Musar do Malachiasza 2:3

And behold that the desire placed in the heart of man is the root of all of his actions. Therefore, if he refines the desire - instead of all the limbs serving it, he will draw them after the intellect. So they will accompany him and serve him; and all of his actions will be proper, as it is stated (Proverbs 21:8), "but he is pure and straight in his actions." (And it appears to me that he is understanding, "but he is pure," [as] meaning to say, that he is pure from desire; "and straight in his actions," [as] all of his actions are assumed to be refined and straight. And that is something that can be learned from its [context], as its opposite is written after it - "The desire of the wicked is set upon evil" [Proverbs 21:10].) And it is [also] stated (Proverbs 13:19), "Desire niheyeh is sweet to the spirit." Niheyeh [here] is like broken, as [its usage in] (Daniel 8:27), "I was broken (niheyeti), and languished." It is stating that when a man breaks his desire - even for things that are permissible - it renders his spirit successful. So this trait is sweet to it. For the intellect raises its hand and is victorious. "But to turn away from evil is abhorrent to the stupid" (Proverbs 21:8): The stupid, who do not break their desire but rather always pursue the desires of people - when their desire confronts them [to do a] sin or any bad thing, they will not veer from it. And they are called stupid because of [their] pursuit of pleasures - as it is stated (Proverbs 21:20), "and a stupid man will swallow them." And it is stated (Isaiah 5:11-12), "Ah, those who chase liquor from early in the morning, etc. Who have lyre and lute, etc.; but who never give a thought to the plan of the Lord, etc." And it is [also] stated (Proverbs 13:25), "but the belly of the wicked is empty." And it is [further] stated (Malachi 2:3), "and I will strew dung upon your faces, the dung of your festivals." And our Rabbis, may their memory be blessed, said (Shabbat 151b), "These are people for which all their days are like festivals." And it states (Proverbs 18:1), "He who isolates himself pursues his desires; he disdains all competence." Its explanation is, one who seeks to go after his desire and his will, will be isolated from any friend or countryman. As admirers and companions will distance themselves them from him, since the desires and measures of people are [all] different - the will of this one is not like the will of that one. However if he will follow the path of the intellect, many friends will join themselves to him and his admirers will be many. And they said regarding ethics, one who [insists] upon his measures will have many [against] him. And it is possible to explain, "He who isolates himself pursues his desires," about this matter itself: A man is isolated from every brother and friend, by the desire that he seeks. And since he seeks to go after his will - because of that, his companions distance themselves from him. [It is] like the matter [of], "but a poor man loses his friend" (Proverbs 19:4). "He disdains all competence": One who follows his desires will not only sin in one thing. Rather he will disdain every thing in the Torah, since he will transgress all of it - like the wording (of Proverbs 20:3), "but every fool disdains."

The decree of Heaven does not rest and will not be silenced until it has completed its task and taken his soul from his body. This hinted at in the verse, “And they bore Yonah” (1:15). That is, upon his death a person’s body is born to the cemetery. As this is taking place heralds go ahead of his casket. If he has lived meritoriously they proclaim, “Give honor to the image of the King! Let him come in peace!” (Yeshayahu 57:2). This is alluded to in the verse, “And your righteousness will go before you” (ibid. 58:8). That is, it will go ahead of your casket. But if he sullied himself with sin, Heaven forbid, then they proclaim, “Woe to So-and-so! It would have been better had he not been born!” Concerning this was it written, “And they cast him into the sea and the sea stopped its raging” (Yonah 1:15). That is, when they brought him to the cemetery. The fish that swallowed Yonah represents the grave. During the first three days that the body is in the grave the intestines burst open. After three days they cast their filth upon his face, saying, “Take back what you put into me! You ate and drank but did not give to the poor. You spent all your days as if they were holidays and festivals, while the poor went hungry and were not invited to eat with you. So take back what you put into me.” This is the meaning of the verse, “And I will scatter excrement upon your faces, etc.” (Malachi 2:3).

הבער,מבעה,בור,שור, are the four principal causes of damage injury or death. We find in Numbers 32,38, that there was a Canaanite city called Sivmah (same letters as the first letters of the four categories of damage). The four causes of damage are related to the four kinds of קליפות "peels" mentioned in Psalms 78,28,"והוא רחום.” They are: חמה, אף, משחית, עון, names by which G–ds destructive agents are known to us. The word מבעה, meaning damage caused by the teeth, i.e. eating what does not belong to one, is something man is judged on when already in his grave, as our sages explain on Maleachi 2,3, וזריתי פרש … פרש חגיכם, that man will be judged in the grave for what he ate illegally while on earth (Shabbat 151). The category of damage known as שור, refers to the "horns" of Samael (Satan), i.e. the evil urge. The first letters of the words שור, קרן, רגל, spell שקר, lie. The fourth category, fire, i.e. אש also known as hav-er - refers to the fire of purgatory, גהינם.

The absence of flies in the slaughterhouse cited as one of the ten miracles which occurred in the Holy Temple symbolises an absence of bodily desires. The body is less likely to decay when one controls them. Rabbi Akavyah therefore demanded an awareness of the fact that there would be a price to pay for indulging one's body in order to frighten us into controlling such urges. Berachot 10a states that the Shunamite woman who used to provide lodging for the prophet Elisha recognized that he was a holy man because flies never bothered him or his food. The presence of flies then symbolizes an excessive concern with the physical. The people who ignored Moses' instructions in Exodus 16,19 not to try and leave over part of the manna which fell on the first day learned their lesson because their left-overs became worm-eaten and stank. We read in Malachi 2,3: "I will strew dung upon your faces, the dung of your festival sacrifices, and you shall be carried out to its heap." The presence of flies and their ilk round the sacrificial meat is a clear sign of a curse. We have stated that our own table should serve as our private altar, i.e. as the visible symbol that we should strive for holiness.