The Power of Small Resolutions
Welcome to Daily Bitachon. We are continuing our topic of how to make a proper kabbalah (resolution) during the month of Elul.
We previously discussed taking on small kabbalot. But what is the reason for starting small? Shouldn't we strive for big things?
The Psychology of Resistance
Rav Wolbe explains that taking on large, dramatic commitments creates massive resistance from the Yetzer Hara (evil inclination). It is like a compressed spring that snaps right back—aggressive changes provoke aggressive counter-reactions. Small commitments, by contrast, go under the radar and bypass this pushback.
Rav Wolbe notes that there is a primal force within human nature that inherently resists being told what to do. The Gemara in Sanhedrin records a debate between Rabbi Yehuda HaNasi (Rebbe) and Antoninus regarding when the Yetzer Hara enters a person. Rebbe initially thought it entered at conception, but Antoninus proved it enters at birth. Why? Because otherwise, the fetus would rebel and cause a miscarriage.
This force of rebellion (meridah) is not logical; it is a blind, instinctive reaction that screams, "Don't control me!" You see this in everyday life—like road rage or political unrest—where people act against their own self-interest purely to assert control. In the case of the fetus, causing a miscarriage means dying, yet the instinctual drive is simply: "I'm not thinking—just don't control me; get me out of here." When you make a massive kabbalah, your internal nature feels controlled, and it triggers that exact rebellion.
Flying Under the Radar
So, how do you overcome this internal resistance? By starting small.
Rav Wolbe shared a story from when he flew on a military plane to speak with soldiers during wartime. When the plane suddenly dropped in altitude, he asked a soldier what was happening. The soldier explained: "We are entering Egyptian territory. We need to fly low so their radar won't pick us up."
Rav Wolbe applied this as a powerful metaphor: when you make a subtle, incremental shift in your behavior, you fly under the radar of the Yetzer Hara. It doesn't trigger a massive internal rebellion, allowing you to build lasting consistency. When people take on sudden, overwhelming commitments, they burn out, drop everything, and end up worse off than when they started. Taking on too much fails; doing a few small things consistently is immensely powerful.
The Root of the First Sin
Rav Wolbe finds proof for this deep-seated rebelliousness at the end of Parashat Bereishit, where the Torah states: "Vayinachem Hashem ki asah et ha'adam ba'aretz" (Hashem reconsidered/took comfort that He made man on earth). Rashi explains that Hashem "consoled Himself" that He placed man below; had man been created in the heavenly realms, just as he rebelled down on earth, he would have incited the upper angels to rebel as well. That is the sheer power of this force of meridah.
Rav Wolbe takes this further: the original sin of Adam and Chavah was rooted in a failure to make a proper kabbalah. When Chavah spoke to the Nachash (serpent), she added an extra restriction, claiming they were forbidden not only to eat from the tree, but even to touch it. By adding beyond what was commanded, she took on too much. It backfired, and that excessive restriction led directly to the downfall.
Defeating the Serpent at the Heel
Conversely, look at the famous Rashi at the beginning of Parashat Eikev: "Vehayah eikev tishme'un"—reward comes for observing the mitzvot that people tend to tread upon with their heels (eikev), meaning the "small" mitzvot. Rav Wolbe brings this as a foundational source for small kabbalot.
Furthermore, the Chida (Sefer Chomat Anakh) quotes Rav Chaim Vital on the verse in Bereishit (3:15) where Hashem tells the serpent, "Ve'atah teshufenu eikev" (you will strike at his heel). The Yetzer Hara targets a person specifically in the "heel"—the small, overlooked areas. Therefore, the way to defeat him is on that very same battlefield: the eikev, the small things. If you focus on the small details, you crush the serpent's strategy.
Adam HaRishon fell because he took on too much, and the corrective lesson after the serpent's attack was clear: if you want to defeat the snake, master the eikev—focus on the small things.
The Elul Mission: Ayeka and Self-Knowledge
This brings the entire dynamic full circle. The month of Elul is our preparation for Rosh Hashanah—the day Adam HaRishon was created and the day he sinned. Our core task on Rosh Hashanah is to rectify that original misstep. How fitting is it that during Elul, our primary strategy is to seek out the small, manageable commitments and recognize that victory lies in the details.
To succeed at this, you must have an accurate assessment of yourself—a true cheshbon hanefesh (spiritual accounting). Rabbeinu Yonah teaches that the most dangerous state is avad cheshbon—losing track of where you truly stand. Rav Wolbe noted that this was the fatal flaw during the destruction of the Beit HaMikdash (Churban).
There is a profound linguistic connection here: Megillat Eichah opens with the cry of the Churban, "Eichah" (How/Where), which shares the exact same Hebrew root and letters as Hashem's question to Adam after he sinned: "Ayeka" (Where are you?).
When Hashem asked Adam "Ayeka?", He was asking: Do you know where you are holding? Have you lost track of yourself? Do you no longer know what is on your level and what is beyond you, what is too big and what is small?
That is our primary work during the month of Elul: to become fully cognizant of who we are, to recognize our genuine strengths and challenges, and to pinpoint the small, steady commitments that will not provoke internal rebellion. That is how we rebuild our cheshbon and secure lasting growth for the year ahead.