30 Jul MASSEI: TESTS

The Gemara (Shabbos
9:) says that one must
daven minchah before
sitting down to eat a
meal. (Details of this
halachah are discussed
in Shulchan Aruch
232:2).
Nevertheless, if he
began the meal, Chazal
say, he may continue
eating, and daven
afterwards. “When is it
considered that he began
the meal? When he opens
his belt.”

The Gemara asks two questions: (1) Is it hard
to put the belt back on? He took off the belt,
but it isn’t so hard to put back on a belt and
daven minchah. (2) Let him daven without a
belt! He can stand and daven as he is now.
The Gemara only answers the second
question. The Gemara says that he needs a belt
because one must prepare himself for tefillah,
as it states (Amos 4:12) Hachon Likras
Elokecha Yisrael.
He needs to wear a belt for tefillah, so the
second question doesn’t apply. But the first
question still seems valid! Why shouldn’t he
just put back on the belt and daven before he
begins eating the meal? (See Tosafos who

addresses this question).
The Yid HaKadosh zt’l answers that after the
Gemara established that it is a mitzvah to wear
a belt, the question, “Is it hard to put on a
belt?” doesn’t apply anymore because, indeed
it is hard to put on a belt. This is because
whenever something is a mitzvah, it suddenly
becomes difficult. It can be the easiest thing to
do, but if it is a mitzvah, it is hard to fulfill.
The Chazon Ish zt’l said that if a blatt fleck (a
scratch on an esrog) would be considered a
more beautiful esrog, it would be hard to find
such an esrog. This is because when something
becomes a mitzvah, it suddenly becomes
difficult.
Reb Yitzchak Hutner zt’l told a mashal of a
person who put up his house for sale and said
he would sell it to the highest bidder. The price
kept going up, but he didn’t sell his house.
The highest bidder became agitated and said,
“Are you planning on selling the house or not?
You said you’re selling to the highest bidder,
and the highest bidder is me.”
The man replied, “I’m not planning on selling
my house. I just wanted to know how much the
house is worth, so I put it up for sale.”
Reb Hutner zt’l explained that the mitzvos
also have value and worth, and some mitzvos
are more precious than others. If you want to
know which mitzvos are extremely precious,
the test is to see how difficult it is to keep

them. When you see that the yetzer hara
is working hard to prevent people from
performing this good deed, that’s an
indication of how precious this deed is
to Hashem.
The yetzer hara uses the technique of
fear to confuse people and then to
capture them into his snare.
Reb Avraham Ginochovsky zt’l spoke
about a fish that sends a black die into
the water. This confuses the fish around
them, and they can consume them.
Reb Avraham said that the yetzer hara
does the same. He puts out a black die, which
means that he gives people a feeling of dread
as if life is so bleak and difficult, and then they
panic, and don’t know how they will manage.
At these times, they are so confused and sad,
that they can easily fall into the hands of the
enticing yetzer hara who is seeking prey.
People are so involved in their worries and
concerns, that they don’t even recognize the
yetzer hara who stealthily draws them to
aveiros.
The sefarim also talk about a snake that sits
under a tree and looks up at a bird perched
high above. The bird stares back, afraid of the
snake below, until it falls, as if paralyzed, right
into the snake’s mouth.
This is another tactic of fear that the yetzer
hara uses. He causes people to fear that they

will fall into its hands, and that fear itself
causes them to lose the battle.
The counsel, therefore, is to be courageous
and to believe that you can manage. You can
manage and overcome the trying life situations
and win the battle against the yetzer hara. With
this courageous outlook, you won’t fall into
the yetzer hara’s hands.
Rebbe Mendel of Vorker zt’l said, “Children
play hide and seek. A child hides and then
shouts “ready.” His voice tells the other
children where to find him.
Hashem does the same. He conceals himself,
but it is like Hashem is shouting, “I’m hiding.
Find me.” And then we know exactly where to
find him. He is there, in that situation. It seems
scary, Hashem’s presence is concealed. This
means life is difficult, but we know Hashem is
there, so there is nothing to fear.