The Depth of the War Against the Evil Inclination and the Secret of the Sacrifices

Lesson No. 13 | * 22 Iyar 5755 (Continued from No. 12)

A person is in a constant struggle against the yetzer hara (evil inclination), which grows along with him as he becomes wiser. In order to win the battle and ascend through the spiritual worlds, he must begin his day by reciting the Korbanos (sacrificial offerings) with a feeling of true mesirus nefesh (self-sacrifice), and thereby break the kelipos (impure husks) of the World of Asiyah (Action).

A few supplications said with kavanah (focused intent) are better than many said without kavanah, but one who increases his prayers with kavanah is truly praiseworthy. One who merits to pray at length is in the best possible state. However, if he is truly constrained by circumstances and cannot prolong his prayers, or if he estimates that by prolonging them he will lose his focus, then if he prays briefly but with kavanah, Hashem will consider it as if he had the time and prayed at length with kavanah. The general rule is: "Whether one does much or little, as long as he directs his heart to Heaven." The same applies to Torah study; everything depends on whether a person does everything in his power before Hashem.

A person must set aside time to study Mussar (ethical) works. One is obligated to learn 'Mesillas Yesharim', 'Shaarei Teshuvah', and 'Orchos Tzaddikim'. A person needs to know how to behave. There is a type of person who travels to Uman and thinks he has finished his spiritual work by shouting, "Rebbe Nachman, Rebbe Nachman!" Yet, he does not know simple halachos (Jewish laws) or basic derech eretz (proper conduct). He does not know that it is forbidden to yawn in the synagogue, or that it is forbidden to sleep on the benches or daydream. How can one shout "Rebbe Nachman" before knowing how to behave? Only after you know the entire Torah and all the Mussar books, if you still have the courage to shout "Rebbe Nachman," will you realize where you truly stand and in what lowest depths of the abyss you are located.

סוד הקורבנות: מסירות נפש יומיומית
The Secret of the Sacrifices: Daily Self-Sacrifice

A person has a massive yetzer hara, with blemishes of the eyes and blemishes of thought, and this yetzer hara grows from day to day. Therefore, it is good to recite daily the portion of the Akeidah (Binding of Isaac), the portion of the Manna, the Ten Commandments, and the portions of the Korbanos—the Olah (burnt offering), Minchah (meal offering), Shelamim (peace offering), Chatas (sin offering), and Asham (guilt offering). When reciting the Korbanos, the main thing is for a person to realize that he is offering these sacrifices upon himself.

It is impossible to pierce the kelipos of the World of Asiyah without the Korbanos. A person exists in the World of Asiyah, sunken in terrible kelipos of arrogance and blemishes of the covenant. He wakes up in the morning, and who knows what he went through during the night. Now he needs to enter into prayer. First, he must accept upon himself the four capital punishments of the Beis Din (Rabbinical Court): stoning, burning, beheading, and strangulation, and imagine that he is literally being burned.

"The Olah is holy of holies; its slaughter is in the north, and the receiving of its blood in a ministering vessel is in the north... and it requires flaying, cutting into pieces, and being completely consumed by the fire."

The Olah requires flaying. A person needs to feel that his own skin should be flayed, just as they did to Rabbi Akiva. Rabbi Akiva never committed a single sin, yet they flayed his skin—so what am I liable for? After all, my skin is nothing but a skin of sins! The Olah requires being completely consumed by the fire; I should be burned like in Auschwitz. In every generation, they prepare ovens for us in all sorts of places around the world. Only when a person accepts upon himself stoning, burning, beheading, and strangulation every single day does he realize where he stands and how to escape his own evil.

כל הגדול מחברו יצרו גדול הימנו
Whoever is Greater Than His Fellow, His Evil Inclination is Greater

The yetzer hara does not let up. It is known what we learned: "Whoever is greater than his fellow, his evil inclination is greater." You must know that as you grow, the yetzer hara grows with you. The yetzer hara of a twenty-year-old is nothing compared to that of a thirty-year-old, where it doubles. At age forty, you receive ten times as much; at fifty, a hundred times; and at sixty, a thousand times as much. The inclination only continues to grow. You are given intellect so that you can expand it and be able to cope with the intensifying yetzer hara.

Regarding this, it is said: "Greater is the one who enjoys the labor of his hands than a God-fearing man." There are some God-fearing people who are truly not given a yetzer hara, because Heaven knows that if they were given one, they would fail. This is their deficiency. But when a person is given a yetzer hara, it is a sign that Heaven wants him to break it. A person whom Hashem chooses receives a massive yetzer hara so that he will break it, and by doing so, he shatters all the kelipos in the world. This is the "labor of his hands"—that Hashem gives him a new yetzer hara every day, and every day he breaks it anew. This is greater than a mere God-fearing person who has no yetzer hara.

Therefore, do not say: "I have a yetzer hara and the other person doesn't, so what can I do?" On the contrary! The other person is the foolish one and you are the wise one, which is why you received such a massive yetzer hara—so that you can break it. What do you mean, "What can you do?" Break it! Guard your eyes, cry out to Hashem, and scream in prayer to escape the yetzer hara.

המערכה על ירושלים וביטול חוזה הסטרא אחרא
The Battle for Jerusalem and Nullifying the Contract of the Sitra Achra

The yetzer hara intensifies specifically in places of holiness. Our path is one of holiness and modesty, guarding the covenant and guarding the eyes. Regarding this, it is said:

"And Hashem said to the Satan: 'Hashem shall rebuke you, O Satan; Hashem who chooses Jerusalem shall rebuke you.'"

The yetzer hara that exists anywhere else in the world is absolutely nothing compared to the yetzer hara in Jerusalem. Here, the Satan fights his greatest battle against those who come to the Holy City to sanctify themselves. He takes away their parnassah (livelihood), their minds, their enthusiasm, and he latches onto their homes and children.

The book 'Asarah Maamaros' asks: Why are two rebukes needed in the verse? Is it not enough to rebuke the Satan once? Rather, from here we learn that even a single rebuke is not enough for him. The Satan provokes those in Jerusalem so much that Hashem rebukes him, yet he is unafraid and continues trying to cause them to stumble. Therefore, two rebukes are needed, and two rebukes signify many rebukes—even a thousand times. A person must pray that Hashem will rebuke the Satan who trips him up day and night.

The Satan tries to knock us down endlessly, as it is written: "You pushed me hard that I might fall, but Hashem helped me." The double expression "pushed me hard" (literally: "pushing, you pushed me") hints at a million times. The Satan does not rest or stay quiet as long as a person is alive. And when a person cries out to Hashem, "but Hashem helped me"—this refers to the Holy One, Blessed be He, and His Heavenly Court. They convene a court Above to nullify the contract that the Satan claims to have with the person through the sins he committed.

To break free from the Baal Davar (the Satan), a person must submit himself to spiritual death every single day. This is the secret of the Korbanos. If a person does not break the World of Asiyah and its kelipos through the Korbanos, his prayer does not ascend. It is impossible to sing Pesukei D'Zimrah (Verses of Praise) and ascend to the World of Yetzirah (Formation), and then to the World of Beriah (Creation) during the Shema, and to the World of Atzilus (Emanation) during the Shemoneh Esrei prayer, unless you have first defeated all the kelipos in the World of Asiyah.

Part 1 of 4 — Lesson No. 13

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