"If you go out to war against your enemies, and the Lord your G-d will deliver him into your hands, and you take his captives..." (Devarim 21:10).
"If you go out" is stated in the singular, for each Jew has no greater enemy than his own evil inclination. The Torah promises that if he goes out to battle against it, he will defeat it.
(the Baal Shem Tov)
"...you may take [her] for yourself as a wife" (Deuteronomy 21:11).
This is the most effective means against the evil inclination. When a man is occupied with toil and bears the responsibility of a family, his mind is not given over to the evil inclination or to thoughts of sin and folly.
(Toldot Yaakov Yosef)
The Thirst Increases
The darkness of the animal soul intensifies the yearning of the Divine soul for G-d. It is similar to a man in a barren desert, where the absence of water only increases his thirst for it.
(the Previous Rebbe)
Absolute Victory
It is impossible to reach peace between the two souls—the Divine and the animal—except through the absolute victory of the Divine soul. If, Heaven forbid, the reverse occurs, that is not peace, for even in the moment of sin the Divine soul remains faithful to G-d.
(the Rebbe)
Striking the Evil Inclination with its Own Weapon
In the war with the evil inclination, one needs “and you take his captives”—to study its ways of battle and the methods it uses to ensnare a person. We must use those very same methods against it.
(the Baal Shem Tov)
