Excuses, Excuses
שובה ישראל עד ה' אלקיך
“Return, Yisroel, unto Hashem, your G-d. (Hoshe'a 14:2; Haftorah for Shabbos Shuvah)
The Gemara (Bava Basra 17a) tells us that there were three people over whom the evil inclination held no sway: Avraham, Yitzchok, and Yaakov. Some add a fourth, Dovid, who was also not subject to the pull of the yetzer horah.
The Reisha Rav (HaDerash VeHalyun, Bereishis 95) details four excuses people give for not living up to what is expected of them, and to sinning instead:
The first justification is one's parents. “What do you want from me? My parents were no good and their bad habits became second nature to me. How can you fault me for what I've become?"
The second excuse is excessive wealth. As the Torah writes in Haʼazinu (32:15), “Vayishman Yeshurun vayivat — Yeshurun became fat and kicked.” Growing up financially privileged can often spell a person's spiritual undoing.
The third defense is wicked friends and associates. “I grew up on the wrong side of the tracks and got in with the wrong crowd.” Or: “They're all doing it; I'm no worse than them."
The fourth vindication is inherently evil tendencies as a result of one's mazel. As it says in the Gemara (Shabbos 156b), the astrological signs a person is born under can play a role in his life.
Each of these justifications can be found in the lives of one of the Avos or Dovid HaMelech, yet all four succeeded in overcoming their unique yetzer horah. The Gemara is not telling us that our Forefathers and Dovid HaMelech never had a yetzer horah to begin with, but that they had one and vanquished it.
Avraham Avinu's father, Terach, was a renowned seller of idols. Yet Avraham shattered those idols and with it the myth that one cannot overcome the natural tendencies he acquired from his parents. He despised that which his father honored, thereby breaking and overcoming that yetzer horah.
Yitzchok Avinu was staggeringly wealthy, with access to all he could possibly want. Yet none of that affluence led him astray. The yetzer horah and disability of the rich kid who lives a life of unwholesome leisure were broken and overcome by Yitzchok.
Despite living in the house of Lavan, his idolatrous and dishonest father-in-law, Ya'akov Avinu remained as righteous as always. As he informed Eisav, “I lived with Lavan, yet I observed the 613 mitzvos and did not learn from his evil ways” (Rashi Bereishis 32:5). He surmounted the normal sway that wicked friends can have; he broke and overcame that yetzer horah.
When seeing Dovid, who was an “admoni — redhead” (I Shmuel 16:12), for the first time, Shmuel HaNavi was taken aback and afraid to anoint him as king. To Shmuel, Dovid resembled a murderer like Eisav, who also had red hair. Hashem told him that Eisav had killed on his own, yet Dovid will kill only based on the instructions of Sanhedrin (Yalkut Shimoni, I Shmuel 124). In other words, even if this kind of mazel can lead to spilling blood indiscriminately, Dovid had defeated this aspect of his nature and it was under his dominion. Dovid, as well, had overcome and broken this yetzer horah.
These four spiritual giants show us that neither nature nor nurture govern. We are in control of our moral and spiritual destiny and are able to save ourselves from the abyss. The clarion call of “Shuvah Yisrael ad Hashem Elokecha” applies to us all.
The Gemara (Avodah Zarah 17a) relates the extent of the decadence of Elazar ben Durdaya. He was so far gone that he once heard it said that even if he, Elazar ben Durdaya, were to repent, his teshuvah would never be accepted. Shocked at hearing that he was beyond all hope, Elazar proceeded to beg first the mountains and hills, then the heaven and earth, next the sun and moon, and finally the stars and constellations, to pray for mercy on his behalf. Yet each set responded that before asking for mercy on Elazar's behalf, they must plead for mercy on their own behalf.
Realizing that no outside help was forthcoming, he said, “It's up to me alone.” So he placed his head between his knees and cried loudly until his soul left his body. A Bas Kol emerged and declared, “Rabbi Elazar ben Durdaya is destined for life in the World to Come.”
What occurred during this exchange? What help was Elazar trying to elicit from the mountains and hills, heaven and earth, sun and moon, and stars and constellations?
The Reisha Rav explains that Elazar ben Durdaya attempted to play the blame game and find justification for the sins he had committed and the immoral life he had lived. Hence, he looked to excuse himself with all the reasons mentioned earlier: parents, evil friends, excessive wealth, and bad mazel.
First, he turned to the mountains and hills. The Gemara (Rosh Hashanah 11a) tells us that this is an allegory for parents. He laid the blame on them and all the evil traits he had learned from them. To which the mountains and hills replied that though a person's parents help shape his nature, each individual is able to move on and make something of himself.
Then Elazar called upon the heaven and earth, a reference to one's geographical location in life, and blamed them. Had he been born in a different place, with different influences and different friends, he would not have turned out the way he did. It was only because of the evil around him that he had sinned so much. Yet the heaven and earth, as well, would not ask for mercy for him or take the rap for his sinful deeds. No matter the circumstances and influences in his life, a person has the power to rise above.
Next, he addressed the sun and moon, which impact the growth and the prosperity of the land, including the livelihood of its inhabitants. He held them responsible for his sins, stating, “You were the source of my prosperity, and it's your fault I did what I did. Save me! Speak up for me!” To which the response was, “It's not our fault; you did this to yourself. You could have handled your wealth differently and more prudently. You could have saved yourself from its traps and not stumbled after your desires.”
Finally, Elazar begged the stars and constellations for mercy, blaming them for his mazel. “I was born with a proclivity toward evil; it's not my fault!” Once again, he heard a version of the same essential message. “The fault, dear Elazar, is not in our stars, but in ourselves.”
At last, he recognized that he had nobody to blame but himself. He finally understood that the four excuses used to justify sin are just that: excuses. Nothing he had done was the fault of his parents, friends, financial circumstances, or the stars. And he alone could correct the situation. At that point, he was ready to do teshuvah. He died while doing so, and was rewarded by being granted a place in Olam Habah.
The moment a person realizes that there are no excuses and no one else to blame, that is when true change can happen and a person can rise to the greatest heights. So much so that the Bas Kol that declared, “Rabbi Elazar ben Durdaya is destined for life in the World to Come," referred to him with the title of Rabbi.
“Shuvah Yisrael ad Hashem Elokecha.” (R' Avraham Bukspan, Classics and Beyond 2)