Material and Spiritual Pleasures
Q: I teach Kabbalah in a small group I organized by myself. My students, beginners in Kabbalah, asked me about the difference between physical and spiritual pleasures. Please help me formulate a clear answer, since I myself feel a bit confused.
A: Spiritual pleasure is:
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Endless, since it created the vessel and, therefore, can fill it completely.
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Eternal, because it is perceived in the intention “for the sake of the Creator,” which is never lessened upon filling with pleasure, and hence is everlasting.
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Not concealed from the vessel behind all the worlds (the Hebrew word Olam derives from the word Haalama, concealment); hence it is not weakened to the level of Minute Light. The tiniest spiritual pleasure is billions of times greater than any physical one, meaning one that is received for oneself.
The result of receiving the Divine Pleasure consists not just of the pleasure itself, but of a feeling of unity with the Creator, sensing Him, which is an additional pleasure.
The result of feeling the Creator is grasping Him, becoming all knowing, encompassing the entire universe, which is an additional pleasure.