How Do We Overcome the Yetzer? Three Things Every Jew Must Know • In Light of Chassidus

00:00 One of the tzaddikim among the Baal Shem Tov’s students once said: “I don’t expect my chassidim to have no desire or urge to commit sins. I expect them simply not to have time to sin.” Which one of us doesn’t want to be clean, pure, free of sins and transgressions? But the moment we start thinking along those lines, despair sets in. Who am I? What am I? What strength do I have? We live in a world surrounded by all kinds of tests, temptations, desires, impulses, and difficulties. So from the very first moment, we feel we’ve lost before we’ve even begun. How can a person find the strength? What way of thinking can encourage us, give us strength and courage, so that we can set out to serve Hashem with greater strength and truly guard ourselves, stay connected to Hakadosh Boruch Hu, fulfill Hashem’s will, and be whole in thought, speech, and action? This week, in Pirkei Avos, we have the first mishnah of the third chapter. We’re going to discuss it today and try to understand it in the wonderful, profound way Chassidus teaches us to look at it. Because this first mishnah of Pirkei Avos, chapter three, is really trying to give us an answer. But first we need to know how to read it, understand it, and delve into it. What exactly is this mishnah telling us? So today we’ll spend some time on its content. Akavya ben Mahalalel says... Let’s read the mishnah and try to identify some very basic questions that arise when we read it, yes? There are simple questions that come up, and once we try to understand its words a little more deeply, we’ll see that it has a truly wonderful message. Anything can be read in different ways. You can read it one way or another.

02:26 We’ll see that, in light of Chassidus, this mishnah takes on a refreshing, strengthening, encouraging, and empowering dimension. It gives us the strength to serve Hashem and overcome our impulses, as the mishnah begins: “Akavya ben Mahalalel says: Consider three things, and you will not come to sin.” That’s what we’ll discuss today. We’ll try to understand this mishnah, and at the end there’s also an interesting explanation, a fascinating story connected with this not-so-well-known Tanna, Akavya ben Mahalalel: who he was, what his name has to do with it. We’ll tell that story later, because the identity of the person who said these words also has a very special significance for understanding this mishnah. So when we open the mishnah and read, “Akavya ben Mahalalel says: Consider three things, and you will not come to sin,” what are those three things? “Know where you came from, where you are going, and before Whom you will one day give an account and reckoning.” And the mishnah continues: “Where did you come from? From a putrid drop. Where are you going? To a place of dust, maggots, and worms. And before Whom will you one day give an account and reckoning? Before the King of kings, Hakadosh Boruch Hu.” That’s the mishnah. Now, several things jump out at us right away. First, on an initial reading, a very simple question arises: things are repeated here three times. This mishnah is written in a very interesting way, yes? It begins, “Consider three things, and you will not come to sin,” almost creating suspense. There are three things, but I don’t know what they are. Then it says, “Know where you came from.” It poses three questions: Where did you come from? Where are you going? Before Whom? And it doesn’t answer them. Then, on the third pass, it gives the answers as well. Why

04:42 all this length? We know that the Mishnah was written concisely, so all this extra wording seems completely unnecessary. It could have said it briefly—as we’ve said, the Mishnah always states things as concisely as possible; we all know that. It could have said, “Akavya ben Mahalalel says: Consider that you came from a putrid drop, that you are going to a place of dust, maggots, and worms, and that you will one day give an account and reckoning before the King of kings, Hakadosh Boruch Hu.” Why all the introductions, the questions, and the extra wording? And there’s another very, very simple question. “Consider three things”—why say that? Why give the number? We can count for ourselves. Any small child could count and see that there are three things here. Why state the number first? Sometimes, when there are many things, you need to give a number, but here, even without saying “three things,” wouldn’t we have figured it out ourselves? So the entire opening seems completely unnecessary. On the face of it, when we read this mishnah, it sounds harsh: a difficult mishnah, a heavy message, a sharp message. We see that there are different customs of reciting this mishnah at certain moments to awaken a broken heart. But as we said, through the perspective of Chassidus, we gain an entirely different dimension in understanding it. The mishnah opens by saying, “Consider three things.” Everything that follows in the mishnah, every part of it, has layer upon layer of depth: understanding a person’s strength, understanding who we are, what we are, and why we exist here in this world. Thinking about and contemplating these points gives each of us the strength to serve Hashem in the fullest way: “and you will not come to sin.” First, the mishnah says, “Consider three things.” Even before we get into the explanation, the Tanna’s opening words themselves carry a message.

