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The Secret Weapon Strategies for a Meaningful Elul By Rav Moshe Shternbuch The following was written by Rabbi Daniel Yaakov Travis based on a drasha given by Rav Moshe Shternbuch, Rosh Av Beis Din of the Eidah Hachareidis of Yerushalayim. ••••• GOING TO WAR “When you go out to war against your enemy, and Hashem delivers him into your hands…” (Devorim 21:10). One might expect the Torah, when talking about victory in battle, to address the entire army. So why does the posuk use the singular form of “you,” apparently addressing each person individually? Seforim explain that the enemy referred to here is the yeitzer hara, which attacks each person daily. The Torah reveals that we are incapable of fighting this enemy on our own. Only if Hashem delivers the enemy straight into our hands can we hope for success. The Chofetz Chaim points out another aspect of this struggle. “When you go out to war” implies that a person can only win this fight if he is willing to engage in combat. Once he has taken up arms, Hashem will take charge and help him win the war. Strategy, tactics and armaments are just a few of the factors that play a key role in military victory. So too, when battling the yeitzer hara, without weapons and a battle plan, a person has little chance of prevailing. What would happen if a person chooses not to fight and instead lets nature take its course? Without taking the initiative to do battle, he has no chance of winning. His life will surely be destroyed by the tailor-made tactics of the yeitzer hara. Furthermore, since every Jew is obligated to strive to overcome his yeitzer hara to the best of his ability, one

who lays down his arms stands to lose part of his portion in the World to Come. While malachim were created with no evil inclination, man has a yeitzer hara which burns eternal within him. From the moment he is born until he breathes his last breath, he is engaged in a constant struggle. Only someone who understands the serious nature of this war will ever come out on top. RELEASING CAPTIVES “And you see amongst the captives a beautiful woman” (Devorim 21:11). The Zohar explains that the captive referred to in the posuk is our mitzvos. When we transgress, our mitzvos are taken away from us. How can we free these prisoners of war? Mitzvos taken captive are not lost; they can be freed. Teshuvah allows us to get back the mitzvos we lost, and return them to our credit. Some sifrei mussar state that one way to overcome the yeitzer hara and bring ourselves

to teshuvah is to recognize the insignificance of our own existence compared to the Almighty Creator. “The difference between man and beast is nothing,” and by grasping how small we are, we can serve Him properly. The end of man is the worm. The baalei mussar say that if we can develop an awareness of this harsh truth while we are still alive, we can yearn for true greatness in the World to Come. Others take an opposite approach and recommend that a person focus on the G-dgiven potential for greatness that lies in each and every Jew - even you. Hashem has placed man at the center of the universe, and the entire Heavenly assembly must wait for man’s cue before it can do anything. Developing awareness of this great responsibility should

By Rabbi Nachum Eisenstein Lakewood, N.J.

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CHOOSE YOUR WEAPON Tefillah and Torah are the primary tools we have to fight the yeitzer hara. However, transgressions taint our actions and weaken the potency of even the most powerful weapons. Under such circumstances, Hashem no longer has interest in our actions. Many of us are plagued by irrelevant thoughts that disturb our tefillos. The Zohar explains the source of these interruptions. Klipos of tumah which are created when we transgress are summoned especially to disturb our prayers. Rav Eliyahu Lopian once pointed out how careful we must be to protect ourselves from this outside interference. Hashem hears what is passing through our mind

Many people still fail to “show up” for Elul.

The Ultimate Test “Lo achalti be’oni mimenu - I have not eaten of it in my intense mourning” (Devorim 26:14). In reciting vidui ma’aser, the formula recited upon bringing the bikkurim to the Bais Hamikdosh, a person states that he did not eat maaser during his period of mourning (prior to burial). In exchange, he requests, “Hashkifah mi’mon kodshicha min hashomayim uvoreich es amcha es Yisroel - Gaze down from Your holy abode, from the heavens, and bless Your people Yisroel and the land that You gave us.” What is so important about not eating maaser during a mourning period that it should underlie this unique bracha? Rav Eliyahu Dessler maintained that for a couple to date many times yields no practical benefit. Dormant character traits, for example, will generally not surface, not because they are actively being hidden, but rather because circumstances do not force them out of their dormancy.After marriage, life’s pressures bring those traits forward. Until then, they are really unrecognizable. Only reaction to life’s circumstances forces those sleeping traits to surface. If, in their lifetime, the couple never face situations

instill a feeling of awe within us, and propel us to reach higher levels of Divine service. These two approaches regarding the proper way to serve Hashem are expressed in hilchos shofar. Those who favor the approach of humility rule that the shofar should be curved, to show that we are bowed before G-d in humility. Others say that the shofar should be straight, symbolizing how a Jew should stand upright and proud in his Divine service.

