Talks about the Steps of the Ladder, Part 84

What Is the Importance of Subjugation to the Friends?

Baal HaSulam writes that awareness of the force of the Creator’s greatness and the goal’s importance propels us to spirituality. We acquire such a force from society. However, we can only receive it if we feel in our heart that we are small compared to our friends.

If we feel no subjugation in our heart, then we can perform actions as though we feel it. However, true subjugation must be a feeling in the heart. If we can feel subjugation before the society, we can receive something from it and become inspired by our friends. From this state of subjugation, we can gain the strength to spiritually progress.

Therefore, we need to start untangling the chain from its end: to progress in spirituality, there should be an attraction to the Creator in addition to the spark we receive from above. We can obtain this additional force from the society. To receive it from society, we need to see ourselves as smaller compared to the society, according to the principle that only the small can receive from the great. To feel smaller than the society, we must conduct specific actions to feel in our heart, even before we intellectually understand, that we are indeed small.

Even if everyone praises us and says how great we are, we should nevertheless feel small. Yet, even then, we might become haughty to conceal our smallness. The more we feel ourselves as small, the more we will receive strength from the society, which is the only way we can spiritually progress.

We need to be forceful in this matter, strive for the time when we will genuinely feel small, and wonder how to bring about our smallness. We must demand from the society, above all, to provide us with reasons for this, time and again. By nature, we lack this sense of smallness. It is the role of the society to help us feel small. Friends should approach one another and speak of each other’s virtues, saying, for instance, “I heard that this or that friend acted or said such and such, and what they did or said was truly remarkable. They are so wise and wonderful,” and so on. As it is written, “Counters’ envy increases wisdom.”

We need to use the forces at our disposal, including envy. Envy is the main force. It is written that three things bring a person out of this world. What are they? Envy, lust, and honor. We can aim lust at the Creator, which in itself is a great feat. We can also honor the Creator. But envy is of lesser value, a feeling that we primarily direct at friends. We should thus use, cultivate, and tie these traits to the goal so they work to benefit our spiritual progress.

Related Material:
Talks about the Steps of the Ladder, Part 83
Talks about the Steps of the Ladder, Part 82
Talks about the Steps of the Ladder, Part 81

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