Musar su Geremia 46:78

To go into exile: There is a second [method] that they explained in the Book of the Zohar (Vayekhel, 198b) and it is very important - that he [should] exile himself from place to place for the sake of the Heavens. And through this, he will become a chariot for the exiled Divine Presence. And he [should] compare himself, "Behold I am in exile and behold I have all of the vessels [that I need] with me; what does the honor of the Higher Realm do, as the Divine Presence was exiled, but her vessels are not with Her - as they were removed on account of the exile?" And so he [should] minimize his vessels with all of his ability, as it is written (Jeremiah 46:19), "Vessels of an exile make for yourself." And he [should] subdue his heart in the exile and connect to Torah; and then the Divine Presence will be with him. And he [should] make for himself an expulsion, and always expel himself from the house of his resting, in the way that Rabbi Shimon and his colleagues would expel themselves and occupy themselves with Torah. And all the more so if he can pound his feet from place to place without a horse and wagon. About [such a one] is it stated (Psalms 146:5), "his hope (sivro) is to the Lord, his God" - and they explained (Zohar, Vayekhel, 198a) about it, that it is an expression of breaking (shever) - such that he breaks his body for the honor of the Higher Realm.

Yalkut Shimoni on our portion describes the פרה, heifer, as symbolizing Egypt, since Egypt is referred to as עגלה יפיפיה מצרים, "Egypt is a beautiful calf," in Jeremiah 46,20. He goes on to say that the word אדומה, red, refers to Babylonia which is described in Daniel 2,38, as "you are the head of gold." The word תמימה, symbolizes Media. Rabbi Chiyah bar Abba said that the kings of Media were תמימים, sincere. The only complaint G–d has against them is that they served idols, a practice they had learned from their forbears. The words אשר אין בה מום, "which is totally unblemished," refer to Greece. When Alexander the Great saw Shimon the Just he rose on his feet and praised the Lord of Shimon the Just. His palace attendants were incredulous that their king should accord this kind of honor to a Jew. Alexander told them that this man had appeared to him whenever he was about to enter battle, and was victorious. The words אשר לא עלה עליה עול, "which has never borne a yoke," refer to wicked Edom who had refused to accept the yoke of G–d. Not only had he not accepted it, but he had blasphemed by saying: "whom have I in the Heavens!" So far the Yalkut. Why does the Yalkut understand all these references as being to different nations? After all, they ridicule us, wish to cause us frustration!

We know from Proverbs 14,30, "envy is iike rottenness of the bones," that ordinarily, jealousy is a natural cause of death. Greed, lust, cause man's death, while he remains unsated, since "man dies while half his desires remain unfulfilled" (Kohelet Rabbah 1,34). We also have the statement of our sages that "he who chases after glory and honour, glory and honour flee from him" (Jerusalem Talmud Avodah Zarah 3,1). On this the sages comment that he dies one hundred deaths from jealousy and not just one. Rashi explains the Mishnah in Avot by Rabbi Elazar Hakappor as applying to Adam; it was these negative virtues that caused him to become mortal. He describes the angels who had to serve him delicacies in גן עדן as becoming jealous of his status, his כבוד, honor. He cites Adam's greed to eat from the tree of knowledge as contributing to his death. The honour he enjoyed in Gan Eden caused him to be expelled. He quotes other opinions that apply this Mishnah to the jealousy displayed by Korach versus Moses and Aaron. Actually we have to view these three evils as the root causes of all impurities, i.e. טומאות, which include all negative virtues. When these three characteristics are used positively, they in turn are the root causes of all positive virtues. Concerning this fact, Ben Zoma asks at the beginning of that chapter in Avot "Who is a wise man? He who is willing to learn from any person. Who is a hero? He who is able to restrain his passions. Who is wealthy? He who is satisfied with his lot." "Heroism" is an aspect of "jealousy," as we know from Jeremiah 46,12, גבור בגבור כמותן, "for hero encounters a hero of similar stature" [the competitive element is the jealousy]. We also have Rashi's comment on Numbers 25,11, בקנאו את קנאתי בתוכם, "when he displayed jealousy on My behalf," that this "jealousy" displayed by Pinchas was the retribution G–d was entitled to exact from Zimri, i.e. it was נקמה. We know that קנאת סופרים, a competitive spirit between scholars is laudable, since it means that a person battles his evil urge, trying to excel in good deeds and character traits. This is the most important battle a person has to fight in his life. We have the story of the philosopher who encountered soldiers returning from a great conquest. He told them: "you did win a minor battle, but you have failed to win the major battle, namely man's battle with his evil urge." The reason it is called "the great battle," is that it is a never-ending battle. Concerning that battle, Ben Zoma said that the true hero is he who vanquishes his evil urge. The statement "who is wealthy, he who is satisfied with his lot," is the exact opposite of the negative virtue of תאוה, greed, i.e. never being satisfied. This is why the rabbis said that a person who is afflicted with the disease of being greedy dies before he has achieved even half of what he had hoped for. Lastly Ben Zoma described the חכם, wise person, as someone who is willing to learn from anybody else. The true meaning of honour is to be considered a wise man, as we know from Proverbs 3,35: "The wise shall inherit honour." When a person does not chase after glory it is liable to pursue him. Rabbi Yossi is on record as saying: "I have learned a great deal from my teachers; I have learned even more from my friends; but most of all have I learned from my students" (Taanit 7).