Time to Feel and to Contemplate

Q: In his article, “The Time of Ascent,” Baal HaSulam writes that during the spiritual ascent, it is good to read the articles hundreds of times. Is there any indication of how well I absorbed this or that article?

A: There are texts that have to be read and reread according to the general curriculum, and there are texts that one should read only when in the mood, be it letters or articles about the feeling of the spiritual.

It is said that during the ascent, when one feels close to the material, it is good to read just the things that touch one’s feelings; i.e., where understanding will come through the heart.

The problem in attaining the spiritual is that we do not have the correct senses. They can be acquired slowly and gradually at just such moments. Thus, there is the time to use the brain, and there is time to use the heart.