Day 46/50: More on Unwanted Thoughts

וְנָֽתַתָּ֖ אֶל־הָֽאָרֹ֑ן אֵ֚ת הָֽעֵדֻ֔ת אֲשֶׁ֥ר אֶתֵּ֖ן אֵלֶֽיךָ

And you shall place into the ark the testimony, which I will give you.

Hakadosh Baruch Hu created the world in such a way that men and women are attracted to one another and, because of this, people get married, have children and populate the Earth. If it bothers you that you struggle with inappropriate thoughts, that is already something you should be proud of. If we get down on ourselves, we become sad, and the sadness brings even more yiush. However, the moment we start to look at ourselves in a positive light, we will see that the thoughts will come much less often.

The Ba’al Hatanya writes about those who subdue these bad thoughts:

The Zohar extols the great satisfaction before Hashem when the sitra achra (the other side) is subdued here below. For then the glory of Hakadosh Baruch Hu rises above all, even more than is possible through any praise. And this ascent is greater than all else. Therefore, no person should feel depressed, even should he be engaged all his days in this conflict, for perhaps because of this he was created, and this is his avodah — to constantly subjugate the sitra achra.

In the Chassidic literature it is brought down that getting bad thoughts and fantasies is actually a zechus because they offer an opportunity for teshuva and tikkun for past aveiros. So many people get down when they get these thoughts and feel bad about themselves. But these thoughts are there in order for a person to chase them away and merit true teshuva. Kabalistically, the thoughts have somewhat of a life of their own and actually WANT to be uplifted! So just realize that your current challenges are intended for you to attain teshuvah shleima. Knowing this should invigorate us for continued growth.

One of the best ways to chase away bad thoughts is through short Teffilos like “Please Hashem, save me from lust! I want to love You, the source of all good, and not flesh and blood”. Or; “Ribono Shel Olam, maybe it’s my fault that I have these thoughts, but I don’t want them. Please help me to distract myself to something else and leave them be.” Even short “foxhole” type prayers can work wonders like: “Hashem, Help me. I can’t do this alone!”