With Love We Will Win 

A Badatz-Authorized Thief 

When he asked his question, I understood that it wasn’t a question at all – he had come to me merely to receive an approbation for his yetzer hara (Evil Inclination). 

There are several kinds of questioners. There are those who want to know what the truth is, and there are those who ask because they wish to hear what they want to hear. They come with a readymade answer and just want the stamp of approval from the rabbi. You cannot tell such people the truth because they do not come to listen; they come only to hear that they are allowed to do what they want to do. 

It happens every day: Jews – men or women – come and ask for permission to enter all kinds of situations that endanger their level of holiness, claiming it is for the purpose of earning a living. True, the needs of Your nation, Yisrael, are many, and the sustenance of Jews is an extremely important thing, and people sacrifice much for the sake of earning a living, but there are also very bright red lines that one must not even consider crossing.  

Any claim of “I’m strong”, “I know how to guard myself”, “It won’t happen to me” are nonsense and are really the advice of the yetzer hara. Because, to begin with, Chazal state clearly that “There is no guardian in sexual matters”¹ and instruct us: “Don’t trust yourself until the day you die”². Secondly, the Gemara says that whoever places himself in a situation that is a nisayon (spiritual test, trial) for him when he could have avoided it is called a rasha (wicked person) even if he does not sin. And about this one must say the words of the Tanna (sage of the time of the Mishna): “I’d rather be called a fool all my life and not be considered a rasha for even one hour in front of Hashem.”³ 

And that is why I replied to him – and to all those who ask similar questions – “If you want permission to transgress the Torah regularly every day for money, and to go into existential spiritual danger, lose all your Judaism, and have your marriage fall apart, I have a much simpler piece of advice for you: 

“Plan one big and substantial robbery. It’s best if it will provide you with a few hundreds of thousands of shekels or more, and then you will transgress the mitzvah of ‘Do not steal’ once and will be all set for at least a year. Why go and work in a place that is full of immorality and transgress a million times every day the mitzvot of ‘Do not commit adultery’ (lo tinaf), and ‘Do not crave’ (lo tachmod), and ‘Do not set your desire [on something not your own]’ (lo titaveh), and ‘Guard yourself from any impropriety’ (venishmarta mikol davar ra)?” 

The Yetzer Hara’s Doomsday Weapon 

In our generation, the biggest nisayon is that of the “smart” phones and the open internet and all the technological devices of that sort. The rabbis cry when they hear the horrible stories that are brought to their attention about the addiction and the spiritual disasters these gadgets bring upon even very fine people from all sectors. And there are those who come and ask for “permission” to use these devices for their jobs, or for the purpose of disseminating Judaism to the masses, or for learning Torah, for the sake of marital harmony, etc…. 

Would you work in a church to earn a living? Would you be willing to desecrate the Shabbat to disseminate Judaism? Would you go to a movie theater to write your novel Torah ideas? Of course not! 

So, you should know – and you must know the truth even though it’s not easy to digest – that these gadgets have within them all sorts of Gehinnom of this world – all the kefirah (heresies) and immorality. There has never been such a thing and not even something close to it: a pocket-sized device that contains every possible disgusting thing and every kind of aveirah (transgression).  

You do not enter a church, and you do not bring books of kefirah into your home, and yet you are willing to bring into your home all the kefirah in the world?! You are willing to put into your pocket a gadget that is connected to all the computers in the world with all the filth they have in them?! In the past there were barrels of garbage and filth in the street; now there are these devices that contain oceans of quicksand that swallow up whoever steps into them.  

The word “smartphone” is very misleading. Was it meant to be a telephone? There are tens of thousands of uses for this gadget, a whole industry of aveirot designed to suck the user into dangerous zones. And this little and destructive device is carried around everywhere and its owner is connected and subjected to it completely, just like the Gemara says about avodah zarah: “Each and every person would make an image of his god and place it in his pocket. When he would remember it, he would remove it from his bosom and embrace it and kiss it.”⁴ 

And even if it is a completely “clean” gadget, it is still addictive and draws the person in and detaches him completely from reality, from his family, from his life! Anything that attracts a person so powerfully, twenty-four hours a day, is worse than avodah zarah and all one’s base desires. 

We Will Walk in His Way Through Fire and Water 

Rabbi Nachman says about the pasuk: “Avraham was one person”⁵, that Avraham Avinu served Hashem yitbarach and withstood all the trials only because he was one – he had in mind that he was singular and did not pay attention to or look at any other person, not even his close family members. All of them were idol worshippers, and he went against the tide, completely alone. He figured out the truth for himself and was not confused by what everyone around him was doing. Rabbeinu adds that it is impossible to serve Hashem without this ability! 

That is the biggest nisayon in our generation: Everyone around us has these devices and the disease is spreading to Torah-observant Jews as well. The yetzer hara tries to tell a person that it is impossible to get along today without it and supplies him with endless reasons and rationalizations, saying that this most tameh (unclean) thing is actually kosher and that a person must have one.  

But anyone who wishes to withstand this nisayon must not look at anyone else! And in the merit of Avraham Avinu who paved the way for us and embedded in us the ability to be a “Avraham was one person”, and broke all the idols in his father’s house – in his merit, every Jew, man or woman, is able to withstand this huge nisayon and go against the whole world,  breaking and shattering this dangerous gadget, detaching himself from it completely! 

And even someone who claims he’s losing money because of not having one – that isn’t any reason to permit it, as we have already written. Avraham Avinu was willing to jump into the fiery furnace for the sake of his truth. He didn’t give up a twenty-thousand-shekel salary; he gave up everything, his life! 

You should know that nowadays there are substitutes and solutions for every problem. There are organizations and consultants who can guide the person to disconnect himself methodically and gradually until he is completely free of the need for that device. But first, you should know the truth, and then you will want to do everything to live according to Hashem’s will and to withstand the nisyonot (trials and tests).  

We Love and We Overcome 

But Avraham Avinu was not only an excellent role model – he also showed us the way. How did Avraham Avinu withstand all the nisyonot? Only by way of love! That is why he is called “Avraham who loves Me”⁶. To withstand daily nisyonot and observe the Torah and mitzvahs, one needs the middah (trait) of yirah, have yirat Shamayim (fear of Heaven). But to withstand the most difficult nisyonot and give up one’s very life for Hashem’s honor – for that one needs the middah of love! To feel Hashem’s love for us and to love Him back.  

The knowledge that Hashem loves you is your main source of power against all the nisyonot. Because when you know that this difficult nisayon is coming straight from the One who loves you most – everything looks different. And also, when you truly love Hashem and serve Him out of love, all the challenges become insignificant. 

And when you know that Hashem loves you and that you will have only good – you are not afraid of losing income because you are doing His will. No – you are sure that when you overcome such a hard nisayon out of love of Hashem, your gates of abundance will open as well as the gates of all salvations, and you will experience miracles upon miracles and supernatural blessings! 

Editor’s Notes: 

¹ Talmud Bavli, Tractate Chulin 11b 

² Mishnah Avot 2:4 

³ Akaviah ben Mahalalel in Mishnah Ediyot, Seder Nezekin 

⁴ Tractate Shabbat 83b 

⁵ Likutei Moharan II Prologue, based on Yechezkel (Ezekiel) 33:24 

⁶ Yeshayahu (Isaiah) 41:8