Another source on asceticism

Hi,

"We say in a midrash: Before praying that Torah enter one's body, pray that delicacies not enter one's body."

(Tosafot Ketuvot 104a לא)

המצפה לישועה,
Mordechai

Rebbe's asceticism

Hi,

"When Rebbe [Rabbi Yehudah haNasi] died, he spread his ten fingers heavenward and said, 'Master of the Universe! You know that I worked in Torah with my ten fingers, and I did not benefit even [the measure of] the little finger!...'"

(Talmud,  Ketuvot 104a)

Have a great day,
Mordechai

Should we pursue asceticism?

Hi,

"This is the way of Torah: Eat bread with salt, drink measured liquid, sleep on the ground, live a life of pain and work in Torah. If you do this, 'You will be fortunate and it will be good for you'"…

(Pirkei Avot 6:4)

 
"This is not telling the wealthy to live of a life of pain in order to learn Torah. Rather: Even if one only has bread with salt… he should not refrain from involving himself in Torah…"

(Rambam to Avot 6:4) 

Have a great day,
Mordechai

Asceticism and Fasting

Hi,

"Rabbi Yosi said: An individual is not permitted to cause himself to suffer through extra fasting, lest he need the aid of others who will not help him.

"Rav Yehudah cited Rav, saying: What is Rabbi Yosi's reason? It is written, 'And man became a living spirit' - Keep this soul, which I have invested in you, alive."

(Talmud, Taanit 22b)

Have a great day,
Mordechai

A Talmudic Quote on Asceticism

Hi,

Preface: A Nazirite vows to abstain from wine, among other things.

"Rabbi Elazar haKappar, son of Rebbe, said: The Torah says, 'A Nazirite must atone for his sin against the soul.' But against what soul did he sin? He pained himself by abstaining from wine.

"We see that a person who abstains from wine is called a 'sinner.' How much more so a person who pains himself by abstaining from anything else! We see that a person who fasts voluntarily is called a sinner."

(Talmud, Nedarim 10a)

Note: This should not be taken as a statement against people who feel a need to abstain from alcohol because of potential addiction. Rather, it is against unnecessary asceticism.

Have a great day,
Mordechai

Unacceptable Asceticism

Hi,

"A bad form of asceticism is one in which a person will not only refrain from unnecessary material things, but even from those material things which are necessary.

"They will pain themselves with suffering and strange activities, for which Gd has no desire. Just the opposite, the Sages taught (Taanit 22), 'It is prohibited to cause pain to one's self!'"

(R' Moshe Chaim Luzzatto, Path of the Just, Chapter 13)

Have a great day,
Mordechai