Tricks of the Yetzer Hara
these ideas are based on a shiur given by Rabbi Markowitz
Mishlei Chapter 7 Verses 6-18
6. For from the window of my house, through my lattice I gazed,
7. and I saw among the simple-I discerned among the youths-a lad devoid of
sense,
8. crossing the street next to her corner, and he walks on the way to her house.
9. In the twilight, in the evening of the day, in the pitch darkness of the night.
10. And behold a woman [was coming] toward him, the nakedness of a harlot
with her heart besieged.
11. She is bustling and rebellious; her feet do not dwell in her house.
12. Sometimes [she is] in the street, sometimes in the squares, and she lurks at
every corner.
13. She takes hold of him and kisses him; brazenly she says to him,
14. "I had to bring peace-offerings; today I paid my vows.
15. Therefore, I have come out toward you to look for you, and I have found you.
16. I have bedecked my couch with covers, with superior braided work of Egypt.
17. I fanned my couch with myrrh, aloes, and cinnamon.
18. Come, let us take our fill of lovemaking until morning; let us enjoy ourselves
with amorous embraces.
These Pesukim outline three ways in which we get seduced by our yetzer hara:
1) Linking a good action to the bad action that the emotions desire to do. The woman seducing the simpleton tells him: “I had to bring peace offerings; today I paid my vows”. By tying an evil action to a mitzvah he is able to rationalize away any guilt that he may feel. He acquires a feeling of righteousness which causes his conscience to give him more leeway to do what he desires.
For example, in college settings people often say to themselves: “I worked hard today and did a lot of good. I’ll just give myself this one small reward”. They will then go and completely give in to their temptations.
2) Making an action more sophisticated can tie it to a more elaborate fantasy and it brings a person away from what the action really is. The woman in the pesukim tells him: “I have bedecked my couch with covers, with superior braided work of Egypt. I fanned my couch with myrrh, aloes, and cinnamon”. We often masquerade base pleasures to convince ourselves that we are really involved in something that is not as bad.
Here’s an example. Most people would feel guilty about mugging someone on the street. Yet, when salespeople deceive their customers about their products they are also stealing from them. But since the action can be masqueraded as “I’m just doing my job of being a good salesman” they do not feel the guilt associated with stealing.
3) Falling into a desire by giving in to it in a small way. The woman in the pasuk begins by kissing him, a seemingly minor and unimportant show of intimacy. But the “unimportant experience” diminishes the severity of the action in one’s mind. He begins viewing it as the norm. Slowly, this norm will shift as he begins to give in more to the emotion.
For example, taking a paper clip seems harmless. So the emotions will build on that. Once the person is able to excuse the minor infraction its just a matter of degree.
If your not constantly involved in chachma then the yetzer hara will just appear and pull you without you even realizing it. A person really feels like he is in control of his behavior but often the desires take hold, and are really the ones in control.
The only thing you can do is be involved in chochma and that will provide you more control over your psyche. It will train you to detect when your yetzer hara is influencing you and will let you develop strategies to avoid its pitfalls.
Mishlei Chapter 7 Verses 6-18
6. For from the window of my house, through my lattice I gazed,
7. and I saw among the simple-I discerned among the youths-a lad devoid of
sense,
8. crossing the street next to her corner, and he walks on the way to her house.
9. In the twilight, in the evening of the day, in the pitch darkness of the night.
10. And behold a woman [was coming] toward him, the nakedness of a harlot
with her heart besieged.
11. She is bustling and rebellious; her feet do not dwell in her house.
12. Sometimes [she is] in the street, sometimes in the squares, and she lurks at
every corner.
13. She takes hold of him and kisses him; brazenly she says to him,
14. "I had to bring peace-offerings; today I paid my vows.
15. Therefore, I have come out toward you to look for you, and I have found you.
16. I have bedecked my couch with covers, with superior braided work of Egypt.
17. I fanned my couch with myrrh, aloes, and cinnamon.
18. Come, let us take our fill of lovemaking until morning; let us enjoy ourselves
with amorous embraces.
These Pesukim outline three ways in which we get seduced by our yetzer hara:
1) Linking a good action to the bad action that the emotions desire to do. The woman seducing the simpleton tells him: “I had to bring peace offerings; today I paid my vows”. By tying an evil action to a mitzvah he is able to rationalize away any guilt that he may feel. He acquires a feeling of righteousness which causes his conscience to give him more leeway to do what he desires.
For example, in college settings people often say to themselves: “I worked hard today and did a lot of good. I’ll just give myself this one small reward”. They will then go and completely give in to their temptations.
2) Making an action more sophisticated can tie it to a more elaborate fantasy and it brings a person away from what the action really is. The woman in the pesukim tells him: “I have bedecked my couch with covers, with superior braided work of Egypt. I fanned my couch with myrrh, aloes, and cinnamon”. We often masquerade base pleasures to convince ourselves that we are really involved in something that is not as bad.
Here’s an example. Most people would feel guilty about mugging someone on the street. Yet, when salespeople deceive their customers about their products they are also stealing from them. But since the action can be masqueraded as “I’m just doing my job of being a good salesman” they do not feel the guilt associated with stealing.
3) Falling into a desire by giving in to it in a small way. The woman in the pasuk begins by kissing him, a seemingly minor and unimportant show of intimacy. But the “unimportant experience” diminishes the severity of the action in one’s mind. He begins viewing it as the norm. Slowly, this norm will shift as he begins to give in more to the emotion.
For example, taking a paper clip seems harmless. So the emotions will build on that. Once the person is able to excuse the minor infraction its just a matter of degree.
If your not constantly involved in chachma then the yetzer hara will just appear and pull you without you even realizing it. A person really feels like he is in control of his behavior but often the desires take hold, and are really the ones in control.
The only thing you can do is be involved in chochma and that will provide you more control over your psyche. It will train you to detect when your yetzer hara is influencing you and will let you develop strategies to avoid its pitfalls.
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