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attain a tremendous capacity to proceed obstinately in order to once they made peace they would feel good emotionally and that
fulfil their cravings. they would be healed physically, nevertheless the evil trait erases
everything.
Indeed, one of the examples that the above Gemara brings
regarding the topic of the power of the will, that “in the way that People get overwrought, their lives are destroyed and they destroy
a person wishes to go, he is led,” is from such a negative intention: their children’s lives, all because of evil traits that twist their entire
view of reality. Thus, they ruin their own lives. Therefore, Rabbi
The wicked prophet Balaam was asked by Balak, king of Moab, Natan in Likutei Tefillot prays to Hashem in wondrous phrases
to curse the nation of Israel. When he sought permission from the such as, “Be filled with compassion for me and in Your compassion
Holy One, blessed be He, to do so, Hashem, may He be blessed, save me from myself, so that I will no longer be cruel to my very
did not agree, and told him: “You shall not go with them. You shall unfortunate self” and “I do not know where to flee, because I myself
not curse the nation, because it is blessed” (Numbers 22:12). The have brought about everything that I am going through because of
Holy One, blessed be He, revealed explicitly that He did not want my many sins, my evil deeds and my contemptible thoughts.”
Balaam to go with the agents of the king of Moab, and that He did
not want him to curse Israel. Every craving is its own punishment, including its consequence
in the physical realm, because a person pays “in cash” for every
But Balaam very much wanted to. He lusted for the great sum craving. And this is even more true in the spiritual realm. Craving
of money that had been promised him and for the honor that is literally death and absolute disconnection from Hashem. Every
he would receive. In addition, a natural hatred for the nation of evil trait is a terrible affliction. It is the absolute opposite of the
Israel seethed within him. He stubbornly persisted until in the end entire path of faith. One may say that a person does not suffer as
the Holy One, blessed be He, said to him: “If the men came to a result of anything in the world, but that he only suffers from his
summon you, arise, go with them” (Numbers 22:20). own evil. The Gemara testifies that there is no way to overcome
this evil inclination without the assistance of the Holy One, blessed
Is it possible that the Holy One, blessed be He, changed His mind, be He. And the Gemara gives us spiritual principles with whose
heaven forbid? He does not change, and He does not reassess and help it is possible to change the situation, if we include them in the
reconsider. Rather, we learn from here that the power of the will wonderful and structured service of the work of the will.
is so strong that it can change the Divine guidance of the world.
That is one of the principles that the Holy One, blessed be He, Therefore, this book will constitute a great deliverance not only
embedded in His world: “in the way that a person wishes to go, he for a person who wants to attain higher levels in spirituality, but
is led.” The Holy One, blessed be He, as it were, “nullifies Himself” for whoever wants to live a good life in this world, to renounce his
to every individual and does his will—“to act in accordance with the addictions and the evil habits that are destroying his life: to lose
will of each man” (Esther 11:8)—whether positively or negatively. weight, to attain true family harmony. He must clearly learn all of
May it be Hashem’s will that we succeed in revealing this awesome the spiritual laws that will be discussed below, and set aside time
power in order to use it only for positive goals: for building and every day for the work of the will.
beautifying the world.
The evil inclination is stronger than a person, and all of our work
An Eternal Love in this world is to overcome it. The Gemara states explicitly that if
not for the fact that the Holy One, blessed be He, helps a person,

Balaam knew this principle and he used it for evil. That being he could not overcome it. Thus, why does Hashem help one person