that can arouse those traits, they can live their entire lives without realizing that they exist. Chazal already noted that we can evaluate a person through his cup (his behavior upon imbibing), what angers him, and via his pocketbook. (As Chazal pithily expressed

as if it was actual speech. Imagine the disgrace when our tefillos arrive in Shomayim together with all of the irrelevant thoughts that accompanied our prayers! “I created the yeitzer hara and I created Torah as its antidote” (Kiddushin 30b). Torah is a powerful weapon against the yeitzer hara when learnt with the proper intentions. Torah studied like any other academic discipline does not have the power to overcome this masterful enemy. “We should all know Your name and learn Torah with pure intentions.” Torah requires that a person recognize who his Source is. At the same time, we should try and study Torah with the intention of bringing ourselves closer to Hashem. become otherwise when the economy falters, and then we can recognize traits that had not previously surfaced. We recently mentioned that Rav Aharon Leib Shteinman noted that those individuals who contributed regularly to their tzedakah suffered less from the global monetary crisis. This reveals the true nature of those benevolent donors. Chazal recognized human nature and revealed to us that not everything that we see is accurate. To recognize fully an individual’s true merit, we have to observe him in situations where he is not totally in control. Only then do his true colors show. In this vein Rav Dessler made his point.

To recognize fully an individual’s true merit, we have to observe him in situations where he is not totally in control. Only then do his true colors show. it: bekoso, bekaaso, uvekiso.) Most normal people have control of their character traits. They can harbor ill feeling toward others without expressing it. Yet, in a fit of rage, when they lose control, they will verbalize this feeling. The same holds for a person who is drunk. In ordinary circumstances a person can keep his innermost feelings to himself. When drunk, however, he will blurt out those feelings. “On the tongue of a drunkard, in the heart of a sober person.” Money plays a vital role in a person’s behavior. A normally generous person can

Not all human behavior traits readily show themselves. Some, indeed, we actively seek to hide. Only stresses (sometimes extreme) can squeeze them out. Dating, even many times, does not generally present the oft-times variegated and complex situations that life does. Hence, meeting several times and feeling comfortable will suffice because additional dating will achieve little more. After hearing an individual praise Rav Moshe Feinstein zt”l, in the most glorious manner, the author mentioned that he is not convinced that the individual really appreci-

YATED NE’EMAN

Rav Dovid Karliner used to learn Torah with the words “Shivisi Hashem linegdi somid - Place Hashem before you at all times” written on his shtender. Rav Reuven Bengis once asked him, “Why do you need this?” Rav Dovid replied, “I don’t want to forget for even one moment that I am studying the Torah of Hashem!” GETTING THE MOST OUT OF ELUL While most of the world does not recognize Elul as being different from any other time of year, Klal Yisroel knows that this month is a period of tremendous Divine mercy and compassion. During this time, Hashem yearns for us to return to Him. Those who make use of this time will be rewarded greatly, as expressed in the following parable told in Medrash Tehillim. A king once made an elaborate banquet. To his great dismay, no one turned up to the affair. As he awaited his guests alone in his grand dining room, the monarch was filled with anger and was ready to issue a harsh decree against his subjects. The king was just about to act when a few beloved subjects turned up to his banquet. He was pacified and decided to forego his decree. Said the king, “Because you came, you saved everyone from punishment.” So too, even though we have been invited by the King and He awaits our presence, many people still fail to “show up” for Elul. Those loyal subjects of the King who do take the time and effort to make Elul what it should be give tremendous nachas ruach to Hashem. Every one of us should look within and sincerely try to use this precious time to come closer to our Creator. ••••• Rabbi Travis is a rosh kollel of Kollel Toras Chaim in Yerushalayim, and is the author of Shaylos U’Teshuvos Toras Chaim and “Praying With Joy - A Daily Tefilla Companion,” a practical daily guide to improving one’s prayers, available from Feldheim Publishers. For more information about his work, contact [email protected]. ates Rav Feinstein. To test the truth of his belief, he would need to be on the losing side of a din Torah brought before Rav Moshe. Only if he still lauded Rav Moshe would we know his true feelings. The principle is the same, of course. Rav Moshe was a gaon and tzaddik, but when it affects someone personally, the story can quickly change. This coincides with the base principle that circumstances expose true behaviors. The Philadelphia rosh yeshiva, Rav Elya Svei zt”l, often quoted from the Chossid Yaavetz. Kohelles announced that “two are better than one” because they merit in having their combined endeavors to their credit. The question that the Chossid Yaavetz raises is that the verse should have stated that the benefit of the friendship is the friendship itself. Thus, he explains, that because two people have different temperaments, for the friendship to last they have to put up with each other. This is the friendship’s true test: the energy expended to keep the friendship going rather than let it disintegrate. The latter course is certainly easier than controlling personal misgivings about a friend. But doing so constitutes the real merit for which the person receives credit. Rav Svei similarly explained another Gemara. When Hashem will judge who merits Olam Habah, the world’s nations will ask, “Who can testify that the Jews observed the Torah?” Hashem will respond, “Nimrod can testify that Avrohom would forfeit his life rather than worship (Continued on page 55) 15 Elul 5769 • September 4 2009