With every repulsion of this thought from his mind, the sitra achara is suppressed here below in This World,
וּבְכָל דְּחִיָּה וּדְחִיָּה שֶׁמַּדְחֵהוּ מִמַּחֲשַׁבְתּוֹ, אִתְכַּפְיָא סִטְרָא אָחֳרָא לְתַתָּא,
and, since “the arousal from below (in our case the initiative of the beinoni in suppressing the sitra achara) produces a corresponding arousal above,”
וּבְאִתְעָרוּתָא דִלְתַתָּא – אִתְעָרוּתָא דִלְעֵילָּא,
the sitra achara above in the supernal worlds (the root of the sitra achara of this world), which soars like an eagle, is also suppressed,
וְאִתְכַּפְיָא סִטְרָא אָחֳרָא דִלְעֵילָּא הַמַּגְבִּיהַּ עַצְמָהּ כַּנֶּשֶׁר,
thus realizing the verse, “Though you soar aloft like the eagle…I will yet bring you down from there, says G-d.”;)
לְקַיֵּים מַה שֶּׁנֶּאֱמַר: "אִם תַּגְבִּיהַּ כַּנֶּשֶׁר וְגוֹ' מִשָּׁם אוֹרִידְךָ, נְאֻם ה'".
Indeed, the Zohar, in Parashat Terumah(p. 128), extolls the Divine satisfaction that occurs when the sitra achara is subdued here below,
וּכְמוֹ שֶׁהִפְלִיג בַּזֹּהַר פָּרָשַׁת תְּרוּמָה [דַּף קכח], בְּגוֹדֶל נַחַת רוּחַ לְפָנָיו יִתְבָּרֵךְ כַּד אִתְכַּפְיָא סִטְרָא אָחֳרָא לְתַתָּא,
for “thereby G-d’s glory rises above all, more than by any other praise, and this ascent is greater than all else, etc.”
דְּאִסְתַּלֵּק יְקָרָא דְקוּדְשָׁא־בְּרִיךְ־הוּא לְעֵילָּא עַל כּוּלָּא, יָתִיר מִשְּׁבָחָא אָחֳרָא, וְאִסְתַּלְּקוּתָא דָא יַתִּיר מִכּוּלָּא וְכוּ'.
Thus, it is the evil thoughts which enter the mind of the beinoni that enable him to fulfill G-d’s command in averting his attention from them, thereby subduing the sitra achara.
Therefore, one should not feel depressed or very troubled at heart (—he ought to be somewhat troubled by the occurrence of these thoughts; otherwise, he may become indifferent to them and will cease to wage war against them, but he ought not to be sorely troubled by them),
וְלָכֵן, אַל יִפּוֹל לֵב אָדָם עָלָיו, וְלֹא יֵרַע לְבָבוֹ מְאֹד,
even if he be engaged all his days in this conflict with the thoughts which will always enter his mind.
גַּם אִם יִהְיֶה כֵּן כָּל יָמָיו בְּמִלְחָמָה זוֹ,
Though he may never rise to the level which precludes their occurrence, he should not be depressed.
For perhaps this is what he was created for, and this is the service demanded of him—to subdue the sitra achara constantly.
כִּי אוּלַי לְכָךְ נִבְרָא, וְזֹאת עֲבוֹדָתוֹ לְאַכֽפָּיָא לְסִטְרָא אָחֳרָא תָּמִיד.
Concerning this, Job said to G-d: “You have created wicked men,”;)as though it were preordained that one man be wicked and another righteous.
וְעַל זֶה אָמַר אִיּוֹב: "בָּרָאתָ רְשָׁעִים";
In the first chapter, the Alter Rebbe pointed out that this is contradicted by the statement in the Gemara that before a child is born, G-d decrees whether he shall be wise or foolish, strong or weak, and so on, but does not determine whether he will be righteous or wicked—this is left to one’s own choice. The meaning of Job’s statement becomes clear, however, in light of the above discussion. True, G-d does not ordain whether man will act wickedly, but He does “create wicked men,” in the sense that their minds work like the mind of the rasha, with evil thoughts constantly occurring to them. G-d created them in this way so that they will engage in battle with these thoughts and thereby subjugate the sitra achara—as the Alter Rebbe now goes on to say.
T he implication of Job’s statement is not that they were created to actually be wicked, G-d forbid, i.e., sinful in thought, speech, and action,
וְלֹא שֶׁיִּהְיוּ רְשָׁעִים בֶּאֱמֶת חַס וְשָׁלוֹם,
but that there should occur to them, in their thoughts and musings alone, that which occurs to the wicked,;)i.e., that evil thoughts should enter their mind, as they do in the mind of the wicked,
אֶלָּא שֶׁיַּגִּיעַ אֲלֵיהֶם כְּמַעֲשֵׂה הָרְשָׁעִים בְּמַחֲשַׁבְתָּם וְהִרְהוּרָם לְבַד,
and they shall eternally wage war to avert their minds from them in order to subjugate the sitra achara,
וְהֵם יִהְיוּ נִלְחָמִים תָּמִיד לְהַסִּיחַ דַּעְתָּם מֵהֶם, כְּדֵי לְאַכֽפַּיָא לְסִטְרָא אָחֳרָא,
yet they will never be able to annihilate the sitra achara in their souls completely, for this is accomplished by tzaddikim.
וְלֹא יוּכְלוּ לְבַטְּלָהּ מִכֹּל וָכֹל, כִּי זֶה נַעֲשֶׂה עַל יְדֵי צַדִּיקִים.
A tzaddik subjugates his animal soul to such a degree that it is unable to arouse temptation in his heart. His mind is therefore untroubled by evil thoughts. Those, however, of whom Job said that they were “created wicked” cannot rise to this level. It is always possible for evil thoughts to enter their minds; their task is not to give them free rein.
Footnotes
3.
Obadiah 1:4.
4.
Bava Batra 16a.
5.
Cf. Ecclesiastes 8:14.