Since Hashem is so good...

Often times the question is asked, since Hashem is so good and loves each and every one of us with boundless and endless love, will He really punish me for a few small sins?

Chzal tell us אמר ר' חנינא מאן דאמר רחמנא וותרן יתוותרן בני מעויי - R' Chanina said, "If one says Hashem is a 'vatron', i.e. One who lets misdemeanors slide, may that person's intestines become loose and unravelled." (Shekalim 14a)

At first glance the punishement of יתוותרן בני מעויי (yisvatron bnei me'oyi) is a play on words for saying Hashem is a 'vatron'. However, after proper study of the meforshim we see that it goes much deeper.

The Taklin Chadetin explains why it is so bad to think Hashem lets aveiros be (however 'minor'), and why indeed He doesn't. While we can only perceive of our actions having small, sometimes minute, local effects, in reality every deed that a Yid does brings repercussions of enormous magnitude - both in the visible, physical world, and even more so in the spiritual world.

Our mortal minds are so very limited, and our vision so very restricted, that it is hard for us to even grasp this concept, yet it is so very real. When one transgresses even the 'tiniest' aveiroh one creates the most humongous rips in the very fabric of the world. Entire spiritual worlds are destroyed and spiritual-earthquakes of the greatest force reverberate throughout the universe. [Of course when we do a miztvah the opposite occurs; we unleash wellsprings of fortune and sustenance.]

There is good reason why we cannot perceive all the far-reaching effects of our deeds. Since the purpose of our creation is to vanquish the Yetzer Horah, there has to be a challenge. Had we been able to see and hear what joy and abundance we bring to the world by our mitzvos, versus the destitution caused by our aveiros, it wouldn't have been possible to ever do an aveiroh, thus defeating the purpose.

Hashem, by virtue of being the Creator and Sustainer of all that is in existence, knows exactly how great are the repercussions of every tiny deed a Yid does, for better or for worse. Therefore He cannot let even the tiniest misdemeanour pass, because every single mitzvoh and every single triumph over the Yetzer Horah is needed for entire creation to be complete in all its glory.

The intestines are a paradigm of this idea. Despite the extraordinary length of the small intestine (over 23 feet!), every single inch is necessary for it to function properly. When a person l"a has even a small part cut out for due to illness, they will very often need to take vitamin supplements for the rest of their lives, for the shortened intestine cannot do its job adequately.

When someone says Hashem is a vatron, i.e. He won't mind if I'm not completely as I should be, let him contemplate life with a portion of the (seemingly superfluous) intestines missing. Then apply this thought to ruchniyus.

Since Hashem is so good, will he not let things pass?  Absolutely not! In fact it is because He is so good and he wants our spiritual self to be complete, and in a complete world with vast abundance, that He cannot overlook even the tiniest aveiroh.

One must bear this in mind when faced with a nisoyon. On the one hand how great it is when one manages to overcome his/her Yetzer Horah, and what immense pleasure Kavyochol derives from that, but on the other hand how devastating it is to the entire creation when one fails.

[Of course if one has already fallen chalilah, then one has to remember never to give up.]

R' Pinchos's news...

R' Pinchos'l of Koritz (on of the talmidim of the holy Baal Shem Tov) once said:

I have news, I have news. If a person is in the street and is nichshal (stumbles) with an aveiroh, he should say, "Shema Yisroel Hashem Eloikeinu Hashem Echod, you are my G-d and You will help me!"

If he then sins again he should say, "Shema Yisroel etc., You are my G-d and You will help me!"

Even if he stumbles a third time he should still repeat, "Shema Yisroel...You are my G-d and You will help me!"

If the poor man goes on to sin a fouth time he should still stick to his mantra, "Shema Yisroel...You are my G-d and You will help me!"
 

No matter how far one has strayed he should always bear in mind that he is part of the Chosen Nation, and Hashem will always remain his G-d.

R' Pinchos'l added in the name of the Baal Shem Tov:

For the Yetzer Horah it is never about the aveiroh (that he caused the man to transgress) but about the depression (into which the man falls).
 

One must do proper tshuva but not fall into a depression. "You are my G-d and You will help me!"

Lost the battle?

