There are three ways of advancing in one’s spiritual work, if all of them can be called advancement.

The first way is to advance within knowledge, according to what I understand with my intellect when I investigate ad subject and make calculations. This is the approach taken by the entire world.

There is also a form of advancement within knowledge that might provisionally be termed spiritual work. This is not the kind of advancement undertaken by the world at large, which remains disconnected from the Creator, but rather the movement of those who appear to be connected with the Creator and who relate to Him in accordance with their own understanding and perception. This is called “walking within reason.” There are people like this among us.

There are also people who relate to the Creator below knowledge, below reason, below the level of the intellect. this implies that they understand that if they follow their own intellect, they will not achieve success. How can a person who relies on their own intellect advance spiritually?

Consequently such a person thinks that if they suppress their intellect, effectively cut it off, they will be able to connect with the mind of the Creator and will be connected with Him. If my mind sends me all kinds of disturbances, I turn it off, and no matter what happens, I do not pay attention to it. I remain connected to the Creator and do not look at those disturbances that come from my reason.

Why is this bad? If I think that I want to be connected to the Creator no matter what happens,  I am effectively doing nothing more than erasing all the obstacles, one by one. In this case, I will not need the help of the Creator. In essence, I will have no need for the Creator Himself. I simply become a fanatic, and it does not matter what abstract idea I champion, not even matter if that idea has any actual connection to the Creator.

The correct advancement, the one that can truly enable a person to reach their goal, union with the Creator, is possible only if one follows a path fraught with disturbances, including those that arise in one’s own mind. By rising above them, one establishes a connection with the Creator, known as faith above reason.

Therefore, of all the possibilities—below reason, within reason, and above reason—only advancement above reason leads to adhesion with the Creator.
[355758]
From the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 4/19/26, Rabash, “Moses Went”

Related Material:
The Meaning Of Faith Below Reason
Service to the Creator
Despite Doubts

Filed under: Daily Kabbalah Lesson, Spiritual Work | Add Comment →