Why do some people seem to not even struggle with the yetzer hara, passing difficult spiritual challenges with apparent ease, while others are deep in the weeds of fighting the war, constantly working on new battle strategies to stay true to Hashem and win each battle?
The truth is, this distinction exists even within every Yid’s individual spiritual world. If you brought a platter of delicious, freshly made bacon to the table at a kiddush in shul, not a single person would even entertain the thought of eating it. There is simply no battle with the yetzer hara to fight; the decision to avoid eating the bacon is not even a decision. It is the obvious, natural reaction. Yet, when faced with other spiritual tests, this same group of Yidden may struggle terribly to fight and win each battle with the yetzer hara.
There are two levels we can achieve in our relationship with nisyonos.
The first level is to fight the yetzer hara with a response of Emunah. Emunah means that I see something in front of me, and I remember and believe that there is a deeper spiritual reality to what I see. I see my fellow Jew in an external way, but I believe that there is something much deeper in front of me — a tzadik or tzadeikis, a chelek Elokai mima’al mamash, an actual part of Hashem.
I see money in my bank account, but I have Emunah, so I believe a deeper spiritual truth: that money is a gift from Hashem, even if it entered my account via a direct deposit from my employer.
Right now, the world may look like one massive “klippah party.” The klippos seem to be running freely, having taken over control of our world. But I see deeper, and I believe that there is a deeper spiritual world called Geulah, where the presence of Hashem is obvious to see. I am not denying the reality in front of me, but rather I perceive what lies beneath its surface. The Shechinah is always there, but it is hidden, and I use my Emunah to create a gilui Shechinah, a revelation of the Divine Presence.
In every nisayon we face, we can choose to see deeper, to respond with Emunah, to bring Hashem into the picture, to fight the klippos, and to elevate the physical world.
But there is also another way we can respond, and that is a response called Kedusha.
To be kadosh, holy, is to be separated. To be kodesh laHashem is to be one with Hashem, completely separated from any other reality because there is no other reality. Kedusha is to truly live a life of Ein Od Milvado — there is none other than Hashem. Rather than fighting your yetzer hara and drawing on your yiras shamayim to control yourself and hold back from doing an aveirah, Kedusha means to not even entertain the thought of doing something against Hashem’s will because that option simply does not exist.
When faced with a platter of delicious, freshly baked bacon at a kiddush, you do not entertain the thought of eating it at all. There are no options to choose from. There is only Hashem, and this yetzer hara, this bacon, for all practical purposes, does not exist. If that is how you feel towards it, that means you have a Kedusha relationship with regard to eating bacon.
Emunah is to have a problem and solve it by bringing Hashem into the picture, whereas Kedusha is to see the problem itself as nothing other than a revelation of Hashem.
Emunah is to elevate the world, whereas Kedusha is to nullify it. To nullify something (bittul) does not mean to look at it as if it does not exist. Bittul means to look at it as if it does not exist as its own identity, but rather that its entire existence is a revelation of the light of Hashem.
In every nisayon, you can respond with Emunah and fight the klippos, or you can respond with Kedusha and understand that the “other side” does not even exist; whether someone puts a plate of bacon in front of me, or I come across a nisayon in shmiras einayim, or in shmiras Shabbos, or anything else, I see no temptation whatsoever.
Both Emunah and Kedusha are crucial components of avodas Hashem. We need to use both tools. If we have Emunah without Kedusha, we will not grow to the point that we will not even entertain the thought of doing any particular aveirah, as we would if faced with that plate of bacon. We would be battling the same level of the yetzer hara every single time, our entire lives.
But if we have Kedusha without Emunah, we may choose to sit back and relax and avoid our obligations, with an attitude of “this entire world is Hashem, so I will let Him do what He wants to do, and I do not need to do any spiritual work myself.”
But the question is, how do you build Kedusha? When faced with a nisayon, I will either be tempted by it or not tempted by it, but how can I choose to not even see the two options in front of me?
The answer is that just like in other areas of avodas Hashem, you do the external work even if you do not feel it inside, and that itself will help you develop it internally. Next time you are faced with a spiritual test, try this exercise, even though it will feel very strange to say things that deny the reality that your eyes see.
Say to yourself: “There is no spiritual test here. There is only Hashem, Ein Od Milvado. There is no other side. The situation I am being faced with is just another way that Hashem is revealing His presence, but the temptation itself does not exist. It is not there. There is no decision I need to make, to sin or not to sin. I will not fall for this temptation because this temptation does not exist. There is none other besides Hashem.”
This article was found in Nekuda Tova Issue 49.