{"id":9748,"date":"2025-11-25T12:50:26","date_gmt":"2025-11-25T12:50:26","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/staging.kabbalah.info\/?post_type=book&#038;p=9748"},"modified":"2025-11-25T12:50:26","modified_gmt":"2025-11-25T12:50:26","slug":"lend-ear-o-heaven","status":"publish","type":"book","link":"https:\/\/www.kabbalah.info\/en\/lend-ear-o-heaven\/","title":{"rendered":"Lend Ear, O Heaven"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p>Article No. 2, 1986<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201c\u2018Lend ear, O heaven.\u2019 Rabbi Yehuda started, \u2018I opened for my beloved. \u2018The voice of my beloved knocks.\u2019 He says, \u2018The voice of my beloved knocks\u2019 is Moses, who admonished Israel in several arguments, in several quarrels, as it is written, \u2018These are the words,\u2019 \u2018You have been rebellious,\u2019 and \u2018In Horev you provoked,\u2019 as it is written, \u2018knocks.\u2019\u201d (In the&nbsp;<em>Sulam<\/em>&nbsp;[Ladder commentary], items 1-2) \u201cAlthough Moses admonished Israel, all his words were with love, as it is written, \u2018For you are a holy nation to the Lord your God,\u2019 and \u2018The Lord your God has chosen you to be His people,\u2019 \u2018but because the Lord loved you,\u2019 as it is written, \u2018Open to me, my sister, my wife,\u2019 affectionately.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>We should understand the words of the holy&nbsp;<em>Zohar<\/em>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>1) If he gives so many praises to the people of Israel, as it is written, \u201cFor you are a holy nation to the Lord your God,\u201d and \u201cThe Lord your God has chosen you to be His people,\u201d how can we speak of admonition? If they are a holy people, what else is missing in them?<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>2) What does that teach us for posterity, since they are two opposites in the same carrier? That is, either they are a holy nation, or they are not!<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>3) There is a rule: \u201cLove covers all transgressions.\u201d The writing says (Deuteronomy, 7:7), \u201cThe Lord did not desire you nor choose you because you were more numerous than all the nations, for you were the fewest of all peoples \u2026 but because of the Lord\u2019s love for you.\u201d Therefore, how is it possible to find transgressions in them, since \u201cLove covers all transgressions\u201d?<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The thing is that it is known that there is the matter of two writings that deny one another until the third writing comes and decides. \u201cLines\u201d in spirituality means that the quality of&nbsp;<em>Hesed<\/em>&nbsp;[mercy] is called \u201cright line.\u201d&nbsp;<em>Hesed<\/em>&nbsp;means that he only wants to do good to others and wants nothing in return. He longs for the love of the Creator and has no concern for himself. Rather, all his aspirations are only to bestow contentment upon his Maker, and for himself he is content with little. That is, he has no regard for what he has, namely good flavors in Torah, in prayer, or in&nbsp;<em>Mitzvot<\/em>&nbsp;[commandments], but is happy with his lot.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Here, in spirituality, when a person introspects and says that he believes in Private Providence, that everything comes from above, meaning that the Creator has given him a thought and desire to serve the Creator and engage in Torah and&nbsp;<em>Mitzvot<\/em>&nbsp;although he feels no flavor in Torah and&nbsp;<em>Mitzvot<\/em>. Still, he does not mind it and says that he is satisfied with being able to keep the commandment of the Creator. This, alone, is to him as though he has made a fortune. And even though he does not attain the greatness of the Creator, whatever he does have satisfies him and he believes it is a gift from Heaven that he was given the thought and desire.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>He sees that others were not given this. Rather, all they aspire for is to attain corporeal things, meaning to be favored by people or delight the body with things that animals use, as well. But he, on the other hand, was given a thought and desire to serve the Creator, \u201cand who am I that He has chosen me?\u201d It is as we say, \u201cBlessed are You, O Lord, who chooses His people, Israel, with love.