The nature of this world is egoistic, and we were born into desire whose nature is to receive. Hence, this desire is constantly pulling and pushing me toward pleasure, not leaving me alone for a second. Each moment it is creating a new need in me, enticing me with new sources of pleasure. It turns out that in this world I am under the persistent pressure of the force of nature that awakens in me the sensation of pain and suffering. Hence, if I do nothing, there is no punishment. The urge to do something derives from nature because I am controlled by the force that is pushing me “from behind.”

On the other hand, there is no pushing force in spiritual development since there is no coercion there. It is up to me to gain, collect, accumulate, and arrange a force within myself that will advance me. Therefore, in order to help us who reside within our egoism (the desire to receive pleasure) to advance spiritually, we are “punished” if we don’t work. That is, we are punished for inaction.

If we start paying attention to our feelings, we will recognize that they come from the Creator. This will greatly help us to react more correctly and advance. If we start seeing the Creator’s attitude to us, punishment for our idleness in work, in every state that we go through, we will be able to better prepare for each new action moment to moment. We will see that the Creator is always first and that He invites and guides us to act. All we need to do is pay attention to what He is saying, to how He is working within us, and according to that, discern the details of our work. Afterward, our entire work entails uniting our souls, where the Creator will reveal Himself to us.

Within this unity, sensing how the Creator is guiding us, we will begin to perceive the Direct Light, the Reflected Light, and all the other actions that we are studying in the wisdom of Kabbalah. We will begin to perceive how they manifest among us. In this way, the Creator pushes us to connect so that our desires correspond with His.

Hence, the Creator doesn’t punish but corrects our trajectory.

From the 1st part of the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 7/18/10, Article, “I Am the First and I Am the Last”

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