Talks about the Steps of the Ladder, Part 36

Does Society Give Wisdom?

Society cannot give wisdom. Wisdom is an outcome of one’s efforts. Society’s role is only to uplift a person toward the goal. After receiving this upliftment, we work with books, teachers, and the society, and through such efforts, wisdom emerges.

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Talks about the Steps of the Ladder, Part 35

Does Constant Control Destroy Joy?

Joy arises when, in every moment, we see, through deliberate and purposeful self-criticism, where we stand. Whether or not we can correct the situation is less important than feeling and perceiving our current state. These impressions serve as markers showing that we go through states and progress.

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Talks about the Steps of the Ladder, Part 34

How Should We Relate to Feelings?

It is written that the purpose of creation is “to do good to His creations.” It means that the goal is to experience pleasures, to feel goodness and benefit. Our path involves correcting the vessels of sensation, which are designed for enjoyment. However, until we complete our work and reach the end of correction, we must constantly monitor our feelings to avoid being misled.

As long as we lack a spiritual screen (Masach), following our sensations can lead to excessive use of the desire to enjoy for oneself. Therefore, we must constantly supervise ourselves to make sure that we use the desire to enjoy correctly; otherwise, we cannot escape the vessels of reception.

We cannot determine the validity of something solely based on good or bad feelings. For example, according to an analogy of Baal HaSulam, a person with a boil might enjoy scratching it, but the process ultimately leads to infection and death.

Until all corrections are completed—both in this world and on spiritual levels—we must not, even for a moment, abandon the guidance of reason and its connection to the purpose of creation: “What is happening to me now? What am I doing?”

The sole exception is acting with a clear intention to break free from all definitions and order, to “lose oneself” as in the Purim celebration. Even then, this must be done deliberately, as otherwise it holds no benefit. One cannot completely forgo supervision.

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Talks about the Steps of the Ladder, Part 33

Where Should We Place Our Focus?

We should look only within ourselves, at our own qualities, and not at the world or others, which we cannot truly understand. Even when looking within, we must do so from a perspective that is aimed at correction. If we cannot examine ourselves from this perspective, we should not delve into our own qualities until we have prepared ourselves for proper self-reflection. Doubts, fears, and caution help us accurately perceive our current state and our resources.

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Talks about the Steps of the Ladder, Part 32

Chapter 4. Between Fear and Joy

It is unclear why some things are counted while others are not. After all, we need to count what we have, to know where we stand, how much we have done, and how much more we can do. Even in the Shulchan Aruch, there are rules that require counting and rules that forbid it, all of which relate to spiritual work. Everything depends on the intent and purpose of the one who counts.

The will to receive was initially created in us with the intention to receive for oneself. If we approach the will to receive without intending to correct it, we must not count or dwell in it because doing so drains our strength, places us under the control of the will to receive for ourselves, and distances us from the purpose of creation.

However, if we examine both sides—first the right line and then the left—it becomes our duty to count what we have in the left line and determine how much we can take from it for correction. This is because our approach has become creative and beneficial for progress and correction. Therefore, everything depends on the intent and the approach to the will to receive. It is what lets us determine whether counting is permitted or forbidden.

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Talks about the Steps of the Ladder, Part 31

Where Is the Point in the Heart Located and How Does it Affect Prayer?

The point in the heart is internal and, in truth, is not merely a point but an entire system. Like a computer virus, which is not just a simple disturbance but a unique program that knows how to integrate into the hardware components of a computer, and thus disrupt it, this program has its own structure and logic devised by clever minds. Likewise, viruses in the body and cancerous cells are complex biological programs that develop in a destructive manner.

We tend to describe the point in the heart as just a point, a desire that a person suddenly receives from above, a spark from the Creator, from a vessel of bestowal that enters the person. However, in reality, the point is a mechanism, an entire system that gradually reveals itself within a person’s heart.

