0:00 / 0:00
So Much More Than An Animal | Rabbi Yitzchok Fingerer
469 views
What makes us greater than animals is our ability to say "No". Learn more about Vayimaen and join our WhatsApp group here: https://www.vayimaen.org/ #vayimaen #shmiraseinayim
Categories:
Torah
Comments(0)
Transcript
Auto-generated transcript. Not time-synced to the video.
The pasuk in Koheles says,
The pashut Pshat, literally, this means
that in a physical sense,
man has no superiority over an animal.
Molecularly, we are the same,
physiologically, the same,
even genetically, in many ways,
we're the same as the animal.
Comes along the Vilna Gaon
with a fascinating interpretation.
ומותר האדם מן הבהמה אין
there is a difference
between an animal
and a human being,
and what is it?
אין means the ability to refrain,
the power to abstain, to say no,
to exert self control.
The Maharal teaches us that בהמה
is a contraction of two words,
What is in it - it is.
An animal is genetically preprogramed,
an animal can never rise above,
an animal can never shield its eyes,
an animal can never protect itself
from seeing an image.
We are אדם.
Says the Maharal, אדם comes
from the word אדמה לעליון,
which means that we are exalted,
we are divine,
we can imitate, we can replicate,
we can copy the most celestial,
a נשמה אלוקית,
we have a divine soul
and we will not compromise.
We will not become a בהמה.
The Gemara in Kiddushin 4 tells us,
that the letters אין
can also mean with an ע,
which means to look,
to see, to examine.
And perhaps this is teaching us,
with an ע.
You know the difference
between a human being and an animal?
It's the eyes, it's the עין.
It's the ability to say:
I won't use my eyes for bad.
I understand that as a human being,
as a divine person,
every image I take in makes
an indelible imprint on my Neshama
that is infinite, that is everlasting,
that is forever.
And therefore,
I will proclaim to the world,
יותר מן הבהמה!
I am not an animal.
I am far greater.
You want to know how?
עין
I could see those images,
but I won't look.
I will abstain, I will refrain,
I will preserve my Kedushah.