The True Enemy - An Ellul Message from Rav Asher Weiss, Shlit"A

In the Aggadic portion of last night's (Sept. 8) shiur, HaGaon Rav Asher Zelig Weiss, ShLiT"A, discussed the opening pasuk of Ki Teitzei - "When you go out to wage [the] war against your enemy..."

He cited the well-known explanation of many darshanim (including Ohr HaChayim in Devarim 21:11) that this pasuk is referring to the greater war - the war that each person must wage against his yetzer hara. This is implied from the style of the pasuk. It does not read: Ki teitzei l'milchama - when you go out to wage a war - but, rather, it reads: Ki teitzei la'milchama - when you go out to wage the war. Not just any war...

He linked this to the aura of Ellul as we customarily recite Psalm 27 which says:

אם תחנה עלי מחנה לא יירא לבי אם תקום עלי מלחמה בזאת אני בוטח

If a war (מלחמה ) should arise upon me, in this (זאת) I am confident...

The word זאת is always a reference to Torah as it says זאת התורה - אדם כי ימות באהל and it says וזאת התורה אשר שם משה , etc. So, apparently what King David is telling us is that the remedy for the מלחמה - the great battle against the yetzer hara - is זאת - Torah. This is in line with the famous gemara in Kiddushin (30b):

כך הקב"ה אמר להם לישראל בני בראתי יצר הרע ובראתי לו תורה תבלין ואם אתם עוסקים בתורה אין אתם נמסרים בידו שנאמר הלא אם תטיב שאת ואם אין אתם עוסקין בתורה אתם נמסרים בידו שנא' לפתח חטאת רובץ ולא עוד אלא שכל משאו ומתנו בך שנאמר ואליך תשוקתו ואם אתה רוצה אתה מושל בו שנאמר ואתה תמשל בו

So says G-d to Israel: My son, I have created a yetzer hara and I have created the Torah as an antidote. If you will busy yourselves with the study of Torah, you will not be given over into his hands...

And so, the message is that the sole antitdote to the influence of the yetzer hara is the study of Torah.

He then went on to challenge this concept from the following Chazal:

א"ר לוי בר חמא אמר ר"ש בן לקיש לעולם ירגיז אדם יצר טוב על יצר הרע שנא' רגזו ואל תחטאו. אם נצחו מוטב ואם לאו יעסוק בתורה שנאמר אמרו בלבבכם אם נצחו מוטב ואם לאו יקרא קריאת שמע שנאמר על משכבכם אם נצחו מוטב ואם לאו יזכור לו יום המיתה שנאמר ודומו סלה.

A person must always infuriate the yetzer tov against the yetzer hara... if he is victorious, well and good. If not, he should busy himself with Torah study. If he is victorious with this, well and good. If not, he should recite the kriat shema. If he is victorious with this, well and good. If not, he should remember that the day of death will come...

Rav Weiss asks: If Torah study is the true antidote, why do we require some alternative backup remedies? How is it possible that Torah does not work, and what do we gain from these other suggestions?

He answers that Torah and only Torah is the antidote for the yetzer hara. Nevertheless, it is similar to all medicines that must be "taken as directed". Some medicines are to be taken on an empty somach and others only just before or just after meals. In some cases certain foods will nullify or exacerbate the effects of the medicine, or certain other medicines or alcohol, or certain medical conditions (i.e., if a woman is pregnant or nursing or if one has hypertention, etc.).

Therefore, for people who are in the proper state of spiritual health and maintain a proper "spiritual diet", the Torah study alone should be sufficient. However, for one who has a more severe condition, he may need a booster to supplement the Torah study (which cannot be dispensed of). He may have a problem in emunah and as such, his Torah study alone will not do the trick. And so, in order to strengthen his emunah, the gemara suggests that he recite kriat shema. Then, with a new surge of emunah, his Torah study will succeed.

The gemara continues that if that still doesn't work, he may have another "condition". He may have a strong case of gaavah which prevents the Torah study from penetrating to his soul. As such, the gemara suggests that he remind himself of his eventual demise as the Mishna in Pirkei Avot says:

Look at 3 things and you will not come to the hands of sin. From whence you came, to where you are going and before Whom you must account...To where you are going - to a place of dust, maggots, and worms...

If even this does not work, then one has already "come to the hands of sin" and he must first do teshuva before the Torah study will help.

May we all be victorious in the battles of the greatest of wars!

Who Put the Goat in the Aron Kodesh? - Ellul and Cheshbon HaNefesh

The last post that I wrote is supposed to be a preamble to this one. The message of that post was that Moshe is telling us the we have to evaluate everything that is in front of us. It can be more substantial than meets the eye. And everything we do is a choice that can bring us to other places we may not have thought about.

There is one more thing that he teaches us. And this revolves around the question that all of the commentaries ask:
Why does the pasuk start off in the singular - Re'eh - you see; and it continues in the plural - I have put in front of you - לפניכם - the plural you?

I have seen a myriad answers to this. But one that came to my own mind is as follows (similar to an explanation by Rav Menachem Mendel of Kotzk):

Moshe is commanding each individual to open his eyes and see that the Bracha and Kellala is here in front of all of us. In other words, each individual has his own bechira but he must be aware that his bechira doesn't affect him alone - it effects others as well.

And I don't mean just some of the time. I mean all of the time.

And now, I want to tell you this story. I heard this story on a tape from Rabbi Paysach Krohn. The story he told is probably how it really happened. But I am going to amend it a drop. Amend it to show how it should have happened.

He tells that a few centuries ago in one province in Russia there was a young yeshiva bochur who was a bit free-spirited and mischievous. More of a prankster than a scholar (sounds familiar?). One morning he wanted to have a bit of fun so he tucked a goat in the Aron kodesh of the bais midrash before davening. It was a day with krias haTorah so when the Aron was opened in the middle of davening out pops a goat and starts prancing all over the bais midrash.

It didn't require much investigation to identify the perpetrator. In short order the case was taken up by the faculty. The overwhelming opinion was to expel the young man but such a move would have drastic implications. This was not the place or era of today's "there's-a-yeshiva-for-every-kind-of-boy" philosophy. If a boy was expelled from yeshiva - his yeshiva career was over.

As this was a very weighty decision, the case was referred to the posek acharon of that province who at that time was none other than Rav Shneur Zalman of Liadi, the Baal HaTanya. The Baal HaTanya asked to see the boy personally, and he was brought before him. The Baal HaTanya asked him some questions and then asked him if there is any reason he should not be expelled from the yeshiva.

The quick-witted prankster responded, "If you expel me from the Yeshiva, you are not only expelling me. You are also expelling my children and my children's children and their children for all generations."

The Baal HaTanya was impressed with this boy's out-of-the-box reasoning and so he told him, "You are a bright boy. If you promise to buckle down and to desist from these pranks we will let you remain in yeshiva."

This is the story as I heard it from Rabbi Krohn. But I was a bit let down. I think , if this is what actually transpired, that the Baal HaTanya missed an opportunity to make a forceful point. In my opinion, his words would have had more impact if he told the young man as follows:

"I see that you are a bright boy and that you have much potential. If you desist from these antics, I am more than willing to give you another chance. But, know this: When you put a goat inside the Aron Kodesh, you are not the only one that is putting the goat inside the Aron Kodesh. Your children and your children's children and their children for all generations are also putting the goat inside the Aron Kodesh..."