Gemara Pesachim quotes the machloket, presents the machlokes between Rabbi Eliezer and Rabbi Yehoshua about Simchas Yom Tov. Rabbi Eliezer, they're both responding to the two pesukim of Atzeres L’hashem Elokecha, Atzeres Tiheyeh Lachem. Rabbi Eliezer integrates the two pesukim by saying that the Torah gives us two different tracks. There’s a track of kulo lachem, there’s a track of kulo l’hashem. It can even be to the extreme of kulo l’hashem or kulo lachem. Whereas Rabbi Yehoshua says no, chalkehu, חציו להשם וחציו לכם. Then the Gemara proceeds and says that there are three occasions when there's no machlokes, when even Rabbi Eliezer agrees with Rabbi Yehoshua that one doesn't have the option of kulo l’hashem, when one can't spend the entire day immersed in Torah u’tefilla, there has to be seuda also. One exception is Shabbos, v’karasa l’shabbos oneg. Another exception is Purim, ימי משתה ושמחה כתיב. And the third exception is Atzeres. And remarkably, Atzeres is not an exception that emerges as an exception by virtue of a posuk but a svara, יום שניתנה בו תורה לישראל. But let’s try to understand. The Rambam in perek daled of Shmonah Perakim, after having described various forms of extreme behavior: living in caves, outside of society, wearing sackcloth, an ascetic diet. So the Rambam says, וזאת התורה התמימה המשלמת אותנו כמו שהעיד עליה יודעה, Toras Hashem temima, machkimas pesi, ולא צוותה כלום מזה. None of these extreme behaviors, none of these forms of extreme behavior, have any kind of toehold in Torah. On the contrary, elo rotza, the Torah wants, and the path, the middle path, derech hamimtzoas, and in this context the Rambam quotes the fact that Toras Hashem temima, machkimas pesi. We’ll just read a few lines and then try to process b’ezrat Hashem. אלא רצה שיהיה האדם טבעי, the Torah wants that a person should behave, conduct himself in a natural fashion, holech b’derech hamimtzoas. He should walk along the middle path. יאכל מה שהוא ראוי לאכול בשיווי, those foods which are, which it’s permissible to consume, a person should do so in the right proportion. וישתה מה שהוא ראוי לשתות בשיווי, similarly with beverages. ויבעל מה שהוא ראוי להיבעל בשיווי, ויעסוק ביישובו של עולם בצדק וביושר,
and a person should be a contributing member of society. לא שישכון במערות ובהרים, the Torah doesn't see it as any kind of ideal or even acceptable that a person should be living out in the caves. לא שילבש השק והצמר, a person’s not supposed to be dressed in rough sackcloth. לא שיעלה את גופו ויצערהו, and a person shouldn’t gratuitously tax his body. V’hizhir al kach, and the Torah admonishes us. B’ma shekibalnu, amar b’nazir, וכפר עליו מאשר חטא על הנפש. The nazir shenitma, so when, when the days of tumah are up he brings an asham, the asham is וכפר עליו מאשר חטא. Because if the neziros wasn't warranted so then it's a chet that he denies himself drinking wine in its proper proportion. והלא דברים קל וחומר אם מי שציער עצמו מן היין צריך כפרה המצער עצמו מכל דבר על אחת כמה וכמה.
It's clear from the fact that the Rambam quotes the pasuk Toras Hashem temimah that this the fact that Toras Hashem temimah is directly relevant and and that that reflects the fact that the Torah encourages demands not just encourages demands that we live a balanced life. So Toras Hashem temimah means Hakadosh Baruch Hu's Torah is complete it's perfect there's nothing missing from Toras Hashem and therefore even just the very fact as the Rambam continues שלא ציוותה כלום מזה there's no instance where the Torah commands us to engage in any type of extreme behavior and Toras Hashem temimah so what that means is that anything anything which is of primary importance anything which is a form of avodas Hashem is in Torah otherwise Torah wouldn't be temimah otherwise Torah would be would be incomplete it wouldn't be complete and perfect. Toras Hashem temimah means that there's no form of avodas Hashem there are no avodos that the Torah doesn't instruct us in. So first of all just ex silentio just in the Torah's silence שהתורה לא ציוותה כלום מזה that in and of itself is a veto of of any kind of imbalance. What's more Toras Hashem temimah so Torah lashon hora'ah so Torah guides and instructs a Jew how to be oved Hashem how to attain yedias Hashem how to be miskarev אל הקדוש ברוך הוא. When you provide let's say a recipe משל למה הדבר דומה you're giving someone a recipe for a ich veis a chocolate cake okay? So you need flour you need chocolate stam you need some eggs okay? So is that is that is that recipe complete? So the answer is that unless unless we're given the proportions it doesn't help to have all the elements if they're not if they're not balanced. If I use too much flour too little chocolate too much chocolate too little flour so the fact that I have all the all the correct ingredients isn't enough. The ingredients have to be balanced. They have to be balanced in order to Toras Hashem temimah it's going to lead us to shleimus. In order for us to achieve the shleimus it's not only that we have to have all the ingredients we have to be told what the right balance is. What are examples of what we're talking about this this vital need for balance? So let's say for instance Between the tzad hachomri and the tzad haruchni of a person. A person needs to strike the right balance between his physical side and between the spiritual side. A