What does the Gemara mean that "no man is saved" from these Aveiros?
Certainly there are great Tzadikim and Talmidei Chachamim who -- even if not
entirely free of sin (see Koheles 7:20) -- do not transgress all of these
Aveiros every single day! How can the Gemara say that *no person* is saved
from these three Aveiros every day?
In addition, if no one is saved from these three Aveiros, then why are they
Aveiros? Hashem certainly would not give commandments that are impossible to
keep.
(a) The IYUN YAKOV explains that the Gemara means to say that because the
temptation for these three Aveiros is so great, no person is saved from
these three Aveiros *without putting forth much effort*. Someone who puts
forth the effort to protect himself from these Aveiros, though, will succeed
and will not succumb.
The TORAS CHAIM, however, does not seem to agree with this explanation. He
asks why the Gemara says that "no person is saved" from these three Aveiros,
instead of saying simply that "there are three Aveiros which a person
transgresses every day." He answers that the Gemara is teaching that even
one who attempts to avoid these Aveiros will not be saved from transgressing
them inadvertently, since the frequency of the challenge of these Aveiros is
so great. How, though, does the Toras Chaim explain that there are Tzadikim
who are able to avoid these Aveiros?
(b) The MAHARSHA explains that when the Gemara says that "no person is
saved" -- "Ein Adam Nitzol" -- from these three Aveiros, it is referring to
an ordinary person, but not to Tzadikim, who indeed are saved from these
Aveiros. He explains that while only Yisrael, and not a Nochri, is called
"Adam" (Yevamos 61a), there is still a much higher level that a person can
reach. The verse in Zecharyah (3:7) says that when a person follows the ways
of Hashem, then "I will give you strides among these [Mal'achim] standing
here." Similarly, the Gemara in Chagigah (15b) explains that the verse, "The
lips of the Kohen shall safeguard knowledge, and they shall seek Torah from
his mount, because he is an agent (Mal'ach) of Hashem..." (Malachi 2:7), is
teaching that when a Torah teacher is similar to a Mal'ach, then one should
seek to learn Torah from him. This teaches that a person should strive to
reach a level of absolute submission to Hashem, like the level of the
Mal'achim.
When the Gemara here says that "no person (Adam) is saved" from these three
Aveiros, it is referring to a person who has not yet reached this level of
perfection in his Avodas Hashem. The Maharsha explains that the word "Adam"
is an acronym for the words, "Efer" (ashes, dust), "Dam" (blood), and
"Marah" (bile), as the Gemara in Sotah (5a) says. An ordinary person, whose
physical composition dominates his actions, is not able to prevent himself
from transgressing these three Aveiros. The fact that he is comprised of
"Efer" negates his ability to activate his spiritual strengths in order to
Daven properly, and thus he sins with the Aveirah of Iyun Tefilah. The heat
of the "Dam" within him causes him to lust for immoral pleasure, and thus he
is not saved from Hirhur Aveirah. His element of "Marah," bile, creates in
him the bitterness that causes him to have bad Midos and leads him to
speaking Lashon ha'Ra.
A person who conquers the lusts created by his physical composition
overcomes the pull of those elements and rises above the status of "Adam"
("Efer, Dam, Marah") and becomes comparable to a Mal'ach. Such a person
certainly is able to avoid transgressing these Aveiros.