We should discern between righteous and wicked in terms of the action, and righteous and wicked in terms of the intention. In terms of the actions, the righteous are the Ultra-Orthodox and the wicked are the secular. But with respect to the intention, righteous and wicked go by a completely different order. In other words, in terms of the action, both are righteous. But with regard to the intention, there is a difference: Righteous are those who work for the Creator, and wicked are those who work for themselves. However, in terms of the work, both are righteous (Rabash, “Why the Speech of Shabbat Must Not Be as the Speech of a Weekday, in the Work”).
A Tzadik, a righteous one, is one who fulfills the Creator’s will. Therefore, in regard to the inanimate, the vegetative, and the animal levels, there are no questions; they are all righteous. For example, fish in a fish tank are one hundred percent righteous: nature acts on them, and they fulfill its directives one hundred percent.
At the same time a person cannot be one hundred percent righteous. The Creator gave him a certain level of freedom, and in the degree of this freedom a person does whatever he wishes.
If he fulfills the Creator’s desire to this measure with his effort, with his desire, then he is called righteous. If he does not do that, then he acts as though in the opposite way, and he is called “wicked.”
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From the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 3/14/26, Rabash, “Why the Speech of Shabbat Must Not Be as the Speech of a Weekday, in the Work”
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