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Harav Hagaon Elimelech Reznick Shlita

The Ultimate Mission of the Yetzer Hara

Parashas Vayishlach

Harav Hagaon Elimelech Reznik Shlita

On the passuk: וַיִּוָּתֵר יַעֲקֹב לְבַדּוֹ וַיֵּאָבֵק אִישׁ עִמּוֹ עַד עֲלוֹת הַשָּׁחַר, Rashi cites Chazal’s teaching that this man who fought with Yaakov was the Sar of Eisav – the Satan, the yetzer hara, who came to cause Yaakov to stumble. Rav Elchanan notes, in Chiddushei Aggados, that of the three Avos, Yaakov was the strongest, the chut hameshulash, because he was backed up by Yitzchak and Avraham. Why, asks Rav Elchanah, did the Satan wait to do battle with Yaakov, rather than starting earlier, with Avraham or Yitzchak?

Rav Elchanan cites the Mesilas Yesharim, which quotes Chazal’s teaching thatבראתי יצר הרע בראתי לו תורה תבלין and explains that the Torah is the only weapon against the yetzer hara and only through Torah is it possible to overcome the yetzer hara. He gives a mashal to two countries that are at war: Even if one country wins the first battle, it’s possible for the other one to rebound and win the second battle. The war ends only when one army seizes all the ammunition of the other, and the other army has no way to fight back anymore.

Avraham Avinu was the amud hachessed, Yitzchak was the amud ha’avodah, and Yaakov was the amud haTorah. Had the yetzer hara done battle with Avraham or Yitzchak, he would have challenged the pillars of chessed or avodah, but as long as the Avos had the power of limud haTorah they would ultimately win the war, even if they would lose a battle here and there. The מאור שבא, the light of the Torah, would have brought Klal Yisrael back to the right path.

The yetzer hara was looking to win the entire war, so he went to battle with Yaakov Avinu, the amud haTorah. Rav Elchanan cites the Chofetz Chaim, who says that the yetzer hara doesn’t care if a person davens and cries and fasts all day, as long as he doesn’t learn Torah. A person may have great reasons not to learn Torah and be kovei’a ittim laTorah, but that’s exactly what the yetzer hara wants. And that’s why he attacked Yaakov Avinu specifically.

Chazal say that the word וַיֵּאָבֵק, in the passuk וַיֵּאָבֵק אִישׁ עִמּוֹ, is related to the term avak, which means dust or dirt. The dust of this battle, we are told, rose all the way up to the Kisei Hakavod.

What does dust do? It makes things blurry, so you can’t see clearly.

The malach could not vanquish Yaakov, says the Sforno, because Yaakov maintained his dveikus in Hashem and wouldn’t budge a millimeter, despite the haze the yetzer hara was trying to create by kicking up dust.

At times, life seems unclear, and we lose our priorities, our values, our geshmak in learning. We go out in the big world, with all its technology, and with all that is going on there, and we start to wonder: Is mesirus nefesh for Torah so important? Is it really so important to maintain our learning sedarim each and every day?

That’s one of the great nisyonos of our generation – the dust of Olam Hazeh destroys our clarity.

There were times when Yaakov Avinu saw the ladder that reached the Kisei Hakavod, and everything was clear to him. During this battle with the Sar of Eisav, things were not clear: he could not see the Kisei Hakavod, and he did not perceive how Hakadosh Baruch Hu was at his side helping him. But he held on.

In the end, the malach managed to beat Yaakov in one way: וַיִּגַּע בְּכַף יְרֵכוֹ, by injuring the part that supports Yaakov.  Rav Elchanan cites Chazal’s teaching that the Satan hurt the supporters of Torah. He could not harm the lomdei Torah by pulling them away from their Gemaros or destroying their geshmak in learning, but he did manage to make things blurry for the Torah’s supporters, who can easily lose their chashivus for learning.

When Yaakov Avinu fought this battle, he was fighting for us. Rav Shimshon Pinkus explains that Yaakov Avinu fought tooth and nail so that all generations would successfully hold on to their dveikus in Torah and Hashem.

No One Identity

When the malach was ready to give up the battle and leave, Yaakov asked him for his name: וַיִּשְׁאַל יַעֲקֹב וַיֹּאמֶר הַגִּידָה נָּא שְׁמֶךָ, to which the malach responded: וַיֹּאמֶר לָמָּה זֶּה תִּשְׁאַל לִשְׁמִי.

What is the meaning of this dialogue? The Malbim explains that a name is a reflection of a person’s essence, and when Yaakov asked for the malach’s name, he was really asking what his role is, and what his power is. Since he won the battle, he wanted the yetzer hara to reveal the source of his power, to make it easier for all future generations to triumph over him.

The yetzer hara’s vague response of “Why ask for my name?” indicates, as Rashi implies and the Malbim explains, that he doesn’t have one consistent state or power that can be isolated; his role changes according to the situation. That means that one day the yetzer hara will tell you that a certain thing is good for you, and he’ll convince you that this is the absolute best thing for you – but the next day, he’ll tell you the opposite, that it’s not good for you. With the yetzer hara, things are always changing, and there’s no pattern, no ongoing approach. Nothing has chashivus consistently; the goal is just to get us to stumble in whatever way possible.

