Small tidbits and Sparks of wisdom

A person who takes upon himself not to drink wine, not to cut his hair, and not to become defiled by contact with a corpse for a minimum period of thirty days is called a nazir. This means literally “one who is crowned.” The Torah states explicitly: “The crown of his God is upon his head…he is holy to God.” Our Rabbis comment: “Everyone who sanctifies himself here below is sanctified from above.” This person who denied himself wine and endured the discomfort of refraining from cutting his hair in order to guard himself against sin is considered by God to resemble the High Priest. On the other hand, we find that the nazir is called a sinner because he denied himself wine.
This apparent inconsistency occurs in several other contexts. On the one hand: “Rather than praying that Torah should enter his mind, one should pray that tasty delicacies should not enter his body.” And on the other hand: “One will have to face judgment for everything his eyes saw and he did not eat.” Similarly: Rabbi swore on his deathbed that he had not enjoyed this world even by as much as his little finger. And yet: “Whoever undertakes a voluntary fast is called a sinner.” We are told: “Withdraw your hand from the meal you enjoy most,” while on the other hand, “The world is given to human beings to enjoy—after making the appropriate blessings.”
These contrasts do not represent different trends in Judaism, the ascetic and the non-ascetic. There is no conflict here. Each statement is true and valid—in its particular context.
Two Levels
The solution is that there are two levels in this matter. A person may feel that he is in danger of being swept away by physical desires. In this case, he should minimize his physical pleasures as much as possible. This follows the rule of our Rabbis regarding physical desire: “Gratify it and it is hungry; starve it and it is satisfied.” All the statements praising abstention apply to this level.
The ideal, however, is that when a person has put physical desire behind him, he should still make a point of tasting the pleasures of this world to some extent. This is so that he can bless God with deep gratitude for the pleasure he has enjoyed. Rabbi Yehuda Halevi writes in The Kuzari that the higher a person’s spiritual madregah, the more pleasure he gets from eating. The reason for this is that the higher his madregah, the more he appreciates the food as a gift from God, which he expresses in his blessings.
The Expensive Hotel
However, it is not advisable to have too much of a “good time” in this world. Rabbi Simha Zissel wrote in the name of his father that this world is a very expensive hotel. Sometimes one may have to pay for what one enjoys here using very precious currency—the currency of the spiritual world, which is eternal. So long as Rabbi Eliezer the Great enjoyed unblemished success in this world, his greatest talmid, Rabbi Akiva, was concerned that he was paying for this with his eternal reward.
Even pleasant feelings can cost someone dearly. “A bad man is shown good dreams,” says the Gemara. This is so he will enjoy himself and use up his eternal reward. Conversely, “a good man is shown bad dreams” for the opposite reason.
Expense Account
Rabbi Simha Zissel added in the name of Rabbi Yisrael Salanter that the only way out of this dilemma is to become essential to the community. If many people need someone, he may not have to pay his expenses out of his own pocket. If he works day and night for the community, it is normal for the community to pay his expenses.
The meaning of Rabbi Yisrael’s parable is this. A person may not be worthy of receiving heavenly aid on his own; his personal merits may not be sufficient. But if some very important project is needed for the good of the community and he is the only person prepared to undertake it and devote his energies wholeheartedly to it, he may find tremendous heavenly aid being showered upon him. In such a case, he may “enjoy the fruits in this world,” that is, he may be allowed a reasonable amount of material benefit to enable him to carry out his job, while “the capital remains intact for him in the World to Come.” These benefits are not drawn against his eternal reward, because, so to speak, they “go with the job.”
A person who acts only for himself may find that whatever material benefits he obtains in this world make him a “taker” and severely reduce his spiritual stature. That is why this world is such an “expensive hotel.” However, a person who devotes his life to the public good, especially if this involves disseminating Torah on a large scale, will find that his giving will always be in excess of his taking. Any benefits he receives along the way are absorbed by his efforts to make the great project a success. He is the one who is “happy in this world and in the next.”
Source Notes
Bemidbar 6:7–8.
Bemidbar Rabba 10:11.
Nazir 19a.
Tanna de-Bei Eliyahu Rabba, #26; Tosafot Ketubot 104a.
Yerushalmi, end Kiddushin.
Ketubot 104a.
Ta’anit 11a.
Gittin 70a.
Berachot 35a.
Sukka 52b.
Kuzari III, 15–17.
Sanhedrin 101a.
Berachot 55b.
Rashi ad loc.
See note 13 above.