Sha’ar 2:29-30: Delays and Habits.

Good morning, good Voch, Rabosai. Os Chof Tes here at towards the very end of Shaar Sheini, Os Chof Tes, Rabbeinu Yonah talking about the various reasons that compel that a person shouldn't procrastinate in doing Teshuvah, in engaging in Tikun HaMidos. Harevii'os, the fourth Mechayav, the fourth consideration: כאשר יאחר תיקון נפשו. If I know that I have a certain weakness, a certain flaw, and I sort of put it on the back burner in terms of looking to address that, יקרהו עוון ויכשל בעבירות תמיד. That weakness left unaddressed, the same way it caused Cheit initially, it's going to it's going to repeat itself. That same weakness that I have, that same Middah that needs strengthening, that needs refinement, will surface and will express itself time and time again. Rabbeinu Yonah at the very beginning of the Sefer spoke about how this is one of the how this is part of the fallout of procrastinating in doing Teshuvah is that a person is more likely to sin again. And Rabbeinu Yonah there explains that the second Cheit, Rachmana Litzlan, is more Chomur than the first. The first time, as it were, a person could have been ambushed. As much as we strive for self-knowledge, obviously it's an ongoing process, and the person might not have been aware of a certain weakness, a certain susceptibility that he has. And to a degree, that's obviously an extenuating factor in terms of his culpability for what he does. But once a person is made aware because he was Nichshal, so then that extenuating factor is no longer present. Rabbeinu Yonah there in the beginning of Shaar Rishon explains so beautifully the Pasuk Shlomo HaMelech says: ככלב שב על קיאו כסיל שונה באולתו. That Shlomo HaMelech compares a person who repeats a Cheit to a dog who ingests its own vomit. So he says what dogs eat in the first place is very repulsive, right? They they go into the garbage and they eat. But if they then vomit it and re-ingest it, so it's even more repulsive the second time. And that's what Shlomo HaMelech was telling us: that the repeat of the Cheit, it's not just a repeat but it's it's worse. Lamed, Os Lamed: החמישית באיחור תיקון הנפש היצר הולך ומתגבר. A person

ומקשה לבו ויקשה עליו השגת הנפש אחר כך כמו שכתוב והנה עלה כולו קמשונים.

A person is never static. A person is never treading water. A person is always in flux, in motion, spiritually. A person can be progressing, but if he's not progressing, then Rachmana Litzlan, he's going to be regressing. So when a person procrastinates, Rabbeinu Yonah says, so in our minds we'd like to think that that means that I'm putting it on hold. Okay, I get a phone call and I ask the person if he can please hold on and treading water and just putting things on hold. But Rabbeinu Yonah says there is no such thing. Existence is dynamic. A person is always always in flux, always. always, always in motion and the motion isn't lateral, this forward motion, there's backward motion. And therefore be'iykur tikkun hanefesh inevitably hayetzer holech umitgaber. The longer the yetzer is unaddressed, so just the more it, it, the stronger it becomes. And therefore

ויקשה עליו להשקיט נפשו אחר כך. ואמרו רבותינו זכרונם לברכה כאשר היצר קשור בעבירה ידמה כענין המכנה ורוצה להשיג ידו לטהרתו.

V'amru b'musaram meaning Rabbeinu Yonah is not quoting a Chazal here. I think, I think some of the additions suggest he is quoting from, from general philosophy. ואמרו במוסרם ההרגל על כל דבר שלטון. So this is a klal which it is difficult to exaggerate its importance, its relevance. Hergel, when a person develops hergel, sometimes we develop habits consciously, intentionally, sometimes we develop habits unconsciously, unintentionally, but either way they have the same koach to give a, right, some people without really realizing it they start biting their nails. And also without realizing it, it becomes a habit, and the more of a habit it becomes, the stronger the habit becomes, so then we know the more difficult it is to break that habit and to overcome that habit. And, and habit is a sort of a self-imposed constraint or self-imposed challenge to our bechira. The stronger the habit, the more ingrained the habit, the more of a challenge it is and, and the more of a potential again all this self-imposed and the more and the more of a potential constraint it is on our bechira. As we develop habits, so we develop reflexes, not necessarily physical reflexes the way you know if you hit a certain nerve on, on a person's body it makes him react, not a physical reflex in that sense of the word. But behavioral reflexes. And behavioral reflexes can be very, very strong. Rabbeinu Yonah has this again later, if you take a look in sha'ar hashlishi os reish daled. The context here again, it's sha'ar hashlishi os reish daled. The context is lashon hara. Vehasheini, the reason lashon hara is so chamur or the second of the reasons Rabbeinu Yonah suggests that lashon hara is so chamur כי בעל הלשון תשובתו קשה. Generally speaking it's a more formidable challenge to do teshuva for lashon hara than for other aveiros. אחרי אשר למד לשונו דבר שקר ופיו שלח ברעה since he trained, literally he trained his his tongue to speak lashon hara. And his mouth emits evil מרוב ההרגל אינו שליט ברוחו. Because of the ongoing constant reinforced habit, it interferes with a person's self, with a person's autonomy, with his ability to control what he says. Now Rabbeinu Yonah here doesn't, again the phrase einenoo shalit berucho notwithstanding, apparently context suggests he doesn't mean that literally because the beginning of this sentence was בעל הלשון תשובתו קשה. Kasha, not impossible, right? Kasha means difficult, formidable, but not impossible. So the einenoo shalit berucho doesn't mean literally that he'll reach a point where he literally cannot prevent himself from speaking lashon, but what it means is that he increases and intensifies the challenge. Because the more of a behavioral reflex it becomes, the more of a, the stronger of an effort is required to try to hold that in check. It's easier to turn down the first cigarette, to turn down the first few drinks, but rachmana litzlan a person begins to develop an addiction, so it's so much more difficult to take that same course of action. מרוב ההרגל אינו שליט ברוחו. Ramchal has this in Mesillat Yesharim as well. Ramchal even goes so far as to indicate there'll be some cases where a person will have undermined his own bechira, where the momentum of a person's past actions and the habits that they've ingrained will actually undermine his bechira, so that again, not undermine his bechira in that over the course of time he can't change himself, that he can't uproot the habit, but undermine the bechira that he won't be able to turn on a dime as it were. He gives the example of a person develops the midat atzlut, and then it's this time of year, it's a short day, and then he's in the middle of eating a late lunch and he realizes that he hasn't davened mincha, and what's necessary is to get up bezrizut and to leave the meal and end the meal as it were prematurely with a tremendous haste and quickly, quickly get himself to shul to daven, quickly find a spot to daven. So Rabbeinu Yonah says, excuse me the Ramchal says, if the person's habit of atzlut and moving slowly and never pushing himself, never exerting himself was strong enough, he's not going to be able to do it in that occasion. That's why everything a person does is doubly significant. Everything we do rabosai doubly significant. It's significant in that every action is, every moment of life is important and valuable, and because of that every action is important and valuable. But then everything we do also has repercussions. Everything we do generates a momentum הן לטוב הן למוטב, because everything we do contributes to a hergel. Everything we do creates a momentum, and that's the second again dimension of significance and importance to everything we do. Okay, so we'll stop here bli neder im yirtzeh Hashem, we'll resume with Pesachim around twelve o'clock rabosai. Have a good productive morning, everyone should be well, be safe im yirtzeh Hashem.