One Time No | Rabbi Aharon Weinberg

The pasuk in Iyov says, It's in the Yotzros of Shabbos Para. Which means, if you want to break out from impurity, from טמא, and you want to become pure and holy, a טהור, explained the heiliger Divrei Shmuel, זכותו יגן עלינו, The עצה is to say say once no. And the explanation is, The way to fight challenges and Nisyonos is not by falling in the trap and being busy fighting and battling. Make sure you avoid the falling, you avoid the challenge, escape, lock yourself out, say once no. There's a fascinating story that the Veitzner Rav, זכר צדיק לברכה, told over. When World War II broke out, there was a Yid that was very wealthy, that went and he quickly liquidated all his finances, his entire wealth. He exchanged it and bought a very expensive, beautiful diamond. He took the diamond and sewed it into his boot, in case of need. And he ran with that. There was something even more precious that he ran with, which was his one and only child. And he went from ghetto to ghetto, and he took along the diamond and his child. And he would work during the day, and at night, he would bring some food for his son. One day, he comes back from work and he goes into his hut and he sees, Gevald, my son is not here. He looks around and he realizes that he was taken away. He knew what he had to do. He ran straight to the tower where there was an office, where the chief of the ghetto sat. He ran up to him and told him: I want to speak to you under four eyes. They locked the room, he took off his boot, he tore out the diamond and he showed him the diamond. The whole room started shining at that diamond. And he told him: You want this diamond? Give me back my son. I'll give it to you. The chief of the ghetto said: I have no problem, but I promised to deliver a transport of 500 children. Go out to the street and grab any child and give me that child and I'll exchange it. I'll give you back your son. This Yid was an ehrlicher Yid, and when he heard this, he tore קריעה, and he started crying and said: ברוך דיין האמת. I don't have a go-ahead to save my child. And he went home and he fell into his bed, and he felt: It's impossible for me to fall asleep. This is the last night that I'm together with my child. He's locked up somewhere, but he's still here, in the ghetto. Who knows if he'll be alive tomorrow? And he was holding the diamond in his hand. And all of a sudden, he felt like he's starting to sweat. He felt chills go running through his whole being. He felt like he's losing his senses. And his feet started to drag him, and he got up with the diamond and he decided he's going to the head of the ghetto, and he's going to give him the diamond, and he's going to save his child by grabbing a different child. And on the way from his hut to the tower where the chief of the ghetto sat, there was a small, thick, dark forest. And when he was going in between the trees, he was so torn, going back and forth. How will you be able to live with yourself? רוצח! It's a שאלה of רציחה. You’re not allowed to. On the other hand, who knows if any of us are going to remain alive. And he was going back and forth. All of a sudden, he felt that he got strength and he took courage, and he picked up the diamond and he threw it into the trees and he yelled: Oys Nisayon! No more challenge. I lost the diamond. There’s no more Nisayon. There's nothing I have to struggle with. Teire Yidden, so many times we’re challenged, and we have to fight and we're battling. The way is by changing your route, changing your way of commuting, change your vacation, change your ways, lock yourself out, yell: Oys Nisayon! One time no. That's the way.