14 Apr DON’T DELAY

Imagine, if one was
to gather the ultimate
anthology, he would go to
Rav Sholom Mordechai
HaKohen Shvadron, zt”l,
zy”a, and ask him to sift
through all his teachings
and choose the most
powerful one. Then, he would go to Rabbi
Yissacher Frand, shlit”a, and ask him to
look through his drashos and relate the one
statement he has made during his career that
he feels made the biggest impact upon his
audiences. Then, he would go to Rav Yisroel
Reisman, shlit”a, and ask for his most riveting
teaching. He would then listen to every tape

of Rabbi Avigdor Miller, zt”l, zy”a, and hand-
pick the single most-timely message. Finally,

he would do this with all the greatest teachers
of the last one hundred years.
Wouldn’t we drool over the chance to learn
from such a compilation? How we would
drink from its wisdom and try to emulate its
ethics and morals.
In truth, we have such a sefer and it is infinitely
more precious, called Pirkei Avos. It contains
the greatest sayings of the greatest Sages of
the Tannaic period. For example, Shimon
HaTzaddik was so-called because he was the
most righteous person of his generation and
yet, in Pirkei Avos, there is but one Mishna
recording his teachings. We can imagine that

Shimon HaTzaddik, the preeminent tzaddik
of his generation and the Kohen Gadol, spent
a lifetime educating the masses and directing
them to a life of Torah and morality. Still,
there is only one Mishna of his lessons. Thus,
Pirkei Avos contains the crème de la crème
of the most outstanding sages of that most
extraordinary era of Torah knowledge.
With this in mind, we should have great
excitement, exhilaration, and thirst when we
open up the rarified teachings of Pirkei Avos.
Let’s choose one lesson from this lofty
collection. In the second perek of the Mishna,
Hillel says, “Al tomer lichshe’efneh eshneh,
shema lo tiponeh – Don’t say when you
will have leisure you will study, for perhaps
you will never find the time.” This Mishna
reveals to us one of the most potent weapons
of the Yeitzer Hara, the evil inclination. One
of his abilities is to thwart people from a life
of Torah and mitzvahs through the device of
procrastination. He suggests to a working
father/husband, “Listen, you can’t learn right
now. You’re busy supporting your family.
You need to make ends meet. And then of
course, you need to relax a little. Otherwise,
you’ll end up in the hospital. There’ll be
plenty of time to learn when you retire.
Don’t worry, in your golden years you’ll sit
in the Beis HaMedrash in Netanya or Miami
Beach and study loads of Torah.” And sadly,
when our husband/father retires, his eyes are

failing, his memory is waning,
his concentration is not what it
used to be, and his sitzfleisch
(ability to sit in one place) is
not there. How sad that he lost
all the precious years when he
was in full strength to utilize all
his senses for our main mission
on earth and the eternal essence
of life which is the study of
Torah.
Sometimes, the Yeitzer Hara
pushes us off until the summer
– and then in the summer he
tells us that we need to rest to re-charge our
batteries before the coming winter. Other
times he says to wait until Shabbos but then,
after the heavy meals and after the long hard
workweek, the body just caves in. And he
wins again. He uses this trick also when it
comes to such campaigns as being marbeh
sedra, that all-important Jewish charge to
review the Torah portion of the week. He tells
us, “Listen, it’s the middle of the year already.
You don’t like to do things in halves. So, start
next time around by parshas Bereishis. Next
year you’ll do it, you’ll see.” How many
times have we been fooled by that trick?
Let’s respond to the Yeitzer Hara, “You know
what? I’ll start now. After all, these are the
parshios of Bamidbar and Devarim that I
didn’t learn so well in yeshiva.” Or tell him
urgently the convincing argument, “I’ll start
now and I’ll have finished the whole Torah
by this time next year.” What about Daf
HaYomi where so many people are fooled
by him to think that they must wait until the
world starts Masechtas Berachos? That’s
ridiculous. Anytime you start Daf HaYomi,
you finish Shas in seven and one-half years.
What a wise move to start now and get all
those many Masechtos under your belt
before starting Masechtas Berachos!
But this sagacious advice is not just
reserved for the study of Torah. It is true
for all the mitzvahs as well. Chazal teach
us the fundamental lesson, “Ein atah ela
lashon teshuva – The word atah (spelled
with an ayin, meaning now) only refers to
repentance.” This vital saying teaches us
that, if you want to change and turn over
a new leaf, you must seize the moment
when the thought of teshuvah crosses your
mind and act upon it immediately. If not,
the Yeitzer Hara will successfully stall and
delay until the routine of life distracts you
from your resolve.
Let’s take a common example. You open
your Siddur and you say the daily psalm,
and you realize that you don’t know what
you’re saying. You simply don’t know
the meaning of the words. With chagrin,
you say to yourself, “I’d better learn the
translation of this.” Don’t succumb to
pushing it off to an undetermined later
date. Look at the English translation there
and then and seize the moment! When
you bow down at Modim in the middle of
Shemoneh Esrei, jog yourself from your

day-dreaming. Ruefully think to yourself,
“One of these days I’d better start having
Kavanah.” Don’t let yourself postpone such
a fine attitude. Rather say, “I’ll start right
now with the rest of Shemoneh Esrei, Ashrei,
and U’va L’Tzion!” This is the only way to
improve” Act upon it as soon as the thought
comes to your mind – before the Yeitzer Hara
can reestablish the status quo.
This rule holds true for all the other mitzvahs
as well. Bocherim! When it comes to Kivud
Av v’Eim, don’t say, “One of these days I’d
better start calling my parents or writing them
letters.” Start right now!
Husbands and wives! Don’t muse to
yourselves, “You know. I gotta get around
to putting more effort into my marriage.” Do
it right now! Go out and buy a gift for your
spouse. Give a compliment or a helping hand.
Don’t let the Yeitzer Hara push it off. Adult
children! Don’t let the Yeitzer Hara deceive
you into thinking that when the economy gets
better, you’ll have more time or when they get
older it will be easier. These are all just tricks
of the Sly One.
May it be the will of Hashem that we succeed
in acting with alacrity to improve our Torah
and mitzvahs. Begin the learning of our
precious Pirkei Avos and, in that merit, may
Hashem bless us with long life, good health,
and everything wonderful.