Texts
Explore
Community
Donate
Log in
Sign up
Site Language
עברית
English
Asceticism
Sources
A
He used to say: do His will as though it were your will, so that He will do your will as though it were His. Set aside your will in the face of His will, so that he may set aside the will of others for the sake of your will. Hillel said: do not separate yourself from the community, Do not trust in yourself until the day of your death, Do not judge your fellow man until you have reached his place. Do not say something that cannot be understood [trusting] that in the end it will be understood. Say not: ‘when I shall have leisure I shall study;’ perhaps you will not have leisure.
Pirkei Avot 2:4
Rav Ḥisda replied that with regard to the firstborn, it
is
a dispute between
tanna’im
, as it is taught
in a
baraita
: God said to Moses on Mount Sinai:
“And let the priests also that come near to the Lord sanctify themselves,
lest the Lord break forth upon them” (Exodus 19:22). In other words, they should separate themselves and not approach the mountain. This command was given one day after the burnt offerings and peace offerings were sacrificed in anticipation of the revelation at Sinai…
Zevachim 115b:10
§ The mishna states that
Rabbi Yehoshua says: A woman desires
to receive the amount of a
kav
of food and a sexual relationship rather than to receive nine
kav
of food and abstinence. The Gemara asks:
What is he saying? This is what
Rabbi Yehoshua
is saying: A woman desires to
receive the amount of
a
kav
of food
and with it a sexual relationship,
i.e., her husband’s availability to fulfill her sexual desires, rather
than nine
kav
of food
and
with it
abstinence,
and since her desires are of a sexual nature…
Sotah 21b:4
Rabbi Yehoshua says: A woman desires to
receive the amount of
a
kav
of food
and a sexual relationship [
tiflut
]
rather
than
to receive
nine
kav
of food
and abstinence. He would say: A foolish man of piety, and a conniving wicked person, and an abstinent woman [
perusha
], and those who injure
themselves out of false
abstinence;
all
these are
people
who erode the world.
Sotah 20a:8
INWARD ABSTINENCE
The abstinence which applies to the third type, namely, what applies exclusively to ourselves - our thoughts, inner life, and our inclinations, good and evil. The beginning of this type of abstinence is to separate in heart and mind from material possessions, except for your food and living needs. Not to engage them (heart and mind) for securing any physical pleasures, or to attain through them leisures, or a position of power, or to feel proud over owning possessions of this fleeting world.
Duties of the Heart, Ninth Treatise on Abstinence 5:48-49
The Gemara raises
an objection
from a
baraita
:
Rabbi Meir would say: Adam the first
man
was very pious. When he saw that death was imposed as a punishment because of him, he observed a fast for a hundred thirty years, and he separated from
his
wife for a hundred thirty years, and wore belts [
zarzei
] of fig
leaves
on his body
as his only garment for
a hundred thirty years.
If so, how did he father demons into the world?
Eruvin 18b:11
That which a person must be cautious of in acquiring Separation is to not desire to skip and jump to the other extreme all at once. For this will certainly not succeed. Rather, he should move gradually in Separation, little by little, acquiring a bit today, and adding a bit more tomorrow, until he habituates so completely that it becomes like second nature to him.
Mesillat Yesharim 15:9
From here Rabbi Pineḥas ben Ya’ir
would
say: Torah
study
leads to care
in the performance of mitzvot.
Care
in the performance of mitzvot
leads to diligence
in their observance.
Diligence leads to cleanliness
of the soul.
Cleanliness
of the soul
leads to abstention
from all evil.
Abstention
from evil
leads to purity
and the elimination of all base desires.
Purity leads to piety. Piety leads to humility. Humility leads to fear of sin. Fear of sin leads to holiness. Holiness leads to the Divine Spirit…
Avodah Zarah 20b:10
Withdrawal from the world is leisure for the heart and rest for the body. Love of the world troubles the heart and fatigues the body. And if people praise you for that which you do not possess, worry. Do not search out the secrets of others and novelties, for these turn man’s heart away from the Torah. Return fools, for repentance is acceptable and improve your actions while the possibility is still with you, before He comes in judgement upon us. For He is God, our Judge, whose eyes are open upon all the ways of men to reward each man according to his ways and the fruit of his doings.
Sefer Chasidim 89:1
A person might say, "Since envy, desire, [the pursuit] of honor, and the like, are a wrong path and drive a person from the world, I shall separate from them to a very great degree and move away from them to the opposite extreme." For example, he will not eat meat, nor drink wine, nor live in a pleasant home, nor wear fine clothing, but, rather, [wear] sackcloth and coarse wool and the like - just as the pagan priests do.
