Day 29/50: Eight Gems of Advice from the Steipler (Part One: 1-4)

וַיֵּ֥שֶׁב משֶׁ֖ה לִשְׁפֹּ֣ט אֶת־הָעָ֑ם וַיַּֽעֲמֹ֤ד הָעָם֙ עַל־משֶׁ֔ה מִן־הַבֹּ֖קֶר עַד־הָעָֽרֶב

Moshe sat down to judge the people, and the people stood before Moshe from the morning until the evening.

The Steipler Goan advises bachurim about these nisyonos in his many printed letters. Here are a few of his important points: 

1. Don’t think about the past, but only look forward. Even teshuvah for past sins of this nature should be left for once a person is married, lest it bring him to “atzvus” (depression).

2. Keep davening – even 100 times a day, a short teffilah like: “Hashem, please save me!”. We may not see Hashem’s answer right away, but no teffilah is lost and it all adds up and comes together in the end.

3. Don’t think you will be able to change completely right away, it will take time and effort… Every time we say “no” eventually comes together, and we will find the strength to be free of these sins altogether.

4. (As we enter into the week of Kabalas Ha’Torah): The best medicine against these nisyonos is to learn Torah with true yegiyah – effort and diligence. As Chazal say that Hashem tells us, “I created the Yetzer Hara, and I created the Torah as a medicine for it”.