Hitler's True Intention | Rabbi Yehoshua Abba Busel

I heard from the Mashgiach, R’ Don Segal shlit”a, what he heard from R’ Yankel Galinsky zt”l. In the beginning of the Second World War, Germany demanded from Poland that they give them the city of Danzig. And Hitler ימח שמו threatened that if they don't give him the city of Danzig, he's going to go to war. There were many people in Poland that felt that it was כדאי to be מוותר on the city of Danzig to avoid going to war, but the Polish president disagreed, and he gave a speech to the Polish people to explain to them why he felt that there's no choice. They have to go to war. And he said as follows, If Hitler would demand the city of Warsaw, Varsha, the capital of Poland, everybody would understand that we can't be מוותר on Warsaw. He said: You should know that Hitler's intention is really Warsaw. Meinen, meint er Varsha. And if we're going to wait till he gets there, it's going to be too late. We have no choice. We have to go to war. And R’ Yankel Galinsky added, Chazal teach us, בתחילה he comes to be מכשיל you in a small Aveira. until he tells you Zogt R’ Yankel, A person has to understand, The very first time, when the Yetzer Hara comes to be מכשיל you in a small Aveira, his intention מתחילה is לך עבוד עבודה זרה. Meinen, meint er Varsha. And if you’re going to wait till he gets there, it's going to be too late. Now this Klal is true by all מלחמת היצר, but I think it's especially true when it comes to the Nisayon of Shmiras Einayim. The best possible עצה is to be מתרחק as much as possible from the whole Matzav of a Nisayon. I one time heard from the Gabai of the Mashgiach, R’ Matisyahu Solomon zt”l, that one time, he took him from Brooklyn back to Lakewood, and he asked the Mashgiach, Do you have any preference, if we should take Route 9, or we should take the Garden State Parkway? And the Mashgiach told him, If you wouldn't ask, I wouldn't say anything, but now that you asked, yes, I do have a preference. I'd rather you take the Garden State Parkway. Why? Because on Route 9 there are billboards, some of them not Tzniusdik. On the Garden State Parkway, there's no billboards. And if so, איכא דרכא אחרינא. The Gemara says, If there's a דרכא אחרינא, there's another path, where you could avoid the whole Nisayon of Shmiras Einayim, a person’s מחוייב to take that other path. איכא דרכא אחרינא. I'd like to conclude, we all have a Mitzvah of בחירה, to be בוחר בטוב. I think the best possible בחירה, the most productive בחירה, is to be בוחר in the דרכא אחרינא. לאחר מאה ועשרים when we come up to Shomayim, we're going to see how many countless Nisyonos, we’re going to see how much Bracha we brought upon ourselves and our Mishpachos, we’re going to see how much Schar we earned in Gan Eden, all for being בוחר בדרכא אחרינא.