This, too, is a bad path and it is forbidden to walk upon it. Whoever follows this path is called a sinner [as implied by Numbers 6:11's] statement concerning a nazarite:…
Mishneh Torah, Human Dispositions 3:1
Since it is necessary for human beings to practice abstinence which will further their welfare in this world by taking from it only what is necessary, it follows that there should be in this world complete ascetics which separate and cut themselves off completely from secular occupations. So that all of mankind can learn from them on abstinence, each person according to his need, and according to what is fitting for his customs and tendencies. It would not, however, further the welfare of mankind if everyone would practice asceticism like them…
Duties of the Heart, Ninth Treatise on Abstinence 1:14-16
“One silver dish” (Numbers 7:19), the prince of Issachar came and presented an offering in the name of the Torah, because they loved the Torah more than all the tribes did, as it is stated: “From the children of Issachar, possessors of understanding of the times, [to know what Israel should do; their leaders were two hundred, and all their brethren at their command]” (I Chronicles 12:33). What is “of the times”? Rabbi Tanḥuma said: To perform matters in a timely fashion. Rabbi Yosei says: For intercalations. “To know what Israel should do” – on what day they should observe the festivals…
Bamidbar Rabbah 13:16
1) (Vayikra 19:1) "And the L–rd spoke to Moses, saying (Vayikra 19:2) Speak to the entire congregation of the children of Israel, and say to them: Holy shall you be." We are hereby taught that this section was stated in the presence of all. Why so? Because most of the major tenets of Torah are inherent in it. "Holy shall you be": Separate yourselves (from arayoth.) "Holy shall you be, for holy am I, the L–rd your G d." If you sanctify yourselves, I will consider it as if you had sanctified Me, and if you do not sanctify yourselves, I will consider it as if you had not sanctified Me…
Sifra, Kedoshim, Section 1 1
Rabbi Shimon bar Rabbi
Yehuda HaNasi
says
that as the verse
states: “Only be steadfast to not eat the blood, as the blood is the soul”
(Deuteronomy 12:23), it can be derived
a fortiori
:
And if
with regard to
the blood, which a person’s soul loathes, one who abstains from its
consumption
receives a reward
for that action, as it is written in a subsequent verse: “You shall not eat it, so that it shall be good for you and for your children after you” (Deuteronomy 12:25)…
Makkot 23b:2
- The difference between the early ones and us
The difference between us and our predecessors regarding separation is as follows. For the early ones such as Chanoch, Noach, Avraham, Yitzchak, Yaakov, Iyov and his company, their intellect was pure and their evil inclination was weak. So their souls were drawn after their intellect. The few mitzvot they had combined with their heartfelt faith in G-d were sufficient for them to complete their service of G-d, as written by Avraham
"You found his heart faithful before You"
(Nehemiah 9:8)…
Duties of the Heart, Ninth Treatise on Abstinence 7:1-4
Similarly, he said:
The hatred which ignoramuses have for a Torah scholar is greater than the hatred that the nations of the world have for the Jewish people. And
the
wives
of the ignoramuses hate Torah scholars
more than
the ignoramuses themselves.
It was taught
in the
Tosefta
that one
who studied
Torah
and left
his studies hates Torah scholars
more than all of them.
Pesachim 49b:11
3) (Vayikra 11:43): "Do not make your souls detestable by (eating) every creeping thing that creeps" (Vayikra 11:41): "upon the earth": to include (for liability) sheratzim that separated (from the host to the earth) and returned (to the host). (Vayikra 11:43): "and you shall not be tamei by (eating) them": This tells me only of stringent tumah (i.e., that he does not confer tumah upon men and vessels. Whence is it derived that he does sustain the lesser tumah of himself becoming tamei? From (Vayikra 11:43): "and you will be rendered tamei through them…
Sifra, Shemini, Chapter 12 3
The Gemara continues to challenge the view of Rabbi Yishmael:
And let us derive
it
from affliction
stated with regard to
Egypt, as it is written: “And He saw our affliction”
(Deuteronomy 26:7).
We say that
this verse is referring to
abstinence from conjugal relations.
The Egyptians prevented the Jewish people from having relations. This affliction is an example of public affliction that is not abstention from eating or drinking.
Rather,
the prohibition to eat or drink on Yom Kippur should not be learned as stated previously…
Yoma 74b:13
“On the sixth day, prince of the children of Gad, Elyasaf son of Deuel” (Numbers 7:42).
“On the sixth day, prince of the children of Gad, Elyasaf son of Deuel” – because Simeon took his sword and went and waged war with the people of Shekhem on behalf of his sister, and the descendants of Gad crossed the Jordan to help their brethren take possession of the Land, just as it says: “He performed the righteousness of the Lord, and His ordinances with Israel” (Deuteronomy 33:21); therefore, he was privileged to present his offering after Simeon…
Bamidbar Rabbah 13:20
3) The third class: Those who are not capable of making enough money and have only acquired enough money to live in the poorest of circumstances. They deemed proper to maintain their self-respect and subsist with whatever food they can obtain rather than having to stand to ask and embarrass themselves to beg from other people. They restrained their desires by bearing constant hunger and by covering themselves with basic clothing. They do this in order to avoid receiving charity and to not be ashamed of asking help from others, thereby becoming disgraced…
Duties of the Heart, Ninth Treatise on Abstinence 3:21-22
Related
ראו גם
Nazir
Parashat Naso
Nazirite-offerings
Moses ben Nachman (Ramban)
Rav Chiya b. Ashi
Holiness
Women
Sheets
דפי מקורות
Related Sheets
We use cookies to give you the best experience possible on our site. Click OK to continue using Sefaria.
Learn More
.
OK
אנחנו משתמשים ב"עוגיות" כדי לתת למשתמשים את חוויית השימוש הטובה ביותר.
קראו עוד בנושא
לחצו כאן לאישור