The Secret Weapon
us to reach higher levels of Divine service.
Strategies for a Meaningful Elul
By Rav Moshe Shternbuch who lays down his arms stands to lose part of
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 Hacha-
reidis 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 vic-
tory 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 mili-
tary 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
The Ultimate Test
By Rabbi Nachum Eisenstein
Lakewood, N.J.
“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, “Hash-
kifah 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 circum-
stances forces those sleeping traits to surface. If,
in their lifetime, the couple never face situations
Page 54
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 mitz-
vos we lost, and return them to our credit.
Some sifrei mussar state that one way to
overcome the yeitzer hara and bring ourselves
Many people still fail to “show up” for Elul.
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-d-
given potential for greatness that lies in each
and every Jew - even you. Hashem has placed
man at the center of the universe, and the en-
tire Heavenly assembly must wait for man’s
cue before it can do anything. Developing
awareness of this great responsibility should
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
To recognize fully an individual’s true merit, we
have to observe him in situations where he is not to-
tally 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
YATED NE’EMAN
instill a feeling of awe within us, and propel
These two approaches regarding the proper
way to serve Hashem are expressed in hilchos
shofar. Those who favor the approach of hu-
mility 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.
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 weap-
ons. 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 sum-
moned 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
as if it was actual speech. Imagine the dis-
grace 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.
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 var-
iegated 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-
Rav Dovid Karliner used to learn Torah
with the words “Shivisi Hashem linegdi so-
mid - 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 recog-
nize 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 tremen-
dous 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 “Pray-
ing 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
dytravis@actcom.com.
ates Rav Feinstein. To test the truth of his be-
lief, 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 dif-
ferent 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 dis-
integrate. 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 re-
spond, “Nimrod can testify that Avrohom
would forfeit his life rather than worship
(Continued on page 55)
15 Elul 5769 • September 4 2009