5785/2025
In this week’s Parashah, Parashat Yitro, the Aseret HaDibrot are written. Among the Dibrot is the Issur of Avodah Zarah. Back in the day, Avodah Zarah was a big temptation, and many, many people were challenged with it. But today, the vast majority of Jews, if not all Jews, do not struggle with it. So does Avodah still play a part in our lives today?
The Gemara on Shabbat Daf :ק״ה says: “anyone who tears his clothes in anger, breaks his vessels in anger, or scatters his money in anger should be like an Oveid Avodah Zarah in your eyes”. The Rambam in Hilchot De’ot writes that a man’s traits should be “Beinonit”, meaning in the middle, and not on either extreme. He should not take life as a joke, but he should not be depressed all the time. He should not always eat, drink, and steep himself in life’s physical pleasures, but he should not deprive himself of them completely. However, there are some traits that one should not be “Beinonit” in, the Rambam writes. Among them is anger, and one should completely distance oneself from it.
The Gemara concludes that when the Pasuk in Tehillim (81:10) writes: “לֹא־יִהְיֶה בְךָ אֵל זָר” “There shouldn’t be in you a foreign god”, “the foreign god” which is “in you” refers to the Yetzer Hara. The Yetzer Hara tries to control us, and if we give in to it, it is like we are removing Hashem’s Yoke from ourself and worshiping it.
This Gemara is demonstrating that even though we do not struggle with Avodah Zarah in its literal sense, it still plays a big role in our lives. We have to strive to control our anger, because when one gets angry, he cannot control his other actions, and it is as if he is “worshipping” his anger. Similarly with all sins, the Yetzer Hara tries to trap us and convince us to give in, but we have to work hard to fight it. Life is full of challenges, and everyone has their own, but one must strive to overcome them. In Gemara Sukkah 52a Rabbi Yehuda teaches that in the future, Hashem is going to slaughter the Yetzer Hara before the righteous and the wicked. To the righteous, it will seem as a tall mountain and they will be amazed that they overcame it, but to the wicked it will seem as a strand of hair, and they will be regretful that they did not overcome it.
It is a lot of work to overcome the Yetzer Hara, but the Tzaddikim will look back and see their accomplishments. To Resha’im, however, they will see that they did not overcome something that, looking back, is seemingly so small. The battle against the Yetzer Hara is hard, but winnable. May we all do our Hishtadlut, and have Siyata DeShmaya to fight and overcome the Yetzer Hara.