Thus, all improper expressions of our natures and attributes are really forces of impurity which feed off kedushah—it is only that they express themselves in distorted ways. This is one example of the way forces of impurity are יונק from kedushah. We’ve all heard stories of the way evil forces sought to snatch holy neshamos for themselves—through a dybbuk or otherwise. But the truth is that we all experience this phenomenon whenever our kochos hanefesh express themselves improperly: It is the forces of evil seeking to latch onto the kedushah within us.
Dispersing the Forces of Wickedness
The more a person recognizes that he doesn’t really have an attribute called anger, but rather a property called ...erifאש/ he doesn’t really possess a quality called s'ereht...גאוה no such entity, rather, he has a neshamah that emanates from an exalted place, and when it’s surrounded by impure layers, it expresses itself as a wish for others recognize his superiority, and so forth.... The more he recognizes this truth—seeing the real essence, as we have mentioned— the more he will deprive these forces of oxygen. When a person stops believing that forces of impurity have their own power, they lose their value in his eyes, and they automatically lose their potency.
Imagine a person who always has a sharp retort, a ready pithy remark—until one day we find out that this isn’t his own wisdom; he has been lifting it from some book all along, hoping that no one will learn his secret. In one instant, he goes from being admired and idolized to becoming a laughingstock. Why is this? Because everyone realizes that it was never him....
Believing in Something Gives It Power
Leeching from Holiness
It is the same way with the הטומאה כוחות. Sometimes, we see evil governments or leaders, and it’s clear that they draw all their strength from latching onto kedushah. When we realize this, their prestige goes down significantly. The more we believe in something, the more power it has over us, and vice versa. We find this yesod in the introduction to Chovos HaLevavos: When we believe in nature, we’re ruled by nature, and when we believe in the Ribbono shel Olam, we will merit to be controlled by Him alone.
And so it is with the forces of impurity. The more we see the truth—that these forces aren’t entities in and of themselves—the hollower they will seem to us. Our outlook on life, the things that happen around us and inside of us, how we react and how we behave—if improper and negative—are not real: they’re layers forged over something real and holy. The real natures and attributes are holy—the light of Hashem. When we recognize this, these false layers will fall away.
