My Brothers are at War | Rabbi Yoir Adler

One year, on Rosh Hashanah, the legendary R’ Shimshon Pincus was looking around his Shul and he noticed a certain Bochur that wasn't very involved in the davening. He was sitting in his seat staring into space, not davening with all the concentration that a Yid davens on Rosh Hashanah. During the break, Rav Pincus went over to this Bochur and he said, Bochur’l, what's the problem? Why are you not davening properly? And the Bochur said to him, Rebbe, you have to understand, at the beginning of Chodesh Elul, I accepted upon myself so many Kabbolos. I thought this Elul is going to be the best Elul of my life. But I didn't manage to withstand all the Nisyonos and the challenges that came my way. And I'm entering Rosh Hashanah Meyuashdik. I'm full of despair. I give up. It didn't go the way I wanted. Rav Pincus responded to him in a very emotional way, and he said the following: A couple of years ago, in שנת on Yom Kippur, which was known to become the Yom Kippur War, I found myself in the hospital due to a medical emergency with one of my children, and I noticed a bunch of doctors standing together and talking about something. I was very curious what they were saying. I went over and I eavesdropped and I heard the conversation. They were talking about a certain soldier that entered into the hospital after being injured in his foot. A bullet entered into his leg and he was in excruciating pain. Right away, they made an emergency operation and managed to extract the bullet from his foot. When they finished the operation successfully, they said to the soldier, Now you're good to go home. The soldier jumped up and he said: Home? I'm not going home. My brothers are fighting a war. My brothers are in the front lines. There's a war taking place. I'm not going home. I'm going back to the front lines to fight the enemy. Says Rav Pincus to this Bochur, You’re telling me you've been injured, you've been hurt. Let's say that's the fact. But Rosh Hashanah, we are fighting a battle. We all together are waging war against the כוחות הטומאה, and we desperately need every single Yid to be involved, to overcome our common enemy, to ensure that we are zoche to a שנה טובה ומתוקה. אחיי ורעיי, Klal Yisroel currently is waging war. Klal Yisroel are in an עת צרה. We desperately need every single Yid to be involved. There are those people that say to themselves, I've been injured, I've been hurt. I've seen images that I shouldn't have. Shemiras Einayim is not relevant to me. We have to understand, when there is a מלחמה taking place, we need every single Yid’s participation, every single Yid’s involvement. Every single Yid’s Chizuk in Shemiras Einayim. When we are able to stand strong to fight the כח הטומאה בעולם, by saying Vayimaen, that in itself can be the greatest zechus for Klal Yisroel to be victorious.