By Marco Del Monte
In this week's parashah Hashem commands us a very singular mitzvah: that of building a parapet as protection around the roof.
Rav Yoram Abargel explains in the book *Imrei Noam* (parashat Ki Tetzze, second maamar) that the symbolism of this mitzvah represents protecting ourselves from our own harmful thoughts: the roof is the highest part of the house, just as the head is the highest part of the body. Furthermore, the word *ma'akeh* (parapet - מעקה) is an acronym for the Talmudic phrase that speaks precisely of thoughts: "Hirurei averah kashim me-averah – Transgressive thoughts are worse than the transgression itself" (Yoma 29a). If we were to interpret this phrase in a psychological sense, we would understand how desperately needed and necessary it is in our day to build a very solid "parapet". Many times in our lives we feel a strong sense of unease, frustration and blockage simply by thinking about an anxiety-inducing situation, about a person who merely seeing or hearing their voice oppresses us, and so on. The result is that our mind continues to ruminate on terrifying, dramatic scenarios that strip us of that serenity in our daily lives; as the saying goes, how many films we shoot in our heads, how many virtual arguments we live through in our thoughts! Rabbi Nachman, in his profound wisdom, predicted about two centuries ago that a time would come in the world when suffering would not be predominantly physical in nature—such as hunger, medical care, famines, as happened in the past—but would become psychological. Never as in our day has there been such use and abuse of tranquilizers and anti-anxiety medications; this is because, as Rabbi Nachman said, it is the *tikkun* of the times. In past times, to expiate a sin, many fasts were practiced; today, people prefer to increase the study of the Torah: imagine studying and maintaining concentration in a world overcrowded with mental and media stimuli; this difficulty today constitutes a great act of expiation and the attainment of holiness.
In this regard, Rabbi Nachman writes: "It is certainly very difficult for someone overwhelmed by these illusions to escape them and remove them from his thoughts. The more he strives, shaking and tossing his head back and forth, the more these illusions assail him. This is the nature and speciality of these polluted evil inclinations: the more one wants to overcome these thoughts, the more they strengthen. It is like a person fleeing from something, who looks over his shoulder at the thing he is fleeing from. The thing then attacks him even harder, because he has not turned his mind away from it. On the contrary, he repeatedly looks behind him, at this thought. Understand this" (Likutei Moharan 72:4).
In this regard, the Torah tells us to build a bulwark against our thoughts because there is a great risk of falling. Again, Rabbi Nachman suggests in Likutei Moharan that one cannot think two thoughts simultaneously, so if one concentrates and strives to keep a positive thought in the mind, the negative one will automatically depart, and thus protecting angels will be created by our thoughts to help us in our daily lives (see Rav Steinsaltz's book, *The Thirteen-Petalled Rose*). Thought has great creative and formative power: Think Good, and it will be good! (Rabbi Nachman, *The Empty Chair*). In the writings of the Baal Shem Tov, and also in the small yet immense book *The Empty Chair* by his grandson Rabbi Nachman, it is written: You are wherever your thoughts are; make sure your thoughts are where you want to be!
Shabbat Shalom Umevorach!
Translated from the Italian with Google Gemini. The Italian text is the original.