Tuning in to Higher Music | Rabbi Elchonon Jacobovitz

So often we think about Shmiras Einayim in terms of turning away and saying no, but really, there's so much more to it than that. The Rambam tells us, Bad thoughts only invade a heart that's empty of good thoughts. They thrive in a vacuum. And so what we need to do is not just say no to the bad. What we need to do is say yes. We need to fill our minds and our hearts with healthy, good, productive thoughts. And then the bad won't have anywhere to come in. A Yeshiva Bochur was once sitting on a plane, and the guy next to him sees that the Bochur is deeply engrossed in one game of Sudoku after another. Game after game after game. Finally, after ten games, he turns to the Bochur and he says, Buddy, what's up with the Sudoku? The Bochur looks at him, he smiles and he says: Oh, it's simple. You see, Sudoku Tatzil MiMovies. Sometimes it's as simple as that. But there's even more to it. The Torah tells us, Don't emulate the goyishe culture around you. Don't get sucked in. And then the Torah concludes and says, Instead do My Mitzvos that a person does and lives in them. And the question is, what does the Torah mean to add with these two words of וחי בהם, to live in them? And how does that prevent us from being lured by the cultures around us? And the Mefarshim explain that the message here is that it's not realistic to think we're just going to be able to say no to the joys of the world. Instead, what we need to do is say yes to a higher joy. We can't just do Yiddishkeit. We have to live Yiddishkeit, we have to breathe Yiddishkeit, we have to enjoy Yiddishkeit. And then, and only then, will we be able say no to the fake joys the world has to offer. R’ Yankel Galinsky was once waiting for a bus in תחנה מרכזית, and a beggar starts playing violin. And the crowd slowly gravitates towards this fellow until they're all crowded around, listening to his song. And the only two people left on the bench is R’ Yankel Galinsky and one other passenger. So R’ Yankel turns to the fellow and says, Aren't you going to go listen? No response. R’ Yankel tries a little louder. אדוני, aren't you going to go listen to the violin? Finally, the guy looks at him, takes out earbuds from his ear, and he says, I am in the middle of listening to the Vienna Symphony performing Mozart. You think I'm going to stop that for this? It's not earplugs that we need. It's earbuds. We need to tune in to the higher music of וחי בהם, and then the poor substitutes that the world has to offer won't even tempt us.