Transcript
Alright, Parshas כי תצא Ki Seitzei. I want to do with this piece in Slanimer Rebbe today. It's a short piece, it's a real חסידישע khasidishe piece. And what I mean by that is sometimes the Slanimer Rebbe or חסידישע תורה khasidishe Torah, sometimes they can be confused with actually being פשט pshat in the פסוק pasuk. They add an additional layer of interpretation to the פסוק pasuk, which really reflects what the פסוק pasuk meant. And sometimes it's trying to communicate an idea and the פסוק pasuk is just the excuse to get the idea across, but I don't think anyone including the author of the idea thinks that that's exactly what the פסוק pasuk was talking about. Maybe it is one of the 70 ways to understand the פסוק pasuk. Maybe you know, רמז, דרש, סוד remiz, drash, sod and so on. But this is a real חסידישע תורה khasidishe Torah in the sense that I think the idea is critically important whether it is what the פסוק pasuk means or not, certainly not on the פשט pshat level. With that very, with that introduction.יש לבאר בעוד אופן ענין כי תצא וכי שבית אויבו Yesh l'vaer b'od ofen inyan Ki Seitzei v'chi shavisa oivo. So our פרשה parsha, כי תצא למלחמה על אויביך ki seitzei l'milchama al oyvecha, is and in the earlier pieces here in the, the Rebbe develops the notion that this language כי תצא למלחמה ki seitzei l'milchama appears, פרשת בלק Parshas Balak, it appeared yesterday in פרשת שופטים Parshas Shoftim, it appears now פרשת כי תצא Parshas Ki Seitzei. We see it in several places. And of course, it's talking not only nationally or collectively when our army goes out to war literally. But of course, the more personal way of reading it is כי תצא למלחמה על אויביך ki seitzei l'milchama al oyvecha, the greatest war that we all fight, a war that's never won, it's never over, it is for the duration of our lives, is with the יצר הרע yetzer hara. על אויביך Al oyvecha, the ultimate enemy that we have is not the enemy from without, but is the enemy from within. The harder enemy to conquer is not the adversary from outside, although don't mean to minimize some of our adversaries and those who who courageously fight them, but is the enemy from within. Because the enemy from without can be defeated and one can move on. One can eliminate an enemy from without. New enemies may arise, but that particular enemy can be, can be eliminated. But he's going to talk about here, and we mentioned it last week in the מסילת ישרים Mesilas Yesharim shiur, is that we have to understand the first method to understanding how to successfully battle with the יצר הרע yetzer hara is to appreciate the fact that the יצר הרע yetzer hara is never defeated. The יצר הרע yetzer hara is managed.In the world of addiction, the 12-step program, they talk about that. You're never cured. You don't become a non-alcoholic. You can't go into a bar or have one drink. When you have that problem, when when an individual acknowledges they have a problem with a יצר הרע yetzer hara, be it one with a stigma for which there is a 12-step program, or be it the ones with no stigma, like being a workaholic or a perfectionist or the many things which are equally addictions, but society sometime somehow praises them rather than places a stigma on them. But the first step to being able to really to control it is to realize that it will be managed, it will never be conquered. The moment you think it's conquered and it's behind you is when you're vulnerable and susceptible to it again. You're only able to continue to be vigilant with it when you realize I need to be aware of it and manage it for the duration of my life.So he says in this פסוק pasuk, כי תצא וכי שבית אויבו ki seitzei v'chi shavisa oivo, על פי מאמר נא סבא קדישא מאלקוביץ זכותו יגן עלינו על הפסוק כי תצא למלחמה al pi ma'amar na Sava Kadisha mi'Alkowitz, zechuso yagen aleinu, al ha'pasuk ki seitzei l'milchama. שמיד כשיהודי נולד ויוצא לאויר העולם, עליו לדעת שתפקידו הוא למלחמה על אויביך She'miyad k'she'Yehudi nolad v'yotzei l'avir ha'olam, alav l'daas she'tafkido hu l'milchama al oyvecha. From the moment a Jew is born, from the moment a child, a baby emerges from the womb, not that cognitively they're able to appreciate this yet, but we need to know that our mission, our תפקיד tafkid in the world, is to defeat our אויב oiyev, to defeat our enemy. שתכלית ירידתו לעולם הוא בפרט היא להלחם ביצר הרע האויב בנפש She'tachlis yeridaso l'olam hu bifrat he l'hilachem b'yetzer hara ha'oiyev b'nefesh. In other words, I mean it's a pretty depressing thought, right? Because I thought the תכלית tachlis of the world is to change the world, to make it a better place, to be happy, to be משיג גילוי השם masig gilui Hashem, to get the pleasure of השם Hashem, תיקון עולם Tikkun olam, all these more positive things. This notion that like you're going to be involved in 70, 80, 120 years of wrestling, battling, sometimes winning, sometimes losing, but always being in a struggle. That's a pretty depressing thought on the one hand. On the other hand, if you recognize that that in fact is our mission, and the joy, the satisfaction that can come from being engaged in that battle, just גופא gufa being engaged in the battle, let alone winning, but certainly when we win certain battles, that satisfaction, that pleasure is far more permanent, more lasting, more real, more authentic than any other pleasure that's available to men, any other pleasure in the entire world. That is the greatest pleasure. That is the sum total, that is the essence of who we are and why we're here. As we've talked about