Question: If there is no equivalence of form between two people, we can see that each one moves away from the other. Therefore, before a person corrects himself so that all his actions are for the sake of the Creator, meaning in order to bestow, there is disparity of form between the Creator and the created beings. Thus, how is it possible to draw near Him? If this is so then how do we pray to the Creator, since He is far away from us and we from Him?
Answer: There is action and there is intention. Our sages said, “From Lo Lishma [not for Her sake], we come to Lishma [for Her sake].” We should understand the connection whereby Lo Lishma leads to Lishma.
It is written that the people of Israel said, “We will do and we will hear,” meaning that along with the action we will be rewarded with hearing, since there is an intermediary, and this intermediary will yield equivalence of form because we are performing acts of bestowal. Hence, in the actions, there is equivalence of form. Although the intention is still not to bestow, we say that the act will induce the thought.
It follows that although the act is Lo Lishma, it will later cause us to achieve Lishma, called in order to bestow. It follows that this is why we were given the work in Torah and Mitzvot, for it brings us equivalence with the action, and this causes us some nearing. This is regarded as an intermediary between receiving and bestowing.