Talks about the Steps of the Ladder, Part 82

Chapter 8 The Power of Desire

When does the evil inclination begin to rise in us and slander our work, seemingly interfering with it? It is when we start our spiritual work. Beforehand, the evil inclination does nothing. Why? It is because before we start the work, we do not act against the evil inclination.

The work of serving the Creator is to correct the evil inclination, and this correction is necessary. Without this correction, we will lack the “letters” of the work, the flavors and sensations needed to feel the end of correction, which we are already in but lack awareness of. Otherwise, we remain in our current state. If we do not walk the path and gather impressions of the differences between light and darkness, bitter and sweet, and truth and falsehood, we cannot perceive where we are.

Only when we start distinguishing between these two extremes, the Creator and the created being, do we gradually gain awareness and truly feel our current state. Nothing changes within us except for this clarity.

The nature of the evil inclination is such that when we work through its many details, we gain knowledge, flavors, and the ability to feel the perfect state called “the end of correction.” If we work hand-in-hand with the evil inclination, as do all inanimate, vegetative, animate, and human beings in this world, the evil inclination shows no resistance. On the contrary, it provides strength proportional to our desire to satisfy it. But if we work to correct the evil inclination through which we acquire spirituality, which we cannot acquire with our natural desire but only through “reflected light” (Ohr Hozer), i.e., a desire to bestow, then nature certainly resists.

The evil inclination begins to burn within us and prevents any thought, intention, or action. We become weaker on all levels: thought, desire, and action. We lose our motivation and feel drained of energy until we can no longer move forward. This is a good sign. Although at this stage, we feel very bad about ourselves, if we have faith in the sages and understand that we must acquire strength and enlivenment from outside of us, then we seek and find that fuel, gain strength, and continue forward. But if we do not receive strength from outside of us, we have nothing to continue with.

Here also lies a problem. We might think that we are growing, influencing others, doing good deeds, and succeeding in all aspects of Kabbalah, but in truth, the evil inclination deceives us. It introduces a kind of selfish substitute instead of real corrections, which once again blinds us until we might reveal our true state.

We can test this by trying to annul ourselves to our friends, as only from them can we receive the energy to progress. If we can annul ourselves to our friends, it shows that we indeed progress.

Related Material:
Talks about the Steps of the Ladder, Part 81
Talks about the Steps of the Ladder, Part 80
Talks about the Steps of the Ladder, Part 79

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