many times, that we are a composite, we live in two realms simultaneously. The נפש בהמית nefesh beheimis, we have this animal soul, the animal instinct, the animal impulse, that like an animal says eat that, do that, sleep with that, go that, do whatever you want. Whatever you want, an impulse. An animal is an impulse and an animal observes the impulse. But we also have the צלם אלוקים tzelem Elokim that says you don't have to follow every impulse you have. You can live a higher life, a higher order. You can strive not for happiness, but you can strive for holiness. You can do so much more. So that coexistence or that battle through our lives, and for some, it expresses itself with chocolate cake, and for others with images on the internet, and others with the temptation to cut corners at work, and with others with the impulse to lose your cool with your wife or your children. Everyone battles that יצר הרע yetzer hara, that animal impulse instinct differently, but that's the תפקיד tafkid, that's the, the very mission, that's why we're here, that's what life is all about. That's what life is all about.ובהרגישו יהודי חושש שהוא כבר כל כך הרבה פעמים נלחם עם היצר הרע וחבושיו Uv'hargisho Yehudi choshesh she'hu kvar kol kach harbeh paamim nilcham im ha'yetzer hara v'chavushav. When a person thinks I've done this a million times. How many diets have I started and stopped? How many exercise programs have I started and stopped? How many times have I tried to conquer whatever יצר הרע yetzer hara it may be? צריך לדעת כי טובה בידו כי יהודי ירד לעולם בדי להלחם וזה הוא יעודו ותפקידו בעולם הזה Tzarich l'daas ki tova b'yado, ki Yehudi yarad l'olam bidei l'hilachem, v'zeh hu yi'udo v'tafkido b'olam ha'zeh. A Jew needs to know, that's why we're here. It's not a distraction from why we're here. It's not that really I'm here to make 10 million dollars, live in the biggest house, drive the nicest car. Really I'm here to get the biggest name, the most followers on Facebook, the most likes on Twitter, whatever. Really I'm here to, and this יצר הרע yetzer hara thing is a distraction. Food is so annoying, it's a distraction. And the internet's יצר הרע yetzer hara it's a distraction. No, זה הוא יעודו ותפקידו zeh hu yi'udo v'tafkido. This is our entire, this is our fate and this is our mission. ואף אם כבר נצח את היצר הרע, נותנים לו שוב יצר הרע יותר קשה, ויותר קשה, כדי שילחם תמיד V'af im kvar nitzach es ha'yetzer hara, nosnin lo shuv yetzer hara yoser kasha, v'yoser kasha, k'dei she'yilachem tamid. The יצר הרע yetzer hara works like the whack-a-mole at the carnival. You know when you smack one and it pops up over here, and they smack that one, the next one pops up over here. So the יצר הרע yetzer hara is not something that you say, I'm done, check, finished, accomplished, I got my diploma, I defeated the יצר הרע yetzer hara, I'm all done. If you defeat that יצר הרע yetzer hara, the next יצר הרע yetzer hara is going to pop up. I was talking to somebody struggling with addiction who's been through multiple programs. And the addiction first expressed itself in this realm and and it really through the person's enormous heroic work really got it under control. And but the guard was down and a couple of years later the addiction popped up in another realm. Right? So first it began with say alcohol, and a couple of years later they were a gambling addict. He came to realize through his therapy and I learned so much through him, that like that whack-a-mole, there's an addictive personality. There's something, there's a personality that's drawing him to these things. It's an escape, he's numbing himself, whatever the, whatever the, the DNA of that, of that personality is, you can conquer it in this one area, but if you're not vigilant of it popping up somewhere else, it's just going to express itself somewhere else. And the same is true with us. Whatever our יצר הרע yetzer hara is, we shouldn't think if I could only get rid of this distraction called the יצר הרע yetzer hara, whatever that particular thing I'm working on right now, if I conquered this, life, smooth sailing. Here on in, I could focus just on what I want. No, it is part of our definition of existence. To be alive, to be breathing is to have a יצר הרע yetzer hara. So the first step is to accept that. And when you accept that and you're committed to a life of managing that, now you can find happiness through the experience of of managing it.In the מלחמת היצר milchamas ha'yetzer. It's really, I don't remember I told you last week, I started learning תניא Tanya again, חזרה על תניא chazara on Tanya. The תניא Tanya is different than other the other בעלי מחשבה, בעלי מוסר baalei machshava, baalei mussar in this area where many others, the mission is to eliminate the יצר הרע yetzer hara. You take that animal instinct within us and we quiet it, we purge it, we get rid of it. Rav Hirsch's interpretation of all of קרבנות karbonos, the idea of taking the animals to the בית המקדש Beis Hamikdash was, you'd say the animal represents the animal in me. I have an animal instinct, I have an animal impulse, and I'm שוחט shechting it to you רבונו של עולם Ribono Shel Olam. I'm killing it in front of you because I'm killing the animal in me. And and, you know, Rav Hirsch develops for all the קרבנות karbonos that everything that goes with it is directing it to הקדוש ברוך הוא Hakadosh Baruch Hu. From my most basics like a קרבן מנחה korban mincha, flower offering, those of who are learning the דף daf, to a, to the ניסוך היין nisuch ha'yayin which is my