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QUESTION:
What should a person do (when he is in an adverse environment) to protect his mind from being wrongly influenced?
ANSWER:
Number one, he should hold a sefer in his hand, even a small sefer. Open it whenever you can, look inside and think over something that you saw there. And while you're thinking, your mind cannot occupy two thoughts at the same time. The Rambam says that when a mind is empty of divrei Torah, then the other things come into your head. When the mind is occupied and is full of divrei Torah, then the other things cannot come into your head. And even if you're thinking of a machlokes of Romi bar Chomo and Rava, it's also good enough to fill your mind – think about it. As you are on the subway or wherever you are, keep it in your mind, go over it again and again, and you'll be able to keep your mind perfectly clear of anything else. When your mind is a vacuum – there's no such thing as a vacuum – something will come in and fill your mind.
Now, it's a good idea to get in the habit of choosing topics to think about. Zichru niflosuv asher asa – it's a commandment. Remember His niflos that He made. Why does it say that He made them, if it's His, then He made it? He made it in order that we should remember, that's why He made it, Hashem made it in order that we should remember.
So let's say you're in the subway, I'm going to think of makos dam. Finally it's exhausted and you have nothing else to think – tzefardea begins. Plenty to talk about in tzefardea, a very big mako, I can speak an hour on tzefardea. Pharoh is going crazy from the noise of the tzefardea, he said please save me from the noise of the tzefardea. The noise was terrible, and some of them were poisonous too, it was a terrible mako. Then kinim; imagine kinim. If you think about these nisim, you are mekayeim zichru niflosuv asher asa. Everybody says these words but nobody does it, it's a pity. Remember the maan, He made the maan, you should remember it.
Everything that Hakadosh Baruch Hu did that was against nature was a nes. Hashem doesn't like to go against nature, because He made nature. Why did He make it against nature? In order that you should remember: למען שתי אתתי אלה בקרבו ולמען תספר, you should talk about them.
It's a good idea when you are walking into the street, not when you are crossing the street, when you cross the street look here and look there. When you're on the other side of the street resume your thoughts. "What was I thinking about before?" remind yourself, and keep on thinking of that subject.
Good Shabbos To All
This is transcribed from questions that were posed to Harav Miller by the audience at the Thursday night lectures.