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א וְהִנֵּה, כְּשֶׁהָאָדָם מַגְבִּיר נַפְשׁוֹ הָאֱלֹהִית וְנִלְחָם כָּל כָּךְ עִם הַבַּהֲמִית, עַד שֶׁמְּגָרֵשׁ וּמְבַעֵר הָרָע שֶׁבָּהּ מֵחָלָל הַשְּׂמָאלִי, כְּמוֹ שֶׁכָּתוּב: ״וּבִעַרְתָּ הָרָע מִקִּרְבֶּךָ״, וְאֵין הָרָע נֶהְפָּךְ לְטוֹב מַמָּשׁ – נִקְרָא ״צַדִּיק שֶׁאֵינוֹ גָמוּר״ וְ״צַדִּיק וְרַע לוֹ״. דְּהַיְינוּ, שֶׁיֵּשׁ בּוֹ עֲדַיִין מְעַט מִזְּעֵר רָע בֶּחָלָל הַשְּׂמָאלִי, אֶלָּא שֶׁכָּפוּף וּבָטֵל לַטּוֹב מֵחֲמַת מִיעוּטוֹ, וְלָכֵן, נִדְמֶה לוֹ כִּי ״וַיְגָרְשֵׁהוּ וַיֵּלֶךְ לוֹ״ כּוּלּוֹ לְגַמְרֵי, אֲבָל בֶּאֱמֶת, אִלּוּ חָלַף וְהָלַךְ לוֹ לְגַמְרֵי כָּל הָרָע שֶׁבּוֹ – הָיָה נֶהְפָּךְ לְטוֹב מַמָּשׁ.

1Behold, when a person fortifies his divine soul and wages war against his animal soul to such an extent that he expels and eradicates its evil from the left part—as is written, “And you shall root out the evil from within you”¹—yet the evil is not actually converted to goodness, he is called “incompletely righteous” or “a righteous man who suffers.”² That is to say, there still lingers in him a fragment of wickedness in the left part, except that it is subjugated and nullified by the good, because of the former’s minuteness. Hence he imagines that he has driven it out and it has quite disappeared. In truth, however, had all the evil in him entirely departed and disappeared, it would have been converted into actual goodness.

בוּבֵיאוּר הָעִנְיָן, כִּי הִנֵּה, צַדִּיק גָּמוּר שֶׁנֶּהְפַּךְ הָרָע שֶׁלּוֹ לְטוֹב, וְלָכֵן נִקְרָא ״צַדִּיק וְטוֹב לוֹ״, הוּא עַל־יְדֵי הֲסָרַת ״הַבְּגָדִים הַצּוֹאִים״ לְגַמְרֵי מֵהָרָע, דְּהַיְינוּ, לִמְאוֹס מְאֹד בְּתַעֲנוּגֵי עוֹלָם־הַזֶּה לְהִתְעַנֵּג בָּם בְּתַעֲנוּגוֹת בְּנֵי אָדָם לְמַלֹּאת תַּאֲוַת הַגּוּף בִּלְבָד, וְלֹא לַעֲבוֹדַת ה׳, מִפְּנֵי הֱיוֹתָם נִמְשָׁכִים וְנִשְׁפָּעִים מֵהַקְּלִיפָּה וְסִטְרָא אָחֳרָא. וְכָל מַה שֶּׁהוּא מֵהַסִּטְרָא אָחֳרָא – הַצַּדִּיק גָּמוּר הוּא שׂוֹנְאוֹ בְּתַכְלִית הַשִּׂנְאָה, מֵחֲמַת גּוֹדֶל אַהֲבָתוֹ לַה׳ וּקְדוּשָּׁתוֹ בְּאַהֲבָה רַבָּה בְּתַּעֲנוּגִים וְחִיבָּה יְתֵרָה הַנִּזְכָּרִים לְעֵיל, כִּי הֵם זֶה לְעוּמַּת זֶה, כְּדִכְתִיב: ״תַּכְלִית שִׂנְאָה שְׂנֵאתִים, לְאוֹיְבִים הָיוּ לִי, חָקְרֵנִי וְדַע לְבָבִי וְגוֹ׳״, וּכְפִי עֵרֶךְ גּוֹדֶל הָאַהֲבָה לַה׳, כָּךְ עֵרֶךְ גּוֹדֶל הַשִּׂנְאָה לְסִטְרָא אָחֳרָא וְהַמִּיאוּס בָּרַע בְּתַכְלִית, כִּי הַמִּיאוּס הוּא הֵפֶךְ הָאַהֲבָה מַמָּשׁ כְּמוֹ הַשִּׂנְאָה.

2The explanation of the matter is that “a completely righteous man,” in whom the evil has been converted to goodness and who is consequently called “a righteous man who prospers,”³ has completely divested himself of the filthy garments of evil. That is to say, he utterly despises the pleasures of this world, finding no enjoyment in human pleasures of merely gratifying the physical appetites instead of [seeking] the service of G–d, inasmuch as they are derived from and originate in the kelipah and sitra achara, for whatever is of the sitra achara is hated by the perfectly righteous man with an absolute hatred, by reason of his great love of G–d and of His holiness with profuse affection and delight and superlative devotion, as is stated above.⁴ For they are antithetical one to the other. Thus it is written, “I hate them with the utmost hatred; I regard them as my own enemies. Search me, [L–rd,] and know my heart….”⁵ Hence, according to the abundance of the love toward G–d, so is the extent of the hatred toward the sitra achara and the utter contempt of evil, for contempt is as much the opposite of real love as is hatred.

Kehot Publication Society · CC BY-NC · sefaria.org

Kehot Publication Society · CC BY-NC · sefaria.org