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>It turns out that we bless the Creator for choosing us, meaning that we were given a thought and desire to keep Torah and&nbsp;<em>Mitzvot<\/em>. Therefore, when he looks at others, who haven\u2019t that desire for Torah and&nbsp;<em>Mitzvot<\/em>&nbsp;that he has, he says that He has chosen him over others to serve Him. Although He has given him only a small service, without any intellect and reason, he says that even this service, the least of the least, is more than his own worth because when he looks at himself through the eyes of the greatness of God, he says that he does not deserve even this. Therefore, he is certainly as happy as though he has been rewarded with a service fit for great men.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The right line comes from the upper&nbsp;<em>Sefirot<\/em>. This discernment is called the&nbsp;<em>Sefira<\/em>&nbsp;[singular of&nbsp;<em>Sefirot<\/em>]&nbsp;<em>Hesed<\/em>, pertaining to equivalence of form with the Creator\u2014as He gives, so the lower one wishes to give to the upper ones. This is regarded as equivalence of form, where he does not regard what he has in vessels of reception. Rather, his only measurement of wholeness is his ability to bestow.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Even if he cannot bestow much, he settles for this because he examines his lowliness compared to the Giver, and compared to other people whom he sees as more virtuous than him. Still, he was given from above a thought and desire that they were not given, and he does not say about anything, \u201cMy power and the might of my hand.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>For this reason, he is always satisfied and has nothing to add to his work. Rather, he thanks and praises the Creator as much as he can, and thanks and praises Him in all kinds of praises. And even when he does not give the praise and gratitude that he thinks he should give to the Creator, he does not regret this because he says about himself, \u201cWho am I to always speak to the King, as is suitable for important people, and not to lowly ones like me?\u201d It follows that he is always in wholeness and has nothing to add.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>And if he sometimes forgets about matters of work and his mind is immersed in worldly matters, and after some time he remembers about spirituality and sees that the whole time he was dealing with corporeal matters of this world, he still does not think about the time he was separated. Instead, he is happy that the Creator has summoned him from among all the people and told him, \u201cWhere are you?\u201d He promptly begins to thank the Creator for reminding him that he should think about spirituality.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>It follows that even in that state he does not think about deficiencies and regrets that he has completely forgotten about work-matters this whole time, but he is happy that at least now he can think about the work of the Creator. It follows that now, too, he is in a state of wholeness and will not come to a state where he is weakened from the work, but will always be in wholeness. This is called \u201cright line,\u201d&nbsp;<em>Hesed<\/em>, which is wholeness.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>However, this depends on the extent to which a person believes in Private Providence, meaning that the Creator gives everything\u2014the light, as well as the&nbsp;<em>Kli<\/em>&nbsp;[vessel]\u2014meaning both man\u2019s desire and deficiency for this, that he is not so adhered to the Creator, and also the feeling in his body of lack of keeping of Torah and&nbsp;<em>Mitzvot<\/em>. The Creator gives everything. The light is certainly something that the Creator must give because the flavor in Torah and&nbsp;<em>Mitzvot<\/em>&nbsp;certainly belongs to the Creator. It is as we say on the night of&nbsp;<em>Yom Kippur<\/em>&nbsp;[Day of Atonement], \u201cFor she is like clay in the hands of the potter. When He wishes He gives abundantly; when He wishes He gives sparingly. So are we in Your hands, Keeper of mercy.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>It follows that if a person sees that a desire to study awakens in him, even one hour a day, and when he is praying he sees that for a few minutes he knows he is praying and does not forget that he is wrapped in a&nbsp;<em>Talit<\/em>&nbsp;[prayer shawl] and&nbsp;<em>Tefillin<\/em>, and his heart thinks every thought in the world, and then he remembers for a few minutes that he is crowned in the&nbsp;<em>Talit<\/em>&nbsp;and&nbsp;<em>Tefillin<\/em>&nbsp;and that now he is in the middle of a prayer, and he begins to think to whom he is speaking during the prayer. He feels that he is not simply speaking, but is standing before the King, and he believes in \u201cYou hear the prayer of every mouth.