48. Ki Teitzei: The Peacful Warrior ~Peacefully battling the war of life

There is a very defining verse in the book of Job (-5:7) that reads, “Because man is born for trouble, but flying creatures fly upward.” Rashi, the classic commentator of the 11the Century, explains the verse as, “Because man is born for trouble: For it is impossible that he should not sin and receive trouble as punishment for sin. He is not like the flying creatures-the angels and spirits-who fly upward, and are not of the earthly creatures (other editions read: fly upward so as not to be among the earthly creatures), over whom the Adversary and temptation rule.” Many define the word l’omal to mean hard work, rather than as trouble, however, the content is the same. The key words here are, “over whom the Adversary and temptation rule.” Thus, the meaning behind hard work or trouble for which man was born speaks of the inner-war that the person must wage against his inner-Adversary and inner-temptations that must be conquered, stripped naked and transformed. This raging battle is a lifetime’s war, as our sages teach (-Ethics of Our Fathers Chapter 2, Mishna 4), “Do not believe in yourself until the day you die.” To emphasize this point, the Talmud (-Brochot 29a) point this teaching towards Yochonan the High Priest, who, “For lo, Yochonan the High Priest officiated as High Priest for eighty years and in the end he became a Min (one who did not fallow the Oral Law).” To appreciate this we must understand that a High Priest who entered into the Holy of Holies on Yom Kippur and was not worthy of doing so would die in the Holy of Holies. Yochonan the High Priest entered and exited safely the Holy of Holies eighty times! And, nevertheless, he ended up succumbing to the inner-war, and fell victim to his inner-Adversary and inner-temptations… Thus, this life of battle, which is mandated of each and every one of us, from the holiest High Priest to the simplest Water Carrier, seems to be telling us that there is no rest for the weary and no inner-peace for the moral. This lecture is going to explore this lifetime of battle, its purpose, and how to find inner-peace while waging it. -------- Here is a link to the written notes of this lecture, which will be available until September 15, 2016, after which you can email [email protected] to request them: https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/4614078/48.%20Ki%20Seitzei%205776%20Parsha%20Class.pdf