Selling His Soul to Swine
Whenever I visited a certain Chassidic Jew in Mexico, my senses would be assailed by the distinct smell of swine. I could never understand how I could connect this G-d-fearing Jew with this repulsive food and decided to ask his forgiveness for doing so. But I did not know how to go about this, so I kept my peace.
On one visit, this man asked me to affix a mezuzah to the entrance of his store. He felt that this would draw Heavenly blessing upon his endeavors. After that was taken care of, he offered me a tour of his factory. As we passed each room, the man explained what was done there and who was employed there. But he skipped one room. I immediately asked about it, but he replied, “It is not fitting for the Rav to enter that room. Come, let us continue on our way.”
His answer only further aroused my curiosity. What was this man hiding there? I insisted on visiting specifically that room and seeing what took place there. He finally agreed to my request. He opened the door to reveal a tremendous freezer, full of swine heads!
I was shaken at this sight. “What is this?” I roared. “Remove it right now!”
“But honored Rav,” he stammered, “here is where I get the most revenue.”
The dam had burst. “You should know,” I began, trying mightily to steady my voice, “I have always wanted to ask forgiveness for associating you with pigs. But now I see that I was justified. You deal with this defiled creature and make a profit from it. As a result, all of your property smells like swine, and your face conjures up images of this impure beast.”
One who is involved in defilement will possess the look and smell of that item. Although this man tried to be a righteous, G-d-fearing person, he acquired the qualities of the impurity with which he dealt. One who fails to correct his inappropriate character traits is nothing more than a two-legged animal. Regarding him, Shlomo Hamelech said (Kohelet 3:19), “Man has no superiority over beast.”
A person takes the form of the physical matter with which he deals. Conversely, one who sanctifies himself through Torah study and mitzvah observance transforms everything that enters his body into a holy object, an extension of his good deeds.
