A person who buys an old car is more likely to know more about
cars than someone who buys a new one. People always have
stories to tell about mistakes the bank made or an
inefficiency by the tax office. They become experts as a
result of problems, and are ready to give advice to the
unwary. It is the same with health, with education and with
anything from how to fix a tap to how to find a good
lawyer.
There is something about mistakes and disasters which makes a
person wiser. The gemora says (Gittin 43a) that
a person often arrives at a clear decision about a matter of
halacha only after he had slipped up and made a
mistake. The embarrassment of having made the wrong decision
earlier sobers the person into thinking the matter over more
clearly and eventually arriving at the right decision.
In political matters and in social values, society also tries
to learn from its past errors of judgment how to make a better
world for itself. But unlike Torah, the goals for a perfect
society are not clearly defined by the world. They judge by
trial and error, so mistakes will be noted, but who said that
alternative approaches will indeed create the desired effect
of creating the perfect world?
The reason why the highest moral standards elude society is
because the inner urge for self-gratification stands in the
way of looking towards the highest values. As a result,
society is incapable of having an objective view of the truth.
The result is that people philosophize about their mistakes
and move on to alternative suggestions without fully
considering that the new suggestions may also be filled with
mistakes. Nevertheless, if at the moment it appears that they
are making improvements to society, they are content to bide
their time hoping that the next generation will sort out the
mistakes which this generation chose not to anticipate.
That is how general society works. In contrast to this, we
possess an ultimate and eternal truth which is Torah. When we
have problems with making decisions on how to conduct our
lives or how to relate to the outside world, whether on a
personal or communal level, we have a much greater chance of
arriving at the right conclusions because the Torah and
daas Torah point us in the direction which leads us to
what is right and what will produce happiness. This is
especially true when we consult with great talmidei
chachomim whose years of Torah study develop their daas
Torah to a high degree.
But even with us when we make big and little decisions on our
own, there is the tendency to obscure the truthful way because
it might interfere with the inner desire to attain self-
gratification and so ignore what is the right way. The
difference, however, between us and the outside world is that
they can justify their decisions, believing that they have no
ideal definitive goal for which to aim. To them, everything
points to the "right" direction. This is not the case with us,
so we stand in a more difficult position.
It is, therefore, when we forget to keep the ultimate goals in
sight that problems begin to accumulate. Rav Tzodok HaKohen
zt"l (Resissei Loiloh 38) speaks about how
beginnings have a habit of acquiring the stamp of permanence.
Once an action with good intentions has begun, it becomes the
foundation of future actions. However, this is not only in
good actions but even in bad actions. That means that if a
person does something wrong but does not see any bad in his
actions, and he even believes that there is something good in
the initial action, even regarding it as a mitzvah, he has
paved for himself a course of action which is against the Will
of Hashem. A person might be caught up in the enthusiasm of
doing something good, but he has not thought it out properly
nor has he asked a sha'aloh about it, and if it is
really wrong he will be drawn into pursuing his folly and
continue to believe that he is in fact doing nothing wrong at
all.
There are many situations where a surreptitious and even
unnoticed incident in one's life can be the thin end of the
wedge which opens wide a pattern of behavior which might be
very difficult to control. (This is especially true for youth
in whom general patterns are less established.) There could be
a fleeting encounter with a disreputable person who leaves an
impression strong enough for a further meeting to be arranged.
One might inadvertently see something unwholesome and
unacceptable to Torah, and the mind becomes attracted to see
it again. It happens many times and without previous warning,
but once the door has been opened, the seeds have been sown
into the mind. It is difficult to eradicate.
R. Tzodok says that this is the meaning of the attack of
Amolek. Amolek is referred to by Bil'om in the
Torah as the "first of nations -- reishis goyim
Amolek." Their tactics were not to make a frontal attack
on Klal Yisroel when they came out of Egypt. Their
method was not to persuade Yisroel directly into rejecting
Hashem. In this they would not be successful. Their way was by
casual encounter -- "Asher korcho baderech" as
explained at the end of last week's parsha. They looked
for the right opportunity.
The word, "Zochor" -- "remember!" is the crucial
safeguard against following the initial wrong desires of one's
heart before activating the limbs of the body to act in a
wrong way.
"When Hashem gives rest and respite from enemies -- Vehoyoh
behoni'ach Hashem Elokecho lecho mikol oyvecho," when a
person is in a state of relaxation it is then necessary to be
aware of the sudden insidious attack of Amolek, the
yetzer hora. If one recognizes the first signs, the
reishis goyim, and remembers one's Torah
responsibilities, one can protect oneself in the future. If
one ignores this, then the yetzer hora takes hold of a
person and becomes very difficult to shake off.
R. Tzodok continues by saying that the initial awareness that
a wrong attitude or bad thoughts have quietly infiltrated the
mind, means that the person was to some extent receptive to
these thoughts. There was an atmosphere which was sympathetic
to them even in a very small way. There was something there
which could act as a foothold for the yetzer hora and
it would be able to grow. However, as soon as one recognizes
the mistake which is a michshol, one ought to remember
the mitzvos and subsequently consciously reject any further
incitement from the yetzer hora. One becomes stronger
in the process and more ready and accessible to Torah
thought.
The attack of Amolek came just prior to Yisroel
receiving the Torah. An awareness of mistakes in avodas
Hashem makes one more determined not to allow future
mistakes to develop. As we noted above, one cannot really say
that one understands Torah unless one has made a mistake in
understanding and one has been corrected publicly. It makes
one search for the emes more thoroughly in the future.
If you are aware of a mistake in your Torah outlook, by
correcting it immediately you become more sensitive to its bad
effect.
Shaul Hamelech felt initially that when he went out to war
against Amolek he was right in saving the life of Agog
their king. He saw some good in him. As it turns out, the
descendants of Homon the Aggogi (hence the descendants of Agog
himself) learned Torah in Bnei Brak. Yet Shaul Hamelech should
have listened fully to Hashem. Even if to the human mind there
might be some other calculation as to why Agog should have
been allowed to live, the word of Hashem is supreme. Once one
allows one's own calculation to rule against Hashem's wishes,
subsequent damage becomes inevitable.
Often people imagine that if a situation arises which might
compromise the derech haTorah in some way, one can
leave it in place, maybe ignore it, and it will just fade away
by itself. When children come home from school with non-Torah
ideas which they acquire from their friends, or modes of dress
which bear some resemblance to non-Torah or non-Jewish
fashions, or bad middos which they copy, it is the
easiest thing to ignore these things in order to avoid any
controversy or confrontation. (In some cases it might be
better to ignore some things if parents cannot tackle the
problems without creating greater problems. Sometimes talking
in the wrong way can be counterproductive.) Yet generally the
problem needs to be addressed and not ignored. Wrong ideas
come into the home often accidentally, even into the most
Torah-aware families, and the rot sets in. This is the
maaseh Soton, the approach of Amolek.
There has to be zechiroh -- awareness, and then
protest. Once there is protest, there is a chance that
something will be done about it as long as one does not forget
(lo tishkoch). That is already the first step towards
the rejection of bad influences.
The increasing face of violence and immorality in the world
ought to make the Torah Jew feel that there are many problems
in one's life. One cannot pretend that they do not affect us.
In these days of yemei rotzon it is necessary to
analyze both one's own actions and the silent insidious
outside influences. In this way we can recognize our enemy
both from within and without and create a new consciousness.
Problems increase day by day and having to confront them on a
daily basis will make us greater experts in the art of
strengthening Torah observance among ourselves.
