Overcoming Challenges
This week’s Parsha, Parshas Naso, contains the laws regarding a Sotah- the woman suspected of adultery. It is interesting to note that a large discussion of the story about the exile and redemption from Egypt is included in Maseches Sotah. What is the connection between a Sotah and the exodus from Egypt?
I have heard quoted [I’m not sure what the source is], that the most painful rebuke that a person will experience after his/her lifetime, is when he/she is going to be shown what he/she could have accomplished in this world.
The Gemara tells us that the redemption from Egypt was in the merit of the special righteous women who were very courageous and displayed phenomenal Gevura.
Hence I’d like to suggest that perhaps the story is mentioned in Maseches Sotah as a profound lesson for the Sotah woman and anyone else seeking to follow in her immoral ways. The Torah is saying, “Look what you could have accomplished! The redemption for the entire Jewish people came about because of people who rose above their challenges and temptations, and look how low you have sunk, or how low you will fall if you continue to follow in her ways!”
Throughout life, we all have various challenges and temptations that the Yetzer Hara throws our way. One tool that can be helpful in overcoming the drives and urges of the Yetzer Hara, is to ponder BEFOREHAND the terrible effect that the sins will have on us if we cave in, and the special level we can be elevated to if we muster the strength to rise above them.
