- Opening one's mouth to Satan
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- Moshe Ben-Chaim
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- Question: What is the meaning of
the chazal "AL TIFTACH PEH L'SATAN"? DOES IT MEAN THAT MY
WORDS HAVE THE POWER TO AROUSE THE SATAN?
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- Mesora: It can mean that when
one engages in speech which is instinctually based, improper actions
are more easily acted out, as speech arouses the emotions. It also
teaches that one should not even give slight recognition to his
instincts, "as once the dam cracks, its bursts". The
instinctual drives are like a surge pushing forward all of the time, a
brief outlet can cause a tremendous flow of energy into the
instinctual. Therefore, not even "opening one's mouth" is
the best gaurd against the instincts.
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