Upon further consideration, it appears that this helps explain what we have learned in the following Gemara (Succah 52a): "שבעה שמות יש לו ליצר הרע, הקב"ה קראו רע... משה קראו ערל... דוד קראו טמא... שלמה קראו שונא... ישעיה קראו מכשול... יחזקאל קראו אבן... יואל קראו צפוני". The yetzer hara has seven names. HKB”H called it “evil” (“rah”) . . . David called it “impure” (“tamei”) . . . Shlomo called it the “enemy” (“sonei”) . . . Yeshayah called it an “obstacle” (“michshol”) . . . Yechezkel called it a “stone” (“ehven”) . . . Yoel called it “the hidden one” (“tzifoni”), as it says (Yoel 2, 20): “And I will distance ‘the hidden one’ from you.” The Maharsha (ibid.) explains that these appellations refer to seven distinct aspects or forces of the yetzer hara corresponding to the seven days of creation. Each name is associated with a specific category of misdeed.
He is undoubtedly referring to the seven midos—character traits—HKB”H ingrained in every human being: חסד, גבורה, תפארת, נצח, הוד, יסוד, מלכות. Each of these attributes possesses a good side related to kedushah and a bad side related to tumah. The Maharsha’s explanation concurs with what is taught in Pardes Rimonim (23, 10) in the name of numerous early scholars: Each of the days of the week aligns with one of the seven midos. This is the significance of the seven names of the yetzer hara; it has seven evil forces that cause a Jew to sin with one of the seven negative midos.
This explains very nicely a statement in the Gemara (Kiddushin 30b): "אמר רב יצחק, יצרו של אדם מתחדש עליו בכל יום... ואמר רבי שמעון בן לוי, יצרו של אדם מתגבר עליו בכל יום ומבקש המיתו"—Rav Yitzchak said: A person’s yetzer renews itself against him daily . . . Rabbi Shimon ben Levi said: A person’s yetzer overwhelms him every day and attempts to kill him. It appears that they are both teaching us the same thing—that on each of the seven days of the week, the yetzer hara utilizes one of its respective forces of tumah reflecting one of its seven names. So, it is as if there is a new yetzer every day assaulting a person trying to cause him to sin each day with a different, distinct midah.
We can now better appreciate the vital lesson taught by the Imrei Yosef. Prior to departing for Charan, Yaakov Avinu secluded himself in the Beis Midrash of Eiver to study Torah for fourteen years—seven years to learn how to combat and eliminate the seven midos of the klipah—i.e., avoiding bad, improper behavior—and seven years to establish and perfect the seven midos reflecting kedushah.
Let us embellish this thought. Why was it important to Yaakov Avinu to rectify his seven midos specifically before embarking for Charan? In truth, he had already worked on the tikun of his personal midos during his 63 years prior to that. Now, however, he was embarking on a new venture—to establish the foundation of the future generations of the people bearing his name—Bnei Yisrael—the descendants of the twelve shevatim. Thus, they, too, would refine their seven midos—both learning to avoid bad behavior stemming from the forces of evil and learning to perform good deeds and serve HKB”H based on the seven midos of kedushah.
