Reply To: Q&A With Rav Avigdor Miller

Har Sinai – The Antidote to the Yetzer Ha’Rah

Q:
How can a parent help prepare his teenage children to resist the יצר הרע?

A:
Well, it depends which יצר הרע you’re talking about. The truth is that most of the parents are victims of their own יצר הרע.

However, what you can do in the home is to emphasize the truths of the תורה as much as possible. To speak the truths of the תורה principles. There are so many things to talk about. For example, the Rambam says: The most important idea to speak about is השמר לך ושמור נפשך מאד פן תשכח את הדברים אשר ראו עיניך יום אשר עמדת לפני ה׳ אלוקיך בחורב. The Rambam says that מעמד הר סיני is the most important principle to give over to your children and grandchildren. גדליהו על כל גדולה. Make it more important than any other greatness. Speak about it with your children always. והודעתם לבניך ולבני בניך. “Make it known to your children and to your grandchildren.” Speak about מתן תורה. It’s so important. The יסוד היסודות is מתן תורה. So make sure to speak about it with your children and always emphasize it.

In your homes, you speak about about everything. Every meshugas, every stupidity. If you raise your children on meshugas, then you come to ask how to prepare them to fight the יצר הרע?! Make your home a place where all the יסודות, all the Torah-principles are discussed, and in that way your children will be fortified. They’ll be ready.

That’s actually one of the things I wanted to discuss here tonight, but I didn’t have time to talk about it. There are many things that you should be speaking about in the home, but this is the יסוד היסודות. This is the great foundation upon which everything else rests. And that is the great weapon against the יצר הרע. If you believe, and understand, what took place on that great occasion when the עם ישראל heard the voice of Hashem speaking, that is the answer to all questions.
TAPE # E-193