Hanukkah, December 16, 1971<\/p>\n\n\n\n
It is written in The Zohar<\/em>, VaYeshev<\/em> (236), \u201c\u2018And it came to pass as that day, and he came home to do his work\u2026\u2019 \u2018It came to pass as that day,\u2019 the day when the evil inclination rules the world\u2026 When a man comes to repent for his sins, or to engage in the Torah and to observe the commandments of the Torah.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n In \u201cThe Soul of\u2026\u201d we say, \u201cYou hear the outcry of the poor, You listen to the shouting of the meager and You deliver. Who is like You, and who can be compared to You?\u201d It seems as though we should ask why specifically the prayer of the poor and the meager? It seems as though he means that the outcry and the shouting are over what is written later, meaning \u201cWho will be like,\u201d and \u201cWho can be compared.\u201d But how can one even conceive of resembling the Creator?<\/p>\n\n\n\n We can interpret that there are three kinds in the work of the Creator, in each of which there is the matter of the evil inclination and the good inclination.<\/p>\n\n\n\n 1) When he observes Torah and Mitzvot<\/em> [commandments] with the intention Lo<\/em> Lishma<\/em> [not for Her sake], such as in order to be called \u201cRabbi.\u201d At that time, the intention is that in return for the work, he wants for the created beings to pay him for his labor in Torah and Mitzvot<\/em>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n It follows that he is not working for the Creator to pay his reward, but for people to pay his reward. Hence, he works in public so that people will see that he is working for them, so they will pay him. If he acts in concealment, who will pay his reward?<\/p>\n\n\n\n The second kind is that he works Lishma<\/em> [for Her sake], meaning for the Creator to pay his reward, to give him the good of this world or the good of the next world. At that time, he works in concealment, so people will not see his work, which is called \u201cso the outer ones will not have control,\u201d when people on the outside see his work.<\/p>\n\n\n\n By this, he would fall under the governance of the outer ones, meaning to demand reward from people for his work, but he wants the Creator to pay his reward. This is called Lishma<\/em>, since he wants the Creator to pay his reward. It follows that he is working for the Creator.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Conversely, one who wants people to pay his reward does not work for the Creator, but only for people. The evidence is that he wants people to pay his reward for the labor, and this is called Lo<\/em> Lishma<\/em>. Lishma<\/em>, however, is when he works for the Creator. At that time, he does not want people to pay him, only the Creator.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The third kind is not in order to receive reward. At that time, the governance of the evil inclination comes and asks, \u201cWhat is this work for you?\u201d This is called \u201cthe question of the wicked one,\u201d for then there is nothing to answer him.<\/p>\n\n\n\n In Lo<\/em> Lishma<\/em>, the evil inclination has no control since he has what to answer, meaning that people will reward him, that they will pay his reward. In the evil inclination of the second kind, when he works Lishma<\/em>, he still has what to answer\u2014that the Creator will reward him, meaning that the Creator will pay his reward.<\/p>\n\n\n\n This is not so with the evil inclination of the third kind, which is not in order to receive reward. When it asks, \u201cWhat is this work for you?\u201d there is nothing to answer to this question. Hence, only then does it gain control.<\/p>\n\n\n\n This is why The Zohar<\/em> says, \u201cWhen is the day of the governance of the evil inclination? It is precisely when one wants to repent, to return to his source.\u201d That is, just as our source is only to bestow upon the creatures, we should also be only bestowing upon the Creator, as it says, to engage in Torah and observe the commandments of the Torah.<\/p>\n\n\n\n We should also interpret in the above manner that he wants to engage in Torah so he can observe the commandments of the Torah, as our sages said, \u201cGreat is the learning that yields action\u201d (Kidushin<\/em> 40b).<\/p>\n\n\n\n When one wants to work not in order to receive reward, there is the control of the evil and he cannot perform the Mitzvot<\/em> of the Torah. This is, \u201cI have created the evil inclination; I have created the Torah as a spice,\u201d meaning that through engagement in Torah, one can come to observe the Mitzvot<\/em> not in order to receive reward.<\/p>\n\n\n\n This is the meaning of \u201cthe outcry of the poor and the shouting of the meager.\u201d What do they want? \u201cWho is like You, and who can be compared to You?\u201d meaning equivalence of form, \u201cAs He is merciful, so you are merciful.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n They are called \u201cpoor and meager,\u201d meaning in knowledge, since they have nothing to answer to the evil inclination when it asks \u201cWhat is this work?\u201d while in the two previous kinds there is knowledge what to answer it. Hence, specifically then they are called \u201cpoor and meager,\u201d and only then is there control to the evil inclination.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Hanukkah, December 16, 1971 It is written in The Zohar, VaYeshev (236), \u201c\u2018And it came to pass as that day, and he came […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"featured_media":0,"parent":6246,"menu_order":0,"template":"","meta":{"site-sidebar-layout":"default","site-content-layout":"","ast-site-content-layout":"","site-content-style":"default","site-sidebar-style":"default","ast-global-header-display":"","ast-banner-title-visibility":"","ast-main-header-display":"","ast-hfb-above-header-display":"","ast-hfb-below-header-display":"","ast-hfb-mobile-header-display":"","site-post-title":"","ast-breadcrumbs-content":"","ast-featured-img":"","footer-sml-layout":"","theme-transparent-header-meta":"","adv-header-id-meta":"","stick-header-meta":"","header-above-stick-meta":"","header-main-stick-meta":"","header-below-stick-meta":"","astra-migrate-meta-layouts":"default","ast-page-background-enabled":"default","ast-page-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-4)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"ast-content-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}}},"topic":[26],"class_list":["post-12362","book","type-book","status-publish","hentry","topic-rabash"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n