However, there is a big yetzer hara that distracts a person from believing in this powerful revelation. The moment a person tries to strengthen himself based on this concept, his ego begins to analyze the situation, “Why should I want advice that works for a loser after he fails? I want to be a winner who succeeds in Torah and avodas Hashem!”
This mindset comes from arrogance and thinking only about personal success, completely disregarding Hashem’s kavod. Even if such a person overcomes all his obstacles and sees progress, he won’t find any joy in the fact that he gives Hashem nachas and he won’t be able to escape the stench of his own ego. And it goes without saying that when he faces disappointments, as is inevitable, he will have no way to encourage himself. He won’t be able to strengthen himself by remembering that Hashem takes pleasure in what he has done, since his pride won’t allow him to do this.
Rebbe Nachman explains that this was Korach’s mistake. He was a tzaddik, but nonetheless, he fell and became a heretic due to his arrogance and craving for kavod.
Therefore, we must know that true success and joy in life can come only from eliminating our arrogance. At the same time, we should realize that overcoming the ego is a long process. There is no easy way to defeat it, since it is deeply embedded in our nature to find strength only from our concrete achievements. However, there is a path for us to purify ourselves of pride by attaching ourselves to the spirit of the great tzaddikim who reveal to us the truth of the Torah.
