What's meant by the statement in the Gemara, that for everything that a man sees and he didn't utilize to have pleasure, he's going to give in the future an account why he didn't utilize it to have pleasure?
ANSWER:
Hakadosh Baruch Hu gave us all the phenomena of life, in order to have some benefit from them. Therefore if a man enjoys them… let's say you take this fig that we were talking about, and after studying it you sample it too! So the lesson of the fig is going to be doubly impressed on your mind. We won't talk about figs we'll talk about apples which are more frequent. You study an apple and you see that it's wrapped in a waterproof wrapper, and beautifully colored, and you study it. And after studying the apple, you study the seeds in the apple, and all these lessons are impressed on your mind, and you're munching the apple at the same time, it's much more fun and you appreciate this lesson much more.
It's like studying in a sefer that's written on a delicious biscuit. While you're learning the Gemara you're munching on the margins, you will surely appreciate it more, it's a geshmaka suyga, it's a pleasurable study. That's why Hakadosh Baruch Hu gave us pleasure, because pleasure makes iteasier to appreciate the great lessons.
That's what it means; all the things that he saw and lo nehene, he didn't utilize-it doesn't mean that when you pass a pastry store you have to buy all the cakes, loaded down with sugar and fats and syrups-even one cake you cannot eat, so that means you are going to give an account because you didn't eat all the cakes and all the candies?
It means that when you pass by and see all the beautiful cakes and beautiful candies, and beautiful fruits, you should see them and have hano'oh from them. Doesn't mean that you have to eat them, you have to have hano'oh. If you didn't have hano'oh from them and appreciate what Hakadosh Baruch Hu is doing for mankind including you, because you could also buy it if you wished. So you are losing the opportunity and osid litein es hadin. That's why it says sichu b'chol niflaosov, talk about all the wonders that you see in this world, there's a lot of work to be done. You have to talk about the beautifulcolors of fruits, and the beautiful taste of fruits.
Doesn't mean you have to taste them yourself, but if you don't utilize it, so you're not utilizing the world.
Good Shabbos To All
This is transcribed from questions that were posed to Harav Miller by the audience at the Thursday night lectures.
To listen to the audio of this Q & A please dial: 201-676-3210
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