Comentario citado sobre Isaías 9:16

In this verse Solomon warns man not to give in to his various physical urges but to suppress them and to vanquish them. Anyone who succeeds in banishing his physical urges is considered on the spiritual level of an angel. Conversely, anyone who encourages his physical urges and wants to indulge them is on the spiritual level of an animal. When we take a look at the creatures created on the sixth day of creation we find that all the creatures created prior to man can be divided into two groups: 1) abstract intelligences; 2) creatures bound to earth by their bodies. The first group comprises the angels, creatures which are totally disembodied, divorced from anything material. The second group, such as the trees and other kinds of vegetation as well as living creatures are all composed of matter, totally devoid of intelligence. Each of the two categories of creatures performs the tasks allotted to them by their Creator, the former group using their intelligence, the latter using their instinct. Both these groups are not free agents but have to obey the instructions received from their Creator, using either their natural instincts or their G’d - given intelligence but neither being overtly interfered with.
It follows that on the sixth day a third category of creature was created, one which represents a blend of the previous two. It was a creature which embodied both intelligence similar to the disembodied angels, and at the same time is made up of a body and responds to natural urges similar to the animals. This category of creatures was the human species. Man is not dominated either by the dictates of his intelligence or those of his natural urges. The principal difference between man and other creatures it that he possess willpower, i.e. decisions made by him are free-willed. If he is circumspect he can successfully overcome the natural urges he has in common with the animals. In that event he frees himself of the influence exerted upon him by the physical raw material he is made of. If he fails to resist the urges which result from his being made up of physical matter, he negates the influence of his intelligence, the element which makes him similar to the angels.
As long as Adam did not sin and as a result became enmeshed in the urges common to animals he was a true angel of the Lord although possessed of a body. He was all intelligence, unblemished. As a result, he was fit to live forever (compare author’s comments on Genesis 2,17), similar to the angels who reside in the celestial regions. He had been placed in Gan Eden, the choicest location on earth.
Seeing that he did sin, decided to respond to physical urges, he was deprived of the intelligence which had covered him like a garment and was dressed in earth-grown material. As a result he was expelled from Gan Eden and given herbs as food, similar to the animals. This is the meaning of Genesis 3,18: “you shall eat the herbs of the field.” Prior to that he had been eating fruit grown on trees, products of plantings by G’d’s own hand. Keeping in mind how Adam was demoted, or demoted himself, we must realise that it is to our advantage to break the hold that these natural urges have on us, something which if achieved is תערב לנפש, “will be sweet for the soul;” Solomon speaks of greed and similar instincts which, if they have been “broken,” conquered by man, are something sweet and pleasant for man’s intellectual faculties. The word נהיה in that verse, an unusual word, is similar in construction to Daniel 8,27 נהייתי ונחליתי, “I was broken up and ill;” we also have a similar word in Exodus 9,3 הנה יד ה' הויה, “here the Lord’s hand is about to break, etc.” Solomon urges man to break the hold these natural instincts have over him seeing that they are רע, evil. The Torah already told us that such urges are evil in Genesis 8,21 כי יצר לב האדם רע מנעוריו, “for the instinctive urges man’s heart is exposed to are evil, ever since his early years.” Seeing that the person who does break the prison walls represented by these urges is in effect סר מרע, distancing himself from evil, Solomon adds that תועבת כסילים סור מרע, that “abandoning evil is something abominable in the eyes of the fools.” Whatever is pleasant for the soul is by definition an abomination for the body, the home of these baser instincts of man.
It is a well known fact that he who allows himself to follow these base instincts is thereby violating all of the Torah’s precepts. Following one’s instincts may be divided into four categories, four levels; 1) one does so theoretically, allowing himself to feel the urge and be titillated by it. 2) One speaks about these urges, a form of coming closer to giving in to them; 3) one indulges these urges by consuming the object of the temptation with one’s mouth, tasting it; 4) one abandons one’s entire body to the delights offered by such allure. As to fantasizing about sin Solomon already taught us that such fantasies are culpable as if the sin had actually been committed in deed. In Proverbs 15,13 he told us that “a happy heart makes for a cheerful face, whereas a sad heart causes a despondent spirit.” Solomon did not want to tell us the obvious, rather he meant that there is a direct relationship between fantasizing about sin and translating the fantasy into practice. Just as the thoughts of the heart influence the body and its appearance, so sinful thoughts influence the organs with which these thoughts are carried out. The heart is to those organs what the root of a tree is to its branches.
