Intermingling – A Feast for the Yetzer Hara
A man came to me in Lyon and informed me that two weeks prior, he had participated at the azkarah of a prominent man. Of course, there were partitions between the men and the women, as halachah dictates, but since more and more people kept coming, many more than originally anticipated, more tables were taken out.
“There was mixed seating at these tables. After I sat down, a strange woman sat directly opposite me. Until now, I can’t shake off her image.”
He wept bitterly that this picture robs him of his peace and disturbs him greatly.
Hearing his tale, I realized how mighty the Yetzer Hara is, and how critical it is to evade his grip. Here was a man who arrived at an azkarah in order to gain inspiration, as Shlomo Hamelech exhorts us (Kohelet 7:2), “It is good to go to the house of mourning.” But even here, the Yetzer Hara managed to trip him up.
All the more so must we beware of the Yetzer Hara during a time of celebration. Imbibing wine dulls our senses to the machinations of the Yetzer Hara. He is then likely to cause us to sin with forbidden sights.
