19 Jul DON’T LET THE YETZER HA’RA RENT A ROOM

A fable is told of a poor,

homeless man who

knocked on the door of the

large home of a certain

wealthy man. “I need a

place to live,” the poor

man said. “Sorry to hear

that,” the homeowner

replied, “but my family and I already live in

this house.” “Can I at least have a small

room that I can rent?” the poor man begged.

The wealthy man was not really happy

about it, but the poor man begged and

begged, until the homeowner finally agreed.

He found a small room in the house where

the poor man would live. The poor man

would regularly come in and out, to and

from his room. The homeowner wasn’t

thrilled, but the poor man’s presence really

did not do much harm, so he accepted the

situation. One day, though, the poor man

brought an animal carcass into his room.

The stench eventually filled the entire

house. The homeowner was furious, and

shouted at his tenant. “It’s my room, I’m

paying rent,” the poor man said. “I can do

with it whatever I wish.” The wealthy man

left his home, and told the poor man he

could have the entire house. This fable is

told as an analogy for the yetzer ha’ra – our

evil inclination. We all struggle with

negative inclinations – sometimes

successfully, sometimes unsuccessfully.

But as long as it’s a struggle, it’s ok. The

problem becomes when we let the yetzer

ha’ra “rent a room” in our lives, when we let

it have a permanent place, when we say,

“This is who I am,” and accept it. Once that

happens, the yetzer ha’ra will eventually

take over our lives. Parashat Pinhas

continues the story told in the previous

parashah, Parashat Balak, of the time when

the men of Beneh Yisrael were sinning with

the women of Moab. Pinhas, the grandson

of Aharon, got up and killed one violator –

Zimri – who was committing a public sinful

act with a non-Jewish woman. In our

parashah, Hashem told Moshe that Pinhas

saved the nation, because had he not killed

Zimri, Hashem would have killed all of

Beneh Yisrael because of this sin. Clearly,

there was something different about what

Zimri did. Many men among the nation

were having relationships with the women

of Moab, but it was specifically by killing

Zimri that Pinhas ended the plague. The

explanation might be that the rest of the

people succumbed to temptation, but they

weren’t happy about it. Zimri, however,

was resolute. He decided that this is who he

was. He brought a non-Jewish woman

before the entire nation to make it clear that

this is what he wanted to be. He let the

yetzer ha’ra “rent a room,” become part of

his being and essence. This was much,

much more serious than what the rest of the

sinners were doing. What’s true about the

yetzer ha’ra is true also about other things –

activities which are not sinful, but which we

must never allow to define who we are. In

the summer months, people want to enjoy

themselves, relax, swim, and spend time

with family and friends. Of course, there is

nothing at all wrong with that. We all need

a break, and we all need time to relax and

enjoy. But we must never let these

recreational activities define us and define

our lives. We must always remember that

life is so much more meaningful and

precious than lying by the pool, going to the

beach, and having lunch at a café with

friends. Once again, there is nothing at all

wrong with any of these

activities. But it is wrong to let this be

what our entire summer is about to let this

define us. We are put here in the world for

a purpose – to fill our lives with meaning

through learning Torah, performing

mitzvot, and doing acts of kindness.

Relaxation is important,

but it should never become the end goal,

the core essence of our beings. During the

summer, let us make an extra special

effort to remember what life is truly about,

and not allow fun and recreation to define

who we are.