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Vayimaen - Counterfeit Converted | Rabbi Fischel Schachter

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Author: Vayimaen
Categories: Education Religion
Tags: education, religion
Views: 2 · Last viewed: 2026-10-16 08:10 UTC

Short Summary

Main recommendation: when you feel a strong craving or temptation (the speaker's example is looking at something you shouldn't), do not give in and do not simply suppress it; instead, close your eyes and hold yourself back, and that restraint converts the counterfeit, short-lived "Simcha" into real joy and spiritual gain. The speaker frames this through a joke about counterfeit $100 bills, the Dubno Maggid's parable of Yankel, a story about the Berditchever and the Gra, and the Shinever Rav's teaching that Hashem gave us desire and tests in order to convert them.

Key Points

  • The counterfeit bill image: a wad of $100 bills stamped "This is not for legal tender" stands for worldly pleasures, which look valuable but are shattered in a moment and leave you depressed.
  • Yankel's parable (Dubno Maggid): on Shabbos, Yankel finds a $100 bill and rationalizes picking it up through a Shinui (changed motion) to pay debts, but a friend points out it is not real money, so the temptation was a mirage.
  • Wherever there is guarding against improper desire (גדר ערווה), there is Kedushah (holiness), according to the teaching the speaker cites.
  • The Shinever Rav's teaching: Hashem gave us desire (תאווה) and tests (Nisyonos) for the purpose of converting them into spiritual energy.
  • Dovid Hamelech, per the Rabeinu Bechaye cited in the talk, says he sees all his desires before him, understood as gifts that can be converted into Bracha (blessing).

Details Worth Noting

  • Concrete instructions: When a temptation arises, close your eyes and hold yourself back rather than acting on it. Recognize that the craving is an opportunity, and understand that walking away from it converts it into "real money, real time." The speaker also suggests working on this with a partner: he proposed to a student that they work on Shmiras Einayim (guarding the eyes) together, and he personally judges a day as good when he has succeeded in guarding his own eyes.
  • The speaker's own example is a story he tells his class about a student who didn't feel inspired by tales of the Berditchever and the Gra, leading to a private conversation about converting desire into holiness; separately, he recounts dancing at a yeshiva Sheva Brachos where he jokes about seeing a counterfeit bill.
  • The Dubno Maggid parable shows the rationalization trap: Yankel calculates that paying loans, bringing joy to family, and possibly Pikuach Nefesh (saving life) justify a Shinui, which the speaker presents as a cautionary example.
  • The speaker explicitly says he is talking to himself too, framing the lesson as personal rather than only directed at students.