Desire, not Talent

Q: Can a person with limited talent advance in spiritual degrees by oneself, or does one need additional help?

A: In the Introduction to The Study of the Ten Sefirot (“Breaking the Iron Wall”), Rabbi Yehuda Ashlag writes that, unlike a business that demands skills, memory, technical abilities, agility, rhythmic sense, and strength, the study of Kabbalah demands no talent, because all the talents are attributes of the body that is in this world. In other words, these attributes pertain to the nature of this world, which are not involved in attaining the Upper One.

There must be an initial desire for the Creator. If it’s there, you need nothing more! If you have been endowed with such a desire, the whole process is in your hands from that moment on, because all the forces you need are already in your soul. All it takes is to develop them, and that’s your work.

It is in your power to do so because your unique body was created specifically to allow you to attain the purpose of creation. Therefore, no one can say that they were incapable, that circumstances prevented them from attaining the goal for which they were born in this world.