luxuries in life, wine. It's a beautiful, beautiful interpretation. But the תניא Tanya says no, the בינוני beinoni is the individual who's not, the צדיק tzaddik is the person who has no יצר הרע yetzer hara whatsoever. Right? The צדיק tzaddik is the person who is either born without it or successfully conquered it and essentially walks around with no temptation. Doesn't even notice that there was a girl who was on the street. What a girl, doesn't even know, doesn't know what you're talking about. That's the, that's the צדיק tzaddik. The בינוני beinoni is the person who might 99.9% of the time succeed. Right? The בעל התניא Baal Tanya begins by redefining what a בינוני beinoni is versus a צדיק tzaddik. We've always thought a בינוני beinoni, the רמב''ם'ס Rambam's בינוני beinoni is the scales are even. The צדיק tzaddik the scales are this way, the רשע rasha the scales are that way, and the בינוני beinoni, the next action is going to tip the scale one way or the other. The בעל התניא Baal Tanya says no, the בינוני beinoni might be what we call a צדיק tzaddik in the sense that the בינוני beinoni is living a righteous life, doesn't give into עבירות aveiros. Why is he a בינוני beinoni? Because he still struggles. And that's why he wrote the ספר של בינונים Sefer shel Beinonim because we are all בינונים beinonim, we're not that צדיק tzaddik. The בינוני beinoni is the average person. So that's us, the average people, we the average people are living that life. You could be succeeding and and give the impression that you're a צדיק tzaddik, but as long as you are in in the in the battle, the יצר הרע yetzer hara. There's a new sefer about Rav Shlomo Halpern that came out. So his, I quoted him in this morning shiur, his rebbe, Rav Yitzchak Isaac Sher, Rav Isaac Sher, the son-in-law of the alter of Slabodka, was Rosh Yeshiva of Slabodka in Chevron and in Bnei Brak. So in the sefer it says he was talking to a group of 20 to 22 year old bachurim about marriage and he started by telling them, you know, you see a woman, she's not dressed, you have a yetzer hara, starting talking about the yetzer hara. And the boys looked at him and said, we don't we don't really have such a yetzer hara. So he looked at them and he walked away and he said, I didn't realize I was giving a shiur to malachim, I thought I was giving a shiur to to bnei adam. I guess I have nothing to say to the malachim, right? A godol b'Yisrael, it's only the the foolish, mistaken bachur, the young guy who thinks I don't have the yetzer hara. The Rosh Yeshiva, what we think is the tzaddik but who admits he's a beinoni, is the person who says, what do you mean? I live in this world. I live in this world. So, so the difference of the Baal Tanya from the others is that the beinoni is not is not trying to eliminate the yetzer hara. The beinoni is trying to capture and redirect the yetzer hara. To take that that passion, to channel it in the right way. So that's all חסידות khasidus is to take the world of גשמיות gashmius, to take the world of יצר הרע yetzer hara and not try to eliminate it by pretending that we're not drawn to it, but by try to elevate it and transform it into something which is, you take a קליפה klipa, קליפת נוגה klipas nogah, whatever all the לשונות lashonos that I'm relearning, and and you redirect it towards the service of השם Hashem.מלחמת היצר, יש היצר התמידי האויב בנפש, לא ינוח ולא ישקוט כי עם מתנהלת המלחמה הרגילה B'milchamas ha'yetzer, yesh ha'yetzer ha'tamidi ha'oiyev b'nefesh, lo yanuach v'lo yishkot ki im misnahelas ha'milchama ha'regila. We have two types of יצר הרע yetzer hara that are in us. We have the permanent, we have kind of that that permanent, regular, always ever present יצר הרע yetzer hara, שיהודי צריך לדעת כי כל דבר שיש בעולם הזה הוא אויב בנפש לו, ומאינו עושה זאת כראוי she'Yehudi tzarich l'daas ki kol davar she'yesh b'olam ha'zeh hu oiyev b'nefesh lo, u'm'eino oses zos krauy. You have to know that the world of רוחניות ruchnius and the world of גשמיות gashmius struggle to to be compatible together. The world, the physical world and the spiritual world are opposites, are opposites. This is what we say in אשר יצר Asher Yatzar, ומפליא לעשות u'mafli laasos. It's a wonder that הקדוש ברוך הוא Hakadosh Baruch Hu put the נפש nefesh, the נשמה neshama in the body, that the body works. The ברכה bracha אשר יצר Asher Yatzar is the acknowledgment of the absolute wonder and the miracle that you can mix oil and water. Oil and water don't mix. The נפש nefesh, the נשמה neshama and the גוף guf don't mix. The the רוחני ruchni and the גשמי gashmi, the physical and spiritual, they don't mix. So the fact that הקדוש ברוך הוא Hakadosh Baruch Hu found a way for it to be housed within the body is nothing short of a, nothing short of a miracle. So we need to know that to the soul, the physical world is a constant threat. It's a threat. Now we could use it and use it well, and it's not a threat. But if we're not vigilant and we're not mindful, then it is a threat to distract us, to derail us, to compromise us. So that יצר הרע yetzer hara for the world of גשמיות gashmius, that יצר הרע yetzer hara that says I'm confusing what's everlasting, what's what's eternal with that which is fleeting and that which is insignificant, the יצר הרע yetzer hara to be confused by that, it's a, it's a regular, it's a, it's a hum. It's like in the background that's there always. It's always there. ויש עוד סוג יצר הרע בבחינת פחז עליו יצרו ובקש לטרדנו מן העולם, מן השמים נזדמן הוא בנסיון קשה במיוחד V'yesh od sug yetzer hara