תּוֹרָה א - אַשְׁרֵי תְמִימֵי דָרֶךְ

Torah 1236

Through Torah study [limmud ha-Toirah], all prayers and all requests are accepted, and the grace [chein] and importance of Israel is elevated and exalted before all those upon whom one is dependent — whether in material or spiritual matters.

Through engaging in Torah study with strength [b'koach], one gives strength to the holy malchus d'kedushah [the Kingship of Holiness] so that it prevails — and this strengthens the good inclination [yetzer tov] over the Evil Inclination [yetzer hora].

Through engaging in Torah study, one can merit to understand the allusions [rimozim] from all the things in the world — to bind oneself through them to Hashem Yisborach. And even in a place of darkness and gloom where it appears at first glance that it is difficult to draw close to Hashem Yisborach — even there the true intellect [ha-saichel ha-emes] will shine for him, to find Hashem Yisborach even there, and to draw close from there "specifically" to Hashem Yisborach.

No person transgresses unless a ruach shtus [spirit of foolishness] enters him [Sotah 3a]. Therefore, each and every person — in proportion to the transgressions and blemishes he has committed and caused — is literally mad [meshugah mamash]. This is why many kinds of madness [shig'ayon] are found in most people. The remedy for this is Torah study — for the Torah is entirely the Names of the Holy One, blessed be He, through which the Evil Inclination is subdued and the madness and spirit of foolishness that clings to a person on account of his sins is driven out.

Through Torah study one also merits to be saved from the cunning tricks [nikhlay armumiyas] of the Evil Inclination — for most often it does not immediately entice the person to sin; rather, it first cloaks itself in mitzvos and so forth. And through Torah study one attains true intellect and is saved from all of this. [And therefore, through Torah study, cleverness [armimiyas] enters a person — as our Sages of blessed memory said regarding the verse ""I am wisdom..."" [Proverbs 8:12] etc. — so that he may be able to stand against the cunning tricks of the Evil Inclination. And this is the matter of ""And the moon shall be ashamed and the sun embarrassed..."" [Isaiah 24:23] — the ""sun"" [chamah] refers to the intellect of the "sitra achra" [Other Side] and its schemes. And the ""moon"" [levanah] is the power of desire that flows from foolishness — for a pale-white complexion [marah levanah] indicates foolishness, as is well known. And the Torah is the remedy for both. And this is the meaning of: ""For wisdom illuminates its possessor"" in every place — even in a dark place [Ecclesiastes 8:1] — for ""the way of the wicked is like darkness"" [Proverbs 4:19], which has two deficiencies: First, that one does not see at all — this is the power of foolishness [ksilos], as written: ""the fool walks in darkness"" [Ecclesiastes 2:14]. And second, that it leads one astray — this is the power of desire, as written: ""those who call evil good"" [Isaiah 5:20] etc. (See the book "Mesilas Yeshorim", Chapter 3.)]

The primary reason prayers are not accepted is because the words lack grace [chein]. Therefore, every person must strive that his words be truly words of grace. This one attains through Torah study — and then his prayer will be accepted.

The Jewish person must always gaze upon the intellect [saichel] within every thing, and bind himself to the wisdom and intellect within every thing — so that the intellect within every thing illuminates him and draws him close to Hashem Yisborach through that very thing. For the primary vitality [chiyus] within every thing is only the intellect and wisdom, as written: ""Wisdom gives life to its possessors"" [Ecclesiastes 7:12]. And the intellect is a great light that illuminates a person in all his ways like the sun. And even when a person sometimes comes to a place of gloom and darkness, G-d forbid — nonetheless, when he merits to gaze upon the intellect and vitality within every thing, then the intellect shines for him and draws him close to Hashem Yisborach. This is the aspect of how Yosef merited to stand firm in his trial — through gazing upon the intellect within every thing.

