Difficult Tests

By Rabbi Moshe Krieger, Yeshivas Bircas HaTorah (www.bircas.org)

In Parashas Ki Sisa, we read about the making of the Golden Calf. A short few weeks after they received the Torah, a segment of the Jewish people pointed to this man-made object and announced, “These are your gods, Yisrael, that took you out of the land of Egypt.” How could the nation have sunk so low?

One source of this unfortunate error was a mistaken calculation. The Bnei Yisrael were expecting Moshe Rabbeinu to come back from the mountain one day earlier. However, that alone would not have caused this sin. Rashi explains that the Satan made the world appear dark and gloomy, signifying that something very bad had happened. The Satan then caused a funeral bier to appear in the heavens. He even went around whispering into the ears of the people that Moshe Rabbeinu had died.

Why did Hashem allow the Satan to bring about such confusion? Is this fair?

Rav Eliyahu Dessler, citing the Mesillas Yesharim, answers that the purpose of this world is to test us. Tests help a person grow and perfect himself. At times, a person is tested in the early stages of his spiritual growth. Step by step, he uses these tests to become a better person. Other times, though, Hashem gives him enormous assistance to grow spiritually, but he must be tested in a tremendous, difficult way to demonstrate that he is truly worthy of what he has received.

Before and when receiving the Torah, the Jewish nation soared to great spiritual heights, but this growth incurred a test. Subsequently, Hashem gave the Satan permission to test if their devotion to Hashem was truly permanent.

Chazal state (Sukkah 52a) that the greater a person is, the greater his evil inclination. The Jews were at the zenith of spirituality. Therefore, the test that they underwent was very intense.

Once, the Brisker Rav spoke out forcefully against a certain Torah scholar. He was so sharp in his wording that people asked him, “Is it right to treat a great man like this?”

The Brisker Rav’s answer was as brief as it was piercing: “King Achav was a tremendous talmid chacham, but he was also one of the wickedest men in the history of the Jews.”

While we may not judge great Torah scholars, the Brisker Rav’s statement gives us a peek into their world. The tests of great men are of tremendous magnitude, and they must pass them in order to reach their spiritual perfection.

This answer leaves us with a big problem. If the Satan is given such great leeway, do we stand a chance? Is it possible to survive when being challenged by such a powerful adversary? Rav Yechezkel Levenstein gives us some practical advice: run away from tests, and pray to be saved from them.

The Ran (Kiddushin 13 in the Rif) writes that that great sages of the Talmud did not look more than four cubits away from themselves, and Rav Sheshes even blinded himself rather than be exposed to an indecent sight. We see that they avoided tests whenever possible, even sometimes going to very great extremes to do so. We too, when we know our weak spots, should avoid environments that challenge us.

Rabbeinu HaKadosh, after davening Shemoneh Esrei, begged to be saved from the evil inclination (Brachos 17b). We too should pray that we not be exposed to tests.

Rav Levenstein notes that we don’t always realize that there is a test to avoid. Sometimes the Satan’s work appears to be a normal daily event. For example, disturbances happen to come up in the middle of seder. What seems like happenstance is in fact the Satan’s work. Not always are our desires for sleep, food, or breaks legitimate needs of the body. Sometimes, they are a temptation. We must try to pay attention to ourselves, and be on guard.

Rav Levenstein also cites the Chovos HaLevavos (Sha’ar HaYichud, 5), that doubts in emunah are not innocent thoughts, but rather the evil inclination. One must be certain to push aside these doubts at once, and pray that they leave him.

Rav Yerucham Bordiansky, mashgiach of Yeshivas Kol Torah, says that the best way to run away from tests is to immerse oneself in learning. In the yeshivah, the Satan is weaker. As the Gemara states (Kiddushin 30b), “If this disgusting person (the Satan) meets you, pull him [in] to the beis midrash.” We need only look around to see how the Satan often rallies his forces to keep a person out of yeshivah. People are kept busy with endless amounts of useless and questionable activity. The effort that the Satan puts into causing us to waste time should teach us how important it is to use our time wisely in yeshivah.

The Satan never gives up. One insidious attempt to pull us out of the yeshivah is the ongoing effort to draft yeshivah students into the Israeli army. My rebbe, Rav Meshulam David Soloveitchik, who almost never involves himself in public affairs, issued a public letter protesting the draft. Rav Meshulam David says that anyone who can do anything to avert this terrible decree must do so, and what we as bnei Torah must do is pray to be saved from this trap. We must also show how much we value learning by increasing our commitment to the sedarim and clinging to the Torah with all of our might.

May we be zocheh to avoid tests by immersing ourselves in learning!

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