אות-צג

The Divine constraining Itself empowers an evil that can only be overcome through prayer which is faith.

A person has the ability and must choose this faith over using his intellect.

At first glance there is a problem with the construct of hisbodidus and conversation between oneself and his Maker, that every person needs to pour out his words before Hashem Yisburach everyday, that He should merit him to draw him close to His service blessed He, as explained above many times. And so we find that all the early tzaddikim also engaged in this, and they founded many prayers for this, to merit to be saved from the evil inclination (yetzehr hurra), and that they merit to draw close to Hashem Yisburach, and to fear and love Him blessed He, and all of the Book of Psalms is filled with this. And so too the prayers of the Men of the Great Assembly (Anshay Kinnesses Hagedoala), like: “Hasheevainoo” (-Return us in repentance) and so forth. At first glance there is a difficulty with this: Behold our Rabbis o.b.m. said (Brachos 33b), “Everything is in the hands of Heaven except for fear of Heaven,” and if so, how is it possible to pray for this, considering that Hashem Yisburach gave the choice to us alone? However, in reality, this itself is the essential becheera (-choice afforded) of a person, for it is impossible to merit completely to detest evil and choose good, and to come to what a person needs to come to in this world through his choice, except by means of abounding in prayer, and entreaties, and conversations between himself and his Maker, very, very profusely to Hashem Yisburach, that He should merit him, to draw him close to His service blessed He.

And this is the main prayer, because (Psalms 32:6), “For this every chussid (-pious, devout person) will (/should) pray at an opportune time (- when G-d is to be found), just that the torrent of copious water doesn't reach him,” that he shouldn't be swept away by the torrent of malicious copious water, which are the bad desires of this world which cascade powerfully at all times. And a very great many have already been swept away by them, may the Merciful One save us, and there is no wisdom, and no understanding, and no aitza (-remedy, advice) to stand up against them (Proverbs 21:30, above article 82), just through prayer and entreaty to Hashem Yisburach, that He should save him from them. For even though a person has the ability to choose (his course), even still the main thing is prayer and entreaty to Hashem Yisburach for this. Because the becheera (choice) is intellectual, that one has the power to choose good and despise evil, but a person's intellect does not have power, except to subdue and nullify the desires and the husks (kleepoas) that are of the aspect of the heresy which comes from the aspect of the breaking of the vessels (t.n. before the creation of this world, the supernal vessels were not able to hold the Divine emanations, and they broke, the broken pieces are holy sparks), for there are there many holy sparks which are sparks of intellect, because all (the sparks) are selected with (the supernal) thought. However there are confusions, and realms of evil, and obstacles from the holiness, which come from the aspect of the challal hapunoy ('vacated space' – in the Divine omnipresence, to allow for the semblance of creation and existence independent of G-d), where it is impossible to find His Divinity by means of any ruse or wisdom, just through faith alone (as is explained in Likutay Moharan vol. 1, Torah 64), which is the aspect of prayer, and entreaty, and screaming to Hashem Yisburach, that He should save him from the kleepoas (husks) and the evil inclination (yetzehr hurra) which stem from there.

And regarding this our Rabbis said (Kedushin 30b), “everyday a person's (evil) inclination overbears upon him, and if the Holy One Blessed He would not help him, he would fall into its hand,” because from this evil inclination which originates in its root from there, from the aspect of the vacated space, it is impossible to be saved in any way through the power of choice a person has with his own intellect alone, just with help from Heaven. And therefore it is necessary to abound very profusely in prayer and entreaty to be saved from it, because there no intellect is effective, on the contrary, through intellect and wisdom one is sunken all the more, Heaven forbid (as is explained there in his words o.b.m., in Torah 64), just, the main thing is faith, which is the aspect of prayer. And in reality this itself is the essential foundation of the power of becheera (-choice), namely, what a person has the power of becheera (decision) to abnegate his intellect completely, and rely on faith alone, and to abound in prayer and entreaty to Hashem Yisburach, because the evil inclination (yetzer hurra) twists a person's heart so much, until this is also cumbersome on a person, even though in reality it is a very easy thing to converse, all the time, everything that is with (/upon) his heart, before Hashem Yisburach, and to plead before Him for his soul, even still the baal duvur (-litigator – Satan) confuses and twists a persons mind so much, to the extent that for the most part, this matter of prayer and hisbodidus is harder for a person to carry out, more than all the difficult devotions. And this is all due to lack of faith, that he doesn't have complete faith, which is the main foundation of everything, as the adage of our Rabbis o.b.m. (Makos 24a), “Habakkuk came and based them (-all the commandments) on one (Habakkuk 2:4), 'and a tzaddik with his faith will live'.”

And therefore in this itself lies a person's main power of choice, for someone who merits to choose true life, he will choose what is integral to the way of faith and prayer, in the aspect of (Psalms 119:30), “The way of faith I have chosen.” And then, when he has complete faith, and abounds in prayers and words before Hashem Yisburach, that He should merit him to truly return to Him, which through this all the kleepoas (husks) and sitra-achra (-other side – realm of evil) which originate in their root from the aspect of the tzimtzum (-constrain of the Divine Omnipresence to allow for the semblance) of the challal hapanoy (vacated space), are mitigated and nullified, (and) then Hashem Yisburach helps him so that he merits to serve Him blessed He, with the Torah and mitzvoas (-commandments), and illuminates his eyes in His Torah, until he merits to understand in the Torah and devotion what is possible to understand with human intellect, and through this he subdues and nullifies all the kleepoas (husks) and sitra-achra (realm of evil) which originate in their root from the aspect of the breaking of vessels, and raises from there all the holy sparks. And because the aspect of the breaking of vessels itself also stems in its root from the severity of the tzimtzum (constraint) of the aspect of the vacated space, as is explained inside, and it has already been explained that it is impossible to completely mitigate this tzimtzum (constraint) of the vacated space (until these kleepoas and barriers etc. which nourish from there, are also nullified) just, through prayer, which is the aspect of faith, therefore the main foundation of the entire Torah and the mitzvoas (commandments), which are the aspect of intellect, is also just through prayer and faith, the aspect of (Psalms 119:86), “all Your commandments are faith.” And therefore this is the essential foundation of the entire power of becheera (choice), as mentioned above. (Likutay Halachos, Laws of a Deposited Item, law 3).