It is impossible to attain the light of the above-mentioned intellect except through the aspect of malchus [Kingship] — meaning, that one accepts upon himself the Kingship of Heaven [malchus shomayim] in truth and with complete faith; and contracts one's mind [m'tzamtzem da'ato] and sets aside all one's own wisdom entirely, as if one has no intellect of one's own at all; and despises all external wisdoms and philosophies [chochmos chitzoniyos]; and hopes, longs, and thirsts only to receive light and vitality from the true intellect and wisdom — which is the supernal holy intellect [ha-saichel ha-elyon d'kedushah], which is the primary vitality of holiness within every thing, as above.

The primary battle between the good inclination and the Evil Inclination is in this alone: the good inclination entices the person to despise all external wisdoms and secular philosophies, and all desires — which are in truth utter foolishness [ksilos gomur] and a spirit of madness — and to bind himself only to the light of holy intellect. Whereas the Evil Inclination entices him to the opposite — in the aspect of: ""A fool has no desire for understanding"" [Proverbs 18:2] — which is the aspect of Esav, who despised the birthright, which is the aspect of wisdom and holy intellect. And every person must give strength to the good inclination to overpower the Evil Inclination — as our Sages said [Berachos 5a]: ""A person should always arouse his good inclination against his Evil Inclination."" And this one attains through engaging in Torah study with strength. [Wordplay: "yargiz" — arouse/agitate — the good inclination is stirred into battle. The root ר-ג-ז conveys intensity of rousing.]

When one merits all of the above, then a great yichud [unification] is made in all the worlds — and the light of the moon becomes like the light of the sun — and one merits to grace [chein]. And through this, all prayers and all requests are accepted. [The circle closes: this returns precisely to teaching א. Torah study → holy intellect → grace → accepted prayers.]

The Evil Inclination wishes to make a person literally mad, G-d forbid [meshugah mamash, chas v'sholem] — for a sinner is mad, as our Sages of blessed memory said: ""No person transgresses unless a spirit of foolishness enters him"" [Sotah 3a]. But how can it come upon a person and make him suddenly mad, G-d forbid? Therefore, the way of the Evil Inclination is first to clothe itself in mitzvos and to lead the person astray as if enticing him to perform a commandment — and thereafter it leads him further and further astray, until he arrives at outright transgressions wilfully, G-d forbid. And this is precisely like the madness of a madman whose mind has become confused and deranged — until he calls evil good and so forth. Yet even so, there still remain in him some sparks of intellect and perception [nitzotzay ha-saichel v'ha-da'as] — such that even according to his deficient understanding, he himself knows and comprehends that one must not do such things — yet he does them anyway. It is because of this that two remedies are needed for curing the mad: (1) to strike them, in order to subdue their wicked wilfulness, so that their madness should not be pleasant for them at any rate, and so that they should not do at any rate those things which they themselves understand to be madness and foolishness; and (2) to place upon them Names and amulets [shaymos u-kemi'os] in order to drive away from them the evil spirit that confuses and deranges their minds, G-d forbid — until they overturn upright paths and call evil good and so forth. And similarly, regarding the healing of a person from the madness of the Evil Inclination, he also needs these two same aspects: (1) to first subdue his wickedness and wilfulness, so that he should not do, at any rate, that which he himself understands and knows to be evil and outright transgression, G-d forbid; and (2) one must also still drive away from him the evil spirit — the ruach shtus — that cloaks itself in mitzvos and leads him astray as if enticing him to perform a commandment, as above. All of this one attains in completeness only through Torah study — which encompasses both of the above-mentioned remedies.

The primary means of binding oneself to the above-mentioned holy intellect is through temimus [wholeness / sincerity / simple, wholehearted faith] — this being the aspect of: ""And Yaakov was a wholesome man [ish tam]"" [Genesis 25:27] — for Yaakov merited the light of the above-mentioned intellect in completeness. [Root: ת-מ-מ — "tam, temimus" — wholeness, sincerity, perfection. This is the key that unlocks the holy intellect and is the quality named in the opening verse of this Toirah: ""Ashray temimay dorech"" — "Happy are those of perfect/wholesome way."]

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