\u201d Although he sees that he has already prayed many times and his prayer was not answered, he still believes above reason that the Creator does hear the prayer, and the reason his prayer has not been granted is that he probably did not pray from the bottom of the heart. Therefore, he takes upon himself to pray more intently \u201cand the Creator will certainly help me and grant my prayer.\u201d Then he promptly begins to thank the Creator for reminding him that he is now crowned with&nbsp;<em>Talit<\/em>&nbsp;and&nbsp;<em>Tefillin<\/em>. He feels good since he looks at other people, how they are still asleep, while with me, \u201cthe Creator has awakened me in the middle of the prayer,\u201d so he is joyful.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>If a few more minutes pass and he forgets once more where he is, and thinks about the ox and the donkey, and he is suddenly awakened once again from above, it makes sense that he would complain that he has forgotten about the whole thing\u2014that he is in the synagogue now. However, he does not want to hear about it. Rather, he is happy that he has been reminded. It follows that in this way he only looks at \u201cdo good,\u201d meaning that he is happy that now he was able to do good and does not notice that until now he was roaming the world of separation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>He can feel all this to the extent that he recognizes his value, that he is not better than other people, and that they even have the spirit of heresy and no affinity to Judaism. He also sees that there are people who do not even pay attention to Judaism, but they live like all other animals, with no concern for any purpose in life. Rather, they think that their whole lives, which they regard as being at a higher level than that of animals, is that they are also concerned with respect, and they understand that sometimes it is better to relinquish lust in order to obtain respect. But as far as Judaism is concerned, even if they were circumcised by their parents, they themselves pay no attention to it because other things interest them more.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>When he looks at them, he sees that he does not know why he has been privileged more than them with the Creator\u2019s giving him a thought and desire to engage in Torah and&nbsp;<em>Mitzvot<\/em>&nbsp;even if only in action. That is, he sees that he is still far from achieving the degree of&nbsp;<em>Lishma<\/em>&nbsp;[for Her sake], but he says, \u201cIn any case, I have been privileged with&nbsp;<em>Lo<\/em>&nbsp;<em>Lishma<\/em>&nbsp;[not for Her sake], as our sages said, \u2018From&nbsp;<em>Lo<\/em>&nbsp;<em>Lishma<\/em>&nbsp;we come to&nbsp;<em>Lishma<\/em>.\u2019 Thus, at least I\u2019m on the first stage of&nbsp;<em>Kedusha<\/em>&nbsp;[holiness].\u201d He contemplates how happy he is that the Creator has ushered him into the first degree of&nbsp;<em>Kedusha<\/em>, called&nbsp;<em>Lo<\/em>&nbsp;<em>Lishma<\/em>, how much he should thank and praise the Creator, especially that if a person is rewarded and is given a thought of engaging in the secrets of Torah, although he does not understand a single word that is written there, it is still a great privilege that now he is adhered to the study of the internality of the Torah.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>In other words, he believes that they speak only about Godliness and he has room to delve in his thought, since \u201ceverything I\u2019m learning is of the holy names, so I must be very fortunate. Therefore, all I need to do is thank and praise the Creator. That is, the vitality of the whole world comes only from nonsense, while I have been rewarded with entering the first stage of&nbsp;<em>Kedusha<\/em>, called&nbsp;<em>Lo<\/em>&nbsp;<em>Lishma<\/em>.\u201d This is regarded as \u201cright line,\u201d meaning wholeness, which requires no correction.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>However, it is written, \u201cright, and left, and between them a bride.\u201d That is, we also need a left line. We really need to understand this: If he feels that he is in wholeness and can thank and praise the Creator all day and all night, what else does he need? However, he himself knows that it is&nbsp;<em>Lo<\/em>&nbsp;<em>Lishma<\/em>, and man\u2019s purpose is to work for the Creator, and he says that he has not achieved this degree. So how can one rise in degrees if he does not feel deficient?