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Lehavas David · Parshas Yisro · Maamar ו

Encamped Against the Mountain: Three Ways to Conquer the Yetzer

From the Torah ofRav Dovid Matisyohu Rabinowitzהרב דוד מתתיהו בן יחיאל יהושע רבינוביץProfile ›
Shemos 19:2
וַיִּסְעוּ מֵרְפִידִים וַיָּבֹאוּ מִדְבַּר סִינַי וַיַּחֲנוּ בַּמִּדְבָּר וַיִּחַן־שָׁם יִשְׂרָאֵל נֶגֶד הָהָר
They journeyed from Refidim and came to the Wilderness of Sinai, and they encamped in the wilderness; and Israel encamped there opposite the mountain.
1“And Israel encamped there opposite the mountain.”1 The Masorah, the traditional notes on the text of Tanach, lists three verses together: “And Israel encamped (vayichan) there”; “and he encamped in the valley of Gerar”; and “and he encamped before the city.”2 What connects these verses? And notice the words “opposite (neged) the mountain”: why does the verse not say “beside the mountain”?
וַיִּחַן שָׁם יִשְׂרָאֵל נֶגֶד הָהָר (יט, ב). בַּמָּסוֹרָה כָּתוּב ״וַיִּחַן שָׁם יִשְׂרָאֵל״, ״וַיִּחַן בְּנַחַל גְּרָר״ (בראשית כו, יז), ״וַיִּחַן אֶת פְּנֵי הָעִיר״ (בראשית לג, יח), וְיֵשׁ לְהָבִין שַׁיָּיכוּת הַכְּתוּבִים לַהֲדָדֵי. גַּם יֵשׁ לְדַיֵּיק בִּלְשׁוֹן הַכָּתוּב ׳נֶגֶד הָהָר׳, לָמָּה לֹא נֶאֱמַר ׳עַל יַד הָהָר׳.
  1. Shemos 19:2. ↩
  2. The word vayichan appears in these three places: here; Bereishis 26:17, said of Yitzchak; and Bereishis 33:18, said of Yaakov at Shechem. ↩
In shortWhat links the Masorah's three verses with vayichan, and why did Israel encamp “opposite” the mountain rather than “beside” it?
2Perhaps we can explain it this way. Before the giving of the Torah, Bnei Yisrael rose higher and higher in the holiness of the worlds above. They grew in holiness from day to day, from the days of counting the Omer until the very day the Torah was given, in the spirit of the verse “Go to the people and sanctify them today and tomorrow.”3 The yetzer hara, for its part, is called a “mountain.” Chazal said that in the time to come the Holy One, blessed be He, will bring the yetzer hara and slaughter it; to the tzaddikim it will look like a mountain, and they will weep and say, “How were we able to conquer such a high mountain?”4 It is also known, as the Pri Tzaddik writes, that “the yetzer hara,” mentioned without qualification, means the urge toward blemishing the covenant,5 which seeks, Heaven forbid, to defile Bnei Yisrael in matters of holiness. This also explains the word “opposite”: the yetzer stands opposite the good. Bnei Yisrael stood “opposite the mountain,” that is, against that well-known yetzer hara, and sanctified themselves with extra holiness.