b'chinas pachaz alav yitzro v'bikesh l'tardeinu min ha'olam, min ha'shamayim nizdamen hu b'nisayon kasha b'miyuchad. And then you have the other יצר הרע yetzer hara, which is the monumental יצר הרע yetzer hara where there are moments in time where you confront a choice, and that choice is being informed by the יצר הרע yetzer hara. Either a person has the ability to to make a really bad decision. Now this is the יצר הרע yetzer hara that you know, sometimes we're all struck by. On the other hand, we can't even understand how other people fail in it. Right? If you if you look at some of the great, um, so-called accomplished people, high profile people who gave away their entire lives because a moment of stupidity, usually revolving around עריות arayos, usually revolving around the strongest יצר הרע yetzer hara a man has for promiscuity, you say like, Elliot Spitzer, this one, that one, whoever you are, Tiger Woods, you threw it all away for, and did you not see that? Like if anyone would freeze the frame and ask you, do you really think that this girl's not going to tell her friends, she's not going to tweet, she's not going to save the texts that you've been sending her? You really think that you're going to get away with this? You think it's possible? Anthony Weiner, you're sending what you're sending over Twitter. You're like, you're an intelligent person, you made it to the United States Congress. Do you really think? So that's the כח koach of this יצר הרע yetzer hara is it causes you to not think. It sabotages your judgment and your entire thought process. This is not the יצר הרע yetzer hara that's ever present in the background that is the daily grind of I want to eat that, but I shouldn't eat that, so I'm trying not to eat that, and I'm trying to eat right. I want to, I really want to say that, but I shouldn't be saying. That's, that's the daily grind יצר הרע yetzer hara. But then there's that יצר הרע yetzer hara where an opportunity presents itself. Maybe somebody says I have a business opportunity, but you know, we gotta cut corners a little bit. Or you're standing there, I don't know, maybe you're about to have an enormous expense on something and they whisper to you, if you pay cash, we could, we could make the price a little bit less if you pay cash. That's, that's one of these, that's a huge יצר הרע yetzer hara. You could save a lot of money if you just pay cash. But you're stealing, stealing from the government, Rav Moshe Alter holds you're stealing from your fellow man because that impacts their taxes. When people cheat on taxes, so taxes have to be made up. That's an enormous יצר הרע yetzer hara. So whatever the יצר הרע yetzer hara is for and they're endless, there's the second level יצר הרע yetzer hara which is not the the consistent hum of the יצר הרע yetzer hara in the background of your life which is the daily grind, but there's the יצר הרע yetzer hara that every once in a while we face where there's a decision that we have to make and all of a sudden we got that voice in our head which starts to reconcile and justify and you know I don't really use the public school system, I pay a lot of taxes for it, so if I don't pay, if I pay cash for this new expenditure, who's really losing out? So that voice, that יצר הרע yetzer hara. על פי זה יש לומר דכי תצא למלחמה על אויביך נאמר על האויב התמידי Al pi zeh yesh lomar, de'ki seitzei l'milchama al oyvecha ne'emar al ha'oiyev ha'tamidi. So our פרשה parsha is talking about the כי תצא למלחמה על אויביך ki seitzei l'milchama al oyvecha is the first יצר הרע yetzer hara, the daily grind יצר הרע yetzer hara. היצר הרע הרגיל שעם זה צריך תמיד לעמוד בקשר מלחמה Ha'yetzer hara ha'ragil she'im zeh tzarich tamid laamod b'kesher milchama. וזהו כי תצא שמציאותך כולו לאורך העולם הולך ונהיה לקרב מלחמה על אויביך V'zehu ki seitzei, she'metziuscha kulo l'orech ha'olam holech v'neh l'krav milchama al oyvecha. That's the daily grind. That's the יצר הרע yetzer hara that has to be managed. It'll never be conquered. I'm a foody, I love food. I love food. I start, I keep eating long after I'm full and I eat foods that I know are bad for me, but I love food. I'm a foody. My new soon-to-be son-in-law, he couldn't care less about food. It's really kind of miserable actually now I'm starting to have him around a little bit. He couldn't care less about food. Couldn't care less about it. So, you know people like that. So, I don't know, I'm a foody. So that will never end. There's never going to be a day that I wake up and say, you know what, food doesn't matter much to me. I just need to eat a little bit to live and then I don't even remember that there's such a thing called food. That is unlikely to happen to me, I should live for another 80 years. That's unlikely to ever happen to me. So that, that is part of my life daily. Daily, and Boruch Hashem, not the worst thing to ever happen to somebody, but maybe other years you can relate to that. It's just part of daily life is is trying to make the choice to eat the right things. Stop eating when you're full, don't eat the junk, avoid the carbs. It's part of the daily grind of life. It's כי תצא למלחמה על אויביך ki seitzei l'milchama al oyvecha. Here it goes. You ready? Now here comes the חסידישע תורה khasidishe Torah. ושבית שביו, פירוש על פי מאמר הבעש''ט, הבעל שם טוב הקדוש, זכותו יגן עלינו על הפסוק כי יצר לב האדם רע מנעוריו V'shavisa shivyo, peirush al pi ma'amar ha'Besht, the Baal Shem Tov ha'kadosh, zechuso yagen aleinu al ha'pasuk ki yetzer lev ha'adam ra mi'neurav. The פסוק pasuk