Talks about the Steps of the Ladder, Part 262
Talks about the Steps of the Ladder, Part 262
What Determines the Pace of Progress During the Time of Preparation?
Only attention determines the pace of progress during the time of preparation. We can go through these states half asleep, or we can be very sensitive. The pace and depth of progress are determined by the sharpness, direction, and attitude toward the study. We need to view the study as a means. There is no need to know what is written on the page. We should want to know and to interpret what is written in depth so that it will give us more discernments and additions that we can incorporate into the search for spirituality and not search for knowledge.
Why does Baal HaSulam write that we should repeat definitions a thousand times and know them by heart? It is because he wants the student to gradually get it into his head that what he reads must be interpreted differently, in a spiritual manner. For example, if he reads about a “circle,” he should immediately imagine, instead of the word “circle,” the quality called a circle, not the shape itself. Therefore, he writes, “Know the definitions by heart,” so that the student will be pushed toward a more internal and profound interpretation.
Delving into the study in order to reach inner discernments, and demanding that the study brings us to Lishma, paves the way for us.
Related Material:
Talks about the Steps of the Ladder, Part 261
Talks about the Steps of the Ladder, Part 260
Talks about the Steps of the Ladder, Part 259
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