The month of Tammuz is often viewed through the lens of history—as the beginning of the “Three Weeks” and the bridge to the destruction of the Temple. However, in the latest episode of the Shuva Israel Podcast, Rabbi Moshe Yoel Pinto, Shlita, explains that these months are not just historical markers; they are a psychological battlefield for every Jew.
The Upgraded Yetzer Hara
Rabbi Moshe Yoel highlights a frightening teaching from the Toldot Yaakov Yosef. There are two ways the Evil Inclination fights a person. The first is “Moab”—the direct temptation to indulge in forbidden desires. The second, and more dangerous, is “Midian.”
The “Midian” Yetzer Hara disguises a transgression as a Mitzvah. It tells you to humiliate someone in the name of “rebuke,” or to chase money and honor in the name of “charity.” In these months of Tammuz and Av, we are especially susceptible to this rationalization. We must be alert: Is our “spiritual intention” just a cloak for a personal grudge?
The 3 Watches of the Soul
The Rabbi decodes the famous Gemara in Berakhot regarding the “Three Watches of the Night.” Rabbi Eliezer teaches that each watch has a sign in this world.
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The First Watch (The Donkey): This represents materialism. Sin never begins in the intellect; it begins in the “braying” of the body’s physical impulses.
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The Second Watch (The Dog): The dog is the most loyal animal to its environment. This represents the stage where a person feels stuck in their identity as a sinner, refusing to change because they are “loyal” to their past.
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The Third Watch (The Baby & The Couple): This is the stage of Teshuvah (Repentance). Like a baby nursing from its mother, Teshuvah out of love means realizing that G-d is our only source of life.
The Correction of Sight and Hearing
Tammuz belongs to Reuven (from the word “to see”) and Av belongs to Shimon (from the word “to hear”). These are the only two ways we take in information from the world. If our “Sight” is blurry or our “Hearing” is distorted, every decision we make will be flawed.
The Rabbi reveals that a person who constantly sees the negative in others is merely seeing a reflection of their own internal impurity. To fix the world around you, you must first fix the “lens” of your own soul.
As we move through these complex months, let us remember that the day always follows the night. No matter how dark your current “watch” may be, the light of dawn—the light of the Torah—is waiting to break through.
🎧 Listen to the full masterclass on the Shuva Israel Podcast: https://open.spotify.com/episode/4AHSHoalW2Sm6uWkNdbiH8?si=c0ff20b8ec974ba5
Stay connected. Stay holy. Shuva Israel.
