Against My Will | Rabbi Shraga Kallus

Many feel that the battle to be a Shomer Einayim is basically a lost cause. I can't even walk down the street. And even if I succeed, what's it worth? It's here, it's there, it's everywhere. I think this is the שאלה of the great Gaon, R’ Moshe Feinstein zt”l, in the אגרות משה. He writes, There’s a great question, What's the היתר to walk down the streets, if he's not sure that he won't come to improper thoughts? He says, We clearly can't forbid such a thing, but צריך עיון לדינא, what's the היתר? It's a great question. I want to suggest a possible תירוץ. Maybe this is the first time Lomdes on Vayimaen. There's a famous Sugya in Shas known as הנאה בעל כורחו. It's a difficult Sugya, but the bottom line is, is that pleasure that comes against your will, you're not responsible for. The Gemara tells the story of Berel, who's walking down the street. There's an Avoda Zara there which has a wonderful fragrance. Berel clearly doesn't want to smell it, but it goes in, and the Gemara seems to come out that הנאה הבאה בעל כורחו, that pleasure that he does not want, he's not held responsible. He's פטור. That means that when I walk down the street to go to work, to Yeshiva, and the איסור comes to me, against my will, I'm not held accountable. It's not my desire, and I'm not responsible for הנאה הבאה בעל כורחי. That's a whole new way of looking at the struggle against the Yetzer Hara. When I walk down the street and I overcome and I don't look where Jewish eyes should not look, I now not only won this battle, but as a matter of fact, in essence, I'm winning all of the battles. You’re giving testimony that this is not my desire, it's against my will. Yes, you might get chapped by the Yetzer Hara, but it's a הנאה בעל כורחי, it's not considered my desire, and therefore, it's not considered my action. The more that a person overcomes, the more he's revealing he’s an Adam Kadosh, and the more it's against his will. And therefore, it's not a lost cause. As a matter of fact, every time he overcomes the Yetzer Hara, it's a total victory.