READING: BETWEEN AFTER MIDNINGHT AND DAWN SUNDAY

Fighting the evil inclination

LESSON MATERIAL

Fighting the evil inclination – Selected Excerpts from the sources

1. RABASH, Article No. 6 (1989), “What Is Above Reason in the Work?”

Tzava [army] are men of war. These are people who go each day to fight the evil inclination. They are called “army.” Therefore, after they have been rewarded with redemption, meaning after they conquer the evil inclination and emerge from the control of the evil, their conduct in the work is by way of ascents and descents, which is called Tzevaot [plural of Tzava (army)]. Meaning, at times they emerge from their control, and then are under their control again. Thus, the name for ascents and descents is Tzevaot.

2. RABASH, Article No. 6 (1989), “What Is Above Reason in the Work?”

During the work, a person should say, “If I am not for me, who is for me?” At that time in the work, they think that they themselves are doing the ascents and descents, that they are men of war, called Tzava, “mighty men.” Afterward, when they are redeemed, they attain that the Lord is of hosts [Tzevaot], meaning that the Creator made all the ups and downs they had.

In other words, even the descents come from the Creator. A person does not get so many ups and downs for no reason. Rather, the Creator caused all those exits. We can interpret “exit” as “exit from Kedusha [holiness],” and Ba [comes] as “coming to Kedusha. The Creator does everything. Hence, after the redemption, the Creator is called “Lord of Hosts.”

3. RABASH, Article No. 10 (1985), “Jacob Went Out”

It is known that Eretz [earth] implies the will to receive, which is the foundation, since all of creation and all the bad that exists in the world extend from this desire, as it is known that all the wars, murders, and so forth are rooted in the will to receive

4. RABASH, Letter No. 5

And when you feel that you are at war, each of you will know and feel that he needs the help of his friend, and without him, his own strength will wane, as well. Then, when you understand that you must save your life, each of you will forget he has a body he must preserve, and you will both be tied by the thought of how to defeat the enemy.

5. Baal HaSulam, Shamati, Article No. 118, “To Understand the Matter of the Knees that Have Bowed to Baal”

One who has a choice yet struggles to go by the path of faith is called “a man of war.”

6. RABASH, Article No. 440, “Pinhas Saw”

One should always be in a state of overcoming. This is considered that he is always at war, as our sages said, “One should always vex the good inclination over the evil inclination” (Berachot 5a), and RASHI interpreted, “make war with it.”

If a person always walks in a state of above reason, the Creator says, “Behold, I give him My covenant of peace,” as it is written, “I will hear what God the Lord will say, for He will speak peace to His people and to His followers and let them not return to folly” (Psalms 85).

This means that after the Creator makes a covenant of peace with a person, he has no more wars, as it is written, “When the Lord favors man’s ways, even his enemies will make peace with him.”

7. Baal HaSulam, Shamati, Article No. 19, “What Is ‘The Creator Hates the Bodies,’ in the Work?”

One should believe that the obstructions of the will to receive in the work come to him from above. One is given the force to discover the will to receive from above because there is room for work precisely when the will to receive awakens.

Then one has close contact with the Creator to help him turn the will to receive to work in order to bestow. One must believe that from this extends contentment to the Creator, from his praying to Him to draw him near in the manner of Dvekut [adhesion], called “equivalence of form,” discerned as the annulment of the will to receive, so it is in order to bestow. The Creator says about this, “My sons defeated Me.” That is, I gave you the will to receive, and you ask Me to give you a desire to bestow instead.

8. Meshivat Nefesh, Item 40

Our sages said, “Man’s inclination overcomes him everyday.” Were it not for the help of the Creator, he would not overcome it.” Rather, man must only commit to strengthening himself each time anew, and not retreat from this war or cause oneself despair under any circumstances.

Certainly, in this war, it is impossible to evidently see who is the winner, since the war is still long, the exile is intensifying, and each one experiences what he experiences. Yet, as long as we are holding our weapons in our hands—and our main weapon is the prayer—and as long as we do not cause ourselves despair from this war and keep gripping to our weapons, we are winning for sure, since as long as one strengthens oneself in prayer and outcry to the Creator, he is winning the war, as this is essentially the victory.

9. RABASH, . Article No. 380, “Anyone Who Sanctifies the Seventh – 2”

Our sages said, “Man’s inclination overcomes him every day. If the Creator did not help him, he would not overcome it.” We should understand why the Creator did not give us the power to defeat the evil inclination. But if this is not within man’s hands, why does the Creator not do everything?

In other words, why must one fight with the evil inclination while the Creator only helps him, but if the person does not begin the war, the Creator does not help him? Also, why does the Creator need man to make the war and then He will come and help him, as our sages said, “One should always vex the good inclination over the evil inclination,” and RASHI interpreted, “make war with it” (Berachot 5a)? This implies that first, one must begin the war and then the Creator helps him.

10. RABASH, . Article No. 380, “Anyone Who Sanctifies the Seventh – 2”

A person must begin the war so as to have Kelim and a need for salvation and the help of the Creator, as was said, “If the Creator did not help him, he would not overcome it.” It follows that He did not give man the ability to win the war on purpose, since through the war one obtains the Kelim and need for the abundance.

Hence, we need both: to enter the war so as to obtain Kelim, and the help that is required is that specifically the Creator will help him, since through the help he obtains the inheritance of the land.