And so it has become the case throughout the generations. Parents bless their children; Menasheh and Efraim serve as the paradigms of blessing. Does bayom ha’hu, “that day,” refer to a specific time? That day means that any day on which parents bless their children, Menasheh and Efraim will be their example. Horav Asher, zl, m’Karlin, interprets bayom ha’hu homiletically. Yaakov Avinu blessed his grandchildren that they should focus their endeavors on “that day.” Never push off until tomorrow what can be done today. The idea of pushing things off l’machar, tomorrow, is Amalek’s way of acting. By tomorrow, one no longer has the same enthusiasm that he has today. This is why Moshe Rabbeinu instructed Yehoshua to “Go out and fight with Amalek tomorrow” (Shemos 17:9). There are two ways to understand this pasuk: Either the battle would take place tomorrow; or tomorrow Moshe would stand of top of the hill and pray on behalf of Klal Yisrael. If we apply the first interpretation, the war was about “tomorrow.” The yetzer hora, evil-inclination, senses a person’s enthusiasm, his excitement, his inspiration, and he attempts to cool it off by employing the time-honored ruse of “tomorrow.” The next day, the endeavor has already lost some of its inspiring allure. This is what Amalek/yetzer hora wants. He wants our service to Hashem to be insipid, cold, detached, almost as if we are compelled to do the mitzvah.
Yaakov Avinu intimated to his grandsons that success in avodas Ha’Kodesh, service to Hashem, is incumbent on ha’yom, today. When the inspiration comes, one must immediately act. Deferring it to a later – more convenient – time, distorts and downgrades the entire service. The emotion and enthusiasm are just not present. That is exactly what the yetzer hora seeks.
