Reply To: Short & Sweet

Acharei Mos: Two Mistakes

The Torah names two nations as the paradigm of the immorality that the Jewish people are to avoid: כמעשה ארץ מצרים… וכמעשה ארץ כנען… לא תעשו; do not copy the actions of Mitzrayim and Canaan. But why does the Torah need to give us two examples of what not to do?

R’ Aaron Lopiansky explains that there can be two very different weaknesses that people have towards immorality:

The first is when a person gives up on themselves. When a person thinks of themselves as a lost cause, they lose the will to fight their temptations. When we were in Mitzrayim, we were denied the ability to become anything more than slaves. Instead of thinking too little of ourselves, we should realize that we have it within us to overcome our challenges.

The second mistake is the exact opposite. If a person thinks too highly of themselves, they will chafe at any restrictions that are placed on them. When something is forbidden to them, it only makes them want it more. This was the yetzer hara of כנען. We cannot think too little of ourselves, but we cannot think too much of ourselves either.

לע״נ דוד חיים בן ישראל דוב הכהן
לע״נ ר׳ חיים דוב בן ר׳ בןציון שלום