Talks about the Steps of the Ladder, Part 147

What Desire Grows During the Preparation Period?

During the preparation period, we develop the desire for spirituality called “until it does not let me sleep.” Baal HaSulam writes that it is like a lustful person who so craves what they love that only this craving stands before their eyes, and they cannot forget it day or night. This is called complete Lo Lishma. And from this, one transitions to Lishma.

How do we make that transition? It is by “I labored and I found.” Why “I found”? This is because essentially we strive for our desire to be filled, but instead we receive a correction to bestow and receive a different kind of fulfillment. There is a kind of optical illusion here because we do not receive what we longed for. Only after we begin to receive the fulfillment do we see that this is what we truly yearned for, even without knowing it. That desire had taken on a different form within us.

Related Material:
Talks about the Steps of the Ladder, Part 146
Talks about the Steps of the Ladder, Part 145
Talks about the Steps of the Ladder, Part 144

Filed under: Talks about the Steps of the Ladder | Add Comment →