Mussar: Wandering Jews and Wandering Eyes

(6) Here is an episode that I found recorded in the name of the Ari, z”l (Shivchei HaArizal): In the town of Tzefas lived a certain young man who was the nephew of Rabbi Yehoshua the physician. He was eighteen years old at the time this incident took place and was studying in yeshiva. One time the Ari happened to see him, whereupon he commented to the boy’s father, “Your son is possessed by an evil spirit. See to it that you find a cure for him and do not spare any money!” The boy’s father responded, “He is not possessed, Heaven forbid, although for the past two years he has suffered from pains in his heart. Whenever his heart is very weak Rabbi Yehoshua the physician treats him and he recovers for a time. But eventually the pain always returns.” The Ari retorted, “You will see that I am correct.”

(7) Not long afterwards the spirit revealed itself and began speaking from within the young man. As soon as the Ari was informed of this he came and inquired of the spirit how it happened to enter the young man. The spirit replied, “This is how the matter came about: When I lived in Rome I shared lodgings with a poor man who was dependent upon charity. In his house he had neither bread nor any other food. One day the poor man asked me for bread but I refused to give him any and he died of hunger before my eyes. On account of this the Heavenly court decreed that I must die just as the poor man had died. And so it happened that not long afterwards thieves came and killed me, after which I came and entered this young man.” The Ari decreed that the spirit must not cause the young man any harm, Heaven forbid. But the spirit said to him, “If you wish me to abandon this youth, I will do so on one condition. After I leave him he must not see the face of a female for three days. If he violates this condition I will kill him!” Then the spirit left.

(8) The Ari, z”l, issued instructions that a guard be placed over the young man while he sat in the study hall, for he knew that the spirit was lying in wait to see if the condition would be fulfilled. At one point the guard, the leader of the generation, our teacher Rabbi Chayim Vital, z”l, left the study hall to make preparations for his Rosh Chodesh feast, leaving Rabbi Yehoshua the physician in his place. But eventually he too went out to attend to some urgent matter, leaving his nephew alone in the study hall. In the meantime the boy’s mother and aunt came to see him. When they found him they went over to him and kissed him. At that very moment the spirit returned to him and strangled him. When the Ari heard what had transpired he was concerned that the gentile authorities would claim that the Jews had killed the young man, so with the help of two reeds he condensed his journey and arrived instantaneously in the city of Tiberius accompanied by his disciples. It was twilight and the Ari prayed that the mouths of their accusers be silenced. And so it was. Afterwards he returned to Tzefas, may it be rebuilt speedily in our days.

(37) The LORD said to Moses as follows: (38) Speak to the Israelite people and instruct them to make for themselves fringes on the corners of their garments throughout the ages; let them attach a cord of blue to the fringe at each corner. (39) That shall be your fringe; look at it and recall all the commandments of the LORD and observe them, so that you do not follow your heart and eyes in your lustful urge. (40) Thus you shall be reminded to observe all My commandments and to be holy to your God. (41) I the LORD am your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt to be your God: I, the LORD your God.

(2) ולא תתרו אחרי לבבכם — The verb has the same meaning as in (Numbers 13:25), “and they returned from searching (מתור) the land”. (The translation therefore is: AND YE SHALL NOT SEARCH AFTER YOUR OWN HEART). The heart and the eyes are the “spies” of the body — they act as its agents for sinning: the eye sees, the heart covets and the body commits the sin (Midrash Tanchuma, Sh'lach 15; cf. Talmud Yerushalmi Berakhot 1:8).

(1) 'וראיתם אותו וזכרתם את כל מצות ה, you will be reminded that you are G’d’s servants whose commandments you have accepted reinforced by oaths known as אלה and שבועה. This reminder will be due to your looking at the “fringes” that may be viewed as if their king had placed a stamp on your bodies confirming that the wearer is one of his subjects.

(2) "And you shall see it [the tzitzit] and remember". That it was only made for recollection, and when you see it the mitzvah recalls and reminds you of the rest of the mitzvot. Because tzitzit are like a seal on the clothes that are made for a servant, a sign that he is serving his master. And when they see Israel remembers that they are servants to God and that it is incumbent upon them to perform all God's commandments. And the value of tzitzit is 600 in gematria, and there are eight threads and five knots [per fringe] -- behold, this is 613 like the 613 commandments. And when one sees it [the fringe], it reminds one of all the commandments, and gives God a symbol to signify that they are God's servants, and a sign on their clothing and a sign [on] their houses and they are called a "seal" on it, and tefillin on their heads and arms to signify that they are servants. For the four signs surround a person: brit milah in front of them, a mezuzah at their right, tefillin on their left, tzitzit on their clothing that are dragged on their clothing behind them as they walk.

(3) ולא תתורו אחרי לבבכם, "and you will not deviate to follow the desires of your heart, etc." Normally, man employs his eyes to activate his desires. G'd's commandments frequently require us to do precisely the opposite of what we would like to do. This leads to an inner conflict in man. When we wear the fringes and are reminded to whom we owe obeisance, this makes it easier to comply with G'd's laws. If it were not for the commandment of ציצית we would often find it too hard to deny what our eyes have found alluring.