The answer to the question in the title should be 'Which one - that of this second, one second ago or ten seconds ago?'

Every second is a new battle and a fresh start. Life is about struggling with the yh"r - all the time. It matters not what happened till now but what one does henceforth.

The question one must always ask of themselves is: what does Hashem want from me NOW? Then one must say: I don't care what happened before, right now I'm going to do His will.

More on this another time iyh. Be strong.

Does Hashem 'need' our mitzvos?

I was asked the following: why does Hashem 'need' us humans to serve Him, after all He has plenty of malochim?

 

Excellent question but you stopped too early; let's move it further back: Since Hashem is omnipotent, how is it possible that He derives any pleasure from our deeds? In fact, since He does not lack for anything, why even ask of us to do something as if it matters to Him?

 

The truth is that Hashem indeed doesn't lack anything and it is impossible for anyone to 'give' any kind of sustenance or pleasure to the Kol Yochol (Omnipotent One). However, Hashem, in His infinite mercy that we cannot in a million years fathom with our limited mortal minds, wanted to give human beings the privelege of 'pleasing' Him.

 

With this goal Hashem created a world with human beings who constantly struggle against temptation and the yh"r in all forms, so we should be able to 'earn' the right to bring pleasure to Kavyochol. Since Hashem designed the world for this tachlis, He actually receives pleasure when we do His will, and the greater the nisoyon the greater His pleasure.

 

In short, this privelege and honour of being able to please Hashem is in itself (one of) His greatest acts of kindness to mankind, and He set it out so that He truly derives pleasure from our good deeds.

Bringing a korbon (sacrifice) to Hashem nowadays

We find in Chazal and in halacha that the worse aveiroh is chilul Hashem. While tshuva helps for every other aveiroh, complete atonement for chilul Hashem can only be achieved by death (after doing tshuva and more). This actually fits with we find elsewhere that everything and everyone in this world was created with the purpose to bring kvod shamayim (more on than some other time iyh), so creating a chilul Hashem is the ultimate perversion of one's purpose.
 

I only wrote this as a preface so you understand that by extension, the greatest mitzvah is making a kiddush Hashem. In fact, according to some rishonim, full atonement for a chilul Hashem can be achieved by 'balancing out' with a kiddush Hashem (in addition to tshuva, of course).

So then how does one make a kiddush Hashem? The Rambam writes that when one refrains from doing an aveiroh, not because of any human consequences but because they know Hashem is watching and they want to please Him, in that moment they make the greatest kiddush Hashem possible. And the greater the temptation the greater the kiddush Hashem is.

When one is faced with a nisoyon where one really wants to overcome the yh"r but finds it so extremely difficult, focusing on the words of the Rambam can be very helpful. Just remember, Hashem, the Creator of every person and their temptations, knows exactly how great the temptation is at that moment, and when one manages to successfully fight off the yh"r Kavyochol has the most tremendous pleasure imaginable.

All the malochim gather and praise Him as His holy Name is sanctified by this mere mortal. Kavyochol sits on His holy throne and boasts to all and sundry, "Look down and see how [this super-mortal] has put Me before the 'other guy' (the yh"r). He/she has sacrificed part of him/herself for Me."

And the malochim reply, "Fortunate is the King who has such loyal servants."

Not since before the destruction of the Beis Hamikdosh (when the bringing of korbonos was still in place) has Hashem derived such pleasure as when a Yid holds back from an aveiroh solely because he/she wants to please Hashem.

It isn't easy. It's very hard. In fact it is as difficult as ripping of a piece of one's own flesh. Nay, even harder - this is a piece of one's soul. Every fibre in the body is screaming "DO IT! DO IT!" yet the Yid somehow manages to summon the extraordinary strength to abstain, and that is a korbon in the purest form.

Knowing this doesn't mean that we don't fall. "Seven times the righteous falls and rises again." But when one truly does want to overcome the yh"r it helps tremendously to understand how great and magnificent this abstinence is.

Lastly, when one does indeed overcome their yh"r (with even the tiniest thing), either by abstaining from and aveiroh or by making the effort to do a mitzvah, it is well advised to aways be in the habit of thinking beforehand, "I am doing this to bring a kvod shamayim, and to please Hashem."