Part of a Group | Rabbi Sholom Ber Sorotzkin

When the Chofetz Chaim זכרונו צדיק וקדוש לברכה opened the Agudas Yisroel, the goal from that was to make each one of Klal Yisroel a part of something, because if you feel you belong to a group, this gives you the way to act, the standards to act go by the group, by the Chabura you belong to. How do you get to really belong? How do you get do be really a part of a group? Everybody knows in Eretz Yisroel now we’re going through a period, not an easy period for the Bnei Torah. We know, all of us, there was a story now with a Bochur from my Yeshiva, his name is Ariel Shamai. When he was in prison, he put in his ears, always, he would walk with tissues, days and days, to guard his eyes, to guard his ears from hearing, Chas v’Shalom, obscene language. When he walked out, I asked him, Ariel, how did you survive with such a thing? He said: When I was in prison, I felt I’m in Yeshiva still, I felt the Yeshiva cares about me, every Bochur in Yeshiva is davening for me, the Yeshiva is taking care, they’re turning over the whole world for me. This is what gave me the strength, because I felt a part of the Yeshiva, even though I was not in the Yeshiva. What does it mean? It means something special. Sometimes when we go on the street, we try not to look left, not to look right, and we have Nisyonos. How we can withstand such a Nisayon? If you feel a part of something or if you’re respected by something, it gives you a sense of belonging. Let's say the Vayimaen, if you feel a Yid from Vayimaen, this, in itself, gives you the strength to know this is where I belong, I’m a Yid that guards his eyes. But I wanted to learn a little bit more from that. Respect doesn't mean only in a part, it doesn't mean respect from others. We have to have respect for ourselves. Not only look at the weaknesses of a person, when I stumbled, Chas v’Shalom, when I didn't do good. Look what I have the strength to do. And whatever I did till today is going to give us the strength to go on. Everybody knows the Gemara, If somebody does Teshuva from love, intentional sins are transformed into merits. What's the Pshat? How do they become merits? The Rambam says in Hilchos Teshuva, How do we do Teshuva from love? He says: If you withstand a Nisayon which he stumbled in once, Chas v’Shalom, but in the same place, in the same time, with the same woman, and you withstand it, then the Knower of all Secrets bears witness that he has returned in complete Teshuva. This means Teshuva from love. What’s the Pshat in this? It means that when we have, Chas v’Shalom, we went in the street and we did not withstand exactly 100% the Nisayon, on the second time, you go and you withstand the Nisayon, it means you took the last Aveira you did or the Aveiros you did, and you used it for Mitzvos, for not to fall again. This is the reason why intentional sins are transformed into merits, because you used and you have the strength to turn all the past Aveiros in one second to merits. So we have to respect what we have in our hands. Respect our strength. Hakadosh Baruch Hu gave us such a present. You walk in the street, with one time not looking, one time withstanding the Nisayon, and you’re using, you remember how you stumbled last time and you don’t stumble, you turn, in one second, everything to merits. We have to know, far shteit, where we’re holding, where we belong, and what HaKadosh Baruch Hu gave us, and what strength we have. In one action, what we can do. We can get Moyredik diamonds. We should merit, all of us, to belong to the group that guard their eyes, the group of those who serve Hashem and really, we’re going to merit to turn over all of our Aveiros to merits. Good luck.