Question: Can our efforts be viewed as preparation for the spiritual life?

Answer: Yes, they can. Effort is a broad idea. However, note the following:

1. It isn’t that I run around for no reason like a child for whom running is reason enough in and of itself. Rather, my effort has to be purposeful. I exert it where the breaking occurred, in oneness with others, since from love of others, I will reach the degree of love for the Creator.

2. The effort must be motivated by the Light which, essentially, arranges the next step for me. There, I may have to face greater despair or higher attainment, deeper emptiness or greater fulfillment. It doesn’t matter what it is. This is the next stage of the journey since we move forward between the right line and the left line.

Hence, besides the right place to exert an effort, I need the right source of the Light, the books that connect me to it. Therefore, I have to be in the group that studies the sources.

3. Additionally, I need a mentor in order to learn the right way to work with the books and how to relate to the group.

If a person has all three of these tools and knows how to use them, he is all set. Now, everything is up to him. Time after time, he must evaluate these three components: the teacher, the books, and the group, and seek an opportunity to utilize them in the most effective way.
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From the 1st part of the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 1/9/2011, “What Are the Powers Which Are Needed for the Work”

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