07:07 There’s an extremely important message here for a Jew: first of all, you need to know that there are three things. Consider them, reflect on them, delve into them—and this is separate from what follows in the mishnah. It’s a point in its own right. “Consider three things” is already a message to a person thinking about himself and about our presence in this world: there are three things. When a person knows that our lives, our reality, consist of three things, that’s an enormously powerful message that gives us strength. There are three things in life. Why does that matter? Think about what happens to each of us, especially in life today. There are so many things, so many tasks, so much we need to do and know and accomplish, that a person has barely started the day and his head already hurts from it all. We get confused, tangled up, and run from one thing to the next. That’s where the whole issue of difficulty paying attention and concentrating comes in. So many things, so many windows open, so many activities, so much to do—and we’re already confused. The day has only begun. What does the mishnah tell us? “Consider three things.” You only need to keep three things in mind and focus on them. That will give you tremendous strength, tremendous support, and a healthy outlook on life. Now, when we begin to think about the three most important, most central things in my life, we’ll reach the conclusion ourselves. First, there is Hakadosh Boruch Hu. He is the one true reality. “Hear, O Israel: Hashem is our G-d, Hashem is One.” Hakadosh Boruch Hu is the One and Only. And there is my soul. Second, Hakadosh Boruch Hu created me as a soul, “truly a part of G-d above.” Hakadosh Boruch Hu took a part of Himself, of His very essence and being, and brought it down here into this world,

09:32 into a physical, material body. And then there is the third thing: our task. Why did Hakadosh Boruch Hu take my soul and bring it down from the highest heights to the deepest depths, from Gan Eden and the higher worlds? Hakadosh Boruch Hu brought our souls down here into this world. What is the purpose? I come to the conclusion that Hakadosh Boruch Hu wants us to transform this physical world and make it a dwelling place for Him. We have a purpose; we have a task. Or, as the Gemara in Kiddushin says: “I was created to serve my Maker.” A Jew was created here in this world to serve Hakadosh Boruch Hu, to fulfill the purpose for which He created the world. “Hakadosh Boruch Hu desired to have a dwelling place in the lower realms,” as the Alter Rebbe explains at length in Tanya. So these are the three things. They encompass our entire essence and existence in life. The Mishnah then comes and tells us, as Akavya ben Mahalalel said: Look closely. A Jew needs to look inward and reflect that in my life there are three things: there is Hakadosh Boruch Hu; there is me, standing before Hakadosh Boruch Hu; and there is the world—the task Hakadosh Boruch Hu gave me to carry out in this world. That means Hakadosh Boruch Hu truly has faith in me. He gave me such a special task. He chose me for this special task, the task in which He takes delight, which He wants and desires. “Hakadosh Boruch Hu desired,” in the words of the Midrash. We have such a special task. When a Jew reflects on these three points, it gives him the strength to stand up to the yetzer hara. All our urges and all our confusion come from not understanding what we are doing here in this world. When a person forgets these three things, sometimes we forget about

11:39 Hakadosh Boruch Hu; sometimes we forget who we are and the wonderful powers we have, that we are “a part of G-d above”; and sometimes we forget our task—that we came into this world for a purpose, and that Hakadosh Boruch Hu chose us for it. Bringing these three things together—“look closely at three things”—is what most fully and powerfully gives a Jew the strength to serve Hakadosh Boruch Hu. That is the first stage. Then the Mishnah moves to a second stage and goes into more detail. For some Jews, being told to look closely at three things is enough. They need nothing more. But sometimes a person needs a little more information, a few more details. That is the Mishnah’s second stage. As we said, the Mishnah is divided into three parts, as the Rebbe once explained at a farbrengen. Tanya speaks of tzaddikim, beinonim, and resha’im. Every Jew belongs, in some way, to one of these three groups. For people on a higher level, just hearing, understanding, and internalizing the three points is enough; they need no further explanation. Simply recognizing that there are three things gives them the ability to overcome every urge. But sometimes people need more explanation, more words. That is the Mishnah’s second stage. The Mishnah says, “Know from where you came,” and here we hear the deeper explanation in Chassidus. “From where you came” is not only a question; it is also an answer. The Maggid of Mezritch taught us that the words “from where you came” do not just ask where you came from. They mean that you came from Ayin. Ayin refers, as it were, to Hakadosh Boruch Hu, Who created us. In Chassidus and Kabbalah, Hakadosh Boruch Hu is also sometimes called Ayin, the supernal Ayin. Ayin because He is not a tangible entity. He is not material, not a bounded existence. He has no limits or defining qualities. He is infinite—the true Ayin,