says that a person is born with a heart which could lead him astray. That that's, we have a heart defect. Everyone is born with a heart defect. שבאמת אין רע יורד מן השמים She'b'emes ein ra yored min ha'shamayim. We're born with it, that the רע ra doesn't come from heaven. וכל המידות הרעות שמשרשם בטובות ירדו לעולם עבור בחלק הטוב V'chol ha'midos ha'raos she'mishorsham b'tovos yordu l'olam avur b'chelek ha'tov. That the בעל שם טוב'ס Ba'al Shem Tov's פשט pshat in יצר לב האדם רע מנעוריו yetzer lev ha'adam ra mi'neurav is, הקדוש ברוך הוא Hakadosh Baruch Hu doesn't create רע ra. הקדוש ברוך הוא Hakadosh Baruch Hu doesn't create defects. He doesn't create bad. He doesn't stack the deck against us. So what does it mean that we're born רע מנעוריו ra mi'neurav? It means that it looks like רע ra so that we can go through the experience, the mission, the exercise of redeeming from within it the positive, the good. המלחמה שיהודי יוצא את מעולם הזה, לנצח את היצר הרע ותכליתה היא, כדי ושבית שביו Ha'milchama she'Yehudi yotzei es me'olam ha'zeh, l'natzeiach es ha'yetzer hara v'tachlisa he, k'dei v'shavisa shivyo. So what's our mission? כי תצא למלחמה Ki seitzei l'milchama. When you go to battle with whatever your יצר הרע yetzer hara is, your מצוה mitzvah is ושבית שביו v'shavisa shivyo. Your מצוה mitzvah is captive. ושבית שביו V'shavisa shivyo, when you take a captive. Who are you trying to take captive? להוציא את מדת אהבה משביה L'hotzi es midas ahava mi'shviyah. You're trying to redeem the מדה mida of love, the positive, from its captivity, ולהשיבה לשרשה ולמקורה בקדושה u'l'hashiva l'shorsha u'l'mekora b'kedusha, and to return it to its source. שזהו תכלית היעוד של יהודי She'zehu tachlis ha'yi'ud shel Yehudi. So the mission of a Jew, you follow, the בעל שם טוב Baal Shem Tov is saying, יצר לב האדם רע מנעוריו yetzer lev ha'adam ra mi'neurav. The heart of a Jew is born רע ra. We have a יצר הרע yetzer hara in it. Says the בעש''ט Besht, השם Hashem doesn't create רע ra. So how could he create something that gives the impression of רע ra? He created something that looks like רע ra so that we can go through the experience, the mission, the exercise of redeeming from within it the positive, the good. It's a big חסידישע khasidishe idea that if you can identify your biggest יצר הרע yetzer hara, you've also identified the area of your biggest potential. Whatever you're struggling the most with is the area that you can have the biggest breakthrough in your life. That מדה mida. Because that passion, that enthusiasm, that drive for that thing reveals to you what you have drive for. And now that you've accessed the drive, if you could redirect that drive, the sky's the limit what you could accomplish with that drive. So it looks like רע מנעוריו ra mi'neurav, it looks like it's רע ra, ושבית שביו v'shavisa shivyo. You got to take it captive. פשט Pshat in the פסוק pasuk is you meet this beautiful woman, you take her captive, you're taken by her, she's beautiful, so then you have to treat her a certain way and so on and so forth. So the חסידישע khasidishe spin on it is, you see something, it looks beautiful. Ah, I want to eat chocolate cake. I don't even care about chocolate cake. That's not my, potato chips. That's my יצר הרע yetzer hara. I want that that bag of potato chips, mesquite flavor, crunchy, kettle-cooked. Oh, a געשמאק geshmak. That's my יצר הרע yetzer hara. Wow, יפת תואר yafas to'ar. That is a beautiful, beautiful, look at that beautiful bag. ושבית שביו V'shavisa shivyo, take it captive. And now the idea is to transform it. And what do you do? Let's keep going. וזהו וראית בשביה אשת יפת תואר v'zehu v'raisa b'shivyoh eishes yefas to'ar. You see this magnificently beautiful woman. שראית את מדת האהבה שהיא מדה גבוהה כל כך She'raisa es midas ha'ahava she'hi mida gevoha kol kach. You see within the גשמיות gashmius, within that which looks רע ra, you look for the מדת אהבה midas ahava, you look for the good. That's what it means to take it captive. וחשקת בה ולקחת לך לאשה V'chashakta ba v'lakachta l'cha l'isha. And you long for her and you take her to be your wife. שתשקיע את כל הכחות להוציא את מדת אהבה ולהחזירה לשרשה ומקורה She'tashkia es kol ha'kochos l'hotzi es midas ahava v'lachzira l'shorsha u'mekora. So it means you long for that potato chip to be your wife. You want to eat that potato chip. You see its beauty and you want, you desire it. So what do you do? You see within it the possibility of not the potato chip, not the רע ra, but the good. Which could be that the triumph and you're not going to eat it even though you want to, that was the מדת אהבה midas ahava that was buried within it. Or maybe you took the potato chips but you you used them for a tish, for a bris, for a shiur, uh hachnasas orchim, bikur cholim, you use them for a holy purpose. Or maybe you you violated the common thinking, you were able to just eat one. You made a ברכה bracha, you had one, you satisfied that urge and you showed your your גבור gibor, you only had one, you didn't have to finish the whole bag. Whatever you find the מדת אהבה midas ahava within it, you you conquered something within it. So in other words, wherever the biggest יצר הרע yetzer hara is, that's not my biggest יצר הרע yetzer hara, it's just one of them for the mesquite barbeque kettle corn kettle cooked. So the מדת אהבה midas ahava, that's what he's saying. You see the spin? The ושבית שביו v'shavisa shivyo, you see this יפת תואר yafas to'ar. You see something beautiful you're attracted to. You want to look at that, you want to watch that movie, you