Know When To Hold 'Em

בס"ד
One of the most interesting points of the Parasha is Pharaoh's attempts at controlling the Jewish population. He issues chilling orders to the Hebrew midwives, telling them to dispose of any male child before its first breath. The midwives respond in a clever and devious manner, openly accepting Pharaoh's murderous missive while secretly rejecting it completely. When Pharaoh challenges them, they respond by lying and telling him that they were unable to reach the Jewish women in time

The entire incident begs the question, why didn't they just refuse openly? The answer forms a powerful lesson in dealing with the forces of evil, internal or out.

When you face up to a tyrant or an evil impulse – there is an overwhelming response. If the Hebrew midwives would have refused him, he would simply have had them killed. Same goes for the yetzer hora, sometimes when we stand up to him, he counters with a strong show of manipulative force and we find ourselves doubly tempted! By paying lip service to his scheme, the Hebrew midwives were able to insure that no one else was given their job, certainly not anyone who would have caved in and followed orders.

Sometimes we need to fight the yetzer hora in the same way. We don't always need to challenge him in an overt fashion. By paying him lip service we can sometimes get in beneath the radar. If there is a particular action that is beneath us and inappropriate, we need not declare it in bold terms. We can simply tell the yetzer hora "not now", "I didn't get a chance", or other excuses of that ilk. Before you know it, the yetzer hora's urgency will have passed because he assumes that you are already sold on his plan. Yet, just like the Hebrew midwives, you will actually be heroically forging ahead, right under the yetzer hora's nose!

Hatzlacha !!