Talks about the Steps of the Ladder, Part 99

How Should We Behave in a Kabbalistic Group: To Act According to Our Truth or to Pretend?

There are two types of behavior in a Kabbalistic society and group:

1) Behavior characteristic of the greatest Kabbalists who have burning hearts within yet who exhibit disdainful behavior on the outside. This is like the behavior of the Hasidim of Kotzk (as described in the book Sneh Boer B’Kotzk). These were people who, inwardly, had reached high levels of understanding, yearning, true work, and constant inner effort, while outwardly they displayed open contempt. They did so to such an extent that people were even convinced that they were non-Jews. They entered the synagogue on Yom Kippur with crumbs of bread in their beards and did other things deliberately and defiantly so that outsiders would have no hold on their inner work, and they did this with utmost seriousness.

2) Behavior characteristic of our generation, where it is forbidden to show disdain, and instead it is required to express inspiration for the group. This is because we all need spiritual inspiration from the group, otherwise we will be spiritually lost. How? In our current state, we are only impressed by externality because we cannot see into our friends’ hearts. If everyone were to show disdain, we would also become disdainful.

It might be that all of our friends are completely righteous, but their external behavior will be exactly as the sages’ recommend in order to prevent any hold by outsiders. However, if they behave this way in front of us, we will not perceive this truth, but we will instead focus on their outward, false behavior, and we will thus become confused and abandon the whole matter.

Therefore, it is necessary to behave the opposite way. We should adopt a behavior that seems as if we truly desire spirituality, as if we love each other, as if we are willing to do everything for one another. Although this is an outward act and we all know it is a pretense, our body understands what it sees and hears, it believes only what it sees, and it is impressed by this outward behavior as though it were real.

Psychologists who study the body’s reactions also recommend that people tell their spouses every day, “I love you,” even when they are angry or feel a lack of love. If they repeat this sentence to their spouse, that is what the spouse hears, and the love reaches their heart with that sentence. This is how we need to act with the body in spiritual work. We should say: “The Creator is great, I love my friends, the goal is important,” and so on. Accordingly, the body will absorb that these things are important and significant.

This is how it works in our world. Fashion and tastes change and fluctuate. They have no real significance, no hold in reality; they are just illusions. But when importance is suddenly attributed to something and people worship it, even if it is empty of content, it becomes important to us as well because everyone says so. This is how it works also in spiritual work. Therefore, we need to openly demonstrate and discuss the importance of the spiritual goal and the Creator.

Related Material:
Talks about the Steps of the Ladder, Part 98
Talks about the Steps of the Ladder, Part 97
Talks about the Steps of the Ladder, Part 96

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