want to read that thing, you want to whatever that thing you want to do is, it's יפת תואר yafas to'ar, it's beautiful. And וחשקת v'chashakta, you long for it. So what do you do? ושבית שביו V'shavisa shivyo. You got to take it captive. Don't let it own you, you've got to own it. וגלחה את ראשה ועשתה את צפרניה והסירה שמלת שביה מעליה שיעשה כל הדברים החיצונים של מדת אהבה המביאים לדברים רעים וירומם אותה בטהרתו לחלק הקדושה V'gilcha es rosha v'asta es tziporneha v'hesira simlas shivyah me'aleha, she'yaase es kol ha'dvarim ha'chitzonim shel midas ahava ha'meviim l'dvarim ra'im v'yeromem osa b'taharasa l'chelek ha'kedusha. So what's the Torah's prescription for what you do? You take this, you're out at war, you fall in love with this woman, what do you do? You shave her head, you take her out of the the clothing of of of uh captivity, and the nails. All the חיצוניים chitzonim, you take away all the external to reveal the internal. So that's the same thing you're supposed to do to your יצר הרע yetzer hara. Whatever you have that drive for and you've identified that's my drive, it's for money, it's for women, it's for food, it's for ביטול זמן bitul zman, it's for whatever the area of the drive is, if you can remove the חיצוניות chitzonius of the drive, if you peel back the external of that drive, you'll reveal the drive, the internal, and now you can express it and direct it towards the good. So you've transformed the רע ra, the מדה mida into מדת אהבה midas ahava. You've taken it captive, you've owned it, you've owned it. And that's the method כי תצא למלחמה על אויביך ki seitzei l'milchama al oyvecha. So when you go to war against the daily grind יצר הרע yetzer hara, what you need to do is ושבית שביו v'shavisa shivyo. You need to take it captive, you need to take peel back the external, you need to redirect it. ועל פרשת בהעלותך כתוב וכי תבאו מלחמה בארצכם על הצר הצורר אתכם V'il Parshas Ba'aloscha k'tiv, v'chi savou milchama b'artzechem al ha'tzar hatzorer eschem. פרשת בהעלותך Parshas Ba'aloscha, we have a similar language, when you get into a war in your land, against the enemy that's uh aggravating you, דקאי על יצר הרע בבחינת פחז עליו יצרו d'kai al yetzer hara b'chinas pachaz alav yitzro. Now this is the other יצר הרע yetzer hara. This is the one time, once in a while, enormous rise against you, you know, this enormous adrenaline יצר הרע yetzer hara. שכאן בפרשה סתם על אויביך, האויב הרגיל She'kan b'parsha stam al oyvecha, ha'oiyev ha'ragil. Our פרשה parsha talks about against the enemies, אויביך oyvecha means the daily grind of of the potato chips. אך שם כתוב הצר הצורר אתכם Ach sham k'siv hatzar hatzorer eschem. There the enemy is described not as the daily grind enemy who's in your life for the rest of your life. You know, I would argue for for most healthy men, the challenge of of the internet is is a daily grind. The day that you think that, you know what, I'm done, I've reached a certain age, I don't have any, I'm done, is you're you're still uh at risk. So whatever the daily grind יצר הרע yetzer hara is called אויביך oyvecha. The once in a while extraordinary יצר הרע yetzer hara is called the צר, הצורר אתכם tzar, hatzorer eschem. היצר הרע של פחז עליו יצרו ובקש לטרדנו מן העולם Ha'yetzer hara shel pachaz alav yitzro v'bikesh l'tardeinu min ha'olam. This is the יצר הרע yetzer hara that wants to bring you, right? So the daily grind יצר הרע yetzer hara is trying to destroy you little by little. Because and that's part of how it wins. If you eat the potato chips today, what's going to happen? Last week you had potato chips one day and you didn't die, you didn't gain 20 pounds, nothing, the sky didn't fall. So the so the daily grind יצר הרע yetzer hara gets you by saying, nothing enormous happens. The other יצר הרע yetzer hara, the צר, הצורר אתכם tzar, hatzorer eschem יצר הרע yetzer hara, that's the יצר הרע yetzer hara that's the Anthony Weiner יצר הרע yetzer hara. That's the Elliot Spitzer what's יצר הרע yetzer hara. That's the יצר הרע yetzer hara where an opportunity presents itself to you and you you mess up, you've destroyed your life. Like the consequences are cosmic, the implications are seismic, they're huge, they're huge. שנסיון חיים של יהודי כבד כל כך חיים שיוכל מנסיון זה להתרומם She'nisayon chaim she'Yehudi kaved kol kach chaim she'yochal me'nisayon zeh l'hitromem. כדרך שמצינו ביוסף הצדיק, שמנסיון הזה הגיע למדרגות גבוהות ביותר K'derech she'matzinu b'Yosef ha'tzaddik, she'min ha'nisayon ha'zeh higia l'madregos gevohos b'yoser. וכן אף על פי שלפול מנסיון שמתחתיו יותר רחמנא ליצלן V'chein af al pi she'li'pol me'nisayon she'matachtov yoser rachmana litzlan. So the the risk reward on both יצר הרע'ס yetzer haras is the same. The daily grind יצר הרע yetzer hara, you're right, if you have the potato chips, you're not going to die. You won't be publicly shamed, your life won't come to an end, your wife won't leave you. The the risk is not great, um, but the reward of overcoming it while while impressive is also not great. But that יצר הרע yetzer hara that comes every once in a while that's of enormous magnitude, the the risk is great, you could lose a lot, but the reward is also enormous what you could accomplish if you can surpass it. והעצה לזה היא והרעותם בחצוצרות V'ha'eitza l'zeh hi v'ha'rei'osem ba'chatzotzros. So there in פרשת בהעלותך Parshas Ba'aloscha, what do you do with that יצר הרע yetzer hara when you have that that rises to that level, you blow the חצוצרות chatzotzros. על דרך שבארנו ענין שופר של ראש השנה, שאחרון בשנה עושה השם יהודי את קול השופר, שבאמצעותו