The previous Rebbe related a story of the Tzemach Tzedek. One year, many guests came to Lubavitch, to the Rebbe, the Tzemach Tzedek, for a private audience [yechidus).
The Tzemach Tzedek invited the elder Chassidim to fabreng in his office and said a good “L’chaim!”
He then left his room, entered the main hall, where he jumped on a couch, and then onto a table and announced, “What is the difference to me if I have a whole desire [ratzon] or half a desire? But, I must have at least, half a ratzon!”
Then he jumped down and danced in a circle with the Chassidim. When the dance finished, the Tzemach Tzedek jumped back on the table and said a quote from King David, “My heart is empty within me!”
He meant that even though half a ratzon is acceptable, his own level was the level of wholehearted devotion to Hashem and His service, a whole ratzon.
The sages explain that Dovid HaMelech had fasted so often that he “killed” his evil impulse. The word “empty” in Hebrew has the same numerical equivalent as the word “life.” When King David killed his impulse through fasting, he was able to start a new life of wholehearted service to Hashem.
In G-dly service, dedicating one’s ratzon to Hashem does not necessarily mean sacrificing the body, it could mean sacrificing a single, personal desire in favor of service to Hashem. This is what is meant by, “half a ratzon.”
“Tanya” Teaches Self-Sacrifice
“Tanya” teaches that those who sit and learn Torah would often postpone their midday meal for one hour and continue learning Torah during that time. They denied their own desire to eat for an hour to learn Torah. After that hour, they would fulfill their personal desire for lunch and then return to learning.
A person could say, “What good is it to have one small half a ratzon for Hashem while I still have many alien desires?”
The Tzemach Tzedek answers that starting with one half a ratzon, a person can—and will—eventually nullify all alien desires until he has perfected his service to Hashem, i.e., “My heart is empty within me”
The reason is that ratzon influences the soul itself. To illustrate, our Rebbe cites a story of a person who escaped from danger through a place that was too narrow for him to fit. His ratzon to escape enabled him to compress his body so that it fit through the narrow opening.
From half a ratzon, a person will eventually reach the level of serving Hashem with a whole heart. His heart will then be void within him and he will start a new life!
