Perspectives on the Struggle

Note: This page is a collection of various ideas and not very organized. As sections fill up they'll be moved over to their own section.

See also Attitude Principles for Lust Struggles and Attitude Principles for Addiction.

The Challenge Before Moshiach

• ר' צדוק הכהן מלובלין - צדקת הצדיק אות צה: בימי הנעורים רתיחת התאוה מתגברת ואז מרבה חטאים מצד היצר רע רחמנא ליצלן והם חטאת נעורים וזה היה בדור המבול כמו שנאמר שם (בראשית ח, כא) כי יצר וגו' מנעוריו. וגם כן מסגל טוב הרבה מצד היצר טוב וחשקות לדברי תורה, וזה היה דור המדבר כמו שנאמר (ירמיה ב, ב) וזכרתי לך חסד נעוריך והם עצמם אותם הנפשות כמו שמובא בזוהר פנחס (רטז סוף ע"א) עיין שם, דהיו ראוים לקבל תורה במבול אילו זכו ונשמת משה היתה שם. ודורו של משיח אז יהיה פעם שלישי אותו דור בסוד מה שנאמר (תהלים קג, ה) תחדש כנשר נעוריכי ואז יהיה התיקון הגמור שבאות בערבוביא חטאת נעורים וחסד נעורים והטוב יתגבר על הרע ויהפכו לטוב.

• כתב החפץ חיים זצ"ל (הובא בספר חפץ חיים על נ"ך הוצאת הרב ש. חרל"פ עמ' קכ"ג) "שבסוף הגלות כאשר הוא כעת יש מלחמה נוראה מאד בין הקדושה לטומאה, והטומאה מפיל חצים נוראים וכוי ולא נשאר מן המלחמה שלמים בכל אבריהם כי אם מועטים, הם השרידים אשר ה' קורא והם הגבורים האמיתיים והס הם הבעלי תורה וכוי כל אחד לפי מדרגתו שמזרזים שאר עבדים שיעבדו עבודתו באמונה". והגהייצ רי אליהו לופיאן זצייל הוסיף לבאר את הדברים, דכמו בכל מלחמה כשמגיע שעת ההכרעה מי יהיה המנצח ומי יהיה המנוצח אז מגבירים שני הצדדים כל הכוחות שיש להם, כן נמי בסוף הגלות שעת הכרעה היא, שהמרכבה הטמאה שהיא הממשלת זדון יודעת שעוד מעט היא תכלה לגמרי מן הארץ, לכן היא מתאזרת בכל הכוחות להדיח ח"ו את ישראל ולרחקם מאת השי"ת כאשר אנו רואיס עתה בעוונותינו הרבים (עי' לב אליהו חייב עמי קי"ב באריכות, וכענין זה מצינו בתוס' יו"ט אבות פ"ה מ"ה):

• ["ולא אירע קרי לכ"ג ביום הכפורים - יש מי שהקשה ולמה יארע לו קרי אחר שהיה מזרזין אותו כל שבעת הימים והוא בטהרה כל היום ההוא וזקני העם כל הלילה לא יחשו מלזרזו. והתשובה כי יצר הטוב ויצר הרע מתקוטטים זה עם זה כשני אויבים. וכשאחד מהן קרוב להיות מנוצח יתחזק על עמדו בראותו כי כלתה אליו הרעה והרבה מן האנשים בעת פטירתן יתחזקו וידברו דברים טובים כאילו הם בריאים. ולזה היה קרוב מאד להיות הכהן בעל קרי. כ"כ במד"ש בשם החסיד ז"ל. ועמ"ש בריש דמאי בדבור והחומץ שביהודה וכו' לתרוצי הא דמתקנים לו כהן אחר. דתנן בריש יומא ופירש הר"ב שם משום קרי".]

• והנה עינינו רואות בעליל שמעיקרי המלחמה שהמרכבה הטמאה נאחזת בה בדורינו היא הריסת כל גדרי קדושה וטהרה וצניעות. ממש "צדו צעדינו מלכת ברחובותינו". והדבר מקשה עלינו מאד לשמור על עיניו בקדושתן ובטהרתן. (והאר עיננו עמ' א)

• The same thing is that now before Moshiach comes, the Satan doesn't want Moshiach to come, so the כח הטומאה is working overtime because he wants to be the winner. (Rav Ahron Lopian)
• Positive Vision - Day 40: The all-out assault against kedushah seems to be the nisayon of our generation. Seemingly, no other generation has ever faced the challenges we do with regard to shmiras einayim. But why now? What's "motivating" the yetzer hara? The Sheim MiShmuel (Lech Lecha) notes that the final battle before Mashiach will be fought by the children of Yosef, with Mashiach ben Yosef leading the charge. Why? Because Yosef's most outstanding characteristic, that for which he is referred to as Yosef "HaTzaddik," is kedushah. And at the same time that he will lead the physical charge against the enemies of Klal Yisrael, he will lead the spiritual war as well. The battle for kedushah is the final frontier. It is the last battle before Mashiach. It is not surprising then that the yetzer hara is going for broke. Nothing is more dangerous than a cornered enemy, one that realizes it is now or never.

One More Lap

Vahaer Eineinu p. 78 and on.

Many wonder, why are we, today, faced with such horrific impurity, to a degree unknown before modern technology.

Confusing as it all seems, we know that whatever emanates from our loving Father is only beneficial. There must be a reason why Hashem allowed this development.

Think for a moment about how a budding young boxer would go about building up his arm muscles. Not overnight, but gradually he would train himself to lift successively heavier sets of weights. As his strength increases, he faces and defeats ever more challenging opponents.