Whenever we experience spiritual growth, and we feel a renewed chashivus for something in ruchniyus, the yetzer hara will find something else that’s of utmost importance at that particular moment.

Furthermore, the whole power of the yetzer hara is that he doesn’t have a name, a real existence. The yetzer hara is all a fake, an illusion. The koach of the yetzer is to create the illusion that we’re enjoying an aveirah, when really, anyone who has ever stumbled in an aveirah knows that when you look back it’s never worth it. You may have thought you were going to enjoy yourself, but what you gave up for that enjoyment overshadows the benefit completely.

The Gemara in Succah teaches that le’asid lavo, when Hashem is going to slaughter the yetzer hara, both the tzaddikim and the resha’im are going to cry, but for different reasons: צדיקים נדמה להם כהר גבוה, ורשעים נדמה להם כחוט השערה. Which one is it? Is the yetzer hara a towering mountain, or is it a mere strand of hair?

I heard from Rav Moshe Shmuel Shapiro that before a person transgresses, the yetzer hara looks like a great mountain, bringing a hundred reasons to convince you why you must do the aveirah and how much you’ll enjoy it and gain from it. But the moment after you cross the line and give in, you come to your senses and realize that it was all an illusion. The difference between the tzaddikim and the resha’im is that the tzaddikim are looking ahead before doing the aveirah, while the resha’im are looking back after doing the aveirah.

Following the yetzer hara is never worthwhile, as nothing can compare to learning a strong seder and doing a challenging mitzvah.

The Time for Shirah

At the end of the battle, the malach pleads with Yaakov to let him go: וַיֹּאמֶר שַׁלְּחֵנִי כִּי עָלָה הַשָּׁחַר. Rashi explains that this was the malach’s day to say shirah. According to one opinion in the Gemara in Chullin, each malach only gets one opportunity to say shirah. Why, the meforshim wonder, did the malach have to say shirah on this day specifically?

I saw a beautiful insight in the sefer Shaar Bas Rabbim, which explains that every malach was created to carry out Hakadosh Baruch Hu’s will and do His shlichus. Once a malach accomplishes its mission, he merits to go up and say shirah to Hakadosh Baruch Hu. How is it possible that the yetzer hara, a malach, could have a shlichus from Hakadosh Baruch Hu to cause people to transgress? And could we even suggest that when the yetzer hara accomplishes this mission of tripping a person up, he would then go and say shirah? That’s the opposite of ratzon Hashem! In fact, we see that at Krias Yam Suf, when the Mitzrim drowned, Hakadosh Baruch Hu didn’t let the malachim say shirah, chiding them: מעשה ידי טובעים בים ואתם אומרים שירה לפני. If shirah is barred when the guf is being destroyed, then certainly Hashem would not allow a malach to say shirah when a neshamah is being destroyed, through cheit. So how can the yetzer hara, whose shlichus is to cause people to stumble, say shirah?

Although the yetzer hara’s job is to convince us to transgress, explains the Shaar Bas Rabbim, that is not actually its tachlis – its tachlis is actually that we should overcome the temptation. When a person resists the yetzer hara’s temptation and withstands a nisayon, the yetzer hara has accomplished his job and is ready to say shirah for Hakadosh Baruch Hu.

To illustrate this with a mashal, a king wanted to give his son a big present, but he wanted to earn his loyalty first, so that he would deserve the present. “I’m sending you to a certain place,” he told his son, “and I want you to withstand a test by not succumbing to the immoral women of that place.” The king then approached one of his maidservants and paid her to try to entice his son to sin. What did the king really want of the maidservant? True, he had given her a job, but is that job accomplished if she actually manages to convince the son to sin? No. Her job is to do her best to entice him, but her mission is truly accomplished only when he manages to withstand the temptation.

Accordingly, we can appreciate that this malach who fought with Yaakov had never engaged in such a major battle with an ish hashalem since the world was created. The ish hashalem was Yaakov Avinu, the amud haTorah, and this confrontation was the yetzer hara’s greatest chance. When he couldn’t drag Yaakov Avinu away from his dveikus baTorah, his mission was accomplished. Therefore, he had to say shirah precisely at that time.

The Shaar Bas Rabbim cites a teaching of the Zohar Hakadosh on the passuk: אִם יֵשׁ עָלָיו מַלְאָךְ מֵלִיץ אֶחָד מִנִּי אָלֶף. The Zohar explains that if 999 malachim are prosecuting against a person in his judgment, and only one malach is acting as a meilitz yosher, he can still emerge victorious in his judgment. Who is this one malach who can outweigh 999 others? Says the Zohar: זהו יצר הרע. The very same malach that came to trap you in nisyonos will be the one to defend you when you overcome those nisyonos. The yetzer hara is a powerful meilitz, who can say shirah to Hashem declaring that he tried to tempt you to transgress but you didn’t listen and withstood the temptation. Such a testimony can cancel out that of another 999 malachim who are testifying against you.

Such is the power of withstanding nisyonos.

Gut Shabbos.

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