A bachur from Reb Isser Zalman Meltzer’s yeshiva once said an innovative Torah thought. Upon hearing it, Reb Isser Zalman requested that someone bring them mashkeh, and the entire yeshiva drank l’chaim because of their joy from this bachur’s discovery in Torah. That bachur later admitted that because of the honor everyone gave him, he studied diligently for an entire half a year afterward!
Another story that brings out this exact point: After suffering the tzaros of WWII, a Chassidishe bachur strayed off the path of Yiddishkeit to the point that he was planning to marry a non-Jewish woman, r”l. Many people tried to persuade him with logical arguments not to commit this grave sin, but he ignored their mussar.
With his sweet voice, Reb Gad’l Eizner, zt”l, addressed him by telling him simply: פאר א חסידישע בחור פאסט’ס נישט — “It’s unfit for a chassidishe bachur.” With just that, he turned him around, and the wedding was called off.
Why did Reb Eizner’s rebuke work? Because it was laced with “honor.” He had honored the bachur with the title of “chassidishe bachur,” of which he felt privileged to carry, and that ultimately prevented him from the sin.
Courage
CZAR NIKOLAI’S ARMY would fight during the day and drink at night. One soldier drank too much, and he was still asleep when his troop moved on. Upon awakening, he knew he had to catch up with his battalion quickly, but first, he wanted something to eat. It was Friday night. He came to a Jewish home and helped himself to the pot of steaming cholent.
He mounted his horse, placed the pot of hot cholent on the horse’s mane, and set off to find his division. The hot cholent burned the horse’s back, which spurred the horse to run quickly. It didn’t take long before he reached his battalion, but his horse, burning from the hot pot, kept charging forward straight toward the frontlines.
The enemy soldiers saw him charging full-speed toward them, assuming he surely had a powerful weapon, as he wasn’t scared to face them alone. As such, they fled in panic.
In this manner, Czar Nikolai’s army won the battle without firing a single gunshot.
Reb Mendel Futerfas, zt”l, told this story and explained that it is the same with our battle against the yetzer hara. If one shows courage and hislahavus, the yetzer hara will be afraid of him and leave him alone.
Reb Yaakov Meir Shechter, shlita, explained the power of “courage” with an analogy: “When you are among a pack of dogs and show them you are afraid, they’ll run after you. But if you show them you aren’t scared, the dogs will leave you alone.”
Reb Yaakov Meir explained that this is also how it is with the yetzer hara. If you show fear and cowardliness, the yetzer hara can overpower you. But if you show confidence and courage, the yetzer hara leaves you alone.
Mussar Stories
Zichru Toras Moshe Institutions, Yerushalayim