By dint of Hashem’s testing us with tumah, our "kedusha muscles" grow larger and stronger. In order for us to reach greater levels of kedusha, we must successively overcome more difficult challenges.

So has it been since time immemorial. When B’nei Yisrael were in Mitzrayim, they sank to the 49th level of the impurity of the culture that surrounded them. When they left Mitzrayim, they cleansed themselves from these 49 levels of tumah in 49 days, thereby attaining the 49th level of kedusha. They were neither exposed to the 50th level (an absolute low) of impurity nor were they expected to withstand it. The Ohr Hachaim (Shemos 3:8) explains that since this was prior to Matan Torah, they could not have coped with the 50th level of tumah. Therefore, correspondingly, they could not rise to attain the 50th degree (the zenith) of kedusha.

Now at the climax of our history, ushering in the Mashiach era, Hashem wants to present us with the full force of 50 levels of kedusha. We are therefore witness today to an entirely new ball game. Permission has been granted to the denizens of the netherworld to thrust a final fling of the 50th level of pritzus full force into our faces. After Matan Torah, with the Torah as our arsenal, we are able to tackle every last bit of the fight – until we vanquish the reign of evil. With our souls fortified with Torah, we are capable of reaching and receiving the zenith of kedusha.

Now we’re on the last lap of our journey, amidst the ever-quickening pace of Ikvesa D’Meshicha. We hear an unprecedented note of urgency – the corollary being that whoever lets themselves be swayed, even if they survived and succeeded in climbing up the previous rungs, will be caught and trapped by the 50th degree of impurity.

But whoever is determined to combat the mighty pull of the dragnet is thereby hacking down the imprisoning walls of tumah and developing great stamina in the process. This continues until the moment when our spiritually powerful arms will pry open the gates for Mashiach to arrive amidst the full 50 degrees of our hard-earned kedusha.

See also

• לקוטי אורות (להר"מ וואלפסון שליט"א) תניא פרק ז' עמ' תפב-תפו. ועיי"ש שמביא את דברי האוה"ח שבעקבתא דמשיחא יפלו אף לשער הנון כו' עיי"ש.
• The Last Battle - Rabbi Yosef Elefant explains why this challenge is the final battle before Moshiach can come. (בכף ירך יעקב - this is the last fight)

Why it's hard (Porn)

• See Why the challenge is so hard

It's okay to have urges

• See Rav Elyah Lopian, Reb Itche der Masmid.

Dealing with Shame

See Rav Shlomo Wolbe

See Shame

From GYE Members

• I always wondered, why me? I got these nisyonos before I was even Bar Mitzvah! Was it my own fault? But how could I be faulted for something before 13? What did I do for Hashem to give me these challenges? So, I found this video really interesting. R' Wallerstein brings from R' Chaim Vital a reason for EXCACTLY that! I in THIS lifetime did NOTHING wrong to deserve having EXTRA strong lust and challenges in these areas. BUT, my previous self CHOSE these things on  his own. B"H I GET the OPPORTUNITY to fix these because Hashem gave me these tendencies and gave me the opportunity to fight it. Who knows if that is really the case but I found it to be a powerful idea, and give me new perspective on how my challenge is an opportunity and in no way my fault! #Realestatemogul
• I forget the source for what I'm about to say but I remember hearing that if someone sees that he has a challenge in fulfilling a certain mitzvah then he knows it's one of the missions he was brought into the world for and the fact he has this challenge shows he can overcome it. It seems like this generation has been given a challenge like no other but the fact we have the challenge means we have the power to overcome it. #Zedj

GYE Boosts

Why do I struggle?

• But I Caused This Mess, Rabbi Ben Tzion Shafier reassures us that this struggle is not our fault!
• Why People Struggle with Different Things, Rabbi Zecharia Wallerstein explains the esoteric reasons why some people struggle more than others in specific areas. (I think he is referring to SSA)
• Like Electricity, Rabbi Avi Wiesenfeld explains why the pull is so strong. (He explains it's natural)
• Who the Coach Challenges Most, Rabbi Avi Wiesenfeld inspires us with this obvious truth. (This can go good with the Coach material for teens)
• IT'S JUST TOO HARD, Could it be that Hashem gives us tests that are just TOO difficult to ever overcome? (Talks about Kol Hagadol Meichaveiro)
• SWEETEST TO THE SOUL, Do you wish you wouldn't struggle anymore?
• THE FOOL AND THE GENERAL, Why does Hashem make the tests so hard? (Yiddish)
• The Fire Goes Both Ways, Rav Ephraim Wachsman speaks about how davka those with the fire of desire in their hearts have the highest potential for the fire of Kedusha. (A bit brutal bec. Of the word Rasha. But good stuff - for guys who did extreme stuff)
• For This You Were Created - Rav Ephraim Wachsman encourages us to be happy, even if we struggle with these things our whole life! (Talks about amazing zechus - also quotes Tanya)
• Two Types of Tzadikim - Rav Ephraim Wachsman once again inspires those who struggle to be happy with their lot. (Tanya)
• The Last Battle - Rabbi Yosef Elefant explains why this challenge is the final battle before Moshiach can come. (בכף ירך יעקב - this is the last fight)
• The Harder the Better By Rabbi Yosef Palacci. A story from the Chafetz Chaim to encourage us to appreciate davka when the struggle is hard.
• EMBRACING CHALLENGES, By Rabbi Yosef Palacci. Shmiras Einayim is hard, right? Awesome! That means Hashem is handing us an incredible opportunity!

Guilt

• Unhealthy Guilt - Rav Yisroel Reisman sheds light on why people feel more guilty in these areas, and whether that's a good thing or not.

Related entries

• Attitude Principles for Lust Struggles
• Chizuk