The Real Battle

This week we read פרשת כי תצא. The Netivot Shalom points out a grammatical problem in the first Pasuk. It says, כי תצא למלחמה על אויבך, “When you go to battle against your enemy.” The wording should have been באויבך, “with your enemy,” and not על אויבך, symbolizing a known enemy. This small discrepancy is meant to teach a lesson appropriate for the month of Elul. We are to recognize that we have a constant battle with our known enemy, the יצר הרע. There is a famous story of a battle that the Jewish army fought and won. They came back to tell their spiritual leader of their victory. The Tzaddik told the soldiers that now the real battle began. We are never to allow ourselves to let down our guard against this constant enemy. The יצר הרע is relentless and does everything possible to weaken us and fill us with doubts. The month of Elul is חדש הרחמים, the month of mercy. This is the time of serious soul searching. The Netivot Shalom suggests that in this battle, we take the initiative and put up our defenses before it can attack us. Winning this war allows us not only to achieve atonement, but it is our guarantee that we merit all of Hashem’s blessings.