SEPT 26, ‘25 // Questions & Answers from Rabbi Avigdor Miller zt”l’s Thursday Night Lecture Pre Yom Kippur Plans Q. What should be the first thing one should correct before Yom Kippur? Instant Spiritual Pick-Me-Up Q. It’s almost Yom Kippur already. What is the fastest acting spiritual vitamin one can take for an instant spiritual pick-me-up? A. To be facetious, I’ll say the first thing is to correct yourself. But of course you’ll ask, “But in myself, what’s the first thing?” The very first thing you must do is to make sure that all the wrongs that you committed against your fellow man are righted. Other things could perhaps be rectified during Yom Kippur – for many things you can do teshuva on Yom Kippur – but if somebody has an outstanding complaint against you, then you have to realize nothing is going to help until you get forgiveness from that person. אין יום כיפור מכפר עד שירצה את חבירו. That’s why it’s so important to learn to say, “Forgive me.” And don’t wait for Yom Kippur. The am ha’aretz doesn’t do that. The am ha’aretz insults people and never thinks to beg forgiveness. The talmid chochom on the other hand is always careful with people, but if he does step on somebody’s feet, he is quick to admit the error and ask forgiveness. So it should be a habit constantly to be asking people to forgive you. Now, really it’s a small matter to get forgiveness because most people are willing to yield once they see you are contrite, but you have to ask for it. Even calling up on the telephone is worthwhile; and it should be done to as many people as possible with whom you had dealings with if there’s the slightest suspicion that you wronged them in any way. That’s the number one requirement before Yom Kippur. A. The Gemara says אם רואה אדם שיצרו מתגבר עליו – that if a man sees that his yetzer hora is overpowering him, he should do a few things. Number one, he should learn Torah. ניצחו – if that helps and he’s able to overpower the yetzer hora, מוטב , very good. But if not he should do something else – the Gemara there gives you another eitzah. But finally after nothing else helps and he’s desperate so the Gemara gives a final eitzah, יזכיר לו יום המיתה – he should remind himself of the day of death. So it means that thinking about the the day of death is the most effective means of combating the yetzer hora. ּבֵית � לֵב חֲכָמִים ב אֵבֶל – The heart of the wise is in the house of the mourners. It doesn’t mean he has to be there but his heart, his mind, is there. And therefore, sometimes it is necessary to use the most extreme methods. Lichatchilah the Torah doesn’t want you to think of the day of death because such thoughts have side effects too. Sometimes when people think of death they give up hope; they say “There’s no use learning; why should I start learning? I won’t be able to finish the mesichta anyhow. And if I die I will take it to the grave with me and finished.” Too much thinking about death can make a person forget about Olam Haba. Death, you know, is a big contradiction to the emunah in Olam Haba because to the untrained eye death looks like the end; it looks like it’s all finished now and there’s nothing that follows it. And so, it’s not necessarily good to think of the deathbed; only that when somebody is in an emergency and he wants a quick pick-me-up, so he should go to the cemetery and stand there and look at the graves. It’s a good idea once in a while; it has a very good effect on people to give them a recognition of the transitory nature of the things of this world. However, it doesn’t mean it is the best thing; the best thing is to get a sefer on middos, or a sefer about yiras shomayim and get the vitamins that teach you how to live properly without the recourse to thinking about morbid things like death. Reprinted with permission from “Ask Rabbi Miller”, compiled by Avrohom Tikotzky. Copyright 2019, Simchas Hachaim Publishing 718-258-7400 x103 To receive Mr. Tikotsky’s weekly email: tikotzky@gmail.com or www.rmillerqa.com Ask Rabbi Miller 102
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