The true evil inclination correlates with the good inclination, which is revealed to us from Above. It is written that the purpose of creation is to delight the created beings. And to do this we need to become like the Creator, to bestow like Him. Once we acquire the opportunity to bestow, we will discover that this is His benevolence.

There is no better gift than the opportunity to bestow. From it, we will enjoy like the Creator enjoys when He bestows to His creatures.

This means that I must come to the exact state when it will be goodness to me: to delight in bestowal to my neighbor. And my “neighbor” is someone I extremely hate. When I bestow to him and enjoy it tremendously, it means I have realized the principle of loving my neighbor as myself. In this case, my pleasure is similar to the Creator’s, and between us there is adhesion, correspondence, and similarity.

This must be the criteria of goodness for me. But if I’m unable to see it on this level, then I lower it. Let’s say that goodness is an ascent above my current egoism. No matter what I want, I verify this desire according to my proximity to the purpose of creation, bestowal, and spirituality, instead of the fulfillment of my Kelim (vessels, desires). And if it is unknown to me, then the most reliable thing to do is to check how this desire brings me closer to the books, the teacher, and my friends.

Our eternal problem is to measure correctly. We always deviate to the side. A bribe from our egoism blinds us. We say: “What can we do,” forgive ourselves, and continue to measure incorrectly. And this is why we fail to reveal the evil. But how are we to correct the evil if we fail to reveal it? This error always remains with us.

It is necessary to combine three things: books, teacher, and group. If a person is able to connect them and begin to test himself in relation to them, then he has a chance to reveal the evil. These three factors can help a person begin to form a point of unity with Israel, Torah, and the Creator so that the books, the teacher, and the group would direct him towards the property of bestowal, the Creator.

And as a person passes further in the correct direction, he will see that both the means and the outcome, the tree and the fruit, are truly one.
[33225]
From the 2nd part of the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 1/20/2011, “The Matter of Tu Bishevat”

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