Building Upon Our Four Elements

by Leor

A lesson derived from Rav Chaim Vital's Shaarei Kedusha:

A man contains a spiritual foundation of good within him; his good inclination, which is surrounded by a spiritual husk; a shell of evil. Furthermore, man's physical body is comprised of the four elements: Earth, Wind, Fire and Water. Correspondingly, both his good and evil spiritual foundations are comprised of these elements, four good and four evil.
The 613 Mitzvot of the Torah can only be properly performed and accepted by the heavens when a man's character traits are properly developed. If a person is lacking in Middot, his Mitzvot will be inefficient and lacking as well.
There are four essential evil character traits that one must learn to control and avoid, as well as their four counterparts - essential good character traits which one must develop upon. These sets of four good and evil Middot correspond to the sets of four good and evil "elements" mentioned above.

The four are as follows:

1. Fire: Essentially, pride. Subcategories of this trait include anger and stubbornness. The opposite of which is humility and distance from anger.
   
2. Wind: Essentially, idle chatter. Subcategories include flattery, lies, Lashon Hara(evil tongue; gossip) and flaunting. The opposite of which is being hush as a mute.
   
3. Water: Essentially, desires for [worldly] pleasures. Subcategories include delight, whether in theft of an other's monies, wife and other possessions, and jealousy - coveting an other's possessions. The opposite of which is feeling disgust with regards to sorts of physical pleasures.
   
4. Earth: Essentially, melancholy. Subcategories include laziness in fulfillment of Mitzvot (due to the sorrow involved with pursuing worldly possessions, or afflictions that cause dissatisfaction over ones worldly portion). The opposite of which is happiness and satisfaction with ones portion.

A person must strive to perfect these character traits, always refraining from the evil ones and developing the good ones. Before a person can be confident in the performance and acceptance of his Mitzvot, he must first build upon his four elements.