heart. For if so, even His mitzvoth and his Torah would not avail to sanctify his soul, and how would he ever attain his end? But the major element here is Chazal's formula: "If one comes to cleanse himself he is helped [by Heaven]." And if he desires with his whole heart to remove lewd thoughts from it, he will certainly be aided by Heaven to do this, and he must not, G-d forbid, nullify any mitzvah or Torah, even though his thoughts are not entirely pure. In this connection Chazal have said (Pesachim 50b): "Let one always occupy himself with Torah and mitzvoth, even lo lishmah [not for the sake of Heaven], for from lo lishmah, lishmah [for the sake of Heaven] will follow." That is, the holiness of the Torah and the mitzvah will help him, so that it will be in his power to do and to learn for the sake of Heaven, too. And this is what is alluded to in the above verse itself. For, in the beginning it is written (Bamidbar 15:39): "And you will remember all the mitzvoth of the L-rd and you will do them." "the mitzvoth of the L-rd," implying for the sake of the L-rd, is written only in respect to remembering, but not in respect to doing, his not yet having attained purity of thought in the doing of the mitzvoth. In any event, the doing of these acts will bring him to remove the [impure] thoughts of the heart and to overcome his lusts, after which he will reach the level of (Ibid. 40): "and you will do all of My mitzvoth," the doing, too, being exclusively for the sake of the L-rd; and this will bring him to the level of holiness— "and you will be holy." However, all of this obtains only with one who comes to purify himself and strengthens himself to remove the lewd thoughts and to keep himself from [the gratification of] his lusts. (Only) then does "He who comes to purify himself" obtain.]