Following is a rendition of a recent trial:
The judge entered the courtroom. The defendant, pale-faced and worried looking, was sitting in his place, and both the prosecutor and lawyer had taken their positions.
“All rise" intoned the bailiff sonorously, and everyone struggled to their feet until the judge reached his designated spot. The judge sat down slowly, and the bailiff instructed all in attendance to do so as well.
"So, what have we here today" asked the judge.
"Your honor”, the clerk informed him, “the first case for today is that of the people versus Yisroel Abramson”.
“Yisroel, the defendant, stands accused of numerous offences, that range in severity from speaking lashon hora intentionally to thinking impure thoughts repeatedly. These offences were carried out over the course of numerous years, and the resulting damage and devastation to the worlds were enormous”.
The judge glared at Yisroel, who’s face became even more ashen. "What does the defendant plead", he asked.
The lawyer for the defendant arose. "My client pleads not guilty by reason of insanity" he proclaimed in a confident voice.
An audible gasp was heard in the courtroom, as the reporters present rushed to take note of this unusual development.
The judge began to display some interest. "Please elaborate, counsel" he instructed.
"Your honor" began the lawyer, "please understand that my client, Yisroel, is completely incapable of committing any of the terrible crimes of which he stands accused. It is not only inconceivable for him, rationally, to descend to a state in which he would be lower than a creature of the wild, and is definitely not a practice which he would knowingly engage in, it is also against his very nature to defy his Master. These acts, of which he stands accused, were made possible only by his becoming overcome by a temporary spirit of insanity, a ruach shtus, that made him unable to appreciate the severity of his actions".
The judge looked at the prosecutor, and indicated that he should respond.
"Your honor" began the prosecutor gravely, "there is no doubt that it was only the temporary insanity that led to the crimes in question. However this is not a legitimate defense for the defendant in this case, since this insanity was self-induced. Yisroel, through his own actions, brought this condition onto himself. Had he not been such a glutton, always pursuing worldly enjoyments, indulging in every type of physical pleasure available to him, then he would never have been afflicted with this ruach shtus.
“This case can be likened to someone who consumes large quantities of alcohol, and then causes damage to lives or to property. He would not be eligible to the insanity defense, since the state of his mind and his inability to reason were self-inflicted".
The prosecutor took a sip of water, and sat down.
"Does the defense have anything to respond?" asked the judge.
The lawyer was on his feet in an instant.
"Your honor", he began, "we maintain the plea of not guilty. It is true that if not for the defendant’s inexcusable practice of catering to every whim and desire of his internal animal, he never would have been desensitized to the effects of his transgression and would be indeed unable to commit those dastardly acts. In fact, I have personally witnessed him consume a plate full of French fries only after adding both salt and ketchup! It is no wonder that the results were what they were.
“But it is our position that he should still be found not guilty, since these behaviors themselves, while undoubtedly responsible for aggravating his insanity, were nonetheless themselves also a result of his insanity and not behaviors for which he can be held responsible. This is like someone who consumed alcohol because he lacked the ability to understand the effect it would have on him. Will we find him guilty for that act, or for the ensuing damages? I say not".
"Will the defense please bring supporting evidence to this claim" instructed the judge.
"Gladly" replied the lawyer, who was on a roll by now. “Take the example I mentioned. This defendant ate a plate full of oily fries. Now we all know how bad those are for one’s health. The oil in that plate was enough to drown a horse. He was jeopardizing his heart and so many aspects of his well-being for a few moments of pleasure. Are those the actions of a sane individual?!
“Furthermore, we all know that all earthly pleasures are nothing more than the waste of the spiritual worlds. Imagine someone going and eating a big plate of excrement, and not only that, but doing it with relish, while licking his lips continuously, would you say that he's normal?!
“And lastly, he could have foreseen the results of his said behaviour,-the effect of his losing his sensitivity to G-dliness. If he nevertheless engaged in them, he was clearly not capable of clear reasoning, and should be found not responsible for his actions".
The packed courtroom was speechless, following every word of the proceedings breathlessly.
The judge called a brief recess, and everyone ran to grab a quick lunch of fries and ketchup (or sushi and soy sauce), in order to be back in time not to miss a word of the continuation.
When the court resumed the prosecutor immediately took the stand.
"Everything my talented colleague has stated is 100% correct, of course. All the same, we feel he should be found guilty. His choice to obey his desires indiscriminately and to run after temptation with all his might, while in fact is foolish and insane, was a decision that he consciously and knowingly made. What prevented him from considering the effects of his actions and exercising more restraint? I say that, foolish as his behavior was, it is one for which he must take responsibility!”
“And I beg to very strongly disagree” exclaimed the counsel for the defense, without even waiting to be called upon by the judge. “Indeed, the decision was one for which he couldn’t be blamed and which could not be helped.
“My client suffered from a medically proven mental disorder, which is known as a deficiency of daas. It is not a condition for which we can hold him responsible, as it has been statistically proven to afflict the majority of people in our generation (who are therefore known as zera beheima). This condition prevents him from making responsible decisions based on his understanding.
“In fact, if we are to be brutally honest, it is the tzimtzum horishon that is the root cause of my client’s disorder, and he should therefore be acquitted”.
The breathless spectators–including the judge–were hanging onto every word, and assumed that there was nothing left to be said. The unrelenting prosecutor, however, was not one to give up.
“Your honour”, he retorted, “allow me to counter my colleague’s contention.
“It is undeniable that the daas-deficiency condition hampered the defendant’s ability to make proper judgment and proper decisions. Nevertheless we consider him responsible, since it was completely in his power to alleviate the condition.
“All it would have taken was some unconditional and irrational dedication to the cause of holiness, some shtus d’kedusha, and he would have been completely cured of his malady. The fact that he allowed it to continue unchecked, and didn’t take the obvious steps to alleviate it, makes him completely liable for any of the results!”
My dear readers! Unfortunately, I couldn’t stay around to hear the final verdict of the above trial, since it was getting late (and since I wanted to try to finish off my email before Shabbos). However, by the time I left, the hapless defendant was really started to feel the heat, and things were really not looking up for him. I hurried out with the image of him squirming helplessly in his box.
And the most important thing is, therefore, for all of us to avoid being in his position to begin with. And we all know how to go about that. By practicing shtus d’kedusha from the start, so that we don’t, indeed, lose our ability to make proper judgments and fall into the endless vicious cycle.
Don’t make so many calculations, and don’t get caught up in so many rationalizations. We all know what the Eibishter demands and expects from us. It’s time for us to commit to them with a total commitment.
I don’t what your psychiatrist tells you (at $150 every 45 minutes), but this approach is guaranteed to cure our “mental disorders”, and provide us with a new and healthy relationship with the Eibishter!
L’chaim! May we all take advantage of this last Shabbos before Yud Shvat to contemplate the practical ways of practicing shtus d’kedusha in our own lives, in all of the areas of Torah, Avoda and Gemilus Chasodim, and may the Eibishter, in turn, practice His own shtus d’kedusha, and disregard any calculations that he may have been making heretofore, and, instead, usher in the immediate hisgalus of Melech haMoshiach TUMYM!!!
Rabbi Akiva Wagner
לזכות 'ר שלום מרדכי הלוי בן, רבקה לגאולה וישועה קרובה, ושלימה י"תומממש ג"ב טוהנוהנ לילועש"ק ש"פ בא אל פרעה, שבת ג' שבט, שנת תשע"ד לפ"ק
