Bava Basra Chart #2
Chart for Bava Basra Daf 73a
THE METAPHORICAL MEANINGS OF THE ANTICS OF HORMIN
| (A) MAHARSHA |
(B) EMES L'YAKOV |
(C) VILNA GA'ON |
||
| 1 | HORMIN BAR LILIS | the evil inclination | the Rasha | the evil inclinations of lust and honor |
| 2 | TOP OF THE WALL IN MECHOZA | those Jews that are weak in character (1) | the Resha'im of Mechoza (2) | the Talmidei Chachamim of Mechoza (3) |
| 3 | THE HORSE-RIDER | the Tzadik (4) | the Tzadik (5) | the Tzadik (6) |
| 4 | TWO MULES | the two nations that will battle each other in the future (7) | the two powers of Tum'ah | the lusts for worldly pleasure and for honor |
| 5 | TWO BRIDGES | (same as above) | the bridge to Olam ha'Ba, the bridge to Gehinom | this world (8) |
| 6 | TWO CUPS OF WINE | the cup of Divine retribution (9) | reward and punishment (10) | provocation to sin with the 2 above-mentioned lusts |
| 7 | A DAY OF "YA'ALU SHAMAYIM..." | Hash-m will make the heavens and the earth anew on that day | the ascension through doing Mitzvos will lower the Resha'im (10) | the day of death (11) |
| 8 | THE KING WHO KILLED HORMIN | Hash-m will kill the Yetzer ha'Ra (12) | Hash-m will kill the Rasha | Hash-m will kill the Rasha |
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FOOTNOTES:
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(1) The top of the wall represents Jews that are weak in faith, since the top of the wall is weak when compared with its foundation.
(2) Rosh Hashanah 17a and elsewhere. The Rasha who is the subject of this allegory tries to outdo his fellow Resha'im.
(3) That is, the Yetzer ha'Ra persuades them to learn for the sake of receiving honor and for the sake of having "a spade with which to dig."
(4) The Girsa of the Maharsha is like the Girsa of the Bach (#7), who learns that the horseman ran faster than Hormin, alluding to the inability of the Yetzer ha'Ra to conquer the Talmid Chacham.
(5) The Tzadik runs after the Rasha to convince him to repent and do Teshuvah, but he does not succeed.
(6) He is not able to do Mitzvos with the same alacrity and zeal with which the Rasha is able to do Aveiros.
(7) Daniel ch. 11.
(8) The Girsa of the Vilna Ga'on is "the bridge (sing.) of Donag." It is an allusion to Olam ha'Zeh which is comparable to "Donag," or "wax," which melts and disappears.
(9) These are the cups that the nations shall drink when their time of reckoning arrives (see Chulin 92a).
(10) That is, sometimes the Yetzer ha'Ra persuades the Rasha to do Mitzvos so that the Yetzer ha'Ra will then be able to make the Rasha fall even more than before when he sins afterwards.
(11) It is death that separates the body, which goes down into the earth, from the Neshamah, which ascends into Shamayim.
(12) Sukah 52a.