וְאֶפְשָׁר לְבָאֵר, שֶׁבְּנֵי יִשְׂרָאֵל קוֹדֶם מַתַּן תּוֹרָה עָלוּ וְנִתְעַלּוּ בִּקְדוּשָּׁה שֶׁל מַעְלָה, וְהוֹסִיפוּ בַּקּוֹדֶשׁ מִיּוֹם לְיוֹם מִימֵי סְפִירַת הָעוֹמֶר עַד לְיוֹם מַתַּן תּוֹרָה עַצְמוֹ, עַל דֶּרֶךְ שֶׁנֶּאֱמַר (יט, י) ״לֵךְ אֶל הָעָם וְקִדַּשְׁתָּם הַיּוֹם וּמָחָר״, וְהִנֵּה הַיֵּצֶר הָרַע נִקְרָא הַר, כְּמַאֲמָרָם ז״ל (סוכה נב, א) שֶׁלֶּעָתִיד לָבֹא מֵבִיא הקב״ה לְיֵצֶר הָרַע וְשׁוֹחֲטוֹ, וְלַצַּדִּיקִים נִדְמֶה לָהֶם כְּהַר, וּבוֹכִים וְאוֹמְרִים הֵיאַךְ יָכוֹלְנוּ לִכְבּוֹשׁ הַר גָּבוֹהַּ כָּזֶה. וְנוֹדַע (פרי צדיק ריש וירא) דִּסְתָּם יֵצֶר הָרַע הוּא הַיֵּצֶר שֶׁל פְּגָם הַבְּרִית, שֶׁרוֹצֶה ח״ו לְטַמְּאוֹת אֶת בְּנֵי יִשְׂרָאֵל בְּעִנְיְנֵי קְדוּשָּׁה, וְזֶהוּ גַּם הַלָּשׁוֹן ׳כְּנֶגֶד׳, שֶׁהַיֵּצֶר עוֹמֵד לְנֶגֶד הַטּוֹב, וּבְנֵי יִשְׂרָאֵל עָמְדוּ ׳כְּנֶגֶד הָהָר׳ דְּהַיְינוּ נֶגֶד אוֹתוֹ יֵצֶר הָרַע הַיָּדוּעַ, וְקִדְּשׁוּ עַצְמָם בִּקְדוּשָּׁה יְתֵירָה.
  1. Shemos 19:10. ↩
  2. Sukkah 52a. ↩
  3. Pri Tzaddik, beginning of Vayeira. Blemishing the covenant means the desire for forbidden relations and other sins of impurity, which blemish the covenant of milah. ↩
In shortThe “mountain” is the yetzer hara, above all the pull toward impurity; Israel, growing daily in holiness, stood “opposite” it and sanctified themselves.
3This is the hint in “And Israel encamped (vayichan) there.” Because they had sanctified themselves, they reached the level of vayichan, of finding chein, grace, in the eyes of God and man.6 And this is what the Masorah hints at. We know that when a person guards the attribute of Yesod, the sefirah tied to the covenant and to personal holiness, it shows on his face: there is grace on his face. It is well known, too, that the Arizal could always recognize such things in people's faces.7 That is “and he encamped before the city,” in Hebrew “at the face of the city”: through holiness a person can reach this level of grace on his face.8 The verse “and he encamped in the valley of Gerar” hints that guarding oneself in purity and holiness is like a stream, nachal, that drags along everything in its path and gathers it up,9 and raises a person from impurity to purity. As the holy sefarim say, when a person is guarded in holiness, he is privileged to gather up all the sparks of holiness that fell among the kelipos, the husks of impurity. For through the holiness of Yesod everything is purified for the honor of the Creator.
וְזֶהוּ הָרֶמֶז ׳וַיִּחַן שָׁם יִשְׂרָאֵל׳, שֶׁמִּתּוֹךְ שֶׁקִּדְּשׁוּ עַצְמָם הִגִּיעוּ לְמַדְרֵיגָה שֶׁל בְּחִינַת ׳וַיִּחַן׳, לִבְחִינַת נְשִׂיאַת חֵן בְּעֵינֵי אֱלֹקִים וְאָדָם. וְזֶהוּ הָרֶמֶז בְּדִבְרֵי הַמְּסוּרָה, דְּנוֹדַע שֶׁמִּי שֶׁשּׁוֹמֵר אֶת מִידַּת הַיְּסוֹד מַכִּירִים זֹאת עַל פָּנָיו, שֶׁיֵּשׁ לוֹ חֵן עַל פָּנָיו, וְכַיָּדוּעַ שהאריז״ל (עיין ריש ספר אור הישר לר״מ פאפורש, ובריש עמק המלך) הִכִּיר תָּמִיד בְּעִנְיָנִים אֵלּוּ, וְזֶהוּ ״וַיִּחַן אֶת פְּנֵי הָעִיר״, שֶׁעַל יְדֵי הַקְּדוּשָּׁה אֶפְשָׁר לְהַגִּיעַ לְדַרְגָּה זוֹ שֶׁל נְשִׂיאַת חֵן עַל פָּנָיו (עיין מעין זה בשפת אמת וישלח תרנ״ב, ובשם משמואל וישלח תרע״ו). וּבַפָּסוּק ״וַיִּחַן בְּנַחַל גְּרָר״ נִרְמַז, שֶׁהַשְּׁמִירָה בְּטָהֳרָה וּבִקְדוּשָּׁה הִיא כְּנַחַל הַגּוֹרֵר וּמְאַסֵּף כָּל אֲשֶׁר בְּדַרְכּוֹ, וּמַעֲלֶה אֶת הָאָדָם מִטּוּמְאָה לְטָהֳרָה. כִּדְאִיתָא בַּסְּפָרִים הַקְּדוֹשִׁים שֶׁעַל יְדֵי שֶׁשְּׁמוּרִים בִּקְדוּשָּׁה, זוֹכִים לְקַבֵּץ כָּל חֶלְקֵי הַקְּדוּשָּׁה אֲשֶׁר נָפְלוּ בֵּין הַקְּלִיפּוֹת, לְפִי שֶׁעַל יְדֵי קְדוּשַּׁת הַיְּסוֹד נִטְהַר הַכֹּל לִכְבוֹד הַבּוֹרֵא.
