וַיֵּלֶךְ אַבְרָ ם כַּאֲשֶ ׁר דִ ּבֶּר אֵלָיו ה' וַיֵּלֶךְ אִ תּוֹ לוֹט וגו' (יב, ד)
And Avrohom went as Hashem told him. And Lot went with him... (12:4)
When a Person Grows, So Does His Yeitzer Hara:
The Me’or Einayim writes that there is a Medrash that says that Avram represents the neshama, while Lot represents the yeitzer hara. He explains that when a tzadik grows and rises from one level to the next, his yeitzer hara grows alongside him. Even as he becomes more spiritual and loses his desire for physical pleasures, his yeitzer hara tries harder to seduce him by attempting to persuade him to sin in small ways that he doesn’t even recognize as sinful.
He says that a tzadik must be very vigilant to avoid falling prey to this strategy of the yeitzer hara and to make sure that he isn’t being lured into even tiny sins.
The Yeitzer Hara in Eretz Yisroel:
It is related that when Rav Yaakov Shimshon of Shpitivka zy”a was planning on moving to Eretz Yisroel in order to benefit from the holiness of the land and devote himself to Torah and avodah in a sanctified environment, he made a deal with his yeitzer hara. He said that he would only go to Eretz Yisroel if it agreed not to come with him and disturb his avodah. The Satan agreed to these terms and promised to remain in Chutz La’aretz.
When Rav Yaakov Shimshon arrived in Eretz Yisroel, he was surprised to find the Satan there. He asked, “Didn’t we agree that you wouldn’t come with me to the holy land?” The Satan answered, “The one who you made the deal with in Chutz La’aretz was just one of my agents. Here, in Eretz Yisroel, I personally do my work by myself!”
