Winning
the War
According to the Torah,
as mentioned before in
these writings, a person
has two inclinations -
the 'good inclination'
and the 'bad
inclination'. The bad
inclination, the yetzer
hara in Hebrew, is out
to trap a person and
lead them into
inappropriate behavior
and actions. The yetzer
hatov, the good
inclination, tries to
keep the person on the
straight and narrow and
prevail over the yetzer
hara. This is the basis
of free choice, that
when we choose a
particular path or
action it comes from
free choice and not
through force. It is
hard work, though, to
resist the yetzer hara!
The Parsha begins by
telling us 'when you
shall go to war on your
enemy...' The
commentaries explain
that 'your enemy' refers
to the yetzer hara,
which we are constantly
battling each and every
day. The parsha gives us
hope - the verse
continues 'and G-d will
deliver into your
hand... and make
captive...' The Talmud
states that 'one who
comes to purify
themselves... we help
them.' When a person is
sincere in their desire
to do the right thing,
they receive a boost
from Above, to help them
to overpower their
yetzer hara and the
other temptations around
them. Hence when a
person faces this
challenge head-on, the
yetzer hara not only is
'delivered into [their]
hand' but it becomes
'captive' meaning it is
subjugated and
transformed into good.
According to Chassidic
philosophy, this is the
continuing daily process
of transforming
ourselves and the world
around us, of 'refining'
everything in Creation,
using it for the good
and to serve a higher
purpose.
Shabbat Shalom
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