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they are terribly guilty. These two errors originate from the same
source: they do not understand that overcoming the evil inclination
is not within their power.
The central test of every individual is to overcome the powers of
evil within himself—i.e., his evil inclination. The central powers of
evil are the cravings and evil traits that rule over a person and dictate
how to act. In most cases, the person knows that this behavior is
very wrong, that it harms and damages him and his family, and that
it is forbidden by the Torah. But at the moment that the craving
overcomes him, that doesn’t interest him at all. And so against
his will and against his better judgment, he is dragged after his evil
cravings as though he is their captive. The Gemara here testifies
that this is a spiritual law of nature. Understand this: alone, you
cannot succeed.
Cravings Kill
The central cravings are the craving for sensuality and everything
connected to the evil inclination for forbidden relations, the craving
for money, the craving for eating, and the craving for honor. When
a craving rules over a person, it entirely destroys his judgment,
all of his basic humanity and his unimpeded intellect, and he falls
into very grave behavior that damages him directly and all those
around him, placing him in physical and spiritual peril. Yet that
does not interest him at all, because he is a captive, imprisoned in
the shackles of craving.
That is because craving nullifies all of a person’s proper perceptions,
so that he does not understand and discern anything. Not only does
he not appreciate his spiritual danger, but when the craving burns in
him he does not apprehend and appreciate anything.
The Gemara says that the evil inclination “seeks to kill him.”
The purpose of every craving and every evil inclination is to kill a
person. The craving of eating kills! How many times have I heard
about someone with diabetes whom the doctors told that eating
sweets poses a deadly danger for him: he risks blindness, necrosis,
renal failure, and more. But at the moment that he sees cake and
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no difference where he is—when he receives the title of “wanting,”
heaven will guide him from above, and there is no doubt that he
will progress and progress until he emerges from darkness to light
and from exile to redemption.
Rise to Help Me
Let me summarize the laws that we have learned, because they
are the foundation of the entire path of the work of the will.
1.The evil inclination has the power and permission to crush a
person.
In order to overcome the evil inclination, we need the help of the
Holy One, blessed be He. A person who does not seek Hashem’s
help is in very great danger of losing his life.
2.Prayer changes nature.
Therefore, by engaging in prayer we can bring about all change in
the physical and spiritual realms.
3.When a person prays at length, his prayer does not return
empty.
Every word of prayer is a vessel with which a person receives
abundance. Therefore, every lack is a lack of prayer.
4.A person is led in the way that he wants to go.
Therefore, when you have a strong will, you can attain everything,
without limit.
The practical summation of these laws is that you must be aware
that you have an evil inclination that you can overcome only with
the help of the Creator, and the Creator helps a person who has
intention and who prays. Intent and prayer are one. The more you