The Or HaChaim HaKadosh, Rebbe Reb Bunim of Peshischa zt'l, and others say that (21:10) אויביך על למלמחה תצא כי, "When you go out to war against your enemies," also alludes to the war we wage against the yetzer hara.
The Tiferes Shlomo writes (beginning of this week's parasha): "There are righteous people who battle against their yetzer hara and win, and a few days later, the yetzer hara returns, and they must wage war with the yetzer hara once again! This confuses them, and they ask, 'What is this all about? I already fought this war with the yetzer hara before, and I triumphed!' They think they were finished with the yetzer hara, but the yetzer hara returns. They wonder what will be with them. The Torah discusses this situation and explains, תצא כי, the reason you came down to this world, למלחמה is for war. This is your life's mission. For this, you were created."
You cannot win the war once and for all and be at peace with the yetzer hara because then life wouldn't have a purpose. There are always new battles to be combated. תצא כי למלחמה, you came to the world for these battles.
The Ruzhiner Rebbe zt'l said, "A patch for a patch, the main thing is that you give the final patch." Sometimes the yetzer hara wins a battle, and sometimes you win. The main thing is that you should win in the end.
Reb Yitzchok Hutner zt'l writes in a letter, "When we discuss the greatness of tzaddikim, we have a bad habit to begin at the end of their lives and to discuss the great levels the tzaddikim reached. We skip the many years they struggled with their yetzer hara. We think they were born tzaddikim. Everyone praises the Chofetz Chaim's caution with speech, but who speaks about his struggles and the ups and downs he encountered until he reached this level? This is just one example among a thousand. Leaving out this chapter of their lives creates a problem. When a bachur has a strong desire to grow in avodas Hashem and is confronted with a challenge or a downfall, he thinks he will never reach the levels of the tzaddikim he wishes to emulate. He thinks that if he has challenges, there is no hope for him. But that is ridiculous. Know, my friend, you will fall time and again, and there will be battles that you will lose. But in the end, you will emerge victorious and wear the crown of success on your head. The wisest of all men said, שבעה וקם צדיק יפול, 'A tzaddik falls seven times and rises.' The wise understand that the tzaddik rises because he fell seven times [and kept lifting himself up again]. I beg you, don't think of tzaddikim as people who are at peace with their yetzer tov. Rather, when the yetzer hara burns within you, and you're struggling to overcome the yetzer hara, those moments are when you are most similar to the gedolim, even more than when you are at peace with the yetzer hara."
In wars of this world (such as when one country battles with another), winning a single battle isn't so significant because only winning the war counts. The small successes in the middle of the war don't mean anything if they don’t lead to victory. But our war against the yetzer hara is different. Each and every single moment of success is worth celebrating.
The Chazon Ish zt'l taught, "Hakadosh Baruch Hu loves hischazkus, when one strengthens himself to do Hashem's will, even if it lasts only for a moment."
The Beis Aharon zt'l writes, "One should rejoice immensely with every good deed he does for avodas Hashem because they are all priceless. He should make up his mind that he won't sell this mitzvah for all the money in the world. Even if it only lasts a moment, every word, thought, or deed will never be lost. It is valuable for him and perhaps for all Yisrael. Can there be a greater joy than carrying out the mission for which one was created? He should do whatever he can. He should seek to do more and more small deeds and great deeds. As the saying goes, 'whatever one grabs at a sale is worthwhile.'"
Short-lived Teshuvah Still Matters
Rebbe Gedalyah Moshe of Zvhil zt'l asked someone why he wasn't going to a mussar drashah that many people were attending. The man replied, "I know myself. Even if the speaker inspires me to do teshuvah, the teshuvah won't last. All too soon, I will return to my old ways." The Rebbe replied, "If someone swims up to a person drowning at sea and says, 'I can save you for half an hour, but then you will fall back into the sea again,' would he accept the offer? Of course, he would. So why shouldn’t you also seek to do teshuvah? It is worthwhile, even if it will only last for a short while."
