25 Aug THE BATTLE ROYALE

Every morning in Elul,
the call of the shofar
reminds us to use this
special time wisely
and fully. The Yeitzer
Hara adroitly keeps us
distracted with the still
lazy days of summer
coupled with the hectic, frenetic madness
of schooling, bussing, doctoring,
dentisting, shopping, and everything else
that comes with the beginning of a new
season. To combat this interference, let’s
fortify ourselves with the realization of,
“L’fum tzara agra – According to the
difficulty is the reward,” and Hashem
appreciates every effort we make to stay
focused on the upcoming Yom HaDin,
Day of Judgment.
Here’s a Medrashic comment that should
help us start thinking of the job of Elul.
The Medrash says, “Yitzro shel adam
misgaber alov b’chol yom um’vakeish
l’hamiso – One’s Evil Inclination prevails
upon him every day and wants to kill him.
V’im ein HaKadosh Baruch Hu ozro,
eino yacholo – And if Hashem wouldn’t
come to his assistance, he wouldn’t be
able to overcome his inclination.”

Let’s analyze the first part of this
powerful statement. “One’s Evil
Inclination prevails upon him every day.”
Do we realize that on a daily basis, we
are being tempted to do what is wrong?
Do we recognize that every 24 hours we
face a raging battle? That is the reality.
If we are unaware of this, it means we’ve
already lost. If we don’t think so, it
means that we are spiritually naïve to the
pitfalls that confront us constantly.
In the beginning of Masechtas Brachos
(Just to let you know: In about 283
days, the global Daf Yomi cycle will be
starting Brachos again! If you’re not
already a part of learning the daily daf,
start thinking now about joining us.),
the Gemara demands from us, “L’olam
yirgaz adam Yeitzer Tov al Yeitzer Hara
– A person should always incite the Good
Inclination against his Evil Inclination.”
The key word here is l’olam, always.
The temptation to do what is wrong is
not something that comes occasionally.
It is with us regularly and requires our
constant vigilance and pushback.
The second part of the powerful Medrash
says, “If Hashem doesn’t help us, we

wouldn’t prevail.” The question
is, How do we get Hashem’s
assistance? What must we do
to receive His Siata d’Shmaya,
Divine support? Obviously,
not everybody gets this help,
as so many people succumb to
temptation and end up sinning.
The answers to these questions
are revealed in a fundamental
Ohr HaChaim HaKodesh, zt”l,
zy”a. On the verse, “Ki seitzei
l’milchamah al oivecha – When you go
to battle against your enemy,” the Ohr
HaChaim says this also refers to one’s
battle against his oyev ha’imiti, his true
enemy, the Yeitzer Hara. Then, the posuk
concludes, ‘U’n’sano Hashem Elokecha
b’yadecha – And Hashem will deliver
him (the Yeitzer Hara) into your hands.”
In other words, if we go to battle with the
Yeitzer Hara and fight to do what is right,
that is the faucet that releases the Divine
assistance that will enable us to vanquish
the Evil Inclination.
Our work is cut out for us. We must first
identify what our daily challenges are
and then begin our fight against them.
When Hashem sees that, He will come
to our rescue and help us finish the job.
But it’s not so easy to recognize what
we are doing wrong.
First of all, “Ein adam ro’eh nigei atzmo
– A person doesn’t see his own flaws.”
Hashem made us teflon-coated so we
shouldn’t get depressed. Furthermore,
to complicate things, we are taught,
“Ovar v’shana naaseh lo kheter –
When we do things repeatedly, it
seems to us like permissible behavior.”
It’s possible we might have failed to
pay attention to much of our davening
for decades. And since, we do it so
often we don’t even realize we’re
doing something wrong. Our potential
to overlook our own flaws might be
true about many behaviors and actions,
like screaming at home, like gossiping
about our co-workers, like neglecting
to call our parents, or like being stingy
with our money. In Elul, we need to
identify our shortcomings and start
putting up a fight. This is what Hashem
wants to see from us. Let’s activate our
righteous muscles to go against the
grain. Let’s “fight” to smile more often,
compliment more regularly, nag and
criticize less. Let’s start the struggle
against laziness to open a Sefer more
regularly, attend more minyanim, and
help out more at home.

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If we start by picking up an English
siddur to learn the meaning of a prayer,
or calling a parent more often, Hashem
will give us extra power to continue our
campaigns. In the merit of our going to
war against our Evil Inclination, may
Hashem help us become much better
people and bless us with long life, good
health, and everything wonderful.