The Significance of 15 Seconds | Rabbi Avrohom Eisen

A father came to Reb Shlomke Zviller, which was a known tzaddik in Yerushalayim Ir Hakodesh. He was known to be a kadosh. A father came to him, and asked him to please speak to his son, a 15-year-old, that is struggling with inyanei yiras shamayim, kedusha. Reb Shlomke said: “Please be so kind and bring him over, I would love to speak to him.” The bachur came. Reb Shlomke said: “Sit down. I want to ask you for one favor. And the bachur said: “What is the favor?” Reb Shlomke said: And the bachur said: “What is the favor?” Reb Shlomke said: “I know that you're going to walk on the street. You're going to see things that you're not supposed to look at. I will have no problem if you're going to look at those things, but before you look at those things, I want you to do me one favor: For 15 seconds, close your eyes, and don’t look.” The bachur said: If I'm going to look anyways, why can’t I look right away? Why do I need to wait 15 seconds?” Reb Shlomke responded: “I want you to know what's happening when you walk on the street, and something is coming towards you that you're not supposed to look at. In shamayim, the Ribono Shel Oilam, and the Malachim are looking down and watching what's happening. A 15 year old bachur, flesh and blood, is walking, and the Malach, HaYetzer Harah, is fighting a little bachur, and you are fighting the Yetzer Harah! One second, and another second, and another second. The simcha shamayim is unbelievably great! The bachur was mekabel, he heard what the tzaddik said, and he did that. The first day he fought for 15 seconds, the second day, 20 seconds, The first day he fought for 15 seconds, the second day, 20 seconds, and he kept moving up more and more. And by the time he concluded, he became the best bachur in yeshiva, and is today a marbitz torah, a maggid shiur. So let's learn from this story that we all have Yetzer Harahs, and we all have kochos, and Hashem did not give us something that we cannot fight. “אבינו מלכינו זכור כעפר אנחנו” Hashem knows that we are עפר. עפר means we are pulling towards earth, which is תעבת עולם. עפר means we are pulling towards earth, which is תעבת עולם. עפר means we are pulling towards earth, which is תעבת עולם. May Hashem help that we should all be zoche to win the Yetzer Harah. May Hashem help that we should all be zoche to win the Yetzer Harah.