Welcome to “Battle Thursday’s.”
The Maharal of Prague gives us four steps for defeating our “Yetzer Hara”(Evil Inclination).
Quoting the Gemara he comes and tells us:
1.Mobilize your Yetzer Tov(good inclination).
Move yourself from the mentality of “lacking and taking” to the mentality of “wholeness and giving.” Run and do a Mitzvah!!! Any opportunity to do good that comes your way don’t let it go. Let your desire for good take control of the situation.
2.Learn Torah!
If step one doesn’t work and your Yetzer Hara comes to bother you, grab a Torah book, listen to a shiur, etc…
In the great world of Torah all your petty grievances will disappear like a grain of salt in the ocean.
3. Recite the “Shema Israel.”
If step 2 didn’t work, says the Gemara,then recite the Shema which is the declaration of H”S Oneness, dissipates the falsehood that there is control outside of H”S rule. The Shema reminds us that there is only One power Source:Hashem, everything that happens to us comes directly or indirectly from Him.
4.Remember the day of your death, which could be today.
If the other steps fail to keep you grounded, the Gemara very directly reminds us that we will not be here forever. No one knows when she or he will die, but no one would want his or her last words to be lashon hara (evil speech), or complaint, hatred, or anger. Even if we are justified to act in a certain way the question of “what if this is the last thing I do in my life?” Will make the Yetzer Hara flee like the darkness before the dawn.
Excerpts from “Battle Plans” by Tzipora Heller and Sarah Yoheved Rigler
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