EXOD98 The concept of vigilance relates to a person's actions and affairs. He must contemplate and survey his actions and his conduct, to see whether they are good or not, so as not to risk the loss of his soul, Heaven forbid. And he must not pursue his habits thoughtlessly, the way a blind person walks [as] in darkness. ... Yirmeyahu bemoaned the evils of his generation, among whom this affliction was like a plague. They paid no heed to their actions, and they failed to consider whether they should embrace them or flee from them. And he said, in reference to them (Yirmeyahu 8:6): "No man feels remorse for his wickedness, saying, 'what have I done?' – – as one [person] they rush to stay their course, like a horse charging headlong into battle." In other words, they were constantly propelled forward by the impulsiveness of their habits and ways, without leaving themselves time to critically examine their conduct. As a result they fell into wrongdoing without being aware of it. This is surely one of the shrewd ploys of the evil inclination, which relentlessly labors to burden the hearts of people until they are left with no spare moment, either to contemplate or to observe the path they are taking. For it knows, that if they would only minimally devote attention to their ways, they would, no doubt, immediately begin to regret their deeds, and this regret would intensify until they would abandon sin altogether. This is similar to the advice of that wicked Pharaoh, he said [this verse]: "The work shall be made harder for the men, [so that] they shall be [busy] doing it and not talk about trivialities." His intent was not only to deny them any respect [from their work] to take note [of their own plight] or to plot against him, but also to prevent them from any reflection, by means of ceaseless toil.