And Yaakov was left alone, and a man wrestled with him until the break of dawn (Bereshis 32:25)

In this week’s parsha, Yaakov gets into a wrestling match with the guardian angel of Esav. At the end of the match, Yaakov held the angel and would not let him go. Therefore, this week, I would like to discuss who is strong and powerful.

The mishna in Pirke Avos asks, “Who is strong? One who conquers his evil inclination.” Imagine a fighting match between the boxing heavyweight champion of the world and a Rosh Yeshiva? How could the mishna possibly say that a person who conquers his Yetzer Hara is stronger than anyone else in the world?

When a boxer steps into the ring, he clearly knows who is enemy is. He looks to the other corner and sees who is going against. It is much different when a person fights his Yetzer Hara. Sometimes his Yetzer might put on the clothes of his enemy, but many times, the Yetzer puts on the same uniform as the person. He comes as a friend.

Not only that, but he attacks from all directions. The mishna in Brachos states that if a person is davening and a king greets the person or a snake is coiled around the person’s leg, he should not interrupt his davening. (It must be noted that this is only in a case where a person’s life is not in danger… the king is known not to kill people who ignore him and the snake is known not to be poisonous.) Why does the mishna choose these two things? It is because this is how the Yetzer attacks a person. Sometimes the Yetzer comes as a snake and tries to knock down the person. The Yetzer tells a person, “You are no good. Why should you even try?” Other times the Yetzer comes as a king and raises a person up. The Yetzer says, “You are so great that the king greets you. You are the greatest person in the world.” In this case, the Yetzer gives the person a large ego.

The reason the strongest person in the world is someone who overcomes his Yetzer Hara is because this person always needs to be prepared. He must look in every direction and always ready to fight off the Yetzer, even when the Yetzer looks like his friend. This is a much more difficult task than what even the best boxer needs to do.

So how do we do it? The answer is to learn Mussar because then a person will learn to be able to take control.

Rav Yaakov Kamenetzky’s sons state that there was only one time they remember hearing him yell. He was on the phone and yelled at the person on the other side. When he hung up, he was not breathing deeply. He was very calm and smiled to his sons while saying, “Sometimes the only way to speak to some people is by yelling.” Rav Yaakov had control over himself. He did not let his Yetzer Hara take control. He was able to remain calm even during a hard situation. The reason was because he learned Mussar.

Good Shabbos!
-yes
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