<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>There is a rule that if a person is asking something from the Creator, it must be from the bottom of the heart. This means that one should feel the deficiency in the heart, and not as lip-service. This is so because when one is asking for luxuries, which you can live without, no one has mercy on that person when he yells and cries for not having something many others do not have. And although he yells and cries to be given it, it is uncommon that there will be people who will pity him. However, when one is yelling and crying for a deficiency that he has, but the rest of the world has that thing and he does not, then when he yells and cries out for people\u2019s mercy, then he is heard, and anyone who can help tries to help him.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>It is the same here in the work of the Creator. When he tries to find wholeness in the right line, although he knows he has to try to make all his works be for the Creator, he also knows that man must keep what is written, \u201cHis delight is in the law of the Lord, and in His law he meditates day and night\u201d (Psalms 1). He does not observe this but he is trying with all his might to feel wholeness in the right line. At that time, although he knows he still has no wholeness, he still cannot ask the Creator to give him strength to be able to keep \u201cAnd in His law he mediates day and night,\u201d and cry out to the Creator to help him achieve&nbsp;<em>Lishma<\/em>, unless as luxuries and not as necessities.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>This is so for the above-mentioned reason that when one asks for something and yells and cries for not having it, but other people in his town also do not have it, he cannot say that this is a necessity, but rather a luxury, and one does not cry or beg for luxuries. But here, when he is walking on the right line and sees that other people do not have what he has since only a tiny portion of the world has what he has in spirituality, then how can he say that he demands of the Creator to bring him close so he can engage&nbsp;<em>Lishma<\/em>? This is a luxury, and one cannot ask for luxuries from the bottom of the heart, meaning that that deficiency will reach the depth of the heart. He himself is saying that what he has is already a great thing, so how can he ask the Creator to have mercy on him concerning a luxury, to give him the strength to engage&nbsp;<em>Lishma<\/em>, meaning in order to bestow contentment upon his Maker?<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>It follows that it is impossible for one to ask the Creator to guide him how to walk on the path of truth, since he does not have such a need, for we say about luxuries, meaning about something that others do not have, \u201ctrouble shared is trouble halved.\u201d Therefore, he has no chance of ever achieving recognition of evil, that the fact that he cannot engage in Torah and&nbsp;<em>Mitzvot<\/em>&nbsp;for the Creator is bad. It follows that he accepts the state of&nbsp;<em>Lo<\/em>&nbsp;<em>Lishma<\/em>, and although this way is called a \u201cpath of falsehood,\u201d and not the \u201ctrue path,\u201d he will never feel that he is marching on the path of falsehood, as it is written in the \u201cIntroduction of The Book of Zohar\u201d (item 175).<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Therefore, one must also walk on the left line. However, one must allocate only a small amount of time for scrutinizing the left line. Most of the time he should be in the right line, since only those who have an inner attraction to achieve&nbsp;<em>Lishma<\/em>&nbsp;are allowed to walk on the left line, too. However, those who feel that they are not among workers, who think that they cannot overcome their desires, they must not walk on the left line. For this reason, even those with an internal attraction to achieve&nbsp;<em>Lishma<\/em>, although they can walk on the left line, they need to be careful not to walk on the left line for more than a short period of time, and only at a set time. And not at any time, but according to the time each one allots himself to scrutinize the left line.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The schedule should be that either one sets one\u2019s daily schedule, or a weekly schedule, or a monthly one. It is each according to his feeling, but he should not change the schedule he had decided on in the middle. If he wants to change in the middle because the body comes to him and lets him understand that \u201cit is more like you to have a different schedule than the one you have arranged for yourself,\u201d then he must tell his body, \u201cI have my schedule. When I make another schedule, meaning if I have made a schedule for the whole week, when the week is over I will begin to make a new schedule, then you can come to me and tell me to make another schedule than the one I want to make. But I cannot change the schedule in the middle.