Yom Kippur: The Chink in Our Armor | Rabbi Shmuel Halberstadt

To help our Teshuva process, חכמים gave us a detailed list to focus on, which includes, with a wrong glance, or a wrong look. There are many applications to this, but the one that comes to mind first is the area that we are all working on together: .שמירת עיניים Thanks to the daily inspiration that we share with each other, we can all come with feeling and say this part of the Vidui with the confidence as we know we are strengthening ourselves in this area. But let’s do better than that. Let’s try and identify one of the ploys of the Yetzer Hara, one of his favorite tactics. So Chazal say Ruach Shtus? Really? Did any of us ever experience a Ruach Shtus episode? Rabbeinu Yonah gives us the insight in this timeless message of Chazal. When we do something with our mind, with our thoughts, with our wits about us, with our Seichel, that’s a real פעולה. But when we are distracted, when our mind isn’t on the job, that moment we are like a שוטה. We could be walking down the street, or on the phone, at work, by the computer, multitasking. The Yetzer Hara knows that’s the moment he can catch us off balance. And that’s when he’ll send us a Nisayon. When our Seichel is with us, we’re careful, we’re mindful. But when our mind is elsewhere, he has found a chink in our armor. Let’s focus on this and be aware of this. And together we will be even stronger בעזרת ה׳, and our Teshuva will really be a meaningful one.