Day 18 - Chai!
So I had a tough day, but BH I have a good partner and we came up with a game plan. Some exercise and finding a way to be productive helped me get through the day.
During the process, I thought of a vordt. I always wondered why Yaakov fought with the saar shel esav the whole night, and then magically in the morning when the saar shel esav had to leave then Yaakov was victorious. Why did the fight take the whole night, and what magically happened in the morning that it ended. So we know Rashi explains that in the morning malachim have to go say shira and that is why the saar shel esav wanted to leave. However that doesn't explain why until then Yaakov couldn't beat him and only then he was able to.
I thought that maybe pshat is the idea that gets thrown around GYE alot. Distracting and delaying is a great tactic against the yetzer hara! We know the saar shel esav also represents the yetzer hara, and maybe that is the lesson we are meant to learn. They fought until Alos Hashachar, because Yaakov understood that you need to just fight until the yetzer hara leaves. Stay strong and wait until the yetzer hara is gone, and right when it needs to leave and you no longer are tied to it's shackles, then you can tell the yetzer hara who is the real boss! Who really won the fight!
Don't try and take the yetzer hara head on, because you will lose. Be like Yaakov and wait. Learn some Torah, be productive, and then when the yetzer hara is gone celebrate your victory!