Kabbalah for Bava Kamma 59:23
אפי' תימא רבי יהודה מודה רבי יהודה שאם הזיק משלם מה שהזיק
Our Rabbis taught: The pious men of former generations used to hide their thorns and broken glasses in the midst of their fields at a depth of three handbreadths below the surface so that [even] the plough might not be hindered by them. R Shesheth<span class="x" onmousemove="('comment',' Who was stricken with blindness; cf. Ber. 58a. ');"><sup>19</sup></span>
Shaarei Kedusha
Moreover, our rabbis, of blessed memory, said37Talmud Baba Kama 30, “Whosoever desires to become a Chassid should fulfill the words of Pirkei Avot – which speak regarding the acquisition of good character traits. For example, our sages, of blessed memory, said38Avot 2:1, “Rabbi [Yehudah the Prince] said, “What is the straight path that a person should follow? Everything that is both beautiful to the doer and beautiful to him from others etc.” Akaviah ben Mehalalel said39Avot 3:1, “Contemplate three matters and you will never come to the possibility of transgressing. Know from whence you came and where you are going and before whom you are destined to give an accounting. From whence did you come? - From a putrid drop. Where are you going? – To a place of dust, maggots and worms. Before whom are you destined to give an accounting? – Before the King, King of kings, The Holy One, Blessed is He. Likewise, Rabbi Levitas of Yavneh said40Avot 4:4, “Be very, very humble, for the hope of man is maggots.” What Akaviah meant when he said, “and you will never come to the possibility of transgressing” is that you will never be subject to the Yetzer HaRa which causes a person to transgress, because your Yetzer HaRa will cease to be. However, if the Yetzer HaRa still exists and one merely restrains himself by force of willpower, he should have stated, “you will not transgress”.
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