How is it possible to know when, it’s the good voice, or the bad voice, talking inside our heads?”

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Rabbi Yosef Yitzchok Schneerson (1880 -1950) once spoke about the craftiness and shrewdness of the evil inclination.

Inside every person there are two whole and complete independent forces of life. One is the  G-dly soul, and the other is the animalistic and evil soul. The mandate and mission of the G-dly soul is to infuse our consciousness and lives with an interest, enthusiasm and attachment to   G-dly pursuits.

The goal of the animal soul is just the opposite. To excite us with immediate gratification, and keep us at this point, at the expense of discipline, personal improvement and progress towards G-dly awareness and pursuits.

The deeper identity, desire and need of all people, is to be in contact with, and actualize the  G-dly soul. The goal of the G-dly soul is to motivate and elevate the body and a life of crassness and materialism to one of value and meaning. It is only then, a person finds fulfillment, purpose and true happiness.

The problem is, the animal soul presents its’ temptations in such a convincing and tantalizing way, we can be blinded, side swiped, or even actually persuaded that this may be the way to pursue in our lives.

The evil inclination will go so far as to intentionally disguise himself in a pious righteous argument, when its entire underlying intention is always only one goal, to mislead the individual person away from fulfilling his true G-dly mission and purpose, to trap him in the now at the expense of the greater rewards and benefits of the later.

One of the students who was listening to all this asked, “So Rebbi. If it is true that the Evil inclination disguises his arguments in pious appearances, how is it possible to know when it’s the good voice or the bad voice talking inside our heads?”

Rabbi Yosef Yitzchok responded. “Keep the following general rule in your mind. When a person is considering or already on his way to do something that will either help or will actually be a service to G-d, a good deed, any thought that may be based on whatever pious argument to stop or delay the good deed being done, is nothing more than the evil inclination disguised.”

Let me share with you another story that will shed light on this guidance.

Once, a great Rabbi was given a large sum of money, let’s say it was 1000 golden coins to distribute to charity. About a week after this, the Rabbi was receiving people in his chamber for private audiences and one of the poor fellows poured his heart out to the Rabbi.

“Rabbi, I was about to have my daughter married next week when we discovered all our money saved for the wedding has been lost. The boys side has threatened to call off the wedding if we do not come up with the cash by next week. Rabbi, how will I ever come up with the 1000 gold coins by next week?”

Immediately, the Rabbi thought of the 1000 gold coins he had for the purpose of giving away for a needy cause. But then, another thought came to his mind. “Why should I give all the money to one cause, when even according to the Torah, it’s considered more meritorious to give the same amount of money to multiple causes, than giving the same amount of money to one cause.”

But then I thought to myself. “Before the poor soul came into my room, and the money was waiting to be distributed, I had still not decided to whom, or how, I would give out that money. It was only after the pressing need came to my attention, and I was considering to help this fellow, that the thought to forgo an immediate need and opportunity, came to mind.

This deferment to give out the money, and rejection of the poor soul, can only be the evil inclination trying his best to push me down and away from doing what is right and necessary at this moment.”  With these last thoughts, the Rabbi opened his safe and handed the 1000 gold coins to the pour soul.

“Here is your money, G-d is great.” Said the Rabbi. “G-d, already prepared the cure to your “sickness” in advance, through the money that was given to me.”

Many times we all face similar dilemmas. Give up on the workout and sleep a little longer, “because” I will be “better rested”. Let me just this once veer off my improved pattern of behavior “because” ……… after all I deserve breaking the rules once in a while.

Anything, that causes a weakness or slowdown on a path already in progress for the good, is the little or big internal self-centered animal, evil inclination.