Commentary for Kiddushin 60:4
כך הקב"ה אמר להם לישראל בני בראתי יצר הרע ובראתי לו תורה תבלין ואם אתם עוסקים בתורה אין אתם נמסרים בידו שנאמר (בראשית ד, ז) הלא אם תטיב שאת
read not 'be-sufah' but 'be-sofah'.<span class="x" onmousemove="('comment',' 'At the end thereof.' 'The book of the wars of the Lord' - i.e., disputations on Biblical interpretation - eventually leads to love.');"><sup>10</sup></span> Our Rabbis taught: We-samtem<span class="x" onmousemove="('comment',' Deut. XI, 18: Therefore shall ye lay up (we-samtem) these my words etc.');"><sup>11</sup></span> [reads] sam tam [a perfect remedy].
Daf Shevui to Kiddushin
This baraita plays on another word in the Shema, reading it as if it says that God gave Israel a perfect drug (or as Huey Lewis would say, a new drug). The baraita reflects on the strange fact that although we Judaism considers humanity as created in the image of God, we also have evil desires. God created us with these desires, but also with their antidote, Torah. Through Torah study, one can conquer the evil urge.
I do not believe that this source is saying that those who study Torah will have no sexual urges—rabbis do not seem to believe this at all. Rather, study of Torah, of how one is to act in the world, reflecting on what it means to be human, all of this should, indeed must, lead to an inner transformation that allows us to have control over our lives. The baraita reads the famous verse from Genesis, stated to Adam after he ate the fruit of the tree (and the subject of one of my favorite books, East of Eden). Sin crouches at the door, but with proper reflection on Torah, humans can learn to act in a decent, moral way.
I do not believe that this source is saying that those who study Torah will have no sexual urges—rabbis do not seem to believe this at all. Rather, study of Torah, of how one is to act in the world, reflecting on what it means to be human, all of this should, indeed must, lead to an inner transformation that allows us to have control over our lives. The baraita reads the famous verse from Genesis, stated to Adam after he ate the fruit of the tree (and the subject of one of my favorite books, East of Eden). Sin crouches at the door, but with proper reflection on Torah, humans can learn to act in a decent, moral way.
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