Truly, it is a great, fierce struggle to break one's [evil] nature which burns like a fiery flame, for the fear of G-d; indeed, it is like a veritable test.

Therefore, every man ought to weigh and examine his own position, according to the standards of his place and rank in divine service, as to whether he serves G-d [in a situation requiring a comparable struggle] in a manner commensurate with the dimensions of such a fierce battle and test [as the kal shebekalim faces.

For even the most dispassionate and cloistered of men must often engage in battle with his evil inclination, both in the area of [6] "doing good" and in that of "turning away from evil," as the Alter Rebbe goes on to illustrate].

In the realm of "do good" - in the service of prayer with kavanah (devotion), for example, he must battle his evil inclination daily, in order to pour out his soul before G-d with his entire strength, to the extent of "wringing out" his soul, [7] [i.e., exhausting all of his intellectual and emotional power in his devotion].

[This battle must be waged both before (i.e., preparatory to) and also during prayer, as follows]:

He must wage a great and intense war against his body and the animal soul within it, which impede his devotion, crushing and grinding them like dust every single day, before the morning and evening prayers.

Also during prayer he must exert himself with an exertion of the spirit, [so that his spirit should not grow weary of lengthy contemplation on the greatness of G-d], and an exertion of the body [to remove the hindrances to devotion imposed by the body], as will be explained further at length. [8]

   

Notes:

6. (Back to text) Tehillim 34:15.

7. (Back to text) Sifrei on Devarim 6:5.

8. (Back to text) Ch. 42.