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ב"ה

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Holy Pleasures
It is specifically in the lowest end of Creation that the potential for holiness is the greatest.
G-d commanded the Jewish people to take vengeance against Midian because they enticed them into the idolatry of Pe'or ; this idolatry of is hedonism, the indulgence in sensual pleasure as an end in itself, implying that physical pleasures are either too "low" and vulgar to serve divine purposes or are somehow off-limits for the holy life.
Moses, Warrior of Peace
We are commanded to wage war against forces of discord and strife.
In the First Temple era the Jews committed major sins that were clearly evil and therefore easily recognized and repented of. Their exile lasted only seventy years.

But during the Second Temple era, the primary sin of the Jews was senseless hatred; subtler and more difficult to correct. Thus the second exile lasts much longer, due to the length of time necessary to recognize the evil and repent.
Vows can protect us from the over-indulgences of the physical world.
Although a person's involvement with physicality may on occasion require him to swear off some aspect of it, he must always remember that the purpose of his life is ideally accomplished by annulling such vows and partaking of life's bounties in holiness.
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