The second category of following one’s instincts, i.e. speaking about such fantasies involves such sins as gossiping, character-assassination, using foul language. It is forbidden by Biblical decree. Solomon refers to it when he said that “the mouth of fools expresses folly” (Proverbs 15,2). Immediately following that verse he wrote that “the eyes of G’d are everywhere; they behold the good and the wicked.” What Solomon meant was that G’d pays close attention to the power of speech being abused as well as to those who use that power judiciously and constructively. G’d will punish the guilty. The prophet Isaiah also castigated people who abuse their mouths to speak foul words when he said: “(G’d) will not spare their youths...for all are ungodly and wicked and every mouth speaks impiety” (Isaiah 9,16).
The third category, i.e. eating forbidden things in response to one’s instincts, overriding G’d’s laws, is also a violation of a Biblical law. Concerning such lapses David said (Psalms 40,9) “Your teaching is in my entrails.” David congratulated himself that he never fell victim to the temptation to fill his entrails with forbidden food. David did not merely refer to food which was forbidden per se, but to gorging himself on permitted food, indulging his appetite instead of eating only in order to meet the requirements of his health. Solomon described a righteous person as someone who אוכל לשבוע נפשו, “eats in order to satisfy his soul (as opposed to his body)” Proverbs 13,25. In Proverbs 21,23 Solomon elaborates further saying that “he who guards his mouth and his tongue keeps his soul from troubles.”
The fourth category of temptation one may fall victim to is the one involving one’s entire body. It concerns indulging one’s carnal instincts indiscriminately. There is no need to dwell on the list of incestuous relations the Torah has already outlawed. The temptation to overindulge in sexual activity with a partner who is officially permitted is what one has to suppress, conquer. This concludes the four categories of temptations that the body is exposed to and which it is incumbent upon us to resist. Whence do we know that if someone allows himself to pursue these various pleasures available to the flesh that he thereby violated the entire Torah legislation? Solomon provided us with the answer to this question when he wrote (Proverbs 18,1) לתאוה יבקש נפרד, בכל תושיה יתגלע, “a man exclusively concerned with satisfying his desires separates himself from all wisdom (Torah).” The word נפרד, “alone, abandoned,” used in that verse means that he who pursues physical gratification will find himself isolated, alone. He will lose his friends and companions in the process as his friends will not want to expose themselves to these temptations. A person guilty of such pursuits is in effect “kicking” at the Torah. This is what is meant by the words בכל תושיה יתגלע. This is why the Torah asks us not only to refrain from what is forbidden but to refrain from and to suppress desires as these might ultimately lead us to violate what is forbidden outright. Considerations such as this led our sages (Yevamot 20) to formulate the slogan: קדש עצמך במותר לך, “sanctify yourself by refraining from that which is permitted to you!” Anyone who deliberately separates himself from such urges is described as “holy.” The Torah applies this flattering description to the Nazir who undertook to abstain from intoxicating drink (wine) and all grape-products as well as from contact with ritual impurity, and who lets his hair grow to show that he is doing this. The Torah (Numbers 6,5) writes concerning such a person: “holy shall he be, the growth of his hair on his head shall grow.” Just as such a Nazir is holy, the Israelites at Mount Sinai were holy as we know from Exodus 19,6: “and you shall be unto me a Kingdom of Priests, an holy nation.” The Israelites were commanded to be holy in order that they should separate themselves from the cravings of this world.

