The Torah is an Antidote to the Yetzer HaRa
We will now examine another related teaching from the holy Maggid of Kozhnitz, zy”a, in the sefer Yakar MiPaz (Haftarah Vayeishev). Citing his mentor, Rabbi Elimelech of Lizhensk, zy”a, he addresses the statement in the Gemara (Kiddushin 30b): "כך הקב"ה אמר להם לישראל, בני בראתי יצר הרע ובראתי לו תורה תבלין." Thus has HKB”H said to Yisrael, “My son, I have created the yetzer hara, and I have created Torah as its antidote (spice).” Here is a translation of what he says:
I heard from the holy Rabbi Elimelech concerning Chazal’s statement: “I have created the yetzer hara, and I have created Torah as its spice”—that, undoubtedly, a person cannot commit aveiros his entire life, because he will become sick of it. For him, the Torah resembles a spice that sweetens the sins for him. Due to the Torah that he learns, he thinks afterwards that he has actually performed teshuvah. Subsequently, it causes him to sin anew.
This deserves further clarification seeing as the Gemara (ibid.) goes on to say: "ואם אתם עוסקים בתורה אין אתם נמסרים בידו... ואם אין אתם עוסקים בתורה אתם נמסרים בידו". If you are engaged in Torah-study you will not be delivered into its hand . . . but if you do not engage in Torah study, you will be delivered into its hand. Here the Gemara states explicitly that if one studies Torah, he will not be delivered into the hand of the yetzer hara. So, how can he interpret this to mean that the Torah acts as a spice used by the yetzer hara to sweeten the sins in the eyes of a Jew so that he will continue doing them?
It appears that we can make sense of the teaching of the righteous Rabbi Elimelech, zy”a, based on what the Taz (O.C. 47, 1) writes concerning the berachah recited for learning Torah. The sages instituted the formula "לעסוק בדברי תורה" rather than "ללמוד דברי תורה". They wished to impress upon us that the essence of the mitzvah of studying Torah requires labor and exertion like someone engaged in a negotiation and business transaction. This requirement is evident from Chazal’s teaching (Berachos 63b): "שאין דברי תורה מתקיימין אלא במי שממית עצמו עליה, שנאמר זאת התורה אדם כי ימות באהל". Words of Torah are not retained except by one who sacrifices himself for its sake? For it is stated (Bamidbar 19, 14): “This is the Torah of a man who dies in a tent.”
We can now suggest that this is what the Gemara is saying with regards to the study of Torah. If a person only studies Torah casually without labor and exertion, the concern exists that his study is attributable to the yetzer hara—who employed it as a spice to sweeten this person’s sins in his eyes causing him to think erroneously that this study has made amends for his sins. This mistaken belief will enable the yetzer, chas v’shalom, to cause him to sin again. On the other hand, if a person studies Torah with labor, exertion, and diligence—"עוסק בתורה"—it is a telltale sign that his study was an act of kedushah. Someone who studies Torah in this manner will not be delivered into the hand of the yetzer.
With this understanding, let us review the teaching in the Gemara: "כך הקב"ה אמר להם לישראל, בני בראתי יצר הרע ובראתי לו תורה תבלין". HKB”H informed us that together with the creation of the yetzer hara, He created the Torah as a spice to sweeten a person’s sins, i.e., mitigate their severity and consequences. So, how, indeed, is it possible to subdue the yetzer by means of Torah-study? To which HKB”H explains: "ואם אתם עוסקים בתורה"—if you study Torah with labor, exertion, and commitment—not casually—it is a telltale sign that your study stems from kedushah and not from the yetzer. For, if it was prompted by the yetzer, it would suffice to learn only a little bit in a nonchalant manner. So, if you study Torah with labor and exertion, “you will not be delivered into the hand of the yetzer.” But if you are not an "עוסק בתורה" then you will not be rescued from the yetzer, because it has used your casual Torah-study to dupe you into believing that you are not a sinner.
