Have you ever watched a bird soar toward the heavens and wistfully longed to fly? How thrilling it would be to flap our arms and soar upward to feel the rush of the wind against our face and glide gracefully through the air.

Unfortunately this dream of flying can never be fulfilled. No matter how hard we try we won’t succeed since the force of gravity which pulls everything to the center of the Earth is constantly working against us.

As we know everything in the physical world has a parallel in the spiritual world.

Just as in the physical world there is a strong gravitational force that pulls an object down in the spiritual world as well there is a strong force that pulls a person down. Man is engaged in a constant battle between his guf his lower self and his neshamah his higher self. His natural inclination is to be drawn toward his guf.

The story is told of a bochur who approached Rav Elya Lopian requesting permission to attend an event where tzniyus would be greatly compromised. “The Rosh Yeshivah need not worry” the bochur assured Rav Lopian. “I won’t be affected by the lack of tzniyus. I’m above that.”

Rav Lopian replied “I am close to 90 years old blind in one eye and still I am affected by a lack of tzniyus. And you a young bochur believe that you are immune to the temptations of the yetzer hara?”

The first step to spiritual growth is to acknowledge the reality of spiritual gravity the power of the yetzer hara which constantly strives to pull us down. Only then can we take effective action to protect ourselves.

The Ever-Ready Enemy

Yaakov Avinu was an ish tam yosheiv ohalim he constantly sat in the tents of Torah. And yet before setting out for the home of Lavan he took a detour and spent an additional 14 years learning in the yeshivah of Sheim and Eiver. Why? He had already spent his entire life learning!

Rav Yaakov Kamenetsky ztz”l explains that although Yaakov Avinu had indeed devoted his entire life to learning he realized that he needed a different type of learning the Toras HaGalus to prepare himself for life with Lavan. He well understood the challenges he would face in the home of Lavan and felt compelled to fortify himself for an additional 14 years.

Rav Chaim Volozhiner would say a special tefillah when leaving his home beseeching Hashem to protect him from the yetzer hara (Keser Rosh 73). It is said that when the Chofetz Chaim needed to leave Radin he prepared himself in various ways to reduce the influence that the outside world might have on him.

What did Yaakov Avinu know that we don’t? What were Rav Chaim Volozhiner and the Chofetz Chaim aware of that we aren’t?

All of these great people deeply understood the power of the spiritual gravitational pull. They recognized the truth of Chazal’s words “Yitzro shel adam mischadesh alav bechol yom — A person’s yetzer is constantly thinking of new ways to bring him down” (Kiddushin 30b). They realized that no one is immune — not even individuals on an exalted spiritual level. They acted to protect themselves and so must we.

Our rabbanim have urged us again and again to beware of the great dangers of modern technology and to take measures to guard ourselves and our family. And yet how many times in my years in chinuch have I heard parents say “But I trust my daughter” denying the formidable power of the yetzer?

Imagine a man standing atop a tall building overcome with a strong urge to fly. He rejects the concept of gravity and jumps. He is euphoric as he experiences the thrill of flying through the air totally oblivious to the fact that he is plummeting to his death.

Denying the force of gravity can be deadly. Denying the force of spiritual gravity can be equally deadly.

It’s possible to overcome the gravitational pull as evidenced by the phenomenon of air travel. It’s also possible to overcome the spiritual gravitational pull. In order to do so successfully we first need to recognize its power and protect ourselves to prevent us from falling. Then we can take positive action to counter the gravitational pull and elevate ourselves.

The Voyage to the Moon

Countering spiritual gravity and soaring upward can seem daunting. We may remember a time when we wanted to change a deeply ingrained habit and felt that it was just too hard. Never to wear a certain type of clothing anymore? Never to bring certain reading material into our home? Never to speak in a particular manner again? We recognize that with great effort we will be able to change. But we despair at the thought of needing to put in such effort for the rest of our lives.

This despair is a grave mistake. The overwhelming difficulty lies in the beginning when we break out of our specific habit. Once we have established a new habit it becomes much easier.

Those of us who remember the lunar voyage of Apollo 11 when man first set foot on the moon look back at that time with feelings of awe and amazement. It was truly “one small step for man one giant leap for mankind.” Who could have imagined that in our lifetime a person would be able to walk on the moon?

In which part of the journey was the most energy expended? Was it while traversing a quarter of a million miles to the moon? When the lunar and command modules separated? While lifting off from the moon? While returning to Earth?

The answer is none of the above. The greatest amount of energy was expended in lifting off from Earth. In fact more energy was expended in the first few moments of liftoff than during the remainder of the entire journey. Once Apollo 11 broke away from the gravity of Earth it traveled a half million miles to and from the moon using relatively little energy.

The same is true for us. The amount of energy we need to break away from the spiritual gravitational pull of the yetzer hara can seem overwhelming. But once we live with the change for a while it won’t take as much energy anymore; it won’t always be so difficult. If we can push ourselves through the initial difficulty we’ll be able to continue traveling upward with relative ease.

Chazal tell us that in the future Hashem will slaughter the yetzer hara and the tzaddikim and the reshaim will cry (Kesubos 52a). Why? The tzaddikim will see the yetzer hara as a mountain and marvel “How were we able to be victorious over such a huge mountain?” The reshaim will view the yetzer hara as a thin thread and ask themselves “How could we have failed to be victorious over this insignificant thread?”

Which is the true comparison to the yetzer hara? The strong mountain or the weak thread?

The answer is that both are correct. At first the yetzer hara is like a formidable mountain. Once the initial struggle has been won however the yetzer hara becomes like a weak thread. The tzaddikim will rejoice over their victory while the reshaim will look back and reproach themselves: “We were scared off by the initial struggle. If we had only persevered we would have seen how much easier it gets.”

Let us not be intimidated by the difficulty of the initial struggle. “Kol haschalos kashos — all beginnings are hard.” Let us remember that eventually the mountain will be transformed into a thread.

When the Beis HaMikdash was renovated in the times of Hordus the Gemara (Kesubos 51b) tells us that its walls were made of blue and white marble resembling the waves of the ocean. Waves rise up fall and rise again defying the natural law of gravity. This was meant to serve as an inspiration to Klal Yisrael that they too could defy the spiritual gravity in their lives and elevate themselves.

Rising upward in our avodas Hashem takes a tremendous amount of energy and effort. If we persevere however we can succeed. We can lift off and soar to the heavens reaching unimaginable heights.