Who Put the Yetzer Hara in Jail?

When the two Shapira brothers of Slovita, Rav Shmuel Avraham Abba and Rav Pinchos, were in prison, the warden came and told them that the terrible crime for which they were held called for a harsh sentence: their cell was to have no window. They were not allowed any light at all.

Hearing that they would be kept in a damp, dark, gloomy cell with no light or air, Rav Shmuel Abba was utterly downcast. Seeing this, his brother Rav Pinchos turned to him and said: “Why is the yetzer hara called an old and foolish king (Koheles 4:13, with Rashi)? Is he not wise? Does he not make fools of others? The truth is that he really is a fool. Look at us: we are in prison by decree of the Czar. But the yetzer hara, what is he doing here in prison with us? Who put him in jail?”

Rav Shmuel Abba understood: his sadness was the work of the yetzer hara, not of the warden's words. The moment he realized this, his calm and good spirits returned.