The battle against the yetzer hara is a vicious one. It isn’t easy for man, a mere human being of flesh and blood, to fight this wicked angel of death. He is brilliant, cunning, knows our weaknesses, and is divinely powered. How are we responsible for this war?
The pasuk says 39,32 “Vatechal kol avodas mishkan ohel moed va’yasu bnei Yisroel k’chol asher tziva Hashem es Moshe ken asu “ – All the work of the mishkan... was completed and the children of Israel did like all that Hashem had commanded Moshe, so they did. Why the repetition of “va’yasu bnei Yisroel” and “ken asu”?
The Yismach Moshe brings the gemora in kiddushin 30: “The yetzer hara of a man strengthens on him each day...and if not for Hakadosh Baruch Hu who helps the man, the Yetzer would overpower him”. Dealing with the yetzer hara is impossible on our own. A person would not be able to overcome him with his own power; he needs siyata d’shmaya. You can ask, what claim can Hashem have against us? After all, it’s not our fault that we succumbed to the yetzer hara, as it really is impossible for man to overpower it. And the answer is, yes, with our own kochos we won’t be able to overcome the yetzer hara, but we should have asked for siyata dishmaya. Hashem is happy to help us overcome the yetzer hara; we just have to ask. So we get punished r’’l for not caring enough to ask for help in fighting the yetzer hara. It’s our responsibility to daven for our success in this fight.
Rav Shimshon Pincus tells a story that in one of the hospitals in America, there was an overload of patients in one of the departments treating seriously ill patients. In particular, there was a major shortage of doctors at night. One night there was only one doctor available, and that particular doctor was an expert and extremely dedicated. But he was only one man. The head doctor of that department told him, “I hope that you will be able to manage on your own, but if you see that the situation is getting out of control and you are not able to manage on your own, call me regardless of what time it is and I will run right over.” The shift began, and soon the doctor got very busy. He ran from patient to patient, administering treatment and working very hard. Yet, he was just one man and couldn’t possibly handle multiple emergencies simultaneously. As hardworking and energetic as he was, it just wasn’t humanly possible to do it all himself. That night two patients died on his shift. The doctor was summoned to court for causing these patients to die. The doctor argued, “How can you say that I was negligent? I did everything in my power, I didn’t sleep for a second, I didn’t even eat or drink, and you are coming to me with complaints?” The judge told him, “On the treatments you gave your patients, we don’t have complaints; everyone says that you are the most dedicated doctor. The problem was that the head doctor told you that if it gets too busy for you to do everything on your own, you should call him. Why didn’t you contact him? You are being sued for trying to do it all on your own. That’s negligence!”
Says Rav Pincus, the same it is with our battle against the yetzer hara. Hashem created a yetzer hara that is extremely powerful, and even if you exert yourself, you are not able to overcome him. However, Hashem gave us explicit instructions that when it gets too hard, we are to call Hashem for help. Why didn’t you call for help?
All this is applies to us staying away from the negative commandments. We are required to daven for success, to ask Hashem for help in overcoming our yetzer hara. By positive commandments, however, there are two areas of difficulty.
On one hand, man asks himself, “I know myself; gashmius rules over me. How can I involve myself in spiritual matters?” Imagine a plumber who deals with cleaning drains and his hand is all dirty. Would he dare to lay his filthy hands on the crown of the king? A person knows how far he is from kedusha, how much he’s submerged in the lust of this world with his thoughts or actions. On the other hand, if a person purifies and refines himself, he may reach a state that his neshama will depart from him. There is so much that a physical guf can handle. The body can’t handle the load of too much ruchniyus. So, too much gashmiyus is not good and too much ruchniyus can be a problem. How do you balance the two?
Say chazal Vayikra 18-5 – “Ushmartem es chukosai v’es mishpatai ... v’chai bahem” – Hashem promises us that if a person does the chukim and mishpatim on the highest level it will not bring him to leave this world. He will live with them. And, Hashem will give a yid a sense of satisfaction and completeness even if he didn’t reach that level. Usually when a person does a mitzvah, he doesn’t reach the highest level of ruchniyus. However, if he did all he can, Hashem gives him the privilege as if he did it with all the lofty kavanos and sodos.
Rav Yitzchok m’Vorka says that we have a rule that when a person is an oines, the Torah says he’s patur. When it comes to fulfilling mitzvos, we are like an oines, we are not able to do it on the highest level. However, Hashem exempts us by filling in what is missing.
By the building of the mishkan, it says “vatechel kal avodas mishkan ohel moed” – it implies that all the work was done on the highest level. How is it possible that every worker did it in the best possible way? Hashem says, “You do whatever you can do, and I will finish up what is lacking. And I will consider it as if it was done on the highest level.”
By the lishem yichud before we put on tefillin, it says the mitzva of tefillin should be as if you fulfilled all the kavonos etc.
This is peshat in the double lashon, “vatechal kal avodas mishkan” – the work was done bishleimus. How? “Vayaasu bnei Yisroel k’chol asher tziva es Moshe” – bnei Yisroel did everything they were able to do according to their ability. “Ken asu” – Hashem finished it off for them and considered it as if they did it on the highest level.
We only are responsible for what we can do. But part of what we are responsible to do is to ask for help for what we can’t do. Daven for the siyata dishmaya and you will receive it. It’s a battle you can’t risk losing.
