Dear Friends, please ask questions about these passages from the great Kabbalists. The commentaries in brackets are mine.

The Importance of the Intention during the Study

If he intends to study the Torah in order to receive the reward of the Torah, called “Light that Reforms,” then his study is beneficial. However, when he forgets the goal of studying the Torah, the Torah is not instrumental in completing the work of making a desire of bestowal …This is the meaning of the words, “Any Torah without work [on the intention to get corrected by the Light of the Torah] ends in annulment” [is void of its Light].
– Rabash, The Rungs of the Ladder, “What Is Torah and Work on the Path of the Creator”

One of the wonders of studying the secrets of Torah is that when a person studies its concepts out of love, even though he is not capable of perceiving the matters with intellect, they elevate his essence nonetheless, hence these matters shine their Light upon him.
– Rav Raiah Kook, Orot HaTorah [Lights of the Torah], Chapter 10, section 10
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