Dear Rabbi Kornfeld,
1. The Gemara mentions that Rav groaned at the mention of the loss of his ta'ava. I have not seen an explanation of this. Could it be because he was bemoaning his lack of opportunity to fight his yetzer hara? Is this cause for moaning or happiness?
2. The Gemara says that an old person is described as "looking for something which he hasn't lost". Rashi explains this as a reference to being bent over with age. Could it also be a description of loss of memory with age as when you go looking for something and forget what you're looking for?
Keep up your wonderful work; have a good Shabbos
Gershon
1. The IYUN YAKOV says that he was upset that he was no longer able to fulfill the dictum to continue having children in his old age as expressed in the verse, "... Towards the evening (old age), do not leave your hand [from being involved in the Mitzvah of Piryah u'Rivyah]" (Koheles 11:6) and as the Gemara in Yevamos (62b) says.
The simple understanding is that he understood his lack of desire as a sign that he was getting old and nearing death, and thus he groaned about his approaching demise.
Regarding your explanation that he was bemoaning the loss of the opportunity to fight his Yetzer ha'Ra, you are correct that for a Tzadik, this is definitely cause to lament, as we find in the Gemara in Sanhedrin (19b) regarding Palti ben Layish, and as Tosfos in Eruvin (13b) says -- that for a Tzadik, it is better that he was created (and given the opportunity to fight his Yetzer ha'Ra), than having not been created.
2. That is a possible explanation. (However, according to your explanation, the Gemara could have emphasized this characteristic of age as occuring even before his body is bent over.)
Thanks!
-Mordecai
Dear R' Mordechai,
I would like to explain Rav's bemoaning his loss of taava based on the gemorra that Chazal wanted to destroy the yetzer hora of "gilui arayos",but didn't because then there wouldn't be "chedvoso dishmaatzu". We see from this that pleasure in Torah is somehow linked to the general ablity of physical "taava" pleasure. Rav sensed that his pleasure in Torah also wasn't as in his youth, and therefore moaned.
A guten Shabbos,
Leibel Lopiansky
I'd be interested in a source for this. Is it based on the Gemara "im paga becha menuval zeh moshchayhu lebeis hamedrash" and "barasi yetzer hara barasi lo Torah tavlin?
Gershon
Rav Lopiansky was referring to the Gemara in Sanhedrin (64a) that discusses the nullification of the Yetzer ha'Ra for Arayos. The Gemara there does not mention Chedvasa d'Shmaitsa, as you noticed. However, I heard from Harav Shlomo Wolbe Shlita that what Rav Lopianski said is mentioned in the Zohar (I do not know where); Chedvasa d'Shmaitsa is due to the Yetzer for *Arayos*.
-Mordecai