A Sign of Laxity?
In this week’s Torah reading, Moshe (Moses) approaches Pharaoh and tells him to free the Jews from their slavery. Pharaoh refuses to do this, and in response, he issues a new decree to increase the amount of work the Jews have to do. The reason he gives for this is (Shemot 5:8-9) that the Jews are being lax in their work, and that is why they are asking to leave. Therefore, they should work harder and not be busy with “foolishness.”
What did Pharaoh mean? How is requesting to leave a sign of being lax in their work, and how would intensifying the work prevent them from wanting to leave? If anything, this would seem to only reinforce their quest to be liberated.
Pharaoh’s Strategy
The Mesilat Yesharim explains (chapter 2) that Pharaoh saw the fact that such a request was given as a sign that they weren’t being worked hard enough since they had time to entertain the notion of being allowed to leave. Pharaoh’s intention in his response was that they should be worked so hard to the point that they shouldn’t even have a chance to think about their situation; they shouldn’t even have a moment to think about the idea of leaving.
And indeed, his plan succeeded. The Torah says after this (Shemot 6:9) that when Moshe came to announce to the Jews that they were about to be liberated, they did not listen to him because of the hard work they were engrossed in. The Ramban (see also Ha’emek Davar) explains that this means that they were under so much pressure from the work that they did not have the time to even think about what Moshe was telling them.
The Yetzer Hara’s Similar Tactics
This, says the Mesilat Yesharim (ibid), is exactly the tactic that the Yetzer Hara (Evil Inclination) employs as well. The Yetzer Hara purposely works to keep our minds constantly occupied so that we shouldn’t have time to think. The Yetzer Hara doesn’t want us to think about life: the meaning of life, what our goals in life are, and to measure our spiritual progress. He constantly bombards us with things we need to take care of and occupies our minds with matters of no real significance.
The Transformative Power of Thinking
If people would take just a few minutes to think, to contemplate how they are doing spiritually and do some introspection, they would undoubtedly change. If people would give themselves time to examine how well they are fulfilling their duties to God and how they can improve themselves, they would certainly improve.
A Mother’s Lesson on Reflection
An acquaintance of mine shared the following experience he had: He once went to visit his elderly mother, and she asked him, “When you go to bed at night, do you fall asleep right away, or does it take you a few minutes to actually fall asleep?”
The son answered the unusual question, “My day is so busy that by the time I get to bed, I am so exhausted that I fall asleep right away.”
“I pity you!” said his mother. The son was surprised by her reaction. What was wrong with falling asleep immediately? His mother continued, “I feel so bad for you. You have no time to think!”
This was a big lesson for the son, a renowned and accomplished psychologist. He may be busy every day accomplishing great things, but having a few moments to think is something invaluable to a growing person.
Overcoming Distractions and Taking Back Time
This is something we can all relate to. For some of us, it is the grind of day-to-day life that gives us no time to think. For others, it is worries and anxieties that occupy their minds. The Yetzer Hara has all kinds of ways to distract a person from thinking.
Now that we understand the scheme of the Yetzer Hara, we have the power to combat him. Every person can find a few moments a day to think. It can be while sitting in traffic, driving to work, waiting in line, or any other downtime we designate for ourselves. Instead of letting our minds wander or getting caught up in aggravation over time spent waiting to reach our destination, we can turn this time into gold by utilizing it to think.
Practical Steps for Reflection
Think about your purpose in life. Think about what you could have done better that day. Think about how you can improve the way you treat people. Think about how you can gain higher levels of Torah accomplishments.
Just taking a few minutes on a regular basis to think will change one’s life tremendously. Don’t let the Yetzer Hara be like Pharaoh. Don’t let him seize your right to think.
By Rabbi Yitzchok Aryeh Strimber torah4every1@gmail.com