  1. The word vayichan contains the letters of chein, “grace.” ↩
  2. See the beginning of Ohr HaYashar by R' Meir Paprish, and the beginning of Emek HaMelech. ↩
  3. See something similar in Sfas Emes, Vayishlach 5652, and Shem MiShmuel, Vayishlach 5676. ↩
  4. The word nachal means both “valley” and “stream,” and Gerar is read as gorer, “drags along.” ↩
In shortVayichan hints at chein: guarded holiness shows as grace on the face, and like “the stream of Gerar” it lifts a person to purity.
4We may also say that the Masorah hints at several ways in which a person can overcome his yetzer. The first is through unity. The holy sefer Noam Elimelech explains the verse “And the glory of Hashem shall be revealed, and all flesh shall see together that the mouth of Hashem has spoken.”10 As we know, man is called by several names, such as enosh and ish, and the name basar, “flesh,” denotes a very low level. The verse tells us that even people who are only on the level of “flesh” can, if they are united, “together,” come to see “that the mouth of Hashem has spoken.” That is, they can reach high levels in avodas Hashem, the service of Hashem, and see the revelation of His glory, blessed be He. This is hinted in the verse “And Israel encamped there opposite the mountain.” As Rashi explains, vayichan, “encamped,” is in the singular because they were all alike, “as one man with one heart.”11 In this way one can rise ever higher, and stand firm and prevail against the yetzer hara, which looks like a mountain.
עוֹד יֵשׁ לוֹמַר, דְּהַמְּסוּרָה רוֹמֶזֶת עַל כַּמָּה אוֹפַנִּים שֶׁבָּהֶם יָכוֹל הָאָדָם לְהִתְגַּבֵּר עַל יִצְרוֹ. הָאוֹפֶן הָרִאשׁוֹן הוּא עַל יְדֵי אַחְדוּת, וּכְפִי מַה דְּאִיתָא בְּסֵפֶר הַקָּדוֹשׁ נוֹעַם אֱלִימֶלֶךְ (פרשת בא ד״ה דברו) לְפָרֵשׁ מַאֲמַר הַכָּתוּב (ישעיהו מ, ה) ״וְנִגְלָה כְּבוֹד ה׳ וְרָאוּ כָל בָּשָׂר יַחְדָּיו כִּי פִּי ה׳ דִּיבֵּר״, דְּיָדוּעַ דְּיֵשׁ כַּמָּה כִּינּוּיִים שֶׁבָּהֶם נִקְרָא הָאָדָם, כְּגוֹן ׳אֱנוֹשׁ׳, ׳אִישׁ׳, וְשֵׁם ׳בָּשָׂר׳ מוֹרֶה עַל דַּרְגָּה נְמוּכָה מְאֹד. וּבָא הַכָּתוּב לוֹמַר, דַּאֲפִילּוּ אוֹתָם אֲנָשִׁים שֶׁהֵם רַק בִּבְחִינַת ׳בָּשָׂר׳, מִכָּל מָקוֹם בְּאִם הֵם בְּאַחְדוּת בִּבְחִינַת ׳יַחְדָּיו׳, אֲזַי הֵם יְכוֹלִים לְהַשִּׂיג לִרְאוֹת ׳כִּי פִּי ה׳ דִּיבֵּר׳, דְּהַיְינוּ שֶׁיְּכוֹלִים לְהַגִּיעַ לְמַדְרֵגוֹת בַּעֲבוֹדַת ה׳ וְלִרְאוֹת גִּילּוּי כְּבוֹדוֹ יִתְ׳ עַיֵּין שָׁם. וְעִנְיָן זֶה נִרְמַז בַּמֶּה שֶׁאָמַר הַכָּתוּב ״וַיִּחַן שָׁם יִשְׂרָאֵל כְּנֶגֶד הָהָר״, כפרש״י שֶׁלָּכֵן נֶאֱמַר ׳וַיִּחַן׳ בִּלְשׁוֹן יָחִיד לְפִי שֶׁהִשְׁוּו כּוּלָּן כְּאִישׁ אֶחָד בְּלֵב אֶחָד, שֶׁבְּאוֹפֶן זֶה יְכוֹלִים לְהִתְעַלּוֹת מַעְלָה מַעְלָה וְלַעֲמוֹד וּלְהִתְגַּבֵּר כְּנֶגֶד הַיֵּצֶר הָרַע הַנִּדְמֶה לְהַר.
