It states (20:1), אויבך על למלחמה תצא כי "When you go out to war against your enemy." Who is this enemy? The Or HaChaim writes, "The pasuk alludes to the war against the yetzer hara, and the pasuk tells us not to be afraid, although ממך רב עם, the yetzer hara is stronger than us."
How is the yetzer hara stronger than us? The Or HaChaim explains, "There are two aspects that make this war so difficult: One is that man isn't trained for warfare, while the yetzer hara is a trained warrior. And the second is that the human body desires everything the yetzer hara offers: to steal, to be arrogant, to eat everything one desires, etc. Furthermore, when a person transgresses the Torah many times, the yetzer hara becomes even stronger. Hashem tells us, ‘ורכב סוס שכלך בעיני וראית למלחמה תצא כי’, 'When you go out to war, and in your mind's eye you see a horse and chariot.' The horse represents the yetzer hara, who is trained in warfare, unlike man, who isn't. רכב, chariot, represents האדם הרכבת, man's makeup because he naturally desires those things that the yetzer hara offers. Additionally, רב עם the yetzer hara's strength has increased, ממך, because of your many sins. Nevertheless, Hashem comforts us and says, מהם תירא לא, don't be afraid, עמך אלקיך 'ה כי, Hashem is with you.
"It is true that if you were to fight this battle with your own strength, you would lose the war. But since Hashem is with you, and His strength is great, He will save you. Because when a person desires to be pure, Hashem accepts him with his right hand, and Hashem weakens the strength of the yetzer hara. מצרים מארץ המעלך... Yetzias Mitzrayim is your proof because just as Hashem saved you from Mitzrayim, He will help you win the war against the yetzer hara."
A yungerman from Ashdod told me the following story. One night, he was visiting his parents in Bnei Brak, and it was well after eleven o'clock when he got into his car to drive back home. He immediately realized that his cellphone wasn't with him. "It is certainly somewhere in my parents' home, because I used my phone there tonight." He returned to his parents' home, but after searching for his phone for quite some time, he couldn't find it.
It was already very late at night, so he left, asking his parents to contact him when they found the phone. When he sat down in his car, the telephone fell out of his pocket! It was with him all along, only he didn't realize it.
As he began the drive home, he noticed a bachur standing at the bus stop. He stopped and asked, "Which bus are you waiting for?” He knew that few buses were running at that late hour. “I live in Ashdod, and the last bus just left.” “Come with me. I'll take you there.”
During the ride, the bachur told his story, “Until recently, I was addicted to the iPhone. My parents hired a professional yungerman from Bnei Brak to help me overcome my addiction. I go to him once a week. He helped me; I’m just about cured. Last week, I threw away my iPhone, and I've been clean ever since.
"I was with my mentor tonight, too. He cheered my success and encouraged me to keep it up. I boarded the last bus to Ashdod, and I saw that my friends were on the bus too. They all have iPhones. I knew that if I were together with them, I'd be drawn to look at their devices. So I immediately turned around and got off at the next stop. My friends were astounded; they didn't understand what happened to me.
"You arrived just as I got off the bus, and I was contemplating where to go.”
In retrospect, we understand why this yungerman couldn't find his phone. It was so he could help this bachur get home.
We learn from this story that Hashem helps those who seek to do teshuvah. He arranges everything for them, from getting the help they need to a ride home, to ease their path of teshuvah.
As we wrote from the Or HaChaim, the war against the yetzer hara is very difficult to win because (a) the yetzer hara is trained in warfare, while you aren't. (b) The yetzer hara sells what you desire. (c) The sins of your past make it even harder for you to loosen the yetzer hara's grip. All these factors apply to the lure of the internet.
- (a) "The yetzer hara is trained in warfare, while you aren't." Genius minds create and control the popular websites. They are skilled and advanced in their abilities to keep people glued to the internet for hours on end. The average person doesn’t possess the talent and skill that these software engineers possess and has never learned strategies on how to avoid addiction. How can he expect to outsmart the system and remain protected from the negative aspects of the internet?
- (b) The yetzer hara and the internet are selling items that the human body desires.
- (c) "Your past sins make it hard for you to abandon the yetzer hara's grasp." This is particularly true regarding technology. The more one becomes accustomed to it, the harder it is to leave it. But when one desires to detach himself from the bad and to overcome the yetzer hara, and he trusts in Hashem, he will succeed.
These are very encouraging thoughts. We can't win against the yetzer hara on our own, but with Hashem's help, we can overcome the yetzer hara. Therefore, we should have bitachon, also for our spiritual needs, and we will experience miracles and salvations.
As the Yismach Yisrael (Vayishlach 5) writes, "Even when, according to man's perception, there is no cure to the ills of his soul, nonetheless, he should believe and trust in Hashem's divine kindness and the Creator's endless greatness. With His compassion,
