Baal HaSulam, Writings of Baal HaSulam, Letter 17: This is because there is he who walks, who is worse than he who sits idly. It is he who deflects from the road, for the path of truth is a very thin line that one walks until one comes to the King’s palace.

One who begins to walk at the beginning of the line needs great care so as not to deviate to the right or to the left of the line even as much as a hair’s breadth. This is so because if at first the deviation is as a hair’s breadth, even if one continues completely straight, it is certain that he will no longer come to the King’s palace, as he is not stepping on the true line…

Question: What shall we do to defend ourselves and stay on the right track if we are entirely in the hands of the upper force?

Answer: Indeed, if I am in the world that is governed by the upper force, then why should I be taking care of myself? Can’t this force take care of me? It is said that the Creator puts one’s hand on the good fate and says: “Choose it!” It is He who brings us to the group, the teacher, and the books. From whom should I defend myself if there is “none else besides Him?”

However, in order to clarify the point of adhesion, to become wise, sensitive, and accomplished according to the Creator’s level, I have to fight against all forces that are seemingly opposite to Him. I have to elucidate them, to sort them and figure out which ones act “for” and which “against.” In this war, among the “allies” and “opponents,” I have to come to a conclusion that I am not able to cope with this on my own, even though I have feelings, a brain, and a certain experience.

I still need the Creator next to me irrespective of my mind and feelings that help me only in the beginning and afterward only interfere. This explains why I call for the Creator’s help and fight only together with Him, which is called fighting by the “power of faith.”

This turns me into a judge, a general commander in the Creator’s war against Amalek, staying between the two of them. This entire war unfolds in accordance with my clarifications and requests. This is the way we advance.

There are fatal “mistakes” that are hard to explain. In order to understand them, one has see the entire system as a whole. One makes a small insignificant mistake in the very beginning of one’s path in the situations that one doesn’t understand and thus loses the track and can’t return to it.

In one of his letters, Baal HaSulam describes a person who was given a lucky chance to get to the Garden of Eden. There, he feels that the Creator is standing right behind him. He turns around and follows the Creator, and then all of a sudden figures that he failed to tell the place where the Garden of Eden ended and the Hell, which is next to it right behind the fence, started. He exits the Garden of Eden and gets back to his regular life. The Creator stays in the Garden and locks the door in the wall until the next time, maybe after a couple of life circles.

Of course, we cannot advance without making mistakes. It is said: “There is no righteous man on earth who does good and does not sin.” However, it is said about other mistakes that we make when the Creator teaches us and forces us to err so that we deeper understand the basics where we should never make mistakes.

At each step there is a mistake that the Creator brings me to. However, He holds me by the hand, like an adult holds the child, leads me to this error, and says: “See, you might have fallen here, this place is dangerous.” He helps me feel problematic places. I’m like a child in the hands of an adult who carries and teaches me, and thus I’m not scared at all and feel confident on His hands.
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From the 1st part of the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 2/6/13, Writings of Baal HaSulam

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