When big challenges arise for the Jewish people, we generally look to our tzadikim for guidance on how to deal with them. But what happens when different tzadikim are saying different things? How do we know who has the ultimate “correct” approach?
I’m grateful to the Baal Shem Tov for many things! But one teaching in particular that I heard over from Harav Yussie Zakutinsky, changed my life: the Torah of the “Three-Pronged Approach” for dealing with the Yetzer Hara. Now, the more controversial the inyan facing Klal Yisroel, the more calm I feel, because I now see it through the lens of this teaching.
R’ Yussie maps out the three-pronged approach to fighting the Yetzer Hara, as taught by the Baal Shem Tov. Havdalah — separating oneself from it. Hachna’ah — subduing and subjugating the Yetzer Hara. And Hamtakah — sweetening it, by accessing whatever good potential exists within the test and elevating it to the side of kedushah.
Interestingly, the Yetzer Hara is not just our internal adversary, fighting us on an individual level. The Yetzer Hara belongs to the “other side” — the side of the Satan. It is the side that Hashem created in order to generate the illusion that there is something “other” than Hashem to choose. The existence of “something else” gives us free will, so that we can truly, independently, and authentically choose a relationship with Hashem. Our whole life’s work is seeing past the illusions put up by the Satan, the master of the “other side,” and staying loyal to Hashem and the side of kedushah.
While we battle the Yetzer Hara internally, there are also acts of the Satan that attack the Jewish people on a much larger level. There are things sent down into this world from the Yetzer Hara, the Satan, the “Other Side,” that try to pull us away from Hashem. Those inyanim also require the Baal Shem Tov’s three-pronged battle plan.
Interestingly, though, different camps within Torah Judaism, led by different tzadikim, may each tackle these challenges by focusing on one of the three strategies. So when the Yetzer Hara is being fought, it can be happening through three distinct approaches, on multiple levels, all at the same time. On the surface, things can start to look confusing.
Instead of me giving you an example, think in your head about a big, thorny issue in Klal Yisroel where different rabbanim give very different approaches for how to deal with it or fight it.
If you pay close attention, you may see that the approaches generally break down into three distinct categories. Some rabbanim are in the camp of Havdalah. They mainly avoid the fight completely. They don’t urge their followers to protest. They don’t sign proclamations. They simply avoid the issue and put as much distance between themselves and the ordeal as possible. This is not “head-in-the-sand.” It’s Havdalah.
Some rabbanim are drawn to fight the challenge through Hachna’ah — subjugation. They cry out against these nisyonos with loud, dramatic declarations. They belittle, they mock, they put down. They make it uncomfortable to even consider getting involved in such arenas.
It’s not radical. It’s Hachna’ah, and it’s what their neshamah is calling for them to do.
Then you come across rabbanim whose approach is clearly rooted in Hamtakah — sweetening and elevating. They encourage their congregants to engage, but with caution. They set up systems that allow people to venture into the challenge, but with safeguards or with the proper intentions. They advocate for elevating whatever can be elevated within the nisayon, focusing on what positive things can be brought out of the situation.
While you read this, you may automatically resonate with one leadership approach over another. You may be pulled toward one and reject another. That’s okay. These complicated inyanim require complicated pathways to deal with them, and each neshamah is rooted in a derech for how it should deal with things that come from the Satan.
Obviously, things from the Satan that are flat-out assur remain flat-out assur. “Assur” means bound, demonstrating that whatever potential spark of good exists in the forbidden act is totally trapped within it and cannot be redeemed via a Jew engaging with it. The Torah forbids it, and therefore engaging with it will yield no productive results. We gain kedushah by disengaging completely from devarim assurim. Only Hashem’s cheshbonos will bring about positive end results from these issurim.
Sometimes, you can witness the three-pronged approach playing out right at the Shabbos table. A heated debate about a topical issue in Klal Yisroel pops up, and having read this article, you can sit back and observe.
Who are the Hachna’ah people — the ones drawn to defend Kavod Shamayim by completely obliterating the Yetzer Hara with mockery and dismissiveness? Who are the Havdalah Yidden, watching the debate in alarm and wondering why everyone is getting so invested when they could just turn their focus elsewhere and avoid the topic altogether? And who are the Hamtakah Yidden, adamant about finding the good within the situation and looking for a way to use and elevate it l’maan Shemo, for Hashem’s sake?
Being aware of the Baal Shem Tov’s three-pronged approach brings both peace of mind and actual peace between Yidden. It gives us a practical pathway for dealing with the obstacles the Yetzer Hara hurls at us. It also gives us a calming awareness that the differing approaches of our tzadikim, even when on the surface they sound like they are disagreeing with one another, may all be part of a broader mechanism for tackling the Satan’s attempts to ensnare us.
Different tzadikim may be fighting the same battle from different directions. What looks like disagreement from where we are standing may actually be different parts of the same fight.
אלו ואלו דברי אלוקים חיים
You can listen to Rav Yussie share this idea on the 18Forty podcast by David Bashevkin, titled “Connecting to a Disconnected Jewish People”
This article was found in Nekuda Tova Issue 96.
