The Depth of the Battle Against the Yetzer Hara and the Secret of the Korbanos
Class No. 13 | 22 Iyar 5755 (Continued from No. 12)
A person is in a constant battle against the Yetzer Hara (Evil Inclination), which grows alongside him as he becomes wiser. In order to win the campaign and ascend through the spiritual worlds, he must begin his day by reciting the section of the Korbanos (sacrifices) with a feeling of true mesirus nefesh (self-sacrifice), thereby breaking the kelipos (spiritual impurities) of the World of Asiyah (the World of 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. For one who merits to pray at length, this is the ideal state. However, if he is truly prevented by circumstances beyond his control and cannot prolong his prayers, or if he assesses that by praying at length he will lose his kavanah, then if he prays briefly but with intent, it is considered before Hashem 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 is doing everything in his power before Hashem.
A person must set aside time to study Sifrei Mussar (works of ethical and spiritual development). One is obligated to learn 'Mesillas Yesharim', 'Shaarei Teshuvah', and 'Orchos Tzaddikim'. A person needs to know how to conduct himself. There is a person who travels to Uman and thinks that by doing so he has finished his spiritual work, shouting "Rebbe, Rebbe," 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" before knowing how to behave? Only after you know the entire Torah and all the Sifrei Mussar, if you still have the courage to shout "Rebbe" after that—then you will know where you truly stand and in what lowest depths you are located.
The Secret of the Korbanos: Daily Mesirus Nefesh
A person has a massive Yetzer Hara, with blemishes of the eyes and blemishes of thought, and the Yetzer Hara continues to grow from day to day. Therefore, it is good to recite every day the section of the Akeidah (Binding of Isaac), the section of the Manna, the Ten Commandments, and the sections 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 the sacrifices upon himself.
It is impossible to break through the kelipos of the World of Asiyah without the Korbanos. A person is 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 entirely consumed by the fire."
The Olah requires flaying. A person needs to feel that his skin should be flayed, just as they did to Rabbi Akiva. Rabbi Akiva never committed a single sin and they flayed his skin, so what am I liable for? After all, my skin is entirely a skin of sins! The Olah requires being entirely 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 every day stoning, burning, beheading, and strangulation, does he know where he stands and how to escape his own evil.
Whoever is Greater than His Friend, His Evil Inclination is Greater
The Yetzer Hara does not let up. It is known what we learned: "Whoever is greater than his friend, his evil inclination is greater than his." You should 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 as much, and at sixty it is already a thousand times greater. 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 benefits from the toil of his hands than one who fears Heaven." There are some God-fearing people who are truly not given a Yetzer Hara, because it is known 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 they want 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 "toil of his hands"—that Hashem gives him a new Yetzer Hara every day, and every day he breaks it anew. This is far greater than a simple God-fearing person who has no Yetzer Hara.
Therefore, do not say: "I have a Yetzer Hara and the other person doesn't, 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—in order to 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.
The Campaign 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: 'May Hashem rebuke you, O Satan; may Hashem who chooses Jerusalem 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 war 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 sefer '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 one rebuke is not enough for him. The Satan provokes those in Jerusalem so intensely that Hashem rebukes him and he is still not afraid, but continues trying to cause them to stumble. Therefore, two rebukes are needed, and two rebukes mean 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 bring us down an endless number of times, as it is written: "You pushed me hard that I might fall, but Hashem helped me." The double expression "pushed me hard" 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 Beis Din Above to nullify the contract that the Satan claims to have with the person through the sins he committed.
In order to break free from the Baal Davar (the Evil One), a person must surrender himself to spiritual death every single day. This is the secret of the Korbanos. If a person does not shatter the World of Asiyah and its kelipos through the Korbanos, his prayer does not ascend. It is impossible to sing Pesukei D'Zimrah and ascend to the World of Yetzirah (Formation), and afterward 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