Transformation
This week’s Torah portion features the blessings that are promised to the Jewish people if they will observe the mitzvoth of Hashem. One such blessing is: “The Lord will cause your enemies who rise up against you, to be beaten before you; they will come out against you in one direction, but they will flee from you in seven directions” (Ki Tavo 28:7).
The simple meaning of the verse is that the enemies who attempt to do harm to the Jews will end up fleeing in all directions. However, this blessing also has a spiritual meaning. Spiritual enemies, the evil inclination and his minions, will rise up against us and seek to prevent us from serving G-d. It is incumbent upon us to gather our inner strength to overcome the evil inclination. In the terminology of Chassidism, this is called “iskafya,” or bending. We force the evil inclination to bend to the will of the good inclination.
Therefore, G-d blesses us, “They will flee in seven directions.” G-d gives us the ability to drive out the evil inclination from all seven pathways of the heart, the seven emotional attributes of kindness, severity, beauty, victory, glory, foundation and majesty.
However, merely casting out the evil inclination is not sufficient. The next stage is to transform the evil inclination and draft it into service of G-d. In the language of Chassidism, this is called “Eshapcha”—transforming the powers of the evil inclination to good.
These two stages of Iskafya and Eshapcha sum up our purpose on this earth. By achieving them both we will proceed directly to our ultimate objective, the true and complete Redemption.
(Toras Menachem, 5742, vol. 4, p. 2163)
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