My middle-daughter was in Yerushaliyim for a day last week, and as she was sitting on the bus ride home, she noticed a couple of interesting interactions. Nearby, a soldier was sitting next to a Chabadnik, and of course, the first question he asks the soldier is, "Do you want to put on tefillin?" To which the soldier answers in the affirmative, puts on tefillin, learn a little something together, and that was that.
In another pair of seats were two soldiers, a man and a woman, both non-religious, and clearly in a relationship. After the ride starts, he falls asleep (proof he's in a relationship), and she pulls out some Tehillim and begins to read.
Not long ago, my oldest daughter took the train home and saw a man get on, pull out a kippa, place it on his head, and for two hours straight, read through Tehillim.
Such things exist only in Israel. On one hand, such things seem contradictory, yet, here, things are far, far deeper than one is led to think, and gives us hope for the future.
Okay, on to Torah…
As Yaakov was lying on his deathbed, he said to Yosef, "And I have given you one portion [Shechem] over your brothers, which I took from the Emorites with my sword and bow" (Bereishis 48: 22).
On this, Rashi compares the sword and bow to his "prayer and wisdom."
Rebbe Azaria Pigo explains that the bow and sword serve two separate purposes in a battle. First the bows are fired from long range in their attempt to thin out the enemies' lines. Then, when the two armies close in battle, they fight "close quarters" with their swords.
So too, the Yetzer Horah fights a person, and the nation as a whole, in two ways. First, he fights "from Heaven," where he fights his "legal warfare," slandering a person/nation for all their sins, trying to convince "The Court" that the person/nation does not deserve mercy. And he also fights "down on earth," up close, constantly attempting to ensnare them to sin and rebel against Hashem.
And let's be honest. He's quite successful at what he does. In court, he has some very legitimate and incriminating cases against us. And here on earth … well … we do a great job following in his ways.
Against him, alone, we don’t seem to have a chance.
But, with "prayer and wisdom," we DO have a chance. Our davening CAN serve as a "defense" in court and can serve to sway The Judge to have mercy on us. Our wisdom as well, can serve against the Yetzer Horah here in this world. The more we learn, the more we know, the more aware of what is right and what is wrong, which ultimately helps us choose which path to take in life.
By using our spiritual weapons appropriately, we can not only strengthen ourselves from doing the wrong things, but also change the judgment rendered on what we did do wrong.
Powerful weapons, indeed.
Have a wonderful Shabbos!