May 3, 2018 / Lag Baomer, 5778 • Parshat Emor
Issue 506
Dedicated in loving memory of Mrs. Miriam Friedman

R. Elazar HaKappar says:
Envy,
Lust
and [pursuit of] honor
remove a person from the world.

Pirkei Avot 4:21


Holy Vices

A person is born with these three vices. If he allows nature to take its course, these vices will drive him from the World to Come.

But he can choose to sublimate these vises and use for holiness.

Envy: He can us his envy to be jealous of those who are spiritually superior to him and yearn to become like them

Lust: He can "lust" for the pleasure of closeness to G-d. As King David said, "My soul thirsts for G-d (Psalms 42:3).

Honor: Who is honored? He who honors others.

When experienced in a holy way, these three vices move a person from the physicality of this world and he lives in the atmosphere of the World to Come.

--From Kehot's

Pirkei Avot

Holtzberg Memorial Edition