Siman - Succah Daf 52
The majority of this Daf deals with the yetzer hora.
- The source that permits building the תיקון גדול – the balcony in the Ezras Nashim
Rav brought the following passuk from Zechariyah’s vision of the war of Gog and Magog and the mournful eulogies over the death of Moshiach ben Yosef, to teach that it was permissible to make the תיקון גדול, the balcony for the women in the Ezras Nashim, so that they should not mingle with the men at the שמחת בית השואבה. "וספדה הארץ משפחות משפחות לבד משפחת בית דויד לבד ונשיהם לבד" – The land will eulogize each family by itself; the family of the house of Dovid by itself, and their wives by themselves. It’s a kal v’chomer. If in the future world they will be involved in a hesped, and the yetzer hora has no power over them, as it will be eradicated, yet the Torah said that the men and women should mourn separately, then all the more so at the שמחת בית השואבה, when they are involved in simchah, and the yetzer hora has power over them, all the more so, they should be separated.
- Why there is a hesped over the yetzer hora
There is a machlokes Rebbe Dosa and the Rabbanon regarding the nature of the hesped mentioned above. One said that it was over Moshiach ben Yosef who will have been killed in battle, and one said it will be for the yetzer hora which will have been eradicated. The Gemara asks why does the eradication of the yetzer hora warrant weeping, and answers that Rebbe Yehudah expounded, that in the future, HaKadosh Boruch Hu will bring the yetzer hora and shecht it in the presence of the tzadikim and the resha’im. צדיקים נדמה להם כהר גבוה – To the tzadikim, the yetzer hora will appear like a high mountain that can hardly be scaled, ורשעים נדמה להם כחוט השערה – and to the resha’im, it will appear like a strand of hair that can easily be snapped. הללו בוכין והללו בוכין – They will both cry. The tzadikim will weep and say: “How were we able to overcome such a high mountain?” And the resha’im will weep and say: "How were we not able to overcome this strand of hair?” Rebbe Assi said: יצר הרע בתחילה דומה לחוט של בוכיא ולבסוף דומה כעבותות העגלה – Regarding the yetzer hora: Initially it resembles a spider’s thread, and ultimately it resembles a cart rope. Rashi explains that the first time a person is tempted to sin, it is not difficult to resist the temptation. Once the person becomes accustomed to it, however, it becomes very difficult to resist.
- The yetzer hora has seven names, and seeks to overpower a person every day
Rav Avira expounded, and others say it was Rebbe Yehoshua ben Levi: שבעה שמות יש לו ליצר הרע – The yetzer hora has seven names. Hakadosh Boruch Hu called it רע. Moshe called it ערל. Dovid called it טמא. Shlomo called it שונא – the enemy. Yishaya called it מכשול – a stumbling block. Yechezkel called it אבן – a stone. Yoel called it צפוני – the hidden one. The Gemara relates that Abaye watched a man and woman set out on a journey together and when they reached a crossroads, they took leave of one another. Abaye said to himself that had it been him in the situation he would have been unable to restrain himself from sin. Abaye became despondent until a certain old man, (Eliyahu Hanavi ) taught him: כל הגדול מחבירו יצרו גדול הימנו – Whoever is greater than his fellow, his yetzer hora is greater than his fellow’s as well. Rebbe Shimon ben Lakish said: יצרו של אדם מתגבר עליו בכל יום ומבקש להמיתו – A man’s yetzer hora threatens every day to overpower him, and seeks to kill him, ואלמלא הקדוש ברוך הוא שעוזר לו אינו יכול לו – And if not for Hakadosh, Boruch Hu, Who aids him, he would be unable to withstand it.
