176. A person must hurry greatly to expel the spirit of foolishness from within.

176. A person must hurry greatly to expel the spirit of foolishness from within. A person must act swiftly to expel the spirit of folly (ruach shtut ) that fills his heart and clings to him. This is accomplished by attaching oneself to the true tzadik—through soul-level love, by loving the tzadik deeply. Through this, one's heart becomes included in the heart of the tzadik. And since the heart is filled with the spirit of folly—which is an aspect of air (ruach)—and as is known from scientific study, air by its nature seeks an empty space through which to escape, when it finds such a space it bursts forth and breaks through with speed and panic. Thus, when one’s heart is included in the heart of the tzadik, which is an empty space, as in: “My heart is hollow within me” (Psalms 109:22), then the foolish air, which clings to one’s heart, bursts out in panic upon finding a vacant place within the tzadik’s heart. Therefore, through quickly expelling the spirit of folly, one attains a broken heart, as the heart is broken by the swift and panicked exit of the spirit of folly. Since it cannot find a timely exit point, it breaks the heart.