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290 | A New Light
It is axiomatic that the more a person proceeds on a way of truth
and rectification, the more encouragement he needs. Thus, Rabbi
Nachman of Breslov said that a person must be “expert in running
out and expert in returning.” A person must know how to run to
Hashem with all his might, and he must also know how to deal with
impediments, stumbling blocks, difficulties, obstacles and descents.
The way of the work of the will is a very powerful “running
out,” during which a person wants to work, rectify himself and
come close to Hashem without compromise. And the extent of his
“running out” leads to a corresponding extent of “returning.” A
person must be strong and prepare himself for whatever he might
have to undergo, and then continue to do his work. Even if he falls,
that does not mean that he is going astray. On the contrary, that
means that he is on the correct path, because the way of teshuvah
consists of these two phases. And a person’s success depends on
knowing how to run to Hashem with all his might and how to
remain strong and not fall.
The Red Heifer
But it is forbidden for a person to encourage himself in a way
that will weaken his prayers! That sort of encouragement is false!
There are many people who mistakenly think that this is what Rabbi
Nachman refers to in his teaching, “I will sing” (Likutei Moharan I
282), where he states that throughout the day a person should look
at his good points and not see the bad. They think that this means
that a person does not need to be ambitious and uncompromising.
But that is a perverse sort of self-encouragement—as though
one may think that it is not so terrible to commit sins, not so
terrible to live with cravings, heaven forbid. Woe to a person
whose encouragement of himself leads to such a perversion of his
thoughts. Regarding this, Rabbi Natan says that self-encouragement
is like the red heifer, which purifies the impure but also pollutes the
pure! (Likutei Halachot: Hilchot Hashkamat Haboker 1:12).
At the time that you are crying out to Hashem, do not think:
“Thank God, I have sidelocks and a beard, I have a head covering, I
am perfectly fine,” heaven forbid! Is it for this that Hashem created
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Thus, he does not pass the test. But if he has learned Torah and
acquired awareness, a faint imprint of that awareness will remain
with him, and that imprint will protect him and guide him. Life is
war, and in the middle of a battle a person does not always act
with a clear mind. But if he has trained himself and repeatedly
reviewed the relevant principles and ways of action, then when he
is under pressure he functions properly without thinking, because
as a result of his substantial practice, his actions become automatic
and natural, even when his awareness leaves him. And so when
a person is tested in the course of his life, if he had reviewed the
subject many times, his learning will stand by him. But although
that is of great assistance, it is still not yet perfection. Perfection
means that a person engages in the work of the will and masters the
matter completely.
A Little of the Light
The principal and fundamental war between the good and
evil inclinations is the war between wisdom and foolishness. All
wisdom—i.e., proper and clear awareness—is the power of the
good inclination. And all foolishness—i.e., confusion and the
concealment of awareness—is the power of the evil inclination.
This constitutes the war against Amalek. The numerical value of
the word “Amalek” is equal to that of the word safek, “doubt.”
Amalek’s entire power is to insert doubts into a person’s awareness
regarding matters that should be clear to him, and to cause him to
forget them. In this way, the evil inclination can easily control a
person.
The entirety of the war against Amalek is to fill oneself with
sharp, clear and absolute knowledge. As the Torah states regarding
the war against Amalek: “Write this as a remembrance in a scroll
and place it Joshua’s ears” (Exodus 17:14). Then doubt no longer
controls a person. Now begins his work of the will—inserting clear
awareness into his heart—because only then is that work possible.
And not only is it possible but it is quite easy, because he has a clear
and substantial basis upon which to build. To explain:
The evil inclination does not have the power to distort the truth