YE SHALL BE HOLY. “Abstain from the forbidden sexual relationships [mentioned in the preceding section] and from [other] sin,⁷So explained in Gur Aryeh on Rashi. because wherever you find [in the Torah] a warning to guard against immorality, you find the mention of ‘holiness.’” This is Rashi’s language. But in the Torath Kohanim I have seen it mentioned without any qualification [i.e., without any particular reference to immorality, as Rashi expressed it], saying:⁸Torath Kohanim, at beginning of Seder Kedoshim. “Be self-restraining.” Similarly, the Rabbis taught there:⁹Ibid., Shemini 12:4. “And ye shall sanctify yourselves, and be ye holy, for I am Holy.¹⁰Above, 11:44. Just as I am Holy, so be you holy. Just as I am Pure, so be you pure.” And in my opinion, this abstinence does not refer only to restraint from acts of immorality, as the Rabbi [Rashi] wrote, but it is rather the self-control mentioned throughout the Talmud, which confers upon those who practice it the name of P’rushim (Pharisees), [literally: “those who are separated” from self-indulgence, as will be explained, or those who practice self-restraint]. The meaning thereof is as follows: The Torah has admonished us against immorality and forbidden foods, but permitted sexual intercourse between man and his wife, and the eating of [certain] meat and wine. If so, a man of desire could consider this to be a permission to be passionately addicted to sexual intercourse with his wife or many wives, and be among winebibbers, among gluttonous eaters of flesh,¹¹Proverbs 23:20 and speak freely all profanities, since this prohibition has not been [expressly] mentioned in the Torah, and thus he will become a sordid person within the permissible realm of the Torah! Therefore, after having listed the matters which He prohibited altogether, Scripture followed them up by a general command that we practice moderation even in matters which are permitted, [such as in the following]: One should minimize sexual intercourse, similar to that which the Rabbis have said,¹²Berachoth 22 a. “So that the disciples of the Sages should not be found together with their wives as often as the hens,” and he should not engage in it except as required in fulfillment of the commandment thereof. He should also sanctify himself [to self-restraint] by using wine in small amounts, just as Scripture calls a Nazirite “holy” [for abstaining from wine and strong drink],¹³Numbers 6:8. and he should remember the evils which the Torah mentioned as following from [drinking wine] in the cases of Noah¹⁴Genesis 9:21. and Lot.¹⁵Ibid., 19:33. Similarly, he should keep himself away from impurity [in his ordinary daily activity], even though we have not been admonished against it in the Torah, similar to that which the Rabbis have said:¹⁶Chagigah 18 b. “For the P’rushim (Pharisees), the clothes of the unlearned are considered as if trodden upon by a zav” [or zavah — a man or woman having suffered a flux], and just as the Nazirite is called “holy” because of guarding himself from the impurity of the dead.¹⁷Numbers 6:6-7. Likewise he should guard his mouth and tongue from being defiled by excessive food and by lewd talk, similar to what Scripture states, and every mouth speaketh wantonness,¹⁸Isaiah 9:16. and he should purify himself in this respect until he reaches the degree known as [complete] “self-restraint,” as the Rabbis said concerning Rabbi Chiya,¹⁹See my Hebrew commentary p. 116, for different personalities to whom this character trait has been ascribed in Rabbinic sources. I have not found a clear source for Ramban’s version here. that never in his life did he engage in unnecessary talk. It is with reference to these and similar matters that this general commandment [Ye shall be holy] is concerned, after He had enumerated all individual deeds which are strictly forbidden, so that cleanliness of hands and body, are also included in this precept, just like the Rabbis have said:²⁰Berachoth 53 b. “And ye shall sanctify yourselves.¹⁰Above, 11:44. This refers to the washing of hands before meals. And be ye holy.¹⁰Above, 11:44. This refers to the washing of hands after meals [before the reciting of grace]. For I am holy — this alludes to the spiced oil” [with which they used to rub their hands after a meal]. For although these [washings and perfuming of the hands] are commandments of Rabbinic origin, yet Scripture’s main intention is to warn us of such matters, that we should be [physically] clean and [ritually] pure, and separated from the common people who soil themselves with luxuries and unseemly things. And such is the way of the Torah, that after it lists certain specific prohibitions, it includes them all in a general precept. Thus after warning with detailed laws regarding all business dealings between people, such as not to steal or rob or to wrong²¹Further, 25:17. one another, and other similar prohibitions, He said in general, And thou shalt do that which is right and good,²²Deuteronomy 6:18. thus including under a positive commandment the duty of doing that which is right and of agreeing to a compromise [when not to do so would be inequitable]; as well as all requirements to act “beyond” the line of justice [i.e., to be generous in not insisting upon one’s rights as defined by the strict letter of the law, but to agree to act “beyond” that line of the strict law] for the sake of pleasing one’s fellowman, as I will explain when I reach there [that verse], with the will of the Holy One, blessed be He. Similarly in the case of the Sabbath, He prohibited doing certain classes of work by means of a negative commandment,²³Exodus 20:10. and painstaking labors [not categorized as “work,” such as transferring heavy loads in one’s yard from one place to another, etc.] He included under a general positive commandment, as it is said, but on the seventh day thou shalt rest.²⁴Ibid., 23:12. I will yet explain this²⁵See further, 23:24. with the help of G-d.

מבחוריו, as if the Torah had written: מנעוריו, ever since his youth. We find the expression בחור for a young person also in Kohelet 11,9 בימי בחורותיך, “in the days of your youth.” On the other hand, in Isaiah 9,16 the line על כן על בחוריו לא ישמח ה', the word is not used in a complimentary way as here, but G’d is portrayed as scorning the follies of the young and immature in spirit.