Rakhem Haokip
In the beginning of our parasha, we find a very interesting verse. "Judges and Officers should you put on all of your gates". A lot of Mefarshim comes to explain it in each of their ways however, today we want to focus on only one of them.
The Torah comes to tell us not only about the judges who are being seated on the city gates but also on the gates of your body. Your eyes, your ears, nose and mouth.
A person once came to his rebbe and asked him that he is unable to have clean thoughts, what should he do? The Rebbe told him to go to a far away town where an old sage lives, and he will tell him what to do. So he went to the said town and the day fell dark. It started to snow and was freezing outdoors. He needed to find a place to spend the night.
Not too far away, he saw light blinking through the snow. As he got closer, it seemed to be an inn, where sounds of people chatting and laughing was heard all the way outside. He made up his mind to spend the night there. He started knocking. Nobody answered. He kept on knocking for a few minutes. No one opened. After about half an hour of knocking he started becoming impatient and started shouting and cursing. After about three hours outside in the freezing cold, he became really very impatient and was about to break through the door banging with full might.
Suddenly, an elderly looking person opened the door and yelled at him, "What do you want??" The man complained saying that he has been banging at the door hours and no one answered. The old man answered, "So what? I decide who gets into my house and who don't". He got his answers.
The Mashal seems like an old day nighttime story but, if we would ponder upon the answer of the elderly looking person, "I decide who gets into my house and who don't" we can learn a great deal of Mussar from it.
When I was small, I loved examining myself, thoughts, in order to understand a human's mind. And one of the things that really amazed me is that sometimes you can imagine yourself as a tiny person seated inside the head of a giant controlling the whole body. You can try it now.
With G-d's help, I understood after getting into the field of Torah. A human being is divided into to parts, his body and his soul. It is hinted in the Hebrew word for a person, אדם . דם is blood in Hebrew. א is 1 which stands for the G-dly portion in a human body, The Neshama or the Soul.
Every human being has a soul that is put into the person's body which makes the person alive. The esoteric teachings of the Torah tells us that a person's soul is located in his head and the main gate that can reach to it are the eyes. A side-note, and so when a person does not guard his eyes and stares at a forbidden image, it directly makes a flaw on the soul.
This more or less explains my observation.
People tend to say "No this is too hard for me" "I am unable to overcome it" and so forth. But think about this for a moment. This is your body. You have the control over it. Nobody else decides what goes with your body, only you.
Somebody asked Rabbi Avigdor Miller ZT"L "I am depressed, there are so much to learn!" The Rav answered him, have you ever said, "There are too much work, I am depressed there is too much money to earn". Its only the Yetzer Hara that lets you think its too hard.
I never understood the meaning of the phrase that say twice a day everyday, "You shall serve Him with all of your hearts" and our sages explain "With both your good inclination and also with your bad inclination". It is not so difficult to understand to serve Hashem with ones good inclination. In a sense, it was created for such!
But to serve Hashem with one's evil inclination? Not so understood.
When you are seated inside a Synagogue on Shabbat, everybody in their best vestments in honor of the creator of the world, considering the fact that you are normal, will you by any chance have the thought of slandering someone of the community? Not at all. Why? I call this religious mode.
Just like all phones have silent mode every person has his own "Religious mode".
Let say, Shabbat was just over and you come out of the synagogue after a great day of spirituality. You walk on the streets and suddenly a well shaped lady in cow's suit - that's what I call it, pops up, what happens next? Gehinom. Why is that so? You are in your "Secular mode" or "Gehinnom mode" might be better. That is your Yetzer HaRa, the Evil Inclination.
When the Torah says, "Serve Him with all your hearts" With both your good and evil inclinations, it means not only to do His will when you are in your "Religious mode" but also to bring the "Secular mode" to do Teshuva - Repentance.
How do you do it? Remember, Its your body, its your inclination, you have the authority over your body, it might seem to be difficult but really isn't. The key is DONT THINK! JUST DO IT. You have the opportunity to do a will of Hashem, lets say to get up and go to the Beit Knesset to pray. Why are you waiting on your bed and taking advices from your evil inclination? You know he will never give you any positive answer. Your logical brain thinks its worthwhile, don't wait! Jump to do the will of Hashem.
A king never have to ask someone in order to kill another person, you are the king of your body, you decide whether you do the will of the Kings of Kings or not.
I heard a very inspiring Drasha from our Rosh haKollel, HaGaon HaRav Avichai Pachima Shlit"a, Hashem should give him a long live full of mitzvot. This is what is told us.
When Avraham avinu was tested, first of all, The Hashem tells him to take his lone son to a place where he will be slaughtered. Immediately the Satan comes about with reasons why not to.
1. He is his lone son! He waited decades for this son! How is he supposed to kill him now? May be Hashem made a mistake?!
2. What will his wife think about it? It could potentially kill her upon hearing that his husband his going to kill her lone son that she gave birth to after so many decades.
3.He is the Gadol HaDor! The Biggest Rabbi in his generation, how could he do something that he taught everyone in his generation not to do?
Avraham Avinu holding strong onto the command of Hashem, "If it is the will of Hashem, Ill do it". Then the Satan went to his son, Yitzchak Avinu and started speaking to him with the following reasons why not to go.
1. "Think about your mother, Don't you have any more feelings for her?"
2. Your father won't mind whatsoever, at least you think about it.
"My father spoke with Hashem, he knows exactly what he is doing". Yitzchak avinu was strong on his way. They won over their inclinations. They won the test and as a celebration, what did they receive? The death of Sarah imeinu!
Why did that happen? The reason of the Satan is that even if he didn’t succeed over them beforehand, at least let them regret over their deeds so that they won't have any reward for it. But over holy patriarchs, were like boulders that couldn't be moved.
There is a very inspiring saying in the Kuki language, the language of the bnei menashe that was acquired during the two centuries of exile, "Saipi achenan chentin, uichan ahap kihaptante", The Elephant keeps on walking towards his destiny even though dogs keeps on barking at it.
A person must know that his body is in his own power, his thoughts are in his own power and nothing else have control over his right to choose. It is only the evil inclination that tries to win over you, but remember what is the will of Hashem? Jump for it.
You have to stop using your smartphone? Is it the will of Hashem? Then what are you waiting for? Is it assur to go to the Israeli national service? Why do you keep on pushing to go? No they tell me it will open me alot of doors for my career. But is it the will of Hashem?
Who has the control over you? You or your evil inclination? The Mishna in avot says the famous passuk "Who is strong?" Someone who gets over his inclination. A person who has a gun on his hand and kills an Arab is not called strong. He knows he will kill him so he kill the arab first, thats it. But when is he called strong? When he sits in front of a book for hours and holds himself from the advice of the Yetzer Hara.
A kid, clean of any filth of the outer worlds, when does he feel that he is the strongest? When he receives a vaccination and he holds himself, when he falls on the ground and gets hurt but picks himself up, when he has to take a very sour medicine but manages to swallow it. Why? Because he knows with his clean untainted heart what truly means to be strong. To have control over oneself. To jump to do the will of his parents which ultimately refers to our G-d, The creator of the universe.
Shabbat Shalom
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