Talks about the Steps of the Ladder, Part 264
Talks about the Steps of the Ladder, Part 264
Is It Wrong to Feel Satisfaction from Spiritual Work and Progress?
On one hand, we need to feel satisfaction from the work we are engaged in, otherwise we will not thank the Creator, but curse Him.
On the other hand, we must understand where we are in order to prepare our vessels for further progress and correction. RABASH writes that every matter, every discernment, contains two polar opposite states within it, and we must become accustomed to this. Also, on the contrary, we must not become accustomed to it, but seek these two states. The more we scrutinize them one against the other, the more they grow and move further apart from each other, which is a sign that we have discerned these matters and are ready to advance.
Also, if we do not pay attention to this and feel no opposition between these discernments, it is a sign that we have not examined any point in the work. Therefore, there is no reason to be surprised when we discover that in every state there are always contradictions and confusions between the discernments, that they struggle and interfere with each other, and that things do not work out. This is normal. In fact, this is correct and good. An ordinary person escapes these states, while those who engage in inner work must not only agree with them, but wait for such states to reach us. “For out of Zion shall come forth the Torah.” That is, the extent to which we exit Kedusha (holiness), from this comes the Torah. This is called “a thing and its opposite,” and it continues until the end of correction.
From a Talk on the Article “The Difference between the Work of the General Public and the Work of the Individual” 6/18/2002.
Related Material:
Talks about the Steps of the Ladder, Part 263
Talks about the Steps of the Ladder, Part 262
Talks about the Steps of the Ladder, Part 261