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>However, we should know the meaning of the left line, since there are many discernments in the left line. There is a left line that is complete darkness. This is called \u201c<em>Malchut<\/em>&nbsp;being the quality of judgment and rising in each and every&nbsp;<em>Sefira<\/em>&nbsp;and becoming darkness.\u201d That is, no light shines there. There is also a left line called \u201c<em>Hochma<\/em>&nbsp;without&nbsp;<em>Hassadim<\/em>.\u201d This is also called \u201cdarkness,\u201d but the darkness there is only with respect to the light. With respect to the&nbsp;<em>Kelim<\/em>, his&nbsp;<em>Kelim<\/em>&nbsp;have already entered&nbsp;<em>Kedusha<\/em>, meaning that he can aim when he uses the vessels of reception in order to bestow, as well.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>It follows that that left line is a great degree. It is called \u201cdarkness\u201d due to the plentiful abundance that appears then. As long as he hasn\u2019t a clothing of&nbsp;<em>Hassadim<\/em>, he is forbidden to use that light because while using he might fall into receiving in order to receive due to the plentiful abundance that he cannot overcome and receive in order to bestow. This is why we need the left line; this is why the left line is very important.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>First we need to know that there is no time or space in spirituality. Therefore, what is the meaning of right and left lines?<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The thing is that anything that does not require correction is called \u201cright line,\u201d and something that requires correction is called \u201cleft line.\u201d We find this matter concerning the placing of&nbsp;<em>Tefillin<\/em>. Our sages said (<em>Minchot<\/em>&nbsp;37), \u201cRabbi Yosi Hachorem: \u2018How do we know that we place on the left? He learned it where Rav Natan learned it: Rav Ashi said that it is written, \u2018from your hand,\u2019 with a blunt&nbsp;<em>Hey<\/em>. RASHI interpreted that writing with a blunt&nbsp;<em>Hey<\/em>&nbsp;implies female, left, as he said that she is as powerless as a female.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>This means that \u201cleft\u201d is regarded as weak and powerless, and that it must be given strength. This is why we see that wherever we want to give an example of something that requires correction we call it \u201cleft.\u201d This is why after the left line we need the middle line, which corrects the left line. And this is why we call that which needs correction by the name, \u201cleft,\u201d so as to know that now we need to make corrections.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The corrections that correct the left are called \u201cmiddle,\u201d since the line shows the deficiencies in the right, meaning that the right itself does not show any deficiency until the left line comes. That is, by his engagement in the left line he sees that there are deficiencies in the right. Once he has entered the left he loses the wholeness he had in the right, therefore now he is in a state of deficiency.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>However, there are many discernments we should make in the deficiency that the left line shows, meaning what is the reason that there is a deficiency in the left. That is, the left says that there is a deficiency in the right. But sometimes we do not see any deficiency in the left line, and then who is showing that there is a deficiency in the left line, too, once the left has shown that there is a deficiency in the right? Thus, the way of the left must be wholeness. Hence, what is the reason that there is a deficiency in the left, for which he calls it, \u201cleft\u201d? There are many discernments about this; it is all according to the issue because in any situation, a person finds a different reason and it is impossible to determine the reason. Rather, it is all on a case-by-case basis.