The Trap of I'll Do It Tomorrow

One of the deadliest days in American military history could have been easily avoided. On September 6, 1862, Union General George B. McClellan led 87,000 men into the Battle of Antietam against Stonewall Jackson and his 50,000 Confederate troops. At one point in the battle, when some Union troops found themselves trapped, 2,000 men were killed in a matter of minutes. In all, nearly 23,000 men were killed, many others wounded. The casualties at Antietam numbered four times the total suffered by American soldiers on the beaches of Normandy during World War II, and more than twice as many Americans lost their lives in this one day of the battle as died in combat during the War of 1812, the Mexican-American War, and the Spanish-American War combined.

And yet, if that isn’t tragic enough, the entire battle could have been avoided. Just two months earlier, as Robert E. Lee invaded the Union state of Maryland, General McClellan received quite the gift—a mislaid copy of Lee’s plans, telling the Union general exactly where each and every scattered Confederate soldier was located. McClellan could have trounced the Confederate army and essentially put an end to the entire war.

But, that’s not what happened. Instead of seizing the moment, McClellan hesitated. He waited and deliberated over whether or not he should proceed and how he should proceed, deciding that he would deal with it the next day. And in those moments of hesitation, the Confederate army was able to reassemble themselves at Antietam Creek, setting the stage for one of the bloodiest battles in American history.

This week’s Parsha describes Hashem’s expectations for us to be God-fearing Jews, to follow His ways and to serve Him with all of our heart and soul. But, the Midrash highlights additional significance for the first word, “V’Ata Yisrael -- Ein “Ata” Ela Teshuva. The word “Ata” means Teshuva. How does the Midrash know this? Ata does not mean Teshuva. V’ata means “and now.” So how does the Midrash know that the word “Ata” is also an illusion to our obligation to do Teshuva?

The answer is that the only way to do Teshuva, the only way to change, is if by doing it Ata, doing it right now! The most common tool that the Yetzer Hara uses on us is procrastination. The Yetzer Hara says:

• “You want to start learning Daf Yomi? Fine with me. The next Masechta starts in a few weeks, wait for that.”

• “You want to finally tackle your to-do list? Just do it after lunch.”

• “You want to start coming to Minyan? I agree, Minyan is so important. But you had a long day, tonight isn’t a good night for it. Why don’t you start tomorrow night.”

The Yetzer Hara says “do whatever you want – just do it tomorrow.” Ein Ata Ela Teshuva. The Midrash tells us that the only way change happens is if it’s done right now and without any delay.

In one of the most famous stories in all of Tanach, Eliyahu faces off with the evil King Achav and 400 false prophets of ba’al. Eliyahu, out of deep frustration with the Jewish People’s backsliding into idolatry, decides to perform a daring experiment to attempt to establish God’s rule. He builds a Mizbeach on Har Hacarmel and sets up the 400 ba’al prophets on the one side, with him on the other side. The challenge is to see which sacrifice will be accepted.

600,000 Jews are watching with baited breath as the prophets of ba’al cried out, cut themselves, screamed – they did everything possible, but nothing worked. After their failure, Eliyahu davens to Hashem and a fire descends from heaven, consuming Eliyahu’s sacrifice. At that dramatic moment, 600,000 Jews scream out “Hashem Hu Ha-Elokim… Hashem Hu Ha-Elokim…” the same words that we say at the end of Neila to culminate our Yom Kippur. It was a moment of Eliyahu’s greatest triumph. Idolatry had been discredited and God had reigned supreme.

Everyone was inspired by God’s miracle, except for Izevel, the king’s wicked wife. She was furious with Eliyahu and his defeat of her prophets. And so, she issues Eliyahu a warning: “Tomorrow I will kill you just as you killed my prophets.” Many of the commentators wonder, why wait until tomorrow and risk Eliyahu running away? Why didn’t Izevel just kill Eliyahu that night?

The answer is to imagine what it was like right after Eliyahu’s miracle. Everyone was filled with religious fervor. Shuls were packed for Maariv that night. Day schools had long lines of children clamoring for entry. Adult education classes were packed with standing room only. They had to add extra Daf Yomi classes, the Tzedaka box was overflowing and Tomchei Shabbos had more money than they knew what to do with.

So what does Izevel do? How does she overcome this newfound religious fervor? By waiting until tomorrow. She knows that if she tries to harm Eliyahu tonight she won’t be successful. The Jews would protect him. But, if we she waits, by tomorrow everything will have worn off. By tomorrow the shuls will once again be empty and people will once again be sleeping in. Izevel knew what our Yetzer Hara knows – the power that comes from getting someone to wait. If you can get the person to procrastinate enough, then their religious motivation will dissipate. If you can get someone to wait until tomorrow, they’ll likely forget about it.

The Chafetz Chaim explains that procrastination is the number one thing that prevents a person from succeeding spiritually. Saying “I’ll start tomorrow” is the number one reason that prevents us from accomplishing real change and real growth.

So you might be thinking it strange to find yourself in the middle of an article about Teshuva. Teshuva? That comes next month. Change? It’s the summer. I’ll get to that during Elul. No! Ein Ata Ela Teshuva. The best way to change is “Ata.” Now is the perfect time! Because the only way to change is by starting right now.