From a Talk on the Article “What Is Half a Shekel in the Work? – 2” 5/21/2002

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Talks about the Steps of the Ladder, Part 30

What Prayer Does the Yearning for Rain Belong To?

The yearning for rain, such as that of farmers in the Negev, is a prayer, but it is not one that belongs to those engaged in spiritual work, nor is it a middle prayer. For those of us on the spiritual path, the middle prayer constantly changes as it is influenced by all the events we experience. If we can feel only one prayer in our heart, then we are called “holy still.” If we do not consider our heart as a prayer at all, then we are simply an animate organism.

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Talks about the Steps of the Ladder, Part 29

When Does a Person Agree to Let Society Influence Them?

We agree to let the group influence us out of necessity when we lose hope in our own strength. Baal HaSulam writes in his “Letter No. 57” that “there is no happier situation in man’s world than when he finds himself despaired with his own strength, i.e., he has already labored and done all that he could possibly imagine he could do, but found no remedy.” Only then are we eligible for true prayer, from the depths of our heart.

Initially, we resist external influence, as our nature does not let us consent to others having control over us. We turn to the group out of necessity, like a seriously ill person who goes to the hospital, lies down, and lets the doctors treat them, do whatever is necessary, sedate them, open their body, and do as they will.

Only the recognition of our inability brings agreement. Before that we will resist because our “self” was created as independent, feeling itself unique in the world. And if we are indeed the only ones in our world, with nothing else, how could we possibly yield to others?

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Talks about the Steps of the Ladder, Part 28

What if Someone Is Desperate and Unwilling to Accept Help?

If someone is desperate and unwilling to accept help, then nothing can be done. It is possible to bind them, but only if such consent was agreed upon beforehand, and then they are treated like a patient tied to a bed. It might be necessary to bind them and wait until the times change from above, which is something beyond the person’s or group’s control. Although they might have distanced themselves from the group and isolated themselves, there is an upper mechanism that will alter the situation. The group should treat such a person accordingly and wait for them to accept help.

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Talks about the Steps of the Ladder, Part 27

What Causes a Person to Escape the Struggle?

There are many reasons, but ultimately, they all come down to one: a lack of sufficient support from the environment. Baal HaSulam states that such a person has not exercised their free choice to surround themselves with supportive people, books, or study. Regardless of the physical environment they are in, even near a great teacher, they might still escape, depending on how much they connect with those who support them.

The “environment” is not the place that we are in, nor is it merely the company of a group of good and strong people who influence us. It is whether we want and allow ourselves to be influenced. The rule is that there is no coercion in spirituality. No one can change under compulsion from the outside. We change and are influenced according to our desire, and not by coercion. “No coercion” is not merely a prohibition that we need to observe. It is impossible to force anything even if no prohibition were in place. That is, even if we want to be forced and ask our friends to force us, and even if we receive blows to force us, even then, we cannot be forced. The person himself is the only one who can compel his own change.

All change can take place only with the person’s consent, willingness, and free choice. We will change when we open a way for the light to enter. Outside, there is the light of Ein Sof (infinity); it can be a large group, a great teacher, a society, even the “holy society” of Rabbi Shimon Bar-Yochai, but the degree to which we open ourselves up to it determines the extent of influence that the society can have on us. If we fail to make such an opening, then we can be sitting among friends, and they can be talking and making actions with a fire burning between them, but it will have absolutely no effect on us. We will remain cool and indifferent, can drink another cup of coffee, sit with them a little longer, and that will be it. Despite all good intentions, the friends will be unable to influence us.

Therefore, Baal HaSulam writes in his “Speech for the Conclusion of The Zohar” that everything depends on how much a student serves his teacher. It refers to the extent in which we serve the group, as this degree of dedication opens the door for the teacher or the group to influence us in return. This is called “free choice.” Free choice is the extent to which we let a positive environment influence us. We should engage in self-reflection and examine how genuinely we relate to our environment in order to receive strength from it. The extent of our progress depends on the strength we are willing to receive from the group.

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