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You're still pursuing him

Friday, 04 May 2012

Taken from www.ilovetorah.com

Once, when Rabbi Pinchas of Korets entered his Beis Medresh, study hall, he noticed that his students stopped conversing and then started again. He asked them what it was they were talking about. They told the Rebbe that they were saying how they were afraid that the Yetzer Hara, the evil inclination, would pursue them. The Rebbe responded, "Don't worry. You aren't on such a high level. You're still pursuing him!"

When I first heard this story, it really hit home base for me. Every time I have told it over, it has almost shocked the listeners. It's funny how the simple words of rabbi Pinchas of Korets contain, for most, the antidote for overcoming much of their struggles with their Yetzer Hara.

The Yetzer Hara, guided by the Satan, is said to get stronger everyday as one grows in their level of Yiddishkite, Judaism. Someone once said to his Rebbe, "I wish I had your Yetzer Hara." The Rabbi taken aback said strongly, in a stern voice, "Chas V Shalom, G-D forbid." The student innocently thought that because his rabbi was so pure it must be that his Yetzer Hara, evil inclination wasn't so strong. But the real truth is that the higher one's level of piety, the stronger their Yetzer Hara has to become. After all, aren't we supposed to struggle in life with free choice? Without a Yetzer Hara, being a pious man would be easy and therefore have little value to Hashem and ourselves. To value something, you must work for it.

So if it feels like the Yetzer Hara is just getting stronger each day, take heart! That means you are growing each day!