Talks about the Steps of the Ladder, Part 278
Talks about the Steps of the Ladder, Part 278
What Should One Do When Darkness Takes Over from Within?
A person who is in a descent goes about in the society like a dead man walking, barely functioning and barely dragging himself along. In such a state, he cannot do anything by himself, not even feel that he is behaving like a dead man or feel that the process is acting upon him, but it indeed acts on him. Therefore, he is compared to a dead man, because he does not feel that it acts. Meanwhile, the society resuscitates him and gradually gets him back on his feet. The society must believe in this and continue reviving him for another half a day, another day, another two days, and it passes.
The question is to what extent can we surrender ourselves to those who take care of us, to the society. That is, to what extent we disconnect our thoughts, our head, and let our body do whatever the friends ask, as though we have no head of our own. This is also how we learn in Kabbalah. What does it mean to be “small”? It is when the great one constantly makes all the calculations and the small one carries them out. This is how it is in spirituality. It is not like in our world, where the small one, the child, is the head, and the great one, the mother or father, merely carries out his requests. We surrender ourselves to the upper one and receive the head of the upper one through devotion. Afterward, we develop our own head, but our gaze is always directed upward, at the head of the upper one, to learn from Him, to be like Him.
From a Talk on the Article “What Is “He Who Has a Flaw Shall Not Offer [Sacrifice]” in the Work?” 6/19/2002.
Related Material:
Talks about the Steps of the Ladder, Part 277
Talks about the Steps of the Ladder, Part 276
Talks about the Steps of the Ladder, Part 275
