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The Four Archetypal Damages in the Soul
In the yeshivot when they begin studying Tractate Baba Kama
it begins 'There are four principle categories of damage:
the ox (השור), the pit (הבור), the destroyer (המבעה) and the fire (האש).'
In this case, fire is the last
while in the four elements, fire is the first
But in the four categories of damage, fire is the last. The four principle categories of damage also correspond to the four elements.
The ox is the leg which walks. This corresponds to air/wind which also 'walks'
the pit is dust/earth, the 'destroyer' represents all the desires of physical pleasure (eating), which correspond to water, as explained at the beginning of Tanya
Fire is at the end and corresponds to [the element of] fire
There is a teaching about this from the Ba'al Shem Tov
how the four principle categories of damage appear in the soul
which is very relevant to yeshivah students and youth
who need to recognize the damages one needs to be careful about and to guard themselves against them and isolate them
the ox (שור) is from the root "to gaze" (אשורנו), as the Ba'al Shem Tov Explains
i.e., looking at things which don't need to be looked at
That's the ox, the principle 'damager'
like nowadays, when there are many things that shouldn't be looked at
things that are on the computer screen...
so, nowadays, the major damage is caused by looking at things on the computer that one shouldn't look at.
and apparently, it spreads from the computer to the street
so, the ox is gazing. In the soul, the second major damager -- the 'pit' -- is idleness
a pit (בור) is like a field lying fallow (שדה בור). In Yiddish, it's called puskeit
someone who is an ignoramus (בור) or someone who sits in the study hall but hardly opens the gemara
he wastes his time or goes to sleep. He likes sleeping.
that's called "a pit."
Then comes the destroyer, which is simply 'tooth' -- he likes eating
in the words of the Ba'al Shem Tov, "he eats everything" -- whatever he is given, he eats
like cattle traipsing through someone else's field -- that's also called "destroying" (הבערה)
the foot (walking) and teeth (eating) are both related to destroying
and after all that, he gets angry. Fire is anger.
Those are the four major categories of damage. First, he looks at things he shouldn't look at
then he is idle from Torah study
then he just eats, for the sake of eating
and finally, he gets angry
The Hall of Song "Ve'ahavta lereiacha kamocha" Yeshivat Shvut Yisrael - Efrat
The Hall of the Soul Crown and Might in the Partzuf of Anger
Anger is a reaction to an imagined affront
It seems to me that someone affronted me
or I might get angry if someone insulted someone who I like
who is my friend, my son or my father
So, someone affronted something or someone who I like
either me, because I love myself, or someone else who I like
If that is how I see it then the natural reaction is to become angry
The sages say that anyone who dismisses an affront, all his sins are absolved and his prayers are answered
This is stated with particular reference to Rabbi Akiva, because Rabbi Akiva was magnanimous and his prayers were answered in heaven
In Chassidut we learn that to be forgiving of insults is to reach the root of the 13 attributes of compassion
which are above the intellect, in the crown
[being forgiving (עובר על מידותיו)] is like moving into doing something (עובר לעשייתן), encompassing from above
reaching above all the measurements and limitations of the soul
-- "attribute" (מידה) means "limitation" --
there, a person is in a state of "nothingness" (אין)
Getting angry is the result of egoism
If, for example, speaking of myself,
If I am not here, if there is no me, then I cannot be insulted because there is nothing there to offend and automatically there is no anger
That's how it is explained in Chassidut
that being magnanimous means that he rises above all limitations and above all the conscious mind
there he is 'nothingness' so he never gets angry
and he automatically also arouses God's attributes of compassion
and that is how his prayers are answered, as the sages relate about Rabbi Akiva
Not getting angry also means hearing oneself insulted and scorned and remaining silent
There is a [second] type of silence when one holds back one's reaction
but this type of silence results from being above it all and not experiencing anger at all, i.e., one is not susceptible to insult
The verse states, 'He suspends the earth upon nothing' (תלה ארץ על בלימה) and the sages interpret that this refers to someone who stalls his mouth in an argument
there are a few levels: a level at which someone shuts his mouth because he holds back
then he 'bends' his will (אתכפיא). If someone bends his will not to get angry then he is courageous
as it says, 'Who is courageous? One who conquers his inclination
someone who is about to get angry but overcomes the tendency to become angry, that is serving God with one's power of might.
But someone who does not react because he is not vulnerable at all is at the level of crown