Daily Tanya – Chapter 9 Part 2: The desired conquest of the body by the G-dly versus animal soul (Tuesday 10th Teves)

3.       Reaching a state of Ahava Raba, Ahava Betaanugim to accomplish the transformation:

• To accomplish the above transformation of the animal soul from evil to good, the above passionate love to attach to G-d reaches a state of Ahava Raba or Ahava Betaanugim, which is a love of pleasure in which one experiences pleasure from G-d similar to which is experienced in the world to come.
• A pleasure in the mind: This pleasure is found in the head and brain, which receives great pleasure from its comprehension of G-d.
• The holy element of water overcomes the evil element of water: The pleasure that one experiences in G-d derives from the element of water that is found in the holiness of the soul. This pleasure has the ability to transform the element of water that is in the animal soul from evil to good; from being a source for lusts towards physical pleasures, [to being a source for lusts towards the spiritual and Divine].

4.       The evil inclination becomes holy:

• Turning the Yetzer Hara into a Yetzer Tov: Through removing all of the evil and stained garments of the animal soul, which is its lusts for the physical pleasures, the evil itself becomes completely good, and the animal soul becomes just like the actual good inclination [i.e. Yetzer Tov] itself.
• Taking control and transforming all the emotions of the animal soul: The same applies regarding all the other emotions of the animal soul that are found in the heart, that the G-dly soul desires to take full control over them and transform them from emotions of evil to being emotions that are dedicated towards G-d alone.

5.       Taking control of the body’s thought and speech:

• The G-dly soul also desires to have full control over the faculty of speech and thought of the body that it only be used to speak and think of ideas that derive from the G-dly soul, which are thoughts of G-d and His Torah, and that he never stop speaking words of Torah.

6.       Taking control of the body’s action:

• The G-dly soul also desires to have full control over the ability of movement and action of the body and its 248 limbs that it only be involved with the fulfillment of Mitzvah’s, which is the third garment of the G-dly soul.

7.       The control of the body that is desired by the animal soul:

• The animal soul which comes from the side of Kelipa desires the exact opposite of the G-dly soul [which means that it desires that the entire body be used to only express its animalistic lusts and emotions].
• Is for the betterment of man: Nonetheless, there is one major difference between the control desired by the Kelipa of the animal soul versus the control desired by the G-dly soul, as the animal soul does not truly desire for the body to be in its control but rather simply to challenge man and his G-dly soul in this matter, in order so man can overcome it, as explained in the Zohar with a parable of a harlot that was hired by the king to try to seduce the crown prince in order to show the obedience and discipline of the crown prince to resist seduction.