אות - כז

Even though a person must be very, very zealous in the service of Hashem — to be very zealous at every moment and at every hour to do much in the service of Hashem, because the main thing is action: to study much, to do many mitzvos, to pray and to supplicate much, to pour out his heart before Him blessed He, and the like in other matters of the service of Hashem — even still, do not become alarmed when you see in the holy books many matters of devotion. Do not be alarmed by this to say: When will I be able to fulfill even one of all these matters, let alone all of them! Because one must not be frantic to grab everything at once. Rather, one should go calmly, gradually, little by little. And not be frantic and confused in wanting to fulfill and grab everything at once — because of which one becomes completely confused, like what occurs in a fire Heaven forbid, where because of the panic people grab what they do not need. Rather, one must conduct oneself gradually, calmly, little by little. And if sometimes a person cannot do anything at all in the service of Hashem — what is to be done? "The Torah exempts one who is under duress" [Bava Kama 28b]. And let him accustom himself to long and to yearn and to crave always for Him blessed He, because the longing and the yearning themselves are very great things, and "the Merciful One desires the heart" [Sanhedrin 106b].[50] And there are in this matter many beautiful conversations and stories that we heard, which are great very good counsel to accustom oneself in His service blessed He. But it is impossible to explain these matters well in writing. And the understanding person who truly desires will understand a little.

It is fitting for a person to traverse and journey through all the holy books in this world and to study all of them, so that he should be "everywhere" — similar to how the great ministers travel and pass through the provinces, and spend much money on this so that they can afterwards boast and say that they were in the provinces, in the manner that ministers boast and say: "I was in Warsaw," and the like. Similarly it is fitting that a person should be in this world in all the holy places of the Torah — so that he can boast in the World to Come that he was in every place, that is, in all the holy books as mentioned. And in the future World to Come, he is reminded of everything that he studied in this world.

It is incumbent upon every single Jew to study Halacha each day without allowing a single day to pass without it. Even if he is held back so that he did not have time, he should study at least one section of the Shulchan Aruch — no matter which one — even if it is not in the place he is holding during his usual order of studies. For a Jew must learn at least some law in the Shulchan Aruch every single day, all the days of his life. If he is not held back by extraneous circumstances, he should have a set study in the Shulchan Aruch each and every day in order, from the beginning to the end. When he finishes he should go back and do it again. In this way he should accustom himself his entire life. For it is a very, very great fixing of the soul.

On those who waste time for the sake of cleanliness and prolong their time in the bathroom, he was very, very particular and mocked[57] these people greatly and elaborated at length on this matter. And the general principle is: "The Torah was not given to angels" [Berachos 25b]. And one need not be stricter than required by law — and according to the law, the prohibition is only when one truly needs to relieve himself, as it is written in the Gemara (ibid. 23a): "One who needs to relieve himself — let him not pray"; "one who needs" specifically. And even when one truly needs to relieve himself, there are also laws for the case of after the fact and in urgent circumstances, as stated in the Shulchan Aruch (Orach Chaim) section 92 — see there in the Magen Avraham (sub-section 1) that the Rif [Berachos 14a] permits even at the outset when one can hold himself for a parasang, etc.[58]

It follows that in any case, when one does not truly need to relieve himself, one need not be strict and nullify oneself from Torah and prayer for nothing, because of excessive apprehensions and stringencies and mere madness. Rather, it is good to pray in the morning immediately after rising from bed. If it is possible to relieve oneself easily — one may do so; if not — no; and let him pray thus. And even if he has a feeling in his intestines, he should not pay attention to this and not look at it at all.

Also one need not prolong time in the bathroom, because it is very harmful to the health of the body and many illnesses come from this. Particularly in our bathrooms where one must hang — and hanging in the bathroom is very, very harmful. Particularly the well-known illness (what they call "moiridin" — hemorrhoids) comes greatly from this, may the Merciful One save us. Therefore one must be very careful not to prolong in the bathroom. And one should not look for stringencies[59] and depression about this, as it is not at all applicable in these generations.