3486 —המאבק ביצר הרע והתגברות על היאוש

B"H, 17 Iyar, 5715. Brooklyn.

Shalom u'Vrachah!

In response to your letter from the 10th of Iyar, in which you request a correction for etc., and how to battle against this in the future, as hopelessness overtakes you, etc.

It is explained in several places that hopelessness is one of the tactics and methods of the yetzer hara to ensnare a person in its trap. By convincing him that since he will not be able to overcome the yetzer hara, G‑d forbid, there is no purpose or benefit in fighting it. It is understood that this idea is heresy (G‑d forbid), the opposite of faith—that the Holy One, blessed be He, is the Creator of all the world and man as a whole, and there is no place empty of Him. And He said in His holy Torah: Barati yetzer hara barati lo Torah tavlin ("I created the evil inclination; I created Torah as its antidote"). However, anyone who says 'I have only Torah,' even Torah he does not have. It is already known from our Sages' ruling that if G‑d forbid one does not merit [Torah], it can become a deadly poison for him (Yoma 72b). Therefore, prayer before the Master of all—which is asking for one's needs and certainly for saving one's soul—is necessary. And for prayer to be accepted, it must be with purity and at least with understanding of the words. How good it is to frequently give some coins to charity before prayer—as our Sages say on the verse Ani b'tzedek echezeh fanecha ("Through righteousness I will behold Your face").

He should conduct himself according to all of the above and recite after Shacharit every day the daily portion of Tehillim as divided for each day of the month. When he does all this—even though according to Jewish custom it should be without a vow—then gradually the battle will become easier for him and little by little he will drive out the yetzer hara from his domain. It would also be appropriate for him to memorize from the beginning of chapter 41 in Sefer HaTanya until the words k'omed lifnei hamelech ("as one stands before the king") (there p. 56 beginning column b). Likewise, it would be proper for him to check his tefillin.

With blessings for success in all of the above, on behalf of His Honor our Rebbe shlita.

Summary

The Rebbe teaches that despair stems from the yetzer hara's tactics. Through faith in G‑d, heartfelt prayer with understanding, regular charity before prayer, reciting Tehillim daily, learning Tanya by heart, and checking tefillin, one can gradually overcome negative impulses.