17 Sep UNDERSTANDING THE BATTLE OF LIFE
As we go about
reflecting on our lives
getting ready for Rosh
Hashannah, the Day
of Judgement, it is
imperative to think
about the following
Gemara in the beginning of Masechtas
Berachos. The Gemara mandates, “L’olam
yirgaz adom yeitzer tov al yeitzer harah –
A person should always incite his good
inclination against his evil inclination.”
There are two extraordinary points to this
dictum that bear special note.
The first point is the Gemara’s emphasis
of l’olam, always. This battle between
our yeitzer hara and yeitzer tov is not
an occasional occurrence or a sporadic
bump in an otherwise smooth trajectory
of life. Rather, it is a perennial challenge
since this choice between right and wrong
confronts us many times daily. As Chazal
teaches us, “Yitzro shel adom misgaber
alov b’chol yom u’mvakeish l’hamiso –
A person’s evil inclination tries to prevail
over him every day and wants to kill
him.” If we don’t realize that we are being
tempted to sin and to stray every day, then
we’ve already lost the battle.
The second illuminating word in this
dictum is yirgaz whose root is rogez,
which means anger. We should invoke a
feeling of anger at our yeitzer hara since,
as we quoted, it is m’vakeish l’hamiso, it
has murderous designs upon us. Don’t be
surprised at this idea. People whose yeitzer
hara cajoles them to smoke, vape, drink in
excess, or engage in reckless speeding are
clearly being seduced to deadly habits.
However, one might think that the more
stable person is not confronted with lethal
temptations on a regular basis. Let me
demonstrate how this is a mistaken notion.
A large percentage of us regrettably
neglect the Fifth Commandment of
honoring our parents. Due to the frenetic
pace of modern life, this obligation is often
woefully shunted to the side. The Me’am
Lo’ez asks, Why does the Torah state that
the reward for honoring parents is l’maan
yarichun yomecha, in order that you
should enjoy longevity? After all, aren’t
we supposed to serve Hashem without the
thought of receiving reward? He answers
frighteningly that the main thrust is that
from the positive we deduce the negative,
and one who neglects this commandment
(or worse, acts disrespectfully to parents)
will not live long. This is
just one example of how the
yeitzer hara can tempt us in the
direction of lethal behavior.
Here’s another. The Gemara
in Kiddushin teaches us that
when the posuk says, “Al
kein lo yarich yomim k’tzeil
– Therefore you will not live
long; rather you will be like a
fleeting shadow,” it is referring
to those who do not give respect to Torah
scholars. The best example of this idea
is the 24,000 disciples of Rabbi Akiva
who died of the horrible death of askara,
diphtheria, because they didn’t give Torah
honor to one another. Unfortunately, this
is another example of a deadly crime that
the yeitzer hara regularly trips people
up with. Here’s a third example. We
are taught that if we withhold a person’s
wage interfering with his livelihood, that
can affect our very life. Indeed, there are
many more examples.
However, our reflection on this daily
battle with the yeitzer hara should not be
confined to only the deadliest of crimes.
This perpetual battle encompasses many
small crimes and infractions as well.
When we wake up in the morning, does
our inherent laziness or mindlessness
cause us to abstain from starting the day
correctly with the Jewish declaration
of Modeh ani l’fonecha? When we
wash our hands in the morning, do we
neglectfully not wash the all-important
negel vasser, three times alternately
up to the wrist? In our haste, does the
yeitzer hara get us to neglect greeting
our spouse with a cheerful smile and
offering our wishes for a sweet and good
day? As we gulp our coffee, does our
evil inclination succeed in getting us to
swallow the blessing instead of saying it
meaningfully?
Every step of the day we are confronted
with choices. As the posuk tells us,
“Hachaim v’hamaves nasati l’fonecha
u’vacharta b’chaim – Life and death I put
before you, and you should choose life.”
Do we put on our tefillin with a clean
body? Do we think of the tefillin’s
messages? Are we masiach daas,
forgetting about our tefillin while we are
wearing them? Do we let our mouths
do the walking for us in our tefillah,
while our minds space out or think about
the day ahead? Are we honest in our
business? Are we nice to our clients and
our coworkers? Do we cause the Name
of Hashem to be loved when we walk and
drive amongst people? When we return
home, do we treat our spouse as the most
important person in the world? Do we
make time to be warm and interested with
our children?
These are just some of the challenges
that the yeitzer hara wages against us on
a daily basis.
Forewarned is forearmed! The thinking
person will identify what his specific
challenges are and, for the year to come,
present to Hashem a plan to do better in
these skirmishes.
Hashem offered us special ammunition
in this campaign against the yeitzer hara.
As the Gemara says in Kiddushin, “Barasi
yeitzer hara; barasi Torah tavlin la – I
created the yeitzer hara; I created the study
of Torah as an antidote to it.” The Yaras
Devash says that for women, their raising
of children to a life of Torah and their
showing pleasure with their husband’s
learning is a powerful protection. The
Vilna Gaon, zt”l, zy”a, says that tzinus,
the modesty of women, also is a great
shield for women from the yeitzer hara.
The Gemara in Nedarim [40a] declares
that visiting the sick is a powerful weapon
against the yeitzer hara.
In the merit of mindfully engaging in
this daily battle of which we are assured,
“Haba l’taheir m’saiyin oso – One who
attempts to be pure, Hashem will help
him,” may we all be blessed with a year
of good health, happiness, and everything
wonderful.