Increase Light

A little too harsh with and inaccurate about the mussar movement but I present this article nevertheless... Rabbi Atiel Gilady , Lecturer in the School for the Soul and Editor of the Writings of Rabbi Yitzchak Ginzburg

On the nineteenth of Kislev, the New Year for Chassidut, the following verse is sung: "He redeemed my soul in peace from a battle against me" [Tehillim 55:19]. (This was the reaction of the Elder Rebbe when he was told that he was being released from prison.) The verse emphasizes that redemption of the soul and victory in the battle came through "peace" and not by war. How do we win wars of the soul with peace? What is the "sword of peace" (see Taanit 22a) which can bring victory?   One of the innovations of Chassidut as opposed to Mussar is the way evil in the soul (and therefore in all of reality) is treated. In general, the moral outlook of Mussar involves the revealed evil in the soul, while Chassidut also involves the hidden evil (after two hundred years, this was identified by psychology as unconscious thought). However, the way to cope with exposed evil is approached in different ways. Mussar saw direct confrontation with evil as the ideal, and only after victory was it possible to advance to strengthening the good. "Turn away from evil and [afterwards] do good" [Tehillim 34:15]. Our master, the Baal Shem Tov, read this verse differently – "Turn away from evil" by "doing good," since "a small amount of light can repulse a lot of darkness" (and "darkness cannot be sent away using sticks").   Adverse Effects   A direct struggle against evil can have adverse side effects: "One who fights evil becomes evil himself" – in a war against evil, a person enters into the concepts of evil. Many times, an analysis of a problem and becoming involved in its details can move a person from a healthy way of thinking to a "sick" outlook, when "ugly" ideas occupy him and become part of his internal world. In addition, the struggle itself can lead to internal constriction, since when most of the effort is geared towards solving a specific problem important sections of the soul do not develop properly (as a parallel example – see what happens when the security budget is larger than the budgets for education and culture). Most important, constant involvement in the struggle against evil creates a viewpoint of the world where evil becomes real and is very threatening, while the good can only stand up to it with a constant highly focused effort (leading to a low probability of success). Deal with the Positive   Enhancing the good in the soul – not by ignoring the reality of evil and the need to be wary of it (including the simple approach to "turning away from evil") but as an art of the best way to fight evil – can lead to much better results than the above approach: When the main concern is to enhance the good, the familiarity with evil concepts becomes minimal and marginal – instead of getting involved with ugly evil concepts the soul is occupied with the good and absorbs a good fragrance. Being involved with light nurtures the good and healthy segments of the soul and removes internal restrictions. Even if a person has a problem, he does not define himself by the problem and imprison himself inside it. He is involved in other matters, and he becomes free and immunized in a way that will help him cope with problems. Most important, by increasing the light one nurtures a world outlook where evil is a temporary phenomenon and the good is eternal and will win. (This does not mean to whitewash or ignore evil. The belief in the power and the innate strength of light and good allows true criticism of evil and greater depth in the unconscious roots. Then, even in the innermost reaches of the soul, the unconscious good gains control over the unconscious evil.) The "sword of peace" comes to the struggle out of a sense of perfect faith in the eventual victory of good (like Shimon and Levi who attacked Shechem "with faith" [Bereishit 34:25] – "sure of the power of the elderly one"). It can become flexible and attack the faults of the soul from behind, from within the good and powerful realms of the soul, and not in a direct fight when a person may be exposed to injury and evil. Adding to the light, which expels and transforms the darkness, is the main message of the month of Kislev, when we "add to and steadily increase" the number of Chanukah lamps. "The path of the righteous ones is like the glow of the sun, becoming brighter as noon approaches" [Mishlei 4:18]. The same is true of the nineteenth of Kislev. The Elderly Rebbe received a heavenly message that in spite of all the hindrances and the difficulties, he must redouble his efforts to disseminate the inner light of the Torah in order to mend and improve the world. Today too, with all the internal struggles among the Jews in Eretz Yisrael, what we must do most of all is to enhance the light.