Ben Azai comments that one who does not have children is guilty of murder and reducing the d'mus of Hashem. He justified his own actions by saying "What can I do, my soul yearns for Torah, the world can be sustained by others". There is a lot of discussion in the achronim to explain the position of Ben Azai, especially since it is paskened l'halacha in the Rambam and Shulchan Aruch E.H 1:4.
R' Elchonon explains that although Ben Azai was obligated in this mitzvah since it is a mitzvah that cannot be fulfilled by others and even if preoccupied with torah study, one is not exempt from a mitzvah that can't be done by others. Nevertheless, he was an o'nes. Similar to the gemara Kiddushin 33a about one who thinks in Torah in the bathroom, is not guilty if the reason is that they are o'nes and cannot distract their mind from learning.
Maharam Shik (thanks to my brother, r' aryeh, for the ma'areh makom) focuses on the second part of Ben Azai's statement, "the world can be sustained by others". Since the world can be sustained by others, pru u'rvu is considered a mitzvah that can be done by others, and one is not obligated to stop learning to fulfill this mitzvah. Obviously this approach is very difficult, since p'ru u'rvu is still an obligation on every individual. Although its purpose may be to sustain the world, the mitzvah an obligation on each person and cannot be done by others.
Perhaps both approaches are true. Ben Azai justifies his personal obligation by saying "what can i do, my sould yearns for torah", meaning he is o'nes as R' Elchonon explains. But then must justify his communal obligation of "l'sheves yitzara" to participate in the sustaining of the world, and to that he says "the world can be sustained by others".
3 comments:
חשבתי שמן הראוי להביא את דברי הרמב"ם הידועים סוף אי"ב, והכוונה בזה שמבואר משם שאותו יצר של עריות הינו היצר של תורה - והדבר צריך ביאור מעמיק, אך זהו הגדר של אונס דבן עזאי, וכן מבואר כאן בגמרא שאשה טובה הוי משל לתורה,
וז"ל הרמב"ם
וכן ינהוג להתרחק מן השחוק ומן השכרות ומדברי עגבים שאלו גורמין גדולים והם מעלות של עריות ולא ישב בלא אשה שמנהג זה גורם לטהרה יתירה גדולה מכל זאת אמרו יפנה עצמו ומחשבתו לדברי תורה וירחיב דעתו בחכמה שאין מחשבת עריות מתגברת אלא בלב פנוי מן החכמה ובחכמה הוא אומר אילת אהבים ויעלת חן דדיה ירווך בכל עת באהבתה תשגה תמיד: סליקו להו הלכות איסורי ביאה בס"ד
Torah = Emes = Din
Arayos = Chesed
Torah mateshes kocho... meaning the Din balances the Chesed
you have an interesting approach (i can't believe its coming from you!) but i am not sure if i am following.
let me give another approach if i may,
the root of the drive for arayos is for the man to connect with what is really part of himself as the pasuk describes
כב וַיִּבֶן יי' אֱלֹהִים אֶת הַצֵּלָע אֲשֶׁר לָקַח מִן הָאָדָם לְאִשָּׁה וַיְבִאֶהָ אֶל הָאָדָם: כג וַיֹּאמֶר הָאָדָם זֹאת הַפַּעַם עֶצֶם מֵעֲצָמַי וּבָשָֹר מִבְּשָֹרִי לְזֹאת יִקָּרֵא אִשָּׁה כִּי מֵאִישׁ לֻקֳחָה זֹּאת: כד עַל כֵּן יַעֲזָב אִישׁ אֶת אָבִיו וְאֶת אִמּוֹ וְדָבַק בְּאִשְׁתּוֹ וְהָיוּ לְבָשָֹר אֶחָד: כה וַיִּהְיוּ שְׁנֵיהֶם עֲרוּמִּים הָאָדָם וְאִשְׁתּוֹ וְלֹא יִתְבּשָׁשׁוּ
torah too is a connection to what was lost due to the original sin, that is why after the giving of the 1st luchos we were suppose to fix the זוהמא of the serpent and again live forever as was intended, as the gemara describes
מפני מה עובדי כוכבים מזוהמין שלא עמדו על הר סיני שבשעה שבא נחש על חוה הטיל בה זוהמא ישראל שעמדו על הר סיני פסקה זוהמתן עובדי כוכבי' שלא עמדו על הר סיני לא פסקה זוהמתן
what torah is on the intellectual spiritual level - marriage is on the earthy level, like all mitzvos the intent for us is not to live like malachim but to to physical mitzvos, Ben Azai, however, has so exhausted this drive of connecting to something of hiself which is on the outside and bond with it, that he had nothing else left for marriage.
I don't know if this is an Ones, i suspect the rambam would not have bring this if that is the case, perhaps its another fulfillment of the mitzvah,
similarly, both children and students are considered children,
still needs more...
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