Day 35/50: The Fire of Har Sinai

וְהַ֤ר סִינַי֙ עָשַׁ֣ן כֻּלּ֔וֹ מִ֠פְּנֵ֠י אֲשֶׁ֨ר יָרַ֥ד עָלָ֛יו ה’ בָּאֵ֑שׁ

And the entire Mount Sinai smoked because the Lord had descended upon it in fire

Regarding the struggle with the wrong thoughts that we all have, the Rambam writes :

A person should always turn himself and his thoughts to the words of the Torah and expand his knowledge in wisdom, for the thoughts of forbidden relations grow strong solely in a heart that is empty of wisdom. And [in Shlomo’s words of] wisdom it is written … “You shall be obsessed with her love” (Mishlei 5:19).

Notice that the Rambam’s prescription for purity of thought is not merely to immerse oneself in Torah to the extent that he has no headspace for any impure thoughts. That alone would not be sufficient. By citing the pasuk in Mishlei “You shall be obsessed with her love,” the Rambam is advising us to invest in a passionate and emotional connection with our learning that will leave us feeling completely fulfilled, with no need for our minds to wander elsewhere.

The Zohar Hakadosh writes something incredible, that without the yetzer hara for arayos, no one would delight or rejoice in the study of Torah! Why is that?

The Torah defines forbidden relationships as giluy arayos; the Torah chooses to define this aveirah as the ”revealing” or ”uncovering” of something hidden. This is what lies at the core of the yetzer hara for arayos: It is the desire to ”explore,” to discover uncharted territories and to make connections and forge relationships that are generally inaccessible and cloaked in mystery.

This desire to connect and discover, to reveal and explore, is actually what fuels the passion for Torah study! The Torah itself is filled with excitement and mystery. It is replete with hidden treasures to discover and uncharted territories to explore. Every new insight and discovery inspires delight and rejoicing. People who engage in Torah learning are not merely studying the wisdom of Hashem; they are actually bonding with the Ribbono Shel Olam’s Torah in a relationship with all the intensity of marriage! Perhaps that is why Hashem came down in FIRE on Har Sinai, to teach us about the tremendous passion we should all strive to develop in learning.