14:00 the true Infinite. “From Ayin”—from that Ayin, from that lofty place—you came. That is where our souls came from. The Maggid of Mezritch says: When the Gemara in Shabbos says, “Ein mazal l’Yisroel”—“Israel has no mazal”—what does it mean? After all, we know there are statements of our Sages that do speak of mazal: “Mazal does matter,” and so on. What does it mean that Israel has no mazal? The Maggid says: “Ayin is Israel’s mazal.” That Ayin, the supernal Ayin, the Infinite that is above all the mazalos and all the forces of nature—that Ayin is our true mazal. So when we say, “From where you came,” we are telling a person: Remember that your true being, your soul, comes from the true Ayin. “Wisdom is found from Ayin.” “And where are you going?” We descend into this world. The soul descended into this world. Where? Where? The question “Where are you going?” means that we live in a world whose existence is—what? It has no substance of its own, no content of its own. As the Baal Shem Tov explained to us, the world is, in fact, something that does not exist in its own right and should not exist; it exists only because of the Divine power that gives it life at every moment. Without the Divine power that brings it into being and sustains it at every moment, there is no world, no existence, because it has no basis for existing at all. So where? What? Why do you give the world such substance and importance, when the world has no existence of its own? It exists only through the Divine power that creates it. Then comes, “Before Whom are you destined to give judgment and an accounting?” Your work matters. Someone cares about you. Think about it for a moment. Your soul comes from Ayin, from the true Ayin, from the Infinite, and it descended into a world that has nothing of its own, a world with no importance in its own right. All its importance comes from the fact that Hashem created it. And Hakadosh Boruch Hu cares. “Before Whom are you destined

16:16 to give judgment and an accounting?” In other words, our actions matter. Someone takes an interest in them. Someone wants an accounting of what we do because it matters to Him, because it is precious to Him. He needs us; He wants us; we matter to Him. So this is a more detailed reflection, giving a person the strength to “not come to sin”—not to feel any desire or wish to cross into another domain. The word aveirah, sin, carries the sense of crossing from one domain to another: leaving the domain of holiness for the domain of the sitra achra, for the public domain, for a domain that does not belong to us. Then comes the Mishnah’s third stage, which spells things out even further. As we said, each part of the Mishnah adds more detail. Sometimes even that is not enough for a person; he needs to hear more particulars. Especially because the coarseness of the body, of the animal soul, of the yetzer hara, and everything around him can leave a person so distant, he needs things stated more explicitly. So what does the Mishnah add? “From where did you come? From a putrid drop.” Remember that despite this—and here too we have what is called a Chassidic reading of the precise words—although, on the bodily level, your body comes from a putrid drop, “from where did you come?” Your lofty Divine soul descended from the highest place and is now within a putrid drop, a material, physical body. Yet it remains a part of G-d. That is why you have the strength to overcome all the difficulties that come from the material world. The world is a putrid drop, while you have a connection to the Divine Ayin, to the Infinite. “And where are you going? To a place of dust, maggots, and worms.” The world, in its own right, is a place of dust. Why do you get so worked up and lose your strength when you look at the big world? The world, in its own right, is a place of dust, maggots, and worms. And you—where are you going? You received a mission from Hakadosh Boruch Hu

18:34 In this world, you have the power to turn this world into a G-dly place, a holy place. “And before whom are you destined to give an account?” the Mishnah concludes. Here it adds the words: “Before the King of kings, Hakadosh Boruch Hu.” A Jew who is in a state of greater spiritual distance also needs to understand, when we speak about giving an account, how important our actions are to Hakadosh Boruch Hu. Who is Hakadosh Boruch Hu? Think a little about the greatness of the King of kings. We are not talking about just anyone. We are talking about the King of kings, Hakadosh Boruch Hu. So when you reflect on these details—who is the person who has the ability to work and fulfill the Divine purpose before the King of kings, Hakadosh Boruch Hu?—surely all this will give me the strength, the courage, the encouragement to overcome every difficulty and serve Hakadosh Boruch Hu properly. That, in essence, is the wonderful, positive message of this Mishnah. We know that the Baal Shem Tov said there are two ways to drive away a thief. A thief comes and starts approaching your house. You see him from a distance and want to drive him away. There are two ways. One is to shout and scare him off. So he runs away and hides, but the next day he will come back differently. He will hide more carefully, but he will come back. There is another way, though: take the thief, work with him, and teach him to stop stealing, that it is not worth it. The Baal Shem Tov says: These are two approaches. There is the approach of shouting, threats, frightening people, harsh words. But there is also the opposite approach: giving a person the strength and inner resources to understand our role in the world. And that, in essence, is how to read the Mishnah in the inner, deeper sense of

