Blessing the Evil Inclination

All too often we shun the Yetzer Hara, the Evil Inclination, blaming it for our tendency toward temptation, our desires for prohibited pleasures, and our negative character traits. If only we didn’t have an anger issue . . .  If only we felt more generous . . . .If only we didn’t desire chocolate so much . . . . If only— —-, if only——–. Feel free to fill in the blank. Our sages teach us that this is not the correct attitude. We must actually thank and bless our yetzer hara. How can that be? It is because the yetzer hara gives us our free choice to choose spiritual connection and emotional control over physical outbursts, selfish passions, and ego enhancement. By choosing properly we become less self-centered and more other-centered. We also stop creating “mind” stories of “victim-hood”, which pity and stoke our fragile egos.

We are taught that it is precisely our yetzer hara that gives purpose to our lives in two ways:  (1) It provides us with the challenges that Hashem desires us to overcome in order to elevate ourselves and become better people; and (2) When we engage in avodat Hashem (His service) despite the challenges facing us, our efforts become that much more precious in the eyes of Hashem. When we tackle the evil inclination, we trade selfishness for a higher cause—our real job—which is to become spiritually and emotionally stronger. In short, the yetzer hara embodies the purpose of our lives:  Our struggles to become better, more truthful, more resilient, more refined, and more connected to Hashem.

Knowing this, we can stop complaining to others about our deficiencies and our struggles. Hashem, however, loves it when we ask for His help in overcoming the yetzer hara. In fact, we cannot do it on our own. We need Hashem in this all-important endeavor. When we acknowledge that we cannot succeed without His help, He gets the greatest pleasure of all and gives to us exactly what we need at the time. He desires that we ask for His help in spiritual and emotional matters.

All people— the tsaddikim, the beinonim, and the rash’im (the righteous, the intermediate , and the evil ones)—- have a yetzer hara appropriate to their level. While the rasha may have no trouble stealing, the beinoni might abhor theft but have a problem with humility. A challenge for one may not be a challenge for another. We all have different soul corrections (tikkunim). Only Moshe Rabbeinu was able to nullify himself completely to Hashem, but even he had work to do so initially, as he had a bit of a temper.  In fact, as we grow in fulfillment of our potential, the yetzer hara tends to get stronger to push us to further greatness. If we’re always calm and content, we would become too complacent and unlikely to stretch beyond our comfort zone.

We see that Ya’akov Avinu was born holding onto the heel of Esav for a reason. At the moment of their birth Hashem gave Ya’akov some of Esav’s negative traits and gave Esav some of Ya’akov’s goodness. Ya’akov was not pure as he was at conception nor was Esav totally evil. The mixture of good and bad exists for all of us in varying degrees. It is the very reason G-d created this world so that light will eventually prevail over darkness as we work with Him to battle and overcome our individual struggles and challenges. Because Hashem created the evil inclination, we bless the yetzer hara instead of vilifying him. He was created for our ultimate good to know that we can and we will defeat him in the end if we are willing to do battle now.

Along with this empowering message come some practical tools to guide us toward successful subjugation of the yetzer hara whenever he rears his head. Here are five very powerful steps we can start applying now: 

1. When a person or situation produces a negative emotion like anger, frustration, or outrage, recognize this as a test from Hashem, take some deep breaths, count to ten, and refuse to respond. Consciously decide to recognize the emotion and watch it subside. Remain silent with your tongue pressed against the roof of your mouth so that you are literally unable to speak. Recognizing this as a test is half the battle.

 

2. Close your eyes and observe your thoughts. Are you leaning toward blaming, criticizing, or judging someone else’s behavior? If so, neutralize those thoughts and watch them by visualizing them bursting apart and disintegrating. Poof! They disappeared. Now take a deep breath and realize that our job is not to look at others faults but rather to move inward.

 

3. Smile, and thank Hashem for the test. Try to think of a message or the silver lining in the event.

4. Now take a break from the event, and watch how Hashem solves the issue and demonstrates that there was no reason to get upset. This may take a few minutes, a few hours, or even a few days, but let it go for three days, if need be. Then see what happens. Do not fight against it. Our job is to strive to act controlled, not controlling!

 

5. Keep talking to Hashem, and chances are you will have an a-ha moment. Try it. It works.

Here’s to all our successes in this important area of character development as we prepare for the Redemptive energies of Passover.