יוכל להתנחם מקרוב לב את האנחה העמוקה לפני השם יתברך Al da she'be'arnu inyan shofar shel Rosh Hashana, she'achron b'shana osseh Hashem Yehudi es kol ha'shofar, she'b'emtzuso yochal l'hit'nacheim mi'kerov lev es ha'anacha ha'amuka lifnei Hashem Yisbarach. So the Slanimer Rebbe says, what is the sound of the שופר shofar? There's so much imagery. The גר''א gra holds that the שופר shofar, you're not supposed to be said. The רב Rav has in Halachic Man or על התשובה Al Ha'Tshuva, that his grandfather רב חיים Rav Chaim was once, it was ראש השנה Rosh Hashana, a בעל תוקע baal tokea was a חסיד chasid and he's crying and he can't get the sound of the שופר shofar out because he keeps crying. He says, what are you, what are you crying? It's on his book על התשובה Al Ha'Tshuva. He says, what are you, what are you crying for? It's a מצוה mitzvah. You got to blow the שופר shofar. Produce the sound. Like what are you, what's going on over here? So it wasn't that he was cold and callous. He had a muscle from the גר''א gra. The גר''א'ס gra's vision of the שופר shofar is that this is coronation day. We're being ממליך השם mamlich Hashem. And the שופר shofar is when you're at the inaugural ball and the trumpet sounds to coronate the new king, the new president, that's what ראש השנה Rosh Hashana is. So what are you doing crying? What are you miserable about? What are you shaking and fearful? Somebody at the inaugural ball, they're toasting champagne, they're blowing the trumpets, they're they're thrilled, there's a new administration, there's a new king, they've renewed the king. For the Vilna Gaon, that's the imagery of the שופר shofar. The שפת אמת Sfas Emes has another imagery. So here the the Slanimer Rebbe says, what's the imagery of the of the שופר shofar? The imagery of the שופר shofar is this אנחה anacha, this incredible groan, this sigh that comes from within us, עמוקה amuka. שאנחה זאת בוקעת כל החיצוני, ורימא קולו מהזוהר הקדוש, איזה קול הרעם השגין על יהודי וקאז אנחה העמוקה הזאת, תחלה מתרגמים אינם מבינים כלל את הכוונה הטמונה בקול השופר, שיהודי נאנח באותה אנחה האמיתית לפני השם יתברך, המגעת עד מקום גבוה מאד She'anacha zos boka kol ha'cheitzoni, u'rimo kolosh mi'Zohar ha'kadosh, eizeh kol ha'har ama so gin al Yehudi v'k'eizeh anacha ha'amuka ha'zos, tochlu matregim einam mevinim klal es ha'kavana ha'tmunah b'kol ha'shofar, she'Yehudi ne'enach b'osah anacha ha'mitis lifnei Hashem Yisbarach, ha'magias ad makom gavoha me'od. You ever with someone who you're really close to, who you know what they're going through? And they just let out a big sigh and you understand exactly what they're saying. They don't need to use words. They just let out this sigh from within them. In רב פינקוס Rav Pinkus in שערי תפילה Shaarei Tefillah, one of the thirteen לשונות lashonos of תפילה tefillah from the Yaakov Shiman or the thirteen languages of תפילה tefillah is אנחה anacha. אנחה Anacha is a groan, is a sigh. Sometimes you can say more with a sound than you can say with words. So the שופר shofar is that sound that we're producing more with the sound than we would produce with words. It's that אנחה anacha, it's the groan, it's the sound. וזה פירוש והרעותם בחצוצרות V'zeh peirush v'ha'rei'osem ba'chatzotzros. שכנגד הצר הצורר אתכם, יצרו שפחז עליו, אין העצה רק והרעותם בחצוצרות She'k'neged ha'tzar hatzorer eschem, yitzro she'pachaz alav, ein ha'eitza rak v'ha'rei'osem ba'chatzotzros. שיהודי נאנח וצועק לפני השם יתברך מקרבות לבו She'Yehudi ne'enach v'tzo'ek lifnei Hashem Yisbarach mi'kirvos libo. So when you're confronting that that moment, that that that that enormous יצר הרע yetzer hara, you have to let out that groan, that cry out to השם Hashem that you need his help. שאין ממשות בעצמי ממש גוועים She'ein mamashos b'atzmi mamash geva im. You're drowning. כשיבא שוטף תני, שאני אבוד לגמרי K'sh'yavo shoteif tani, she'eni avud l'gamrei. I'm lost entirely. השם Hashem, throw me a life preserver. ומתקרב לפני השם אלקינו, כמאמר אדמו''ר דבית אברהם זכותו יגן עלינו על הפסוק, מקולות מים רבים אדירים משברי ים אדיר במרום השם u'miskarev lifnei Hashem Elokeinu, k'maamar Admor d'beis Avraham, zechuso yagen aleinu al ha'pasuk, mi'kolos mayim rabbim adirim mishbarei yam, adir ba'marom Hashem. מקולות, הקולות שיהודי צועק לפני השם יתברך Mi'kolos, ha'kolos she'Yehudi tzo'ek lifnei Hashem Yisbarach. What are the sounds that we cry out to השם Hashem? מים, הם כינוי לתאוות, רבים אדירים, התאוות מזרבות ומתגברות Mayim, heim keinui l'taavos, rabbim adirim, ha'taavos mizrabos u'mizgabros. So מקולות מים רבים אדירים mi'kolos mayim rabbim adirim, from the sounds of the מים רבים אדירים mayim rabbim adirim, from my תאוות taavos, from my temptation, my desire, my drive, ומהבקש משברי ים, רבונו של עולם, תקרע לי את הים u'mevakesh mi'shibrei yam, Ribono Shel Olam, tikra li es ha'yam. Open up the sea for me, שיוכל לעמוד בנסיונות גם, יצרו שפחז עליו ומבקש לטרדנו מן העולם she'uchal laamod b'nisyonos gamrah, yitzro she'pachaz alav u'mevakesh l'tardeinu min ha'olam. Help me cross to the other side. Help me get past this moment. The waters are raging and they threaten, the undercurrent to pull me down and I could drown, I could drown in this. I got a choice to make, I've got an opportunity, I've got a judgment call and this is my my יצר הרע yetzer hara is pushing me towards one way. So you've got to let out this enormous sound, this groan, this sigh, this קרעכץ krechts and say רבונו של עולם Ribono Shel Olam, open up the sea and let me make it to the other side, let me surpass, let me overcome. שאין זה רק יצרו אלא טרדנו מן העולם, לאבדנו לגמרי