  1. Noam Elimelech, Bo, s.v. Dabru; see there; Yeshayahu 40:5. ↩
  2. Rashi on Shemos 19:2. ↩
In shortThe first way to overcome the yetzer is unity: even people on the level of “flesh” see Hashem's glory when they stand “together.”
5The second way to overcome the yetzer hara is by learning Torah, as Chazal said: “I created the yetzer hara, and I created the Torah as its antidote.”12 This counsel is hinted in the verse “and he encamped in the valley of Gerar.” Chazal said that words of Torah are compared to streams, nechalim, which raise a person from impurity to purity.13 And the early Midrash Tanna Devei Eliyahu says: “Just as this water is a mikveh of purity for Israel …, so words of Torah are a mikveh of purity for Israel wherever they live.”14 The holy Torah is called nachal Gerar, “the stream of Gerar,” for this reason. When a person is privileged to drink of the Torah and tastes “that its merchandise is good,”15 this by itself draws him along, like the stream, to set right all the other parts of his avodas Hashem as well.
הָאוֹפֶן הַשֵּׁנִי לְהִתְגַּבֵּר כְּנֶגֶד יֵצֶר הָרַע הוּא עַל יְדֵי עֵסֶק הַתּוֹרָה, כְּמַאֲמָרָם ז״ל (קידושין ל, ב) ׳בָּרָאתִי יֵצֶר הָרַע בָּרָאתִי לוֹ תּוֹרָה תַּבְלִין׳, וְעֵצָה זוֹ רְמוּזָה בְּמַאֲמַר הַכָּתוּב ׳וַיִּחַן בְּנַחַל גְּרָר׳, כְּמַאֲמָרָם ז״ל (ברכות טז, א) שֶׁנִּמְשְׁלוּ דִּבְרֵי תּוֹרָה לִנְחָלִים הַמַּעְלִים אֶת הָאָדָם מִטּוּמְאָה לְטָהֳרָה, וְכִדְאִיתָא בְּתַנָּא דְּבֵי אֵלִיָּהוּ (רבה פרק יח) מַה מַיִם הַלָּלוּ מִקְוֵה טַהֲרָה הֵן לְיִשְׂרָאֵל וְכוּ׳, כָּךְ דִּבְרֵי תּוֹרָה מִקְוֵה טַהֲרָה הִיא לְיִשְׂרָאֵל בְּכָל מְקוֹמוֹת מוֹשְׁבוֹתָם. וְנִקְרֵאת הַתּוֹרָה הַקְּדוֹשָׁה ׳נַחַל גְּרָר׳, מִשּׁוּם שֶׁכַּאֲשֶׁר זוֹכֶה הָאָדָם וְיֵשׁ לוֹ הַשְׁקוֹת הַתּוֹרָה, וְטוֹעֵם כִּי טוֹב סַחְרָהּ, אֲזַי מִמֵּילָא זֶה מְבִיאוֹ לְתַקֵּן גַּם שְׁאָר כָּל עִנְיְינֵי עֲבוֹדַת הַשֵּׁם בְּאוֹפֶן הָרָאוּי.
  1. Kiddushin 30b. ↩
  2. Berachos 16a. ↩
  3. Tanna Devei Eliyahu Rabbah, ch. 18. ↩
  4. Mishlei 31:18. ↩
In shortThe second way is Torah, the yetzer's antidote, a purifying stream that, once tasted, draws all one's avodas Hashem into order.