person needs to eat enough but not too much. A person needs to be concerned with having money to provide for his basic needs but shouldn't be looking to pursue wealth. We know it's true because Chazal tell us, the Rambam presents, but experience reinforces that truth for us. The one who spends the most time thinking about money is the person who doesn't have enough money rachmana litzlan. If there's a formula rachmana litzlan which guarantees that a person's going to be torud and preoccupied and spending a disproportionate amount of time thinking and worrying about finances, which is not what life is about, the formula for that is if a person pays no attention to it and doesn't make his hishtadlus to have a source of livelihood. Similarly, the person who spends the most time thinking about food rachmana litzlan is the person who's hungry. The person who doesn't eat adequately. So he's always thinking about food. He's always feeling the hunger. He's always thinking about food. The way a person is mema'et bechomriyus uvegufaniyus is by paying attention to it. Is by paying proper, not disproportionate, but paying proper attention to it. By spending the time to make hishtadlus to have enough money. By allowing oneself to partake, that one eats to the point where one is strong and can function at maximum capacity. So in that way a person is not highlighting the chomriyus in his life. Aderaba, he's containing the chomriyus in his life. And that's what the Torah bechochmaso teaches. That's what Chazal bechochmasam understood in the Torah. And that's the lesson that Chazal impart to us. It's not only that a person is not chayav to do it, it's that it's counterproductive. The imbalance not only does it mean that the physical side suffers, it means that the spiritual side suffers because for both to operate at peak. So we're hybrid, guf veneshama. The Rambam writes in many places, if a person is not feeling well, if a person has a headache, the headache can be due rachmana litzlan to sickness, the headache can be due to like when we fast, we often get a headache. So a person can't learn as well. He can't be oved Hashem as well. The balance is necessary because without it both sides suffer. It's not just that the side that we're cheating on, as it were, suffers. Both sides suffer. Another example of this balance, the Rambam writes in the hakdama leshmonah perakim. He says, דע כי הדברים שאומר בפרקים אלו, you should know that what I'm going to present in the Shmona Perakim, not my chidushim. Where did I, what what are my sources? אלא הם עניינים מלוקטים מדברי חכמים במדרשות ובתלמוד וזולתם מחיבוריהם.
I'm anthologizing from the work, from the words of Chazal. I'm also וכן מדברי הפילוסופים הקדמונים והחדשים. I'm also drawing from the, from the words, from the works of ancient and modern philosophers ומחיבורי הרבה מבני אדם. And the wide array, a wide range of people. And then the Rambam says—maybe he's anticipating that we're taken aback at that combination of sources and how eclectic it is—קבל האמת ממי שאמרו. Accept, recognize, acknowledge and accept truth from whatever the source is, from whomever the source is. That's also an example of balance. When if I sort of indiscriminately posel someone and therefore reject anything and everything he, the individual, it, the society, says, teaches, offers, provides, so that's also an extreme and also, it also falls short of of this balance which is the hallmark of Torah. And the same way balance in the context of gufniyos and ruchniyos is to provide for, for what the body needs, to make hishtadlus to have the, the money and the means that a person needs, so so too in, in relating to the realm of ideas, in relating to the realm of knowledge, balance means filtering out the good from the bad. And and balance means that there's no rubo kekulo and recognizing קבל את האמת ממי שאמרו regardless, regardless of how much sheker the same person or the same society may, may generate. It's also part of the balance. The same way physical health is, is a function of balance. A person has to have enough blood; there's such a thing as having too much blood, there's such a thing as having too little blood. A person has to have insulin in his system; there's such a thing as having too much insulin, rachmana litzlan, too little insulin. Physical health means that everything is present bimida uvemishkal haraui. So that, that's true for spiritual health as well. It also requires this balance. תורת ה' תמימה משיבת נפש. Yitachen that's the pshat. יום שניתנה בו תורה לישראל, it has to be that יום שניתנה בו תורה לישראל is a day when that balance is reflected and that balance is modeled. If a person would have the option, according to Rabbi Eliezer, of kulo Lashem or kulo lachem, if a person would have that option on, on Shavuot. It would mean that we're not exemplifying that balance. Maybe at other times of the year, so the balance doesn't have to be daily. The balance will average out weekly. Will average out from one day to the next. But the day יום שניתנה בו תורה לישראל, that day has to exemplify this yesod of Torah of needing the balance and hence says Rabbi Elazar that kulei alma modu that on Shavuos obviously the lashem shouldn't be neglected, but for that matter the lachem can't be neglected either. Kol tuv rabosai. Everyone should be well, be safe, a gutten Shabbos.