Likutei Moharan 72:3/ליקוטי מוהר"ן ע״ב:ג׳

13. This is also the meaning of: Even the Supernal Crown is dark in comparison to the Cause of Causes, as in (Psalms 82:5), “They do not know or understand; they walk about in darkness.” This is the holiness of on high, which is the evil inclination of the abovementioned holy tzaddikim. {Also on high, in connection with God {so to speak}, we find the aforementioned form of evil inclination. As our Sages, of blessed memory, expounded: “At first, it aro se in thought to create the world with the Attribute of Judgment,” which corresponds to the evil inclination, as explained above. But afterwards, so to speak, He broke the evil inclination and “included also the Attribute of Compassion…” (Yelamdeinu, Bereishit 1). And from this, the power to break the evil inclination evolved and descended below. For without this, we would have been powerless to break the evil inclination. This is likewise how this expression is explained in the Talmud, where [the Sages] said: This itself is His great might, that He subdues His inclination in showing extraordinary patience to the wicked (Yoma 69b). Thus we find the abovementioned matter explained: God’s suppressing the Attribute of Judgment and showing patience is, for Him, the aspect of breaking the evil inclination. See also the many places in the Zohar which clarify that the Attribute of Judgment is {the root of} the aspect of the evil inclination.}

2The same is true of King Shlomo, of blessed memory, who married the daughter of Pharaoh and many other non-Jewish women. It is certainly inconceivable that this was the work of the vulgar evil inclination, since he was genuinely wise, as it is written (1 Kings 5:11), “For he was wiser than all men.” And we have already established the rule that for someone with but a minimum of genuine wisdom, this temptation is not considered a test at all. Even if a beautiful woman propositions him in a secluded place, so that he has the ability to satisfy the desire, he regards this as but foolishness and madness. He does not consider it a test at all.

3As for that which is said in the Torah in praise of Yosef the Tzaddik for having withstood the test, this involves a mystery. For the essential test is in the abovementioned aspect of mitigating the severities, in order to defeat the evil inclination of on high. It is not in order to defeat the vulgar evil inclination, which is not a test at all. Similarly, Shlomo’s blemish was in this aspect alone, as explained above.