She'ein zeh rak yitzro ela l'tardeinu min ha'olam, l'avdeinu l'gamrei. This is not just trying to get me to eat a potato chip, this is trying to remove me from the world, destroy me entirely. הרי אז אדיר במרום השם Harei az adir ba'marom Hashem. So what's the answer? אדיר במרום השם Adir ba'marom Hashem. האנחה העמוקה הזאת שיהודי נאנח לפני השם יתברך מפנימיות לבו, חשוב ומקובל אצל השם יתברך יותר מתהלות התשבחות שהמלאכים אומרים לפניו במרום ולמעלה ושרפים Ha'anacha ha'amuka ha'zos she'Yehudi ne'enach lifnei Hashem Yisbarach mi'pnimiyus libo chashuv u'mekubal es Hashem Yisbarach yoser mi'tilos ha'teshbachos she'ha'malachim oimrim l'fanav b'marom u'l'maalah v'sarfim. The most genuine קרעכץ krechts sigh with no words is a more authentic תפילה tefillah than the angels can offer God upstairs. The whole idea of a ניגון niggun. Sometimes the words are amazing. אנשי כנסת הגדולה Anshei Knesses Ha'Gedolah gave us שמונה עשרה Shemoneh Esrei because they captured, they articulated for us what what the totality of what we would want to express to השם Hashem. שבח, בקשה, הודאה Shevach, bakasha, hoda'ah, praising him, asking things, thanking him, they gave us the, they verbalized, they gave us the words because without them we'd be lost. But the truth is that words hold us back. The power of a ניגון niggun over words is that words you have to be thinking about the words, follow the words, understand the words, say the words, the words have to fit the tune. You could just sing a tune and there's no words to it is when you can really get lost in the ניגון niggun. And the same is true with a groan, with a קרעכץ krechts. It's more authentic תפילה tefillah. It comes from the inside. The words are with the lips and the voice box. But a groan, a קרעכץ krechts comes from your from inside you, from your קישקעס kishkas. It is your קישקעס kishkas. You're turning to השם Hashem and saying from the depth of my soul, I'm turning to you, I need you to give me strength. I need you to give me what it takes to overcome. And that most authentic from the from your. kishkas. Desperation is the highest תפילה tefillah. It's במרום השם BaMarom Hashem. It's higher than מרום marom in the in the heavens what the angels can offer. הקדוש ברוך הוא Hakadosh Baruch Hu מקבל באהבה וברחמים mekabel b'ahava u'vrachamim his כוונה kavanah, his passion, ונשענתם על אביכם vinashantem al aveichem. וכשם שקללתו של הקדוש ברוך הוא עולה מצדיקים שבגן עדן U'ksheim she'klaluso shel Hakadosh Baruch Hu oleh mei'tzaddikim sheb'Gan Eden, כך הוא עולה מרשעים שבגיהנם kach hu oleh mei'rshaim sheb'Gehenom, שמצנן את גיהנם בדמעותיהם shemetzanen es Gehenom b'dimoseihem. Right, the the רשעים בגיהנם rshaim b'Gehenom, their tears are cooling off גיהנם Gehenom. כמאן דאמר אדמו\"ר K'maan d'amar Admor, שרשעים שבגיהנם על כוונה באש היצר הרע מצננים בזה גם כמו יהודי שבוכה ומבקש מהשם יתברך she'rshaim sheb'Gehenom al kavonah b'eish ha'yeitzer harah mitzanenim b'zeh gam kmo yehudi shebocheh u'mevakesh mei'Hashem Yisborach, שיושיעם מידו sheyoshiem miyado. וקללתו של הקדוש ברוך הוא עולה מזה V'klaluso shel Hakadosh Baruch Hu oleh mi'zeh, ומצנן את אש הגיהנם שהיצר הרע בוער בדמעותיהם u'metzanen es eish ha'Gehenom sheha'yeitzer harah boer b'dimoseihem. So when we cry, when we when we confront the יצר הרע yeitzer harah, when we see it, and we cry over it, we say רבונו של עולם Ribono shel Olam, I'm ashamed, I'm embarrassed, I'm humiliated, and I need you to give me strength to overcome it. I don't want to be that person. I want to be better. The tears, the קרעכץ krechts, the moan, the groan over it, are what extinguish the fires of the יצר הרע yeitzer harah.So the fire of the יצר הרע yeitzer harah is raging. What's going to extinguish that fire so that we can get to the other side? The tear, the tears, the literal or figurative, of who we are, who we've become, what we're tempted by, and that challenge, is what extinguishes that fire so that we can make it to the other side. So I said it's a real חסידישע תורה Chasidisha Torah, is that really the פשט pshat? Ki seitzei lamilchamah al oyvechaכי תצא למלחמה על אויביך , v'shavisa shivyoושבית שביו , v'ra'isa ba'shivyoh eishes yefas to'arוראית בשביה אשת יפת תואר and so on. Maybe. But uh, but it's the idea clearly is important and he wanted to get it across, so this became the platform to get it across, is that the two types of יצר הרע yeitzer harah, the daily grind יצר הרע yeitzer harah and the nuclear יצר הרע yeitzer harah that faces us once in a while. The daily grind יצר הרע yeitzer harah is overcome by ושבית שביו v'shavisa shivyo. You got to take it captive, expose, inside peel back the חיצוניות chitzeinius of it, take off the the שמלת שביה simlas shivya, גילחה את ראשה gilcha es rosha, shave her head, you got to peel back the layers of that daily grind יצר הרע yeitzer harah, see what's really at its core driving us, and then redirect that drive. יצר לב האדם רע מנעוריו Yeitzer l'lev adom rah mine'urav, no. הקדוש ברוך הוא Hakadosh Baruch Hu doesn't give us רע rah, there's good within it. So redirect it to the good. And then there's the other יצר הרע yeitzer harah which is the nuclear יצר הרע yeitzer harah which can threaten to destroy us. And for that, we have to react in a nuclear way. There have to be tears, there has to be that internal groan, that קרעכץ krechts, the חצוצרות chatzotzros, the equivalent of the sound of the שופר shofar that we produce, which is the cry to הקדוש ברוך הוא Hakadosh Baruch Hu to help us eliminate it, to remove it, and to be able to surpass it, to be able to be the best version of ourselves.