20:44 its words. So, as we said, we tell a person: The first step is, “Consider three things.” Reflecting on the fact that our world is made up of three things already gives us a way to be healthy, strong people, to serve Hakadosh Boruch Hu with joy and gladness of heart, “and you will not come to sin.” After that come more details, as we said: to reflect on “where you came from, where you are going, and before whom you will give an account”—our importance and the importance of our actions. Then, in the more detailed reflection, as we said, the fact that the world, on its own, is “a putrid drop” and “a place of darkness” cannot break you or weaken you. On the contrary, you have the ability, the strength, the privilege, and the opportunity to give an account before the King of kings, Hakadosh Boruch Hu. That is the most wonderful thing. Who said this? “Akavya ben Mahalalel says.” Who was Akavya ben Mahalalel? Here there is a wonderful story. The story is that the Frierdiker Rebbe was in Chicago. We know that the Frierdiker Rebbe came to America, to New York, and settled in New York. But at one point he traveled to visit the chassidim in Chicago. Although he was already worn down and his body was extremely weak, he agreed to the chassidim’s request. For him, at his age and in his condition, it was a difficult, long journey. He stayed there for some time, and then he held a farbrengen—he spoke there at the farbrengen. He told a story about one of the great chassidim of the Alter Rebbe, Reb Baruch Mordechai. He related that Reb Baruch Mordechai was once in a shul. There were great Torah scholars there, and he spoke to them. He himself was a great Torah scholar. He discussed a very deep, complex, and lengthy topic in halachah, and the scholars were deeply impressed by his greatness and the depth of his understanding. He was among those who had drawn close to the Alter Rebbe.

22:55 That was not publicly known; he had done so discreetly. But later he became one of the Alter Rebbe’s great chassidim. When they had finished their scholarly discussion with the Torah scholars in the beis midrash and were about to leave, there was a Jew sitting in the room next to the shul, davening with deep concentration. He was a disciple of the Baal Shem Tov, a simple Jew, a wagon driver, but he had learned Chassidus and understood the importance of davening. So he davened with concentration and deveikus. One of the Torah scholars began to mock him and said scornfully, “Oh, who is this wagon driver, davening at length too?” He used an expression: “You call that davening? He’s just heels.” There was a Yiddish expression, “a piyate,” a way of belittling someone. They would call a person “a piyate”—just a heel, nothing more. He has no standing, no importance. Reb Baruch Mordechai heard this, and it pained him greatly. It really bothered him. How can you speak about a Jew like that? Who are you? True, you are a great Torah scholar, but to belittle Jews like that? We know that the Baal Shem Tov taught us to cherish every Jew. Reb Baruch Mordechai turned to him and said, “I’ll share a Torah teaching with you about this.” He said, “It says, ‘Akavya ben Mahalalel says.’ Akavya is related to akev, heels—piyates, exactly what you said. Mahalalel comes from mehalel, one who praises. This Jew you are mocking—you called him a heel. So this Akavya, these ‘heels,’ this simple Jew—he davens, and he davens with concentration and connects with Hakadosh Boruch Hu. So he tells you: Remember, ‘Consider three things, and you will not come to sin.’ Reflect on three things. A Jew, even the simplest Jew, even the Jew you called a ‘heel’—he davens, he praises. And he will come to the realization

25:03 that he should reflect on these three things. That will help him not become proud of his Torah learning, not be arrogant, and not mock other people, simple people. On the contrary, he will respect and love every Jew.” The Frierdiker Rebbe told this story at the farbrengen in Chicago. But afterward, some people began to object: How can one speak about one of the great Tannaim, Akavya ben Mahalalel, a sage of the Mishnah, and say that “heels” is an expression of belittlement, as it were? The Rebbe received these complaints. At the time I’m talking about, the Rebbe was the Frierdiker Rebbe’s son-in-law, before he became Rebbe. But questions and objections reached him from people who had been present and were troubled by this. How could one call one of the great Tannaim “heels”? The Rebbe wrote a wonderful, lengthy, carefully reasoned letter, drawing on works of Kabbalah and Chassidus, with sources from the Zohar and the writings of the Arizal. He showed that, first of all, this subject requires an introduction to understanding how one examines a name and understands its depth. He brought very interesting sources showing that this name, Akavya, belonging to one of the great Tannaim, is indeed connected with the concept of heels. The works of Kabbalah and the writings of the Arizal state that Akavya ben Mahalalel was among the souls connected with the heels of Adam Harishon, and so on. There are various explanations according to Kabbalah. In that letter, the Rebbe explains to them: Yes, one might think that sometimes a Chassidic explanation twists the verses or the words of our Sages. But the truth is that every saying has layer upon layer of depth, with deep roots in the hidden teachings of Torah or in both its revealed and hidden dimensions. One simply has to know how to learn. So this is the message we have from this Mishnah: “Akavya ben Mahalalel.” A Jew—even if you think of yourself as an Akavya, a “heel,” you daven, you praise. You have the privilege of davening every day. So reflect; let us reflect

27:15 on these three messages. “Consider three things, and you will not come to sin.” May we be strong Jews who want to serve Hakadosh Boruch Hu, strong people, especially in these days of Sefiras HaOmer, when we correct our actions, refine our character traits, and correct our conduct, “to purify us and sanctify us with Your supreme holiness.” May we prepare ourselves for the festival of Shavuos, the giving of the Torah, and may we soon merit the Torah, the Torah of Moshiach, speedily in our days. Amen.