yitzchokm wrote on 06 Aug 2025 02:04:
What you wrote in the name of the מאור עינים is what the Tanya is calling העלאת המדות, meaning when you have love for זנות you should think about the source of love which is to love Hashem and to elevate your love of זנות to love of Hashem. The Tanya writes that this Avodah only applies to צדיקים whose desire for זנות isn't coming from their own level and not to people like us. We should use distraction instead. The idea of העלאת המדות is quoted extensively in ספרי חסידות but the Tanya writes that it doesn't apply to us.
The תניא פרק לא writes
אַךְ שְׁעַת הַכּוֹשֶׁר, שֶׁהִיא שָׁעָה הַמְיוּחֶדֶת וּרְאוּיָה לְכָךְ לְרוֹב בְּנֵי אָדָם, הִיא בְּשָׁעָה שֶׁהוּא עָצֵב בְּלָאו הָכֵי מִמִּילֵּי דְעָלְמָא, אוֹ כָּךְ בְּלִי שׁוּם סִבָּה, אֲזַי הִיא שְׁעַת הַכּוֹשֶׁר לְהַפֵּךְ הָעֶצֶב לִהְיוֹת מִ״מָּרֵי דְחוּשְׁבָּנָא״ הַנִּזְכָּר לְעֵיל, וּלְקַיֵּים מַאֲמַר רַבּוֹתֵינוּ־זִכְרוֹנָם־לִבְרָכָה ״לְעוֹלָם יַרְגִּיז וְכוּ׳״, כַּנִּזְכָּר לְעֵיל, וּבָזֶה יִפָּטֵר מֵהָעַצְבוּת שֶׁמִּמִּילֵּי דְעָלְמָא.
In פרק כח he is referring to a person who has הרהורי תאוות which usually means that the person is not in a מצב of אהבה it the opposite it's usually coming from depression loneliness etc. and that's what he is writing in פרק לא that when you are in that מצב of depression (מרא שחורה) you should use it for עבודת השם, and the same applies when a person is in a מצב of אהבה.
Sometimes הרהורי תאווה could also come to a person from excitement, in that situation the נפש הבהמי is in a mode of אהבה in that situation it's easier to be עובד השם באהבה then when you are just in regular routine mood.