The Zohar (vol.3 199:) teaches that the first two letters of קבל and בלעם spell בלבל, which means confusion, and the final two letters of לקב עםבל spell עמלק. Amalek, Bilaam, and Balak all wanted to bring worry and chaos into our hearts because then we are more likely to fall into their hands, the hands of the yetzer hara.
The Nesivos Shalom zt'l (of Slonim) teaches that therefore it states (Esther 9:24), חשב ...המן כי ולאבדם להומם הגורל והפיל לאבדם היהודים על, "Haman... devised to destroy the Jews, and he cast the pur – this is the lot – to confuse them and destroy them." He first wanted להומם, to confuse them because he knew that then he would succeed in לאבדם, to destroy them.
Rebbe Moshe Kobriner zt'l said that all the wealth in the world isn't as precious as a moment of tranquility and yishuv hadaas. On the words מהרה ואבדתם the Baal Shem Tov zt'l taught that we should get rid of the habit of rushing.
Without emunah, people lose their peace of mind. With every problem that arises, they panic, forgetting that whatever is happening is for their good, and then they fall into the hands of the yetzer hara.
It states in this week's parashah (23:19) לא ויתנחם אדם ובן ויכזב ל-א איש. The Kaliver Rebbe Shlita (may he have a refuah sheleimah) explains that ל-א איש לא, means that if a man isn't an ל-א איש, a person who attributes everything to Hashem, ויכזב, such a person will tell lies because he thinks he has to lie and to cheat to make a living. אדם ובן, when a person thinks that everything happens through the strength of man, ויתנחם, he will always have regrets, as Chazal say, חרטות מלאים רשעים, "The resha'im are constantly regretting." Whenever they do something that doesn't work out well, they are plagued with a conscience, "Why was I so stupid? Why did I do that?"
Life is always good for a person with emunah. He isn't rushing in a panic to earn a living or to gain other worldly gains because he knows Hashem is in charge. He does his hishtadlus while remaining calm and collected throughout the process.
The Midrash tells that someone was about to buy a diamond and asked the seller how to know if it was real. The merchant replied, "Bang on it with a hammer. If it is a real diamond, it won't break." We use this mashal to describe emunah. How does one know if he has genuine emunah? If he is strong and can stand up to difficult tests without losing his tranquility, his emunah is real.
The Gemara (Brachos 61) compares the yetzer hara to a fly. We can explain that this is because a fly doesn't harm people; it only confuses them. It flies and buzzes around and disturbs a person's peace of mind. And that is the first tactic the yetzer hara uses to ensnare people into his trap.
Incidentally, one of the pitfalls of technology is that it robs us of our peace of mind. Through technology, one can always be listening, watching, or reading something, and without peace of mind, one is left without the ability to think and connect with what is important.
At a wedding, the parents slowly walk the chasan and kallah to the chuppah. The Imrei Chaim of Vizhnitz zt'l says it is a message to the young couple that they can walk. There is no need to run. Everything is in Hashem's hands, and with Hashem's help, everything will work out well.
In some smaller cities in Eretz Yisrael, instead of traffic lights, there are traffic circles (roundabouts) in the middle of the road. In jest, I heard that this is because people prefer to circle rather than to stop at a red light. The most frightening thing for people is to be alone with themselves and their thoughts, without anything to do. But this is a sickness. Nothing is more enjoyable than a moment of clear thinking without disturbances. We can use quiet moments to reflect on what we are doing, what we should be accomplishing, and much more. It is a ploy of the yetzer hara to rob us of these precious moments.
Literally, the pasuk says, "Hashem is not a man that He should lie, nor is He a mortal that He should relent."
