“Broken desire is sweet to the soul, but turning from evil is an abomination to fools” (Mishlei 13:19)
With these words, Shlomo Hamelech warns a person not to be drawn after his desires. Instead, he should subdue them and expunge them from himself. One who completely destroys his desires is considered on the level of angels. Conversely, one who increases his desires is similar to a beast. Therefore, it is fitting for the thinking person to break his desires and subdue them. Breaking one’s desires should provide pleasure for the mind (Rabbeinu Bachya, Vayikra 19:2).
Rabbi Elazar Hakappar says: Jealousy, lust, and the pursuit of honor drive a person out of this world (Avot 4:21).
Before praying that words of Torah should enter one’s innards, he should pray that food and drink not enter his innards (Tanna d’Vei Eliyahu 26).
There was once a man who was considered a wonder-worker. No one knew from where he drew his power, from kedushah or tumah. They asked the one versed in miracles, Rabbi Yosef Kudo, zt”l, and he replied, “Watch him when he eats.”
They discovered that he ate in a gluttonous way.
When they reported back to the Rav, he said, “Keep far away from him. He is certainly coming from the forces of evil.”
Eventually, the man was revealed to be a sinner (Chida, Simchat HaRegel, Matzah).
Food and drink are permitted, but overindulgence can be the cause of casting off the yoke of Heaven. Imbibing wine in excess brings in its wake licentiousness and other forms of evil. This applies even more to one who accustoms himself to eating and drinking to satiety. If he is once made to lack his usual fare, he will be painfully aware of the fact and will thrust himself into the heat of the race for possessions and property so that his table will be spread in accordance with his desires. He will thence be drawn to wrongdoing and theft, and thence to taking oaths and to all of the other sins that follow in its wake; and he will depart from Divine Service, from Torah and from prayer. None of this would have occurred had he not originally allowed himself to be pulled into these pleasures (Mesillat Yesharim 13).
An esteemed educator advised against implanting a desire, such as honor, in the heart of a student in order to encourage him to improve. For, eventually, his knowledge will drown in the sea of honor and lust. This was what happened to Elisha ben Avuyah (Midrash Rabbah, Rut). When his father took note of the respect accorded those who learn Torah, he decided to encourage his son to learn. Chazal warn, “One should always be involved in Torah and mitzvot, even for ulterior motives, for by studying for ulterior motives, he will eventually study for its own sake.” This statement comes with a caveat. One may study Torah with an ulterior motive, on condition that he wants to reach the level of studying Torah for its own sake. This teaches us the importance of uprooting the trait of honor, even if, at first, one must use it as a means of acquiring Torah knowledge (Chochmah U’Mussar 208).
The Gra states that each action that a person does, even the slightest movement, is powered by a certain energy. However, it is lust and the pursuit of honor which provide this energy (Rabbeinu Yerucham, Da’at Torah, Shemot, Bo pg. 100).
The Chazon Ish writes in a letter: One should be extremely careful not to overindulge in eating. Just as there are different levels in physical defilement, so, too, there are different levels of spiritual defilement. The soul becomes tremendously defiled by overindulgence in eating. In a meal which you enjoy, do not indulge too freely (Gittin 70a).
