Day 55 - Finding Balance in Wine and Worship (Orchos Tzaddikim | Happiness 3)
00:01 - Rabbi Aryeh Wolbe (Host)
Welcome back, my dear friends, to day number 55 of the Ways of the Righteous the Orchos Tzaddikim in the Treasure for Life edition. We're on page 334, and we continue here. Omnom. We spoke yesterday that there is terrible vanity, the terrible calamity that comes to a person who invests his time in drinking frivolity, running to parties, running to bars, running to concerts that just get one to forget their purpose in this world. But we know that everything has balance. We've said this so many times. But we know that there's also a good time to drink wine, a time where drinking that wine will be fruitful and good for a person.
01:02
As King Solomon told us, give strong drink to he who is in despair and wine to the bitter in soul. Let him drink and forget his poverty and remember his toil no more. We know that wine is regarded. It gladdens Hashem and man. It means Hashem is happy when we're happy, but it has to be a real happiness. We know we're supposed to drink wine on Shabbos, we're supposed to drink wine on holidays because it makes a person, it loosens us up a little bit to connect on a higher level. But too much of that is tragic. The verse also states and wine makes glad the heart of man. And the verse also states we know that we said your love is better than wine. Your words are like the best wine. All of this teaches that there is in moderation. Wine is a fantastic thing If the wine isn't taking over the mind, meaning if the mind is infused with some wine, then that's great. But if the wine takes over the mind, that's a terrible thing. And who are you drinking with? Are you drinking with family, with friends and with good, righteous people, that's great. But if you're drinking with empty, vacant people, people who don't have values and morals and ethics and don't have the proper spiritual connection that you aspire to possess, connection that you aspire to possess Because wine can increase the wisdom of the wise and multiplies the nonsense of fools. So what wine does? It just exaggerates the current state. If one is in a state of holiness, then it'll make them connect on a holier level.
03:29
No-transcript. Hayayin Yosef Chochmas. Hamaskil V'yachpil Shtus Ha'evil V'yichadesh Ahavas Ohev V'y'orer Eivas Ha'oyev V'yiftach Yad Hanadiv V'yichazek Leiv Hakili. It renews the love of lovers and it arouses the hatred of the enemy. It opens the hand of the giver and closes the heart of the miser, so it just expands their current state or their deep inner state.
04:00
V'zos midas shota yain. And this is the proper way that wine should be used Yosemite yain l'rafuah l'dagosol. A person should use it as a cure for his sorrow, in order to strengthen himself in Torah, by learning it with joy, for when one is steeped in sorrow he cannot learn. So a person to learn with joy, take a little glass of wine that our sages tell us is fine. V'gam b'atei din hamitztarin lo yuchlu livor ha-mishpat. Gam atzar mevator kavon ha-salav b'tfilah.
04:44
Also, the pain that one has in his life limits him from being able to pray. Additionally, every court which is in sorrow cannot adjudicate correctly. So we know that someone who's not in a happy state is not going to be able to function properly. Gam kish adam shori. Be-tsar mi shem edaber e-lov o mi shem mevakish mimeno lasos imo chesed ein lokoch lasos bako shoso. Also, someone who is in pain, someone who is depressed, can't assist anyone else and someone's going to ask you for a favor and you're not going to be able to help.
05:28
L'chein therefore say just tell us If you want to drink. This is the way to drink. Don't drink too much. Drink to just elevate the person a little bit above their state of sorrow. The person should not, from drinking too much, without proportion, shouldn't take them away from their work, from their livelihood. Be on top of everything. Make sure not to drink too much that it will take you away from your Torah or from your prayer. O ad shi yar b'schok v'kalos rosh. Or it shouldn't lead a person to mockery, laughter and lightheadedness. V'lo yishte ad shi abed nechoso. A person shouldn't either drink till they gamble their home away. V'lo't drink to where he starts arguing and fighting with his friends, or until he's unreasonable, where he's going to break dishes and break things. A person shouldn't drink to the point where he's going to start revealing his secrets or getting others to reveal their secrets. And if you do drink this much that you've broken these boundaries, then just know that wine will be repulsive to you.
07:14
We know that the Torah says you should drink and you should be happy and glad on the holidays, and it says that on the festivals Pesach, shavuot and Sukkot we're commanded to be overly joyous. What type of joy that we should drink Wine. Even then, when we have a commandment, it shouldn't be too much wine, b'schok u'bekhalos rosh. And definitely not with laughter and lightheadedness. Sh'nem ratach ha'sesh olo avad atos Hashem alakecho b'simchu b'tuv le'evlov, because we know that the verse tells us that if a person serves Hashem inappropriately, done with a proper fear, that any type of joy has to be a joy that has a that is conducive to the service of our Creator, and we cannot, it is impossible, to serve Hashem out of lightheadedness, laughter or drunkenness. This concludes day number 55,. My dear friends, I look forward to continuing on page 339 tomorrow with day number 56.
