Channeling Desire

By Rabbi Moshe Krieger, Yeshivas Bircas HaTorah (www.bircas.org)

In Parashas Beha’aloscha we read about the asafsuf, roughly translated as rabble. They complained to Moshe that they had a ta’avah, a burning desire, to eat meat. Hashem’s wrath was aroused, and when they finally received the meat they had craved, they were struck dead.

Why were the asafsuf so desperate for meat? They had the mann, which offered them every possible taste. They were already able to taste all the meat they wanted. What were they lacking? Moreover, even if they still wanted to enjoy the real thing, was that so terrible? Why did this arouse Hashem’s fury? Even Chazal deal with cases where a person, even a tzaddik, is overcome by a bulmus, a rush of desire that can’t be controlled. Why were the asafsuf punished?

My great-uncle, the Meshech Chachmah, notes that the verse does not say that the people had a ta’avah. Rather, the wording is “hisavu ta’avah—they wanted to have a ta’avah” for meat. The mann provided only the taste and nutritional value of meat. The asafsuf wanted to arouse a desire that would only be gratified with real meat. The asafsuf cried because they wanted to feel more of a ta’avah when eating.

This episode stands out as one of the worst sins of that generation. They lacked nothing. It’s one thing for a person to be tempted by something he doesn’t have, but here they literally had everything. Yet, they aroused their evil inclinations to create a sense of lack and build up their ta’avah. This is what aroused Hashem’s wrath against them.

Rav Yechezkel Levenstein notes that we learn an important principle about the evil inclination and how to deal with it. We may think that ta’avah is based on a lack. If only we could get what we wanted, the ta’avah would go away. The asafsuf show us that ta’avah has nothing to do with lack. Ta’avah is not a physical need that can be quenched. Rather, it is an irrational force that perpetually pushes us to desire. It can enslave us, leading from ta’avah to ta’avah and straight to sins, ruining our lives in this world and the next. (See the Ramban in Devarim 29:18 for further elaboration.)

How can we escape this trap that lurks within us?

Chazal say (Kiddushin 40a) that one beset by ta’avah should dress in black (i.e., clothing that do not draw attention to the wearer) and go to a place far away where people don’t know him. Hopefully the effort involved in changing location and the inferiority he feels from wearing simple clothing will stop him from sinning. Delay and lowliness are both ways to escape from the clutches of powerful desire. Elsewhere, Chazal also advise that one make prudent use of vows to restrict himself from his ta’avos. (Nedarim 9b)

The Rambam (Hilchos Issurei Bi’ah 22:21) says that ta’avah only enters a mind that is devoid of wisdom. If we keep our minds full of Torah ideas, ta’avah is effectively denied entry.

The Meshech Chachmah (Bamidbar 11:16) says that we could do even more: we can channel our ta’avos into the Torah itself. Instead of craving physical gratification, we can crave greatness in Torah and service of Hashem.

A bachur once asked Rav Scheinberg if he should marry young as a way of coping with his ta’avah. He answered that ta’avah can beset a person in marriage as well. The only solution is to direct it into a desire for greatness in Torah.

The Meshech Chachmah (ibid.) explains why Moshe responded to the asafsuf by appointing the elders: The elders were regular people, but they had reached great heights in spirituality. As such, they could serve as examples for the asafsuf, and all of us, too, that it is possible to overcome ta’avah, and even to convert it into spiritual energy. We too can find great people who arouse us to emulate them.

The Klausenberger Rebbe was once asked why he chose to settle in Union City, New Jersey. It was not a place that had an existing Torah-observant population. He answered with a brilliantly down-to-earth assessment of the reality—and potential value—of ta’avah.

“I want my people’s ta’avos to be in Torah. This will motivate them to get up at four in the morning to learn before starting their day. In a big city, people have other ta’avos: a new kitchen, a fancy car, etc. Union City is a simple, unassuming town. People will be able to develop their ta’avos in the right way.”

May we be zocheh to use our ta’avos for the sake of Heaven!

NEW! HOT OFF THE PRESS! Rabbi Krieger’s “Gedolei Yisroel on the Parashah & Yamim Tovim” is now available from the Yeshiva office. Coming soon to a Jewish Bookstore near you. We will let you know when it is available to order online.