The Power of the Will

Nothing stands before the will. The power of the will is immense, and it is within our capacity, if we so desire, to do things beyond reason and understanding through this power. The Gemara in tractate Avodah Zarah tells us of Elazar ben Durdaya, who left no harlot unvisited. He was a man so low that he was willing to cross rivers and oceans for the sake of harlotry.

One day, as he lay with one of the harlots, she passed wind. In the midst of the act she said to Elazar: just as the foul odor I have expelled will not return, so too you will not be received back. You have no chance of returning in repentance. Elazar did not give up. The power of the will that had driven him to cross oceans to reach a single harlot now began to work to prove to himself and to everyone that he was capable of returning in repentance. At first he turned to all of creation for help, and when it did not stir on his behalf, he understood that the matter did not depend on others, but on himself. The power of our will can do the unbelievable. Elazar ben Durdaya became Rabbi Elazar ben Durdaya in a single moment, despite a life of sin — because he willed with all his might to return in repentance. Everyone can, and in any situation. As long as the candle burns, repair is possible. For us too.

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This study is dedicated to the safety and return of Liri Albag (18), who was abducted from the Gaza-border region.