Musar for Gittin 139:11
תני ר' חייא הרוצה שלא יבא לידי חולי מעיים יהא רגיל בטיבול קיץ וחורף סעודתך שהנאתך ממנה משוך ידך הימנה ואל תשהה עצמך בשעה שאתה צריך לנקביך
To this a gloss was added: If one gorges himself with anything, he is liable to ahilu. R. Papa said: This applies even to dates. Is not this obvious? — [Not so: for] you might argue thus: Seeing that a Master has said, Dates fill and warm and promote digestion and strengthen and do not spoil the taste,<span class="x" onmousemove="('comment',' I.e., make one fastidious. ');"><sup>8</sup></span>
Orchot Tzadikim
The best fence with which to subdue the evil inclination is to learn to bear physical hunger — that is, to lessen the pleasures and the delights of eating and drinking, but not to refrain from enjoying the pleasure of aromatic odors and from washing with warm water for he gets pleasure from its warmth. And the little food that he eats should be well seasoned and well prepared so that it will be pleasing to him and so that his soul will accept it and be appeased with a little of it. And a man should always take a little less food than he needs and that would satisfy his desire. And he should not drink wine unless it is diluted, in order that he should not become drunk. And concerning this, our Sages, of blessed memory, said, "Do not indulge too freely in a meal which you enjoy" (Gittin 70a). There are two advantages in this. First, his eating will have no harmful effects. And, secondly, there is the subduing of the evil inclination and the breaking of lust.
Ask RabbiBookmarkShareCopy