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The left in the beginning of the work is criticism on the right\u2014if it is right to remain in falsehood because we were given Torah and&nbsp;<em>Mitzvot<\/em>&nbsp;because we have the bad, called \u201cself-love,\u201d meaning to care for nothing, but rather every means is acceptable in order to obtain the goal of satisfying our will to receive with every possible satisfaction. It is called \u201cbad\u201d because it obstructs us from achieving&nbsp;<em>Dvekut<\/em>&nbsp;[adhesion] with the Creator and exiting self-love, as the animate mind necessitates. Rather, the goal is to be rewarded with&nbsp;<em>Dvekut<\/em>&nbsp;with the Creator, after which he will receive the delight and pleasure that exist in the thought of creation, called \u201cHis desire to do good to His creations.\u201d With this one can please the Creator because by this the Creator completes His goal from potential to actual\u2014for the creatures to feel the delight and pleasure He has contemplated in their favor.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Since this will to receive, regarded as self-love, is all that obstructs this, it is called \u201cbad.\u201d To exit this bad, He has given us Torah and&nbsp;<em>Mitzvot<\/em>, to reach the degree called \u201cservant of the Creator.\u201d It is not that he is working for himself, but rather to achieve the degree of&nbsp;<em>Lishma<\/em>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>In the right, he delights with the wholeness of&nbsp;<em>Lo<\/em>&nbsp;<em>Lishma<\/em>, which means that he is walking on the path of falsehood and wants to stay there. But although he knows he is in the degree of&nbsp;<em>Lo<\/em>&nbsp;<em>Lishma<\/em>, why is it considered that he wants to stay in&nbsp;<em>Lo<\/em>&nbsp;<em>Lishma<\/em>?<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>This follows the rule that one cannot ask the Creator from the bottom of the heart about a deficiency for a luxury, but rather only for a necessity. Since he is already happy that he is in&nbsp;<em>Lo<\/em>&nbsp;<em>Lishma<\/em>, even after all of his excuses he has\u2014that it is good to be happy even in&nbsp;<em>Lo<\/em>&nbsp;<em>Lishma<\/em>, he nonetheless can no longer feel a deficiency to need this necessarily. Rather, this will be as luxury for him if we can engage in Torah and&nbsp;<em>Mitzvot<\/em>&nbsp;<em>Lishma<\/em>. Thus, he must stay in the right line.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Therefore, he should work with attention and criticism on the right line, meaning to see the deficiencies in the right line. Because of it, to the extent that he feels the deficiencies, meaning that the deficiencies he sees mean nothing because man\u2019s impression with the deficiencies depends on the extent to which it touches his heart to feel the deficiency as incomplete and his inclination toward the truth and his loathing of lies, so if that deficiency touches the heart, meaning that the situation he is in pains him, then the previous state of right line, when he had wholeness, is inverted in him to suffering. At that time he can pray to the Creator from the bottom of the heart because now the&nbsp;<em>Lishma<\/em>&nbsp;is as important to him as life because through it he clings to the life of lives. But when he was attached to the right line, the&nbsp;<em>Lishma<\/em>&nbsp;was a luxury in his eyes, meaning that he could live without it, too, but one who wants to improve his life and be above others has to try to achieve the degree of&nbsp;<em>Lishma<\/em>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>When one sees that he does not regard&nbsp;<em>Lishma<\/em>&nbsp;as luxuries, meaning to be above others, but that now he feels that he is the worst of them because he sees how far he is from the Creator and from the quality of truth, more than the rest of the people, although he does not see them going on the path of&nbsp;<em>Lishma<\/em>, it does not change anything that he sees no one going on the path of&nbsp;<em>Lishma<\/em>&nbsp;because with matters that concern the heart, one is not impressed by others. Although it is said, \u201ctrouble shared is trouble halved,\u201d these maxims do not change his situation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>By way of allegory, if a person has a toothache and is crying and yelling, and he is told, \u201cWhy are you yelling? Can\u2019t you see that there are other people here, at the dentist\u2019s clinic, whose teeth are hurting just as yours?\u201d We see that he does not stop crying because of his toothache. The fact that there are other people like him changes nothing for him. If he is really in pain, he cannot look at others so as to find relief for his own pain, if he is really hurting.