T96 PNC - Wicked Plots Against Righteous (Foreign Thoughts/Sparks Rushing, 2 segs)

Opening verse: 'The wicked plots against the righteous and gnashes upon him his teeth; Hashem laughs at him, for He sees that his day will come' (Psalms 37:12-13). The question arises: from where would a foreign thought (machshavah zarah) come to a tzaddik who genuinely desires to pray with great attachment (deveikut)? Surely the Talmud teaches (Yoma 38b): 'One who comes to purify himself — they help him from Heaven.' If he is sincere in wanting to pray with deveikut, why does the foreign thought attack him?

The answer: from the time of the shattering of the vessels (sheviras hakeilim), sparks (nitzotzot) fell from all the worlds. Through the prayers of tzaddikim, these sparks ascend — level by level, little by little. When a tzaddik stands to pray with great intention, all the sparks from his level come rushing to him, seeking to be elevated through his prayer. These incoming sparks — which contain both the holy kernel and the outer husk still attached — create a temporary storm of foreign thoughts. This is not an attack from the wicked, but the desperate rush of sparks seeking rectification. 'The wicked plots against the righteous' — the 'wicked' here is really the outer layer of the sparks pressing toward the tzaddik in their desire to ascend.