Fearless Before the Yetzer

בא כו' כי אני הכבדתי כו'.

“Come, etc., for I have hardened, etc.”

The verse teaches that God Himself hardened Pharaoh’s heart.

להודיע לכל איש ישראל לחזק לבו שלא לירא מגודל כחו של היצה"ר ורוב הסתרות שיש לכל דבר שבקדושה כי גם זה רק מהשי"ת שנותן כח גם לסט"א.

To make known to every Jew, to strengthen his heart not to fear the great power of the evil inclination and the many concealments surrounding all matters of holiness, for this too comes only from God, who grants strength even to the side of impurity.

All spiritual obstacles, even those that seem to oppose holiness, are ultimately empowered by God and therefore should not be feared.

וממילא מי שיש לו רצון אמת אין לו לירא מזה כדכ' ברצות ה' דרכי איש כו'

Therefore, one who possesses true desire has nothing to fear from this, as it is written: “When God desires a person’s ways…”

True inner will aligns a person with divine favor, neutralizing the power of spiritual opposition.

ובאמת זה יותר גבורה והכרת גבורתו של הקב"ה מה שכל יכול לתת כח לעשות נגד רצונו ית'.

And in truth, this is a greater might and recognition of God’s strength—that the Almighty can give power to act even against His own will.

God’s greatness is seen not only in His control, but also in His allowing genuine freedom, even when misused.

ובמד' כובד אבן כו' אין זה יגיעה במה אני ייגע במי שמכעיס לפני בדברים בטלים.

And in the Midrash: “The weight of a stone… this is no toil; how am I wearied by one who angers Me with trivialities?”

The Midrash teaches that God is not burdened by the world’s heaviness, but by humanity’s trivial provocations.

ותמהו המפ' כי מה זה יגיעה לפניו ית' מחטא האדם.

And the commentators wondered: how can human sin be a toil before God?

They ask why human wrongdoing would cause divine “effort.”

אבל הפי' כנ"ל שזה שנותן הש"י כח לב"ו להכעיס בדברים בטלים.

But the explanation is as stated above: that God grants a human being the power to anger Him through trivial matters.

The strain lies in God’s granting humans freedom that can be misused.

וגם לסט"א עצמו שורש הרע זה יגיעה לפניו יותר מבריאת שמים וארץ:

And even for the side of impurity itself, the root of evil—this is a greater toil before God than the creation of heaven and earth.

Sustaining the possibility of evil requires more divine “effort” than creating the entire cosmos.

Summary: The Sefat Emet teaches that all forces opposing holiness originate from God, who grants even evil its power. Thus one should not fear them; true desire aligns a person with God. Paradoxically, God’s greatest strength is revealed in allowing freedom, even to act against His will.