Likutei Moharan 62:2/ליקוטי מוהר"ן ס״ב:ב׳

12. Food is purified through faith.

2In truth, it is a great mitzvah to sharpen the intellect in order to understand clearly that which God demarcated as comprehensible to the human mind. Concerning this it is said: And know what to answer the heretic (Avot 2:14) .

3For there are different types of questions: There is the question whose solution a man can understand, of which it is said: “And know what [to answer the heretic].” And there is the question whose solution is incomprehensible to the human mind; only in the Future will the solution be revealed. It is forbidden for a person to delve into these. Anyone who does rely on his intellect and delves into them, of this it is said (Proverbs 2:19): “None that go to her return.” This is because for such a question he may not rely on his intellect, but rather be steadfast in faith.

4Even for those questions that have a solution—there are times when the paths of the intellect are blocked, so that a person does not know how to respond to it. He is then injected with heresy and does not know how to respond to it. With each person, this heresy is commensurate with his level: he can understand either more, or less.

5For a person must worship God with both inclinations, with the evil inclination being subservient to the good inclination. This is as in the teaching of the Sages, of blessed memory: “You shall love [God your Lord] with all leVaVekha (your heart)” (Deuteronomy 6:5)—with both your inclinations (Berakhot 54a). His heart should be whole with God his Lord; there should be no maChLoKet (dispute) between his two inclinations—i.e., his heart should not be divided, the aspect of “Their heart is ChaLaK (divided)” (Hosea 10:2) .

6In truth, were a person to know with a whole heart that “all the earth is filled with His Glory” (Isaiah 6:3), and that the Holy Blessed One stands [nearby him] during prayer and hears the prayer, he would surely pray with great enthusiasm. He would be extremely meticulous to recite his words with focused intention. However, because a person does not know this with a whole heart, he does not get very enthusiastic and is not very meticulous. And each person’s enthusiasm and meticulousness is commensurate with the limitations of his intellect and knowledge. This knowledge stems from the good inclination in the heart, while the concealment of this knowledge is due to the evil inclination in the heart. Indeed, this concealment of the knowledge is the heresy and questioning; the evil inclination perplexes his heart so that he should succumb to evil (cf. Proverbs 28:14) .

7The way to rectify this dispute in the heart is at its root. That is, in its essence, dispute of the evil inclination is rooted in the dispute of holiness. When [the latter] descends level after level until it descends below, it becomes dispute of the evil inclination, in the aspect of “Their heart is divided.” It instills him with heresy and conceals from him the intellect’s paths, so that he does not know how to answer.

8Dispute of holiness is the dispute of the Tannaim and Amoraim in the Talmud: one prohibits while the other permits. But as a result of their [dispute] descending below, it becomes dispute of the evil inclination. Thus, when one rectifies the dispute of holiness, dispute of the evil inclination is consequently eliminated, since its hold is solely from there.

9The rectification for dispute of holiness is legal rulings. A legal ruling is the peace and resolution of the dispute of the Tannaim and Amoraim. By studying the Codes of Law, a person binds himself to the peace of holiness and rectifies the dispute of holiness. Then, the dispute of the evil inclination in his heart is eliminated and he is able to worship God ‘with all his heart’—with both inclinations. The gates of the intellect are thus open for him, so that he knows how to answer the heretic.

10All this comes about through the aforementioned resolution and peace. Thus the letters ShaLOM (peace) are an acronym of “V’da Mah Shetashiv L’apikoros (And know what to answer the heretic).” Through the peace, he knows how to answer the heresy in his heart.

11This is the explanation of “I will praise You with an upright leVaV (heart), when I study Your just laws” (Psalms 119:7). Specifically “heart”—with both inclinations. When is this? When “I study Your just laws”—i.e., through the study of the Codes of Law.

12Yet it is forbidden for a person to delve into the questions that have no solution. Rather, he should strengthen himself with faith. And when his faith is perfect, his eating can effect a union between the Holy One and the Divine Presence, as mentioned above. This is the aspect of “and nourish faith” (Psalms 37:3)—i.e., the aspect of eating through faith.