Winning the War | Rabbi Yitzchok Fingerer

Summer is upon us. The average person's involuntary exposure to Pritzus will increase manifold and rise exponentially. Forewarned is forearmed. It's up to us now to prepare ourselves for the inevitable battle that will ensue. But there are people that have asked, What if I mess up? It's the מציאות, it's the reality. You may fail, you may fall, you may look where you should not have looked. Is all lost? Is it over? Is there a point in trying again? George Washington was a mythical-like figure. He took a ragtag army and fought the greatest military power in the world. What most people don't know is that he lost more battles than he won. Of 17 battles, he only won six. So why is he known as a legendary general? Why is he known as the great George Washington? Because he lost the battles, but he won the war. He persevered, he forged ahead, he would never despair. The pasuk in Tehillim 87 says, The Ribono shel Olam counts our actions in the writing of the nations. He does not use Alef-Beis, because Alef-Beis doesn't have numerals. Rather, he uses a Goyishe script in order to incorporate zeros. Says the heilige Chortkover Rebbe, Zeros also have value. When you fail, when you mess up, when you slip, it's a zero. The Ribono shel Olam put that zero there. But when you're faced with a Nisayon and you persevere and you get that one victory, you won that one battle, the Ribono shel Olam goes ahead and in front of that zero he puts a number one. And that zero turns into a ten, or that zero turns into a hundred, if there were two zeros. You think you lost the battle? Don't give up. Don't lose faith. Believe in yourself. Be stronger, be greater. Because even though you lost one battle, it doesn't mean you will not win the war. This summer, strengthen yourself and remember that you could do it.