34. Teitzei 5780: The Peaceful Warrior

FaceBook:https://www.facebook.com/avrohom.lipszyc/videos/10158363027528257/ SoundCloud;https://soundcloud.com/hachaim/34-teitzei-5780-the-peaceful-warrior Written:https://www.dropbox.com/s/3ejwyb94n90fkae/35.%20tetzei%205780%20--the%20peaceful%20warrior.pdf?dl=0 YouTube:https://youtu.be/WTgGF8nXvqw __In a certain sense, life is meant to be lived as a war. And I mean this on the spiritual level. Dawning back to the birth of our nation, when our Matriarch Rachel was pregnant, the prophet told her (-Genesis 25:23), “Two nations are in your womb, and two kingdoms will separate from your innards, and one kingdom will become mightier than the other kingdom, and the elder will serve the younger.” This, we are taught, exists within each of us. There is the kingdom of Esau, referred to as the Evil Inclination, or as the Animalistic Soul, and there is the kingdom of Jacob, referred to as the Good Inclination, or as the G-dly Soul. Our sages teach us that, “And one kingdom will become mightier than the other kingdom,” means that both kingdoms cannot simultaneously be mighty, nor coexist in peace. Our mission in life is to make sure that, “The elder [Esau; Evil Inclination; Animalistic Soul] will serve the younger [Jacob; Good Inclination; G-dly Soul]. This war between the two kingdoms is an Obligatory War, and not a Permissible War. And living one’s entire life waging a war can lead to Battle Fatigue. Is there another way? And thus, in this lecture we will explore the way of the Peaceful Warrior. This lecture is based primarily on a maamor the Rebbe delivered on this Shabbat in 1965, exploring the spiritual dimension of spiritual warfare and the peaceful warrior.