Chapter 13

The Alter Rebbe explains that within us there is a kind of tribunal. In this tribunal, there are two judges who must deliver a verdict to decide what the law is. Each judge can express their opinion, but they cannot decide independently unless they agree. But what happens if they disagree? In that case, they need another judge to make the final decision.

That's what's happening inside us! The "Evil Inclination" says, "I think you should transgress the Torah”The “Inclination to Good” says “I disagree.” Who decides? Torah He tells us, in the Psalms¹, that Hashem It is He who helps the “inclination to good” to fight against the “inclination to evil.” Therefore, it turns out that Hashem He is the third judge and the one who decides who is right. Of course, he always agrees with the "Inclination to Good"...

The Alter Rebbe explains that we constantly need the help of Hashem Because the Animal Soul can be very strong, and, moreover, the more we use it through eating, drinking, and other daily activities, the stronger it becomes. It's like a muscle: when it's trained and exercised, it gets stronger, and when it's not used as much, it weakens. The same thing happens with the Animal Soul…

This will help us understand something the Alter Rebbe mentioned in Chapter 1. There he quoted a teaching from our sages.² which says that one should always see oneself as an evil person, and, the Alter Rebbe pointed out, this is a problem, because we may feel sad about being evil and we will not be happy serving Hashem.

The Alter Rebbe explains that our sages mean that one should see oneself as if one were a wicked person, but not a truly wicked one, rather an "intermediate person." Because, unlike the righteous person, who no longer has an "inclination to evil," the "intermediate person" does, just like a wicked person.

The difference between the “Average Man” and the Evil Man is that the “Average Man” does not pay attention to his “Inclination to Evil” when it proposes that he transgress the Torah. But the “Average Man” can never feel secure about this, because if he thinks he is a Righteous Man and stops fighting against his “Inclination to evil,” it may happen that it catches him off guard and succeeds in making him transgress.

Even if the "Average Man" is studying all day Torah and doing Mitzvot, That doesn't mean her Animal Soul is gone; it simply means that it doesn't take control of the soul's "garments"—thought, word, and deed—because Hashem It gave strength to the Divine Soul that resides in the brain, to govern the heart. Even during prayer, when the Animal Soul does not appear with its thoughts, it is actually only sleeping and, like everyone who sleeps, can awaken.

Furthermore, the Alter Rebbe explains that there can be an “Intermediate Man” at such a high level that he loves Hashem as if he were praying all day (as he had explained in chapter 12, which Hashem (It shines a very powerful light, which lulls the Animal Soul to sleep), but even so, it is not a Righteous One, because, although it is asleep all day, it is still there…

The Alter Rebbe explained in chapter 12 that, while the “Middle Man” loves Hashem deeply during prayer, after prayer that love leaves, and only a residue remains. We might think, then, that even when the “intermediate Man” is loving Hashem, That love isn't real, because she only loves him at certain times, and something that's real is always the same, it doesn't change with the moment. It's like someone who says they like ice cream, but only on Wednesday mornings… do they really like ice cream? It's not so true that they actually like ice cream.

The Alter Rebbe explains that since the “Middle Man” can and has the ability to awaken that “Deep Love” for Hashem During prayer, when one prepares properly, that means that, at one's level, love for Hashem that it has is true.

It's like a twelve-year-old having $50 because they won them as a birthday present. Compared to an adult, we'd probably say the child is poor, because an adult needs much more than that to maintain a household. Compared to a five-year-old, the twelve-year-old is rich! And compared to other twelve-year-olds, it's fine, it's normal; a twelve-year-old can have $50—it's a possible and logical birthday present for that age. So, is the twelve-year-old rich or poor? Well, it depends on who we compare them to. If we compare them to another child their own age, they're a normal child, neither rich nor poor.

The same applies to the “Average Man”. If we compare his love to Hashem Compared to the love of a Righteous One, the love of the “Average Man” is not true, because he only has it revealed to him during prayer. If we compare it with the love of Hashem From a villain, the "Middle Man" seems like a righteous one! And if we compare him to what Hashem waiting for an “Average Man”, her love for Hashem It's normal. It's logical and to be expected that during prayer the "intermediate Man" would have a deep love for Hashem and then that feeling goes away…