Faith in the Creator’s Ability to Change Us

Free will is the personal, independent decision of human beings to choose that the Creator should rule over us rather than Pharaoh. The power of Pharaoh consists of demonstrating to us the rewards we can receive. We clearly perceive the rewards that can be gained from our egoistic actions; we comprehend these rewards with our reason, and see them with our eyes. The result is known from the start; and is approved by society, by the family, by the parents, and by the children.

Hence, the body asks Pharaoh, “Who is the Lord that I should obey His voice?” (Exodus 5, 2), meaning, “What do I gain from work like this?”

We are thus correct when we see that it is impossible to advance against our own nature. But advancement itself is not the ultimate goal, but only the act of having faith in the Creator’s ability to change us.

Read the rest of this entry »

The Heart Can Not Be Outwitted

In the spiritual states, one’s intellect (reason, wisdom) corresponds to the Light of wisdom (Ohr Hochma). One’s heart, desires, and feelings correspond to the Light of Mercy (Ohr Hassadim). Only when our hearts are ready to listen, can reason affect them. Ohr Hochma can illuminate only in the place where Ohr Hassadim is already present. If Ohr Hassadim is not present, then Ohr Hochma does not illuminate. Such a state is known as “darkness,” or “night.”

But in our world, that is, in an individual who still remains in the enslavement of egoism, reason can never hold domain over the heart, because the heart is the source of all desires. It, alone, is the sole master of the individual, whereas reason has no power to counter the desires of the heart.

Read the rest of this entry »

The Way to Approach the Creator

A correct (effective) way to address the Creator is composed of two stages. First, one must understand that the Creator is absolutely kind to all beings, without exception, and all His actions are benevolent, irrespective of how unpleasant they may appear.

Therefore, the Creator sends us only what is best for us, and fills us with all that is most necessary.

Read the rest of this entry »

Relinquishing Control of Ourselves to the Creator

Our natural war centers on gratifying our egoism and on seizing greater gains, like all wars in our world. However, the meta-war—the war against our own nature—focuses on relinquishing the domain over ourselves to the “enemy”—the Creator. The meta-war attempts to surrender the entire territory in our minds and hearts to the control of the Creator, so that the Creator could fill the territory with Himself, and conquer the entire world, both the little world of the individual, and the greater world as a whole, and endow all creations with His qualities, but in accordance with their will.

Read the rest of this entry »

Why Kabbalists Conceal Their Intentions

The concealment of one’s spiritual level is one of the imperative conditions of a successful spiritual ascent.

Concealment of this type implies the performance of actions so that they are not noticeable to others.

Most important, however, is the concealment of a person’s thoughts and aspirations. If a situation arises in which a Kabbalist must express a point of view, it must be blurred and expressed in very general terms, so that the Kabbalist’s true intentions do not become clear.

Read the rest of this entry »