Day 9/50: The Yetzer Hara’s Trap

וְלֹ֤א שָֽׁמְעוּ֙ אֶל־משֶׁ֔ה מִקֹּ֣צֶר ר֔וּחַ וּמֵֽעֲבֹדָ֖ה קָשָֽׁה

but they did not listen to Moses because of [their] shortness of breath and because of [their] hard labor.

From the book “From Boys to Men” by Dr. Shloimie Zimmerman & GYE

A boy must remember that his job is to “do;” he must dedicate his focus and efforts on the current moment. To properly concentrate on this moment, he has to shift his focus away from whatever may have occurred in the past or worries about the future, even regarding being able to avoid future issurim, and focus solely on making the best effort that he can. He must redirect his thinking to address: “What is the best that I can do right now, in this Divinely customized moment and situation?” 

He must always remember that Hashem knows his challenges, his yetzer hara, and all the pain and hardships that he endures. The yetzer hara will persistently try to get him to lose focus on this moment or appreciate his efforts. The yetzer hara will say things like, “You tried and failed so many times,” “You see that these tools don’t really help, because you ended up failing anyway,” or, “Look, you are too far gone, it doesn’t matter.” It is crucial for him to not fall into the yetzer hara’s trap and believe those things about himself, but rather to appreciate any positive effort that he makes, no matter what the outcome is. 

The truth is that the reward for any positive effort is infinite, and nothing, even a negative outcome, nullifies his positive accomplishments or efforts. It is critical to work hard to appreciate every positive effort that he makes and to not get discouraged by the enormity of the challenge. A boy must know that Hashem is with him even in his most challenging and darkest moments, and He always cherishes him and all his efforts!