For a speedy recovery for Yerachmiel Reuven Yonah ben Maryim Leah Says the Gemara in Sota and in Nazir, "whoever sees an adultress in her disgrace, should restrain himself by way of a Nazir's vow." Why? What caused her to commit her to commit the sin of adultery? Her drinking wine, that is why the Torah writes the Parsha of Nazir after the Parsha of Sota. The question is, when the Gemara tells us "whoever sees the disgrace of an adulteress woman, should take a Nazeer's vow, who are we talking to?" The answer is we are talking to people the stature of a Moshe, Aaron, Avraham, Yitzchak, etc...in another words we are talking to smart learned people, or in simple Brooklynese the higher echelon of society. The Torah is telling us, whatever a person sees affects him, as great as he is, he is affected by the environment. Says the Rambam in laws of Daos, Chapter 6:1, "the way of man is that he is influenced by his environment. He conducts himself according to the mores of his society. Therefore, he should get attached to rightous people and sit by scholars always, in order that he learn from their ways. He should distance himself from wicked people. If he lives in an environment where people don't conduct themselves in a good way, he should change locations. If all the countries he knows about, are no good like today, or he can't get to a country that has good behavior, let him sit by himself. If they don't let him sit by himself, let him go to a cave, or a dessert." Says Reb Chaim Soloveichik of blessed memory, if we are sending a person to a dessert or a cave, we are talking about somebody that won't go out of his mind if he is there. He will have what to do, he won't be bored. Obviously, we are talking about a Talmud Chacham. So we see that the Rambam is telling us even a Talmud Chacham is influenced by his environment. The Vilna Gaon says in his commentary on Chumash, the sin of Adam and Chava was that they know evil exists. Not to know that evil exists is an advantage that is good to have. Torah Blessings, Y. Bertram bertram@ohr.israel.net