From the letter by Baal HaSulam (No. 8): We see from the ages ago and up until today, how many people have poisoned their lives with all kinds of suffering and self-torture, and all for the sake of finding some kind of meaning in the service to the Creator, or to come to know the ruler of the world! And all of them have squandered their life in vain, and they left this world as they came, not having achieved anything, and why did the Creator not answered all of their prayers? Why did He pride Himself in front of them? Why, really, did He not move towards them? And it is in that He is called “The most proud of all proud ones”.

In the human race, lives a bitter delusion that compels them to go along the wrong paths in the search for the highest force for the reasons for their bad lives. This search is not correct because we need to search not in the midst of evil, but to clarify where the source of the good is and to strive toward Him, toward reaching similarity with Him, instead of waiting in your current state and demanding from Him to improve your life at the same place, where you are now.

That is why Baal HaSulam writes in his letter that: We see from the ages ago and up until today, how many people have poisoned their lives with all kinds of suffering and self-torture, and all for the sake of finding some kind of meaning in the service to the Creator. But what service is this to the Creator if man suffers and is tormented and at the same time is also searching in this for some kind of a higher meaning? This was not the goal.

In such an approach, there are several distorted conceptions, and therefore all who followed it have squandered their life in vain. One tried to make it better for himself in his place, changing nothing. Another one searched for how to control the Creator in the use for his own benefit. The third one counted on getting closer to the Creator by the means of suffering and to receive a reward for the fact that he suffered. And it is even written that: “Suffering softens egoism, as salt does meat.” From this, fasting and prayers have derived, having passed into all religions.

And all of them have squandered their life in vain, and they left this world as they came because that was not the correct approach. The Creator does not want our suffering. He does not need anything from us besides the attainment of His greatness and mergence with Him, meaning, to attain the same height.

All of our actions, besides the ones aimed at reaching similarity with the Creator, are completely useless and will not lead to anything. And even more so, do not assume that suffering is a part of the path to the Creator. If man suffers, it is a sign that he is disconnected from the Creator and not simply distanced from Him, but he is also moving away in the opposite direction.

While the “drop of unity”, a point of merging is only reached by the means of man constantly striving towards similarity to the Creator, as it is said: “From the love of the people, to the love of the Creator”. All other paths, however, are not the right ones.

Baal HaSulam writes about that with great pain, being sorry that it happens this way throughout the whole of the human history up until today. But what can be done? Taking the chance, we need to try to explain to everyone about what the truth is.
[84638]
From the Preparation to the Lesson 7/29/12

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