OGC 2 Class 2 : Obstacles and Hindrances Sources

(5) The mishna articulates a general principle: One is obligated to recite a blessing for the bad that befalls him just as he recites a blessing for the good that befalls him, as it is stated: “And you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your might” (Deuteronomy 6:5). The mishna explains this verse as follows: “With all your heart” means with your two inclinations, with your good inclination and your evil inclination, both of which must be subjugated to the love of God.

Rabbi Nahman said in Rabbi Samuel's name:

'Behold, it was very good' refers to the Good Desire (Yetzer haTov);

'And behold, it was very good' refers to the Evil Desire (Yetzer haTov).

(It only says 'very good' after man was created with both the good and bad inclinations, in all other cases it only says 'and God saw that it was good')

Can then the Evil Desire be very good? That would be extraordinary! But without the Evil Desire, however, no man would build a house, take a wife and beget children; and thus said Solomon: 'Again, I considered all labour and all excelling in work, that it is a man's rivalry with his neighbor.' (Ecclesiastes 4:4).

In response to the indication of divine acceptance, they observed a fast for three days and three nights, and He delivered the evil inclination to them. A form of a fiery lion cub came forth from the chamber of the Holy of Holies. Zechariah the prophet said to the Jewish people: This is the evil inclination for idol worship, as it is stated in the verse that refers to this event: “And he said: This is the evil one” (Zechariah 5:8). The use of the word “this” indicates that the evil inclination was perceived in a physical form.

When they caught hold of it one of its hairs fell, and it let out a shriek of pain that was heard for four hundred parasangs. They said: What should we do to kill it? Perhaps, Heaven forfend, they will have mercy upon him from Heaven, since it cries out so much. The prophet said to them: Throw it into a container made of lead and seal the opening with lead, since lead absorbs sound. As it is stated: “And he said: This is the evil one. And he cast it down into the midst of the measure, and he cast a stone of lead upon its opening” (Zechariah 5:8). They followed this advice and were freed of the evil inclination for idol worship.

When they saw that the evil inclination for idol worship was delivered into their hands as they requested, the Sages said: Since it is an auspicious time, let us pray also concerning the evil inclination for sin in the area of sexual relationships. They prayed, and it was also delivered into their hands.

If one spends one’s entire life in materiality, and later on gets enthusiastic and wants to follow G-d’s path, then the quality of judgment {Karma?} argues against that person, and doesn’t allow him to follow G-d’s ways and creates a hindrance for him. But G-d desires kindness and leniency and hides G-d’s self , as it were in the hindrance. And one who is aware looks at the hindrance and finds there the Creator, as it says in the Jerusalem Talmud (Ta’anit 1:3a): “If someone says to you, ‘Where is your G-d?’ you shall say to that person... ‘In a great city in Aram.’ As it says; ‘G-d calls to me from Seir.’ (Isaiah 21:11)"

And one, who is not aware, when one sees the hindrance, immediately moves away from it. The hindrance is like a thick cloud, for a thick cloud is dark and a hindrance is dark. [The words “darkness” and “hindrance”, share the same three Hebrew letters — chet/ח, shin/ש, kaf/כ], as it is written in Genesis 22:16: “You have not withhold [your son].” This is the meaning of the verse “So the people remained at a distance.” When they see the thick cloud, namely the hindrance , they remain at a distance. But Moses, who represents the quality of awareness for all of Israel, approached the hindrance, where the blessed G-d is actually hidden.

We heard more of this teaching directly from the holy [Reb Nachman], that G-d actually hides G-d’s self in the hindrance.

Scripture says: G-d loves justice. And G-d loves Israel {read: human soul}. But the love G-d with which G-d loves Israel is greater than the love with which G-d loves justice. Thus when
the quality of judgment argues against one who is not really worthy of coming close to G-d, because G-d loves justice, G-d is compelled {sic}, as it were, to agree to the arising of hindrances on the path.

These hindrances are, indeed, the result of that person’s evil deeds {unwholesome, unskillful actions}. After all, G-d cannot ignore just consequences, since G-d loves justice. Because G-d loves Israel even more than G-d loves justice, what does G-d do? G-d is forced to agree to the hindrances for the sake of justice. However, despite this, the truest truth, is that G-d wants that person to be able to draw close to G-d. So, G-d gives permission to place the hindrances in the way, but... G-d hides G-d’s self in the hindrances. One who is aware, more mindful, can find G-d in the midst of the hindrances themselves. There really are not any hindrances in the world at all, because in the hindrances themselves is found the Holy One. Through the hindrances themselves, in fact, one might draw closer to G-d because that is where G-d is hidden.

Zechariah the prophet said to them: See and understand that if you kill this evil inclination [the yetzer hara] the world will be destroyed because as a result there will also no longer be any desire to procreate.

They followed his warning, and instead of killing the evil inclination they imprisoned it [the yetzer hara] for three days.

At that time, people searched for a fresh egg throughout all of Eretz Yisrael and could not find one. Since the inclination to reproduce was quashed, the chickens stopped laying eggs.

They said: What should we do?

If we kill it, the world will be destroyed.

If we pray for half, i.e., that only half its power be annulled, nothing will be achieved because Heaven does not grant half gifts, only whole gifts.

What did they do? They gouged out its eyes, effectively limiting its power, and set it free. And this was effective to the extent that a person is no longer aroused to commit incest with his close relatives.