A Singular Spectacular Moment | Rabbi Elchonon Jacobovitz

We usually think about Shmiras Einayim in terms of the day in, day out, lifelong struggle that it presents. And in many ways, that is indeed what it's all about. But there's another angle to our lifelong struggle with Shmiras Einayim, and that is the opportunity that struggle presents to create singular, spectacular moments of triumph. The Mishnah in Makkos says, And the Rambam explains that what this means is that the reason Hashem gave us so many Mitzvos is because in order for somebody to become a Ben Olam Haba, he needs to have at least one singular, spectacular Mitzvah that he does to perfection. And with so many Mitzvos, we have all the opportunity we need to find that one spectacular Mitzvah, that one spectacular moment. And it's the same with Shmiras Einayim. Yes, it's an ongoing struggle, but the fact that we have so many Nisyonos presents us with the opportunity to have some of those spectacular, singular moments of triumph, moments that can transform us into Bnei Olam Haba. When my wife was a young girl, she was diagnosed with a brain tumor. And her father went to break the news to his father, R’ Yisroel Flam. But instead of the emotional, tearful reaction he was expecting, his father just squeezed his hand, put on a resolute face, and said, The Ribono shel Olam’s good. It'll be okay. A short while later, my father-in-law found out that his own father had just found out that he himself had cancer, right before he broke the news about his daughter. So he goes over to his father and he says: Tatty, how were you able to be so strong? How were you able to react like that? So his father looks at him and he says, Let me tell you something. A person spends his whole life preparing for his moments on stage. When I found out that I was suffering from cancer, and then you came in and you told me the news about your daughter, I knew this was one of my moments. The Gemara tells us that when R’ Yossi ben Kisma was on his deathbed, R’ Chanina ben Tradyon came to visit him and he asked him, Am I a Ben Olam Haba? R’ Yossi ben Kisma responded with four immortal words, Did you ever have a story? Did you ever have a moment? Shmiras Einayim is a lifelong struggle, but it also presents us with opportunities for those singular, spectacular moments of כלום מעשה בא לידך. And we spend a lifetime preparing. Whether it's our failures, our half-successes, or our hundreds of Vayimaen videos that we watch, we prepare. And then comes that moment on stage. And if we prepared well, that moment may just provide us with the answer to R’ Yossi ben Kisma’s question, If we can answer yes, we have it made.