6A third counsel for overcoming the yetzer hara is to cling to the shepherds and leaders of Israel, the tzaddikim who give light to the earth and those who dwell on it. As the Mechilta says on the verse “And they believed in Hashem and in Moshe His servant”: “This teaches you that whoever believes in the shepherd of Israel is as though he believes in the One Who spoke and the world came into being.”16 The verse “and he encamped before the city,” literally “at the face of the city,” hints at this, for the leaders of the generation are called “the face of the city” [in the spirit of what Chazal said on the verse “And the famine was upon all the face of the land”: “‘The face of the land’ means only the wealthy.”17 For the sages of Israel are the ones who are wealthy in knowledge, as Chazal say that “wealthy” means wealthy in knowledge.18] By clinging to the great ones and leaders of the generation, a person clings to the holy Shechinah. Through this the power of the yetzer hara leaves him and comes to nothing.
עֵצָה שְׁלִישִׁית לְהִתְגַּבֵּר נֶגֶד הַיֵּצֶר הָרַע, הִיא לְהִדָּבֵק בְּרוֹעֵי וּמַנְהִיגֵי יִשְׂרָאֵל הַצַּדִּיקִים הַמְּאִירִים לָאָרֶץ וְלַדָּרִים, כִּדְאִיתָא בִּמְכִילְתָּא (יד, לא) עַל הַכָּתוּב ״וַיַּאֲמִינוּ בַּה׳ וּבְמֹשֶׁה עַבְדּוֹ״, לְלַמֶּדְךָ שֶׁכָּל הַמַּאֲמִין בְּרוֹעֶה יִשְׂרָאֵל כְּאִילּוּ מַאֲמִין בְּמִי שֶׁאָמַר וְהָיָה הָעוֹלָם. וְעַל זֶה רוֹמֵז הַכָּתוּב ״וַיִּחַן אֶת פְּנֵי הָעִיר״, הֵם מַנְהִיגֵי הַדּוֹר הַנִּקְרָאִים ׳פְּנֵי הָעִיר׳ [עַל דֶּרֶךְ שֶׁאָמְרוּ חז״ל (בראשית רבה צה, ה) עַל הַכָּתוּב (בראשית מא, נו) ״וְהָרָעָב הָיָה עַל פְּנֵי כָל הָאָרֶץ״ אֵין פְּנֵי הָאָרֶץ אֶלָּא עֲשִׁירִים, שֶׁחַכְמֵי יִשְׂרָאֵל הֵם הָעֲשִׁירִים בְּדַעַת, וְכִדְאִיתָא בחז״ל (כתובות סח, א) דְּעָשִׁיר הַיְינוּ עָשִׁיר בְּדַעַת]. שֶׁעַל יְדֵי שֶׁיִּדְבַּק בִּגְדוֹלֵי וּמַנְהִיגֵי הַדּוֹר, יִדְבַּק בַּשְּׁכִינָה הַקְּדוֹשָׁה, וּבָזֶה יָסוּר וְיִתְבַּטֵּל כֹּחַ הַיֵּצֶר הָרַע מֵעָלָיו.
  1. Mechilta on Shemos 14:31. ↩
  2. Bereishis 41:56; Bereishis Rabbah 95:5; in standard editions 91:5. ↩
  3. Kesubos 68a. ↩
In shortThe third way is clinging to the tzaddikim, “the face of the city,” which is clinging to the Shechinah; then the yetzer's power fades.
7May Hashem, blessed be He, grant that we be privileged to do this. Amen, may it be His will.
יִתֵּן ה׳ יִתְבָּרֵךְ שֶׁנִּזְכֶּה לָזֶה, אָמֵן כֵּן יְהִי רָצוֹן.
In shortThe Rebbe prays that we be privileged to overcome the yetzer in these ways.
Takeaway

Before receiving the Torah, Israel encamped “opposite” the mountain of the yetzer hara, adding holiness day by day, and guarding that holiness brings a grace that shows even on a person's face. The struggle can feel like facing a mountain, but the Masorah hints at three ways through it: real unity with others, the purifying stream of Torah, and clinging to the tzaddikim who lead the generation, through whom we cling to the Shechinah.

Learn this in the merit of Rav Dovid Matisyohu Rabinowitz. His yahrzeit and life ›

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English translation, notes and summaries © Zechusam.