Bond your thoughts to HaShem above. Do not eat or drink excessively, nor eat for pleasure, but solely to maintain your health.¹¹ Do not look into the matters of this world at all, nor think about them altogether.¹² On the contrary, in all things endeavor to separate yourself from physicality. For by gazing at the matters of this world you become gross and spiritually callous, as our sages, of blessed memory, said,¹³ “Seeing leads to remembering, which leads to lust,” as written about the Tree of Knowledge, that it was,¹⁴ “Pleasing to the sight and good to eat,” that is, its appearance is what made it desirable.

footnotes: ¹¹ Mishneh Torah, Hilchot De’ot, 3:2 & Ch. 4. ¹² Mishneh Torah, Hilchot Yesodei HaTorah 7:1; Hilchot Teshuvah 10:6 ¹³ Talmud Bavli Menachot 53b; Midrash Tanchuma 15; Rashi Numbers 15:39. ¹⁴ Genesis 2:9