The Danger of "Later": Why Spiritual Growth Can't Wait

When Rabbi Shlomo Zalman Auerbach zt"l was a young boy, his family lived in Jerusalem's Nachalat Tzadok neighborhood. One of their neighbors was a secular family with little connection to Torah or mitzvah observance.

Rabbi Shlomo Zalman's mother approached them gently and asked whether they would be willing to avoid publicly desecrating Shabbat out of consideration for their religious neighbors. They agreed, but when Shabbat arrived, they broke their promise.

She then sent her young son to speak with them. Even as a child, Rabbi Shlomo Zalman was known for his wisdom and gentle character. He respectfully asked the family not to desecrate Shabbat in the shared public areas.

As they spoke, it became clear that the neighbors simply did not know what was and wasn't permitted on Shabbat. During the conversation, the head of the household began sharing his own story.

"I'm a Believing Jew"

"Don't think I'm not a believer," he told the young Rabbi Shlomo Zalman. "I believe in Hashem."

He explained that he had grown up in a Reform home and had never learned about Judaism. When World War I broke out, he enlisted in the army and soon found himself in the trenches, constantly firing at enemy forces.

Among the soldiers were observant Jews. From time to time, he noticed them taking a small prayer book from their pockets, quietly reciting prayers with great concentration. Whenever they finished praying, they seemed noticeably calmer.

Curious, he asked one of them what he was reading. The soldier explained that he was praying to Hashem, speaking to his Father in Heaven, who watches over every person with individual Divine providence.

The conversation left a deep impression on him.

"I couldn't stop thinking about what he had told me," the man recalled. "Why had my father never taught me any of this?"

A Prayer in the Trenches

Still sitting in the trench with bullets flying overhead, he decided to pray for the first time.

"'Master of the Universe,' I said, 'if You truly exist, please give me a sign.' I wondered what kind of sign to ask for, and then I prayed, 'If You are really there, let a bullet strike my finger so I won't be able to keep fighting. They'll have to send me home.'"

He later recalled that as soon as he finished praying, a piece of shrapnel struck his finger. He was evacuated immediately and never returned to the battlefield.

Holding up his injured finger, he told Rabbi Shlomo Zalman, "This finger has always reminded me that Hashem answered my prayer."

When Inspiration Fades

The experience transformed him.

"I decided then and there that as soon as the war ended, I would learn about Judaism and come to know the Creator of the world."

But when the war ended, he had only a few months left to complete his degree in agronomy.

"I told myself, 'First I'll finish my studies, and then I'll go learn Torah.'"

He completed his degree, but by then the spiritual excitement he had experienced had faded. The burning desire that had once filled his heart was gone.

Turning to Rabbi Shlomo Zalman, he concluded sadly, "Today you see me standing here, and I don't even know what it means to desecrate Shabbat."

The Torah Says: "And Now"

Rabbi Ovadia Chen brings this remarkable story together with an explanation from Rabbi Yehuda Tzadka in his sefer Kol Yehuda on the verse:

"And now, Israel, what does Hashem your God ask of you..." (Deuteronomy 10:12)

Rabbi Yehuda Tzadka asks why the Torah includes the seemingly unnecessary words "and now."

He explains that the Torah is teaching a timeless lesson. If a person wants to grow in serving Hashem, the time to begin is now, not sometime in the future.

The yetzer hara rarely tells a person not to improve. Instead, it whispers, "Later."

"I'll become more serious after the wedding."

"After I move."

"At the beginning of next year."

"When I retire."

The problem is that today's inspiration often becomes tomorrow's indifference.

The Torah therefore says, "And now." When a person decides to change immediately instead of postponing it, he merits special siyata d'Shmaya to help him succeed.