Likutei Moharan 8:5/ליקוטי מוהר"ן ח׳:ה׳

15. Now, by sighing, a person draws the ruach-of-life to the lack about which he sighs. This makes it whole. Nevertheless, one cannot [attempt to] provoke the wicked. For when a person provokes the wicked man, and he then sighs and draws ruach from his rav of the husks—his ruach being momentarily mighty, so that “he blows away all his enemies”—he is capable of harming him, God forbid.

2Therefore, not everyone may confront the wicked; only someone who is a perfect tzaddik. A perfect tzaddik is someone who is on the level of (Proverbs 12:21), “No sin will befall the tzaddik.” In other words, he has already expelled and eliminated whatever bad he may have had, to the point where he is certain that he will in no way be brought to sin.

3This matter [of eliminating the bad] is as follows: There are four fundamental elements: fire, air, water, earth. Above, in their transcendent root, they correspond to the four letters [of God’s Holy Name] YHVH (cf. Tikkuney Zohar #22). But, below [in our world], they are a mixture of good and bad. The perfect tzaddik, however, has completely distinguished and separated the bad from the good, so that he is without even a residue of bad from any one of these four elements—which encompass all the traits, as is known. When he is on this level, [the tzaddik] is permitted to provoke the wicked. <And those who are attached to such a tzaddik may also provoke them.>

4The matter is this: Every wicked man has to have a conduit through which he receives his ruach in order to provide wholeness [in place] of the lack. This conduit is the particular bad trait from the four elements which he drew [upon himself] and [with which he is] empowered. Through this conduit and path he receives the ruach-of-life needed to fill this lack. And when the tzaddik wants to humble him, he must descend into that bad trait with which the wicked man has empowered himself, to subdue and destroy the conduit <through> which the wicked man receives his < ruach>.

5This is why the tzaddik must be a perfect tzaddik, without any bad whatsoever; so that the storm wind, which is also the wicked man’s ruach-of-life, cannot, God forbid, overpower and harm the tzaddik when he descends into the wicked man’s bad trait in order to destroy it. For the bad has no hold or grasp on the perfect tzaddik; there isn’t anywhere [for the bad] to attach itself to him.

6{Even the bad quality itself into which the tzaddik descends in order to bring about its destruction has no hold on him. His entry there is solely for the purpose of subduing and casting it down, as in (Genesis 13:1), “And Avraham ascended from Egypt.”}

7This is: “Mashpil Resha’im Adey Eretz,” the initial letters of which are [also the initial letters of] Esh, Ruach, Mayim, Afar (fire, air, water, earth). These are all the four elements, which encompass all qualities and traits. A person has to totally purify these [traits] so that none of the bad found in any trait of the four elements has any hold on him. At that point, as mentioned, he is a perfect tzaddik. And only then, when he separates the bad from the four elements—fire, air, water, earth—does he “cast down the wicked to the ground.”

8This is not the case for the tzaddik who lacks perfection. Even if he is not guilty of any sin, he still has not totally separated out the bad. The bad still exists in potential and it is therefore forbidden for him to antagonize the wicked. For the bad has where to attach itself to him. The extended ruach of the wicked man, which is mighty in its moment, just as the storm wind, has the power to harm him, God forbid.

9As our Sages taught: [If someone asks,] “Is it not written (Psalms 37:1), ‘Do not engage in conflict with those who are wicked?’” [answer him] that this is said by someone whose heart worries (Berakhot 7b). Rashi explains: “This is someone who fears because of the sins in his hand.” Specifically “in his hand,” because, as we have said, in reality he is not guilty of any sin. It is just that he is still afraid of the sins which are in his hand and his power to commit. Potentially, the bad still exists. He has not as yet merited the level of “no sin will befall the tzaddik”; he cannot yet be certain that he will in no way be brought to sin, God forbid. It is therefore forbidden for him to provoke the wicked.

10And this is (Habakkuk 1:13), “Why do You hold Your peace, as the wicked man devours a tzaddik greater than he.” Our Sages taught: He devours “a tzaddik greater than he,” [but not a perfect tzaddik] (Berakhot, ibid.). Specifically “devours,” because [the wicked man] literally devours him by extending his ruach, which is mighty in its moment. But the perfect tzaddik is not devoured. This is because his heart is not made anxious by a concern that he might in some way be brought to sin. For he has already totally eliminated the bad from all the traits and desires of each of the four elements.

11Therefore, this perfect tzaddik—and all those joined with him—are permitted to provoke the wicked. For this tzaddik is capable of descending into the conduits of all their bad traits with which they have empowered themselves, to break and eliminate them. And, by means of this, he “casts down the wicked to the ground,” as mentioned above.