The holy Zohar asks on the verse, “When you go out to war against your enemies”: Who are your enemies? The primary enemy of man is the evil inclination.
When going out to war, you must understand military tactics: if you go head-to-head on the ground, there are heavy casualties on both sides. The best strategy is to go above the enemy from the skies. Spiritually, one must defeat the enemy’s ministering angel above before victory can happen below.
Welcoming Elul and Guarding the Gates
We have already merited the Sabbath Queen, the first Sabbath of the month of Elul, and may everyone now have a good week! With the help of Hashem and His salvation, may it be a blessed week filled with the fear of Heaven, good character traits, and daily soul-searching. We must not forget to examine ourselves every day: What is going on with us? When do we get up, how do we strive, how do we pray, and how do we study? Everything comes through soul-searching.
In our Torah portion, we concluded: “Judges and officers shall you appoint for yourself in all your gates,” so that a person will be worthy to lead himself into the month of Elul. The head is the leader of the entire body; if the head is guarded—the eyes, the ears, the mouth, everything—then the body is led well. But if the head is not guarded, how can you expect the body to be led properly?
The Tactics of the Evil Inclination
The holy Zohar asks on the verse, “When you go out to war against your enemies”: Who are your enemies? The primary enemy of man is the evil inclination. It gives a person no rest, constantly tempting them to commit sins.
How does it tempt someone? It minimizes the sin, making it look tiny: “What, it’s nothing, just once, nothing happened!” It shows you that it is almost nothing. But after the person falls and wants to repent, the evil inclination reverses its tune: “Woe to you! You will never get out of this! What have you done?! There is no way to repent, it's a waste of time.” That is how it drives a person to despair. It operates like a reverse air conditioner: when it needs to cool you down from performing commandments, it heats up the temptation, and when you need warmth to repent, it cools you off.
King Chizkiyahu and Never Despairing
We see a wonder of wonders with King Chizkiyahu. The prophet came to him and said: “Know that you shall die and not live—die in this world, and not live in the World to Come!”
Chizkiyahu asked: “How can you speak like this?! Heaven forbid!”
The prophet replied: “So said the Holy One, blessed be He, because you did not take a wife to fulfill the commandment to be fruitful and multiply.”
Chizkiyahu explained: “Because I foresaw through divine inspiration that improper, wicked children would emerge from me and cause sorrow to Hashem. I love the Holy One, blessed be He, and do not want them to anger Him!”
The prophet told him: “Why do you meddle with the secrets of the Merciful One? What is upon you to do—do!”
Chizkiyahu then said: “Well, I did not know; I will repent!” But the prophet told him: “Everything is already sealed and decreed.”
Chizkiyahu responded: “Finish your prophecy and leave! Thus I have received a tradition from my grandfather’s house: Even if a sharp sword rests upon a person’s neck, he should not despair!” Immediately, Chizkiyahu turned his face to the wall and prayed from the depths of his heart. Hashem added 15 years to his life. Prophet Yishayahu then gave him his daughter in marriage, hoping their combined merit would produce good children.
They had two sons, Menashe and Ravshekeh. One day, while carrying them on his shoulders to the study hall, the boys noticed the special shape of the royal crown which was fit for the shape of the groove on the head of the King. They whispered: “Look, father’s head has a groove—what a perfect place to put coals and gasoline to burn sacrifices for idolatry!” Hearing such wickedness, King Chizkiyahu threw them both to the ground. Ravshekeh died from the fall, but Menashe survived.
The Repentance of Menashe
Menashe reigned for 52 years as a severe villain, placing idols in the Sanctuary and erasing Divine names from Torah scrolls. Eventually, the enemy king captured him, bound him in copper chains, and placed him inside a large metal pot with a fire underneath.
Inside the burning pot, Menashe cried out to every idol: “God of Ammon! God of Moab!” When no one answered, he remembered a verse his father taught him: “When you are in distress and all these things have befallen you, you will return to Hashem your L-rd.”
Menashe called out: “I am repenting! If You exist in heaven, save me! If not, You are like everyone else!” His prayer shook the heavens, but the angels blocked it, arguing: “How can You accept him after everything he did?!”
What did the Holy One, blessed be He, do? He tunneled a pathway underneath the Throne of Glory directly to Menashe, bypassing the angels, and accepted his repentance, bringing him back safely. From then on, Menashe destroyed the idols and praised Hashem.
Spiritual Warfare and Constant Vigilance
When going out to war, you must understand military tactics: if you go head-to-head on the ground, there are heavy casualties on both sides. The best strategy is to go above the enemy from the skies. Spiritually, one must defeat the enemy’s ministering angel above before victory can happen below.
How do we fight? Hashem says: “I created the evil inclination, and I created the Torah as its spice.” The evil inclination is made of fire, and “Is not My word like fire, says Hashem.” Through Torah, we defeat it and reclaim the holy sparks and captive souls it took.
Who goes out to physical war in the Torah? Only pure, righteous individuals who do not even have the minor sin of talking between putting on the hand-tefillin and head-tefillin! Anyone who is fearful of small sins returns home. Yet, the Torah allows a soldier to take a female captive of beautiful form because the Torah descended to the depths of human nature, knowing the evil inclination’s intense power.
As the Mishnah teaches: “Do not believe in yourself until the day of your death.” A person faces trials their whole life. You can never assume you are too old or immune to temptation.
Rectifying Character Traits and Forgiving Others
We must constantly work to fix our character traits, especially pride and anger. The verse says: “Hold fast to instruction, do not let go; keep her, for she is your life.” A person lives in order to rectify himself.
Our Sages taught: “Whoever overlooks his measures (forgives offenses), all his sins are overlooked for him.” This is the best defense attorney a person can have for the Great Day of Judgment.
- Rabbi Akiva and Rabbi Eliezer: During a drought, Rabbi Eliezer prayed and was not answered, but when Rabbi Akiva prayed, rain fell. A Heavenly Voice declared that Rabbi Akiva was answered not because he was greater, but because he was forgiving and flexible (from the School of Hillel), whereas Rabbi Eliezer followed the strict attribute of judgment (from the School of Shammai). Heaven acts measure for measure: if you are strict with others, Heaven is strict with you.
- Rav Huna and Rav Pappa: Rav Pappa visited the critically ill Rav Huna and, seeing his end was near, told the family to prepare burial shrouds. Miraculously, Rav Huna recovered. To relieve Rav Pappa's embarrassment, Rav Huna explained: You were correct; I ascended to the Heavenly Court in danger of death, but Heaven declared: 'Since he overlooks offenses and does not hold himself high, give him his life back.'"
- Avner ben Ner: Avner was so mighty he could move the world if it had a handle. Yet when Yoav mortally stabbed him, Avner—bleeding to death—had the power to crush Yoav with his hands. When the Sages asked him not to kill Yoav so Israel wouldn't lose its army commander, Avner refrained and let him go.
- Rabbeinu Saadia Gaon: While traveling anonymously, he was falsely accused of stealing utensils. Rather than using his status as a famous Rabbi to defend himself, he quietly took severe beatings, instructing his assistant not to reveal his true identity just to avoid taking pride in the crown of Torah.
May Hashem help us overcome the evil inclination, rectify our character, and walk in good ways! Amen.