Thursday, November 29, 2007

The big day

Tonight is the big night. The ultimate. The Rosh Hashanah of Chassidus. I won't bother tellng you everything that I Farbrenged about, because that's done and in the past. Rather, I'll tell you what I started thinking afterwards.
I started thinking about the YH, and how he tries to ensnare a person. There's a story with Reb Levi Yitzchok from Berditchev, that when he was still a young man was appointed to be Chazzen for Selichos. He got up to Daven, and suddenly started saying, in Yiddish, "If you're so holy, you go Daven yourself. I will have nothing to do with you." Everyone thought he was crazy, and left, until only his father in law was left to find out what exactly was going on. So Reb Levi Yitzchok explained, that he was standing with the Tallis, ready to lead Selichos, when suddenly he realized that the Yetzer Hora was standing next to him, also ready to Daven. Reb Levi Yitzchak asked the YH, what are you doing here, and the YH answered that he'd come to Daven too. In fact, he'd been with Reb Levi Yitzchok for all the Torah he'd learnt, all the Mitzvos he's done, all the suffering he'd gone through. And it was then that Reb Levi Yotzchok realized that all the good he'd done was in the clutches of the YH, and even now, when he was preparing to be a messenger of the holy congregation, at the holiest time of the year, the YH was planning on accompanying Reb Levi Yitzchok. But for this Reb Levi Yitzchak had no patience, and he told the YH, "If you're so holy, you go Daven yourself. I will have nothing to do with you."
My question is whether it's possible for Reb Levi Yitzchok's Yetzer Hora to be my Yetzer Tov. Am I that good, or great, or whatever, that I should have these problems? I certainly don't think so, but perhaps I've fallen into his clutches to a greater degree than I ever thought possible. What's the answer? I honestly don't do. Perhaps all my loyal readers could help out here. Anyway, Happy New Year folks, and may you grow in all aspects of both the revealed and the secret Torah.

6 comments:

e said...

The story was about ata horeisah, not selichos. In his synagogue the ata horasier wore a tallis.

e said...

A joke, for the sick, real shliach:

Jon: Garfiled, How's your cold?

Garfield (Tossing a dirty tissue into a garbage can overflowing with tissues): Fine, the cold's doing just fine. I feel like **** (not appropriate for a family friendly blog)

e said...

"Perhaps all my loyal readers could help out here."

You are assuming that you have more than one loyal reader.

Just like a guy said...

I read it in a book by Eliyahu Kitov, and he said it was Selichos, so there.

e said...

Are you sure? I looked in the Eliyahu Kitov English version (the Book of our heritage) and it don't say notin of that sort, not on simchat torah and not on selichot. (He doesn't mention selichot at all in the tishrei volume, and I don't have the elul volume)

Just like a guy said...

It's in his book of Chassidic stories, and it happened twice. The first time, it was Selichos, the second time, perhaps it was Hakofos.