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Similarly, if a person has really come to feel that he is far from the truth, he will not be comforted by the fact that everyone is taking the path of falsehood. Rather, day and night he longs to come out of that state. At that time a person acquires the need to achieve&nbsp;<em>Lishma<\/em>&nbsp;because he can no longer tolerate the falsehood.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>But since that&nbsp;<em>Kli<\/em>&nbsp;[vessel] is not made all at once, meaning that the desire that the person receives from the left line is not made at once, but that desire forms in him gradually until it reaches the complete measure, and before this he still cannot achieve&nbsp;<em>Lishma<\/em>, since there is no light without a&nbsp;<em>Kli<\/em>, it means that he cannot be awarded&nbsp;<em>Lishma<\/em>&nbsp;before he desires it, and that desire grows within him slowly. Penny after penny joins into a great amount, meaning it is filled into a complete desire, and then the&nbsp;<em>Lishma<\/em>&nbsp;can dress in that desire because he already has a complete&nbsp;<em>Kli<\/em>, meaning a complete desire to be rewarded with&nbsp;<em>Lishma<\/em>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>However, we must know that when he is on the left line, meaning when he criticizes himself, he is in separation. This is so because he feels that he is immersed in self-love and does not care about being able to do something for the Creator. In that state he cannot exist because man can live only from the positive and not from the negative.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Therefore, a person must enter the right line once again, meaning keep Torah and&nbsp;<em>Mitzvot<\/em>&nbsp;<em>Lo<\/em>&nbsp;<em>Lishma<\/em>&nbsp;and say that there is wholeness in it, as we have explained above. We need to know the fundamental rule that there is a difference between&nbsp;<em>Ohr Pnimi<\/em>&nbsp;[Inner Light] and&nbsp;<em>Ohr Makif<\/em>&nbsp;[Surrounding Light].&nbsp;<em>Ohr Pnimi<\/em>&nbsp;means that the light shines inside the&nbsp;<em>Kelim<\/em>&nbsp;[vessels]. This means that the light dresses in the&nbsp;<em>Kli<\/em>&nbsp;because there is equivalence between the light and the&nbsp;<em>Kli<\/em>, and the&nbsp;<em>Kli<\/em>&nbsp;can already receive the light in order to bestow. But&nbsp;<em>Ohr Makif<\/em>&nbsp;means illumination from afar. This means that although the&nbsp;<em>Kli<\/em>&nbsp;is still far from the light, since the&nbsp;<em>Kli<\/em>&nbsp;is in order to receive and the light is pure bestowal, yet the light shines from afar, as in, surrounding the&nbsp;<em>Kelim<\/em>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>This is why when we engage in Torah and&nbsp;<em>Mitzvot<\/em>&nbsp;<em>Lo<\/em>&nbsp;<em>Lishma<\/em>&nbsp;we still receive illumination in the form of&nbsp;<em>Ohr Makif<\/em>. It follows that through&nbsp;<em>Lo<\/em>&nbsp;<em>Lishma<\/em>&nbsp;we already have contact with the upper light, although it is illumination from afar. This is why it is called \u201cpositive,\u201d and a person can receive vitality from this and exist. By appreciating the&nbsp;<em>Lo<\/em>&nbsp;<em>Lishma<\/em>, he appreciates the service of the Creator in general, that it is worthwhile to engage in Torah and&nbsp;<em>Mitzvot<\/em>&nbsp;in any manner. Baal HaSulam said that in truth, one cannot appreciate the value of keeping Torah and&nbsp;<em>Mitzvot<\/em>&nbsp;in&nbsp;<em>Lo<\/em>&nbsp;<em>Lishma<\/em>, for in the end there is nothing to add in actions. Rather, he keeps the commandment of the Creator and this is why this is regarded as the first stage in the work, of which our sages said, \u201cFrom&nbsp;<em>Lo<\/em>&nbsp;<em>Lishma<\/em>&nbsp;we come to&nbsp;<em>Lishma<\/em>.\u201d For this reason, man should receive vitality and wholeness from the right line, at which time he receives the light of the Creator as Surrounding Light.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Afterwards he must criticize his actions once again, his engagement in the right line, and once again to shift to the right line. By this the two lines grow in him. However, these two lines contradict one another and they are called \u201ctwo writings that deny one another until the third writing comes and decides between them.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Yet, we should know that the Creator gives the third line, called the \u201cmiddle line,\u201d as our sages said, \u201cThere are three partners in man: the Creator, his father, and his mother. His father sows the white; his mother sows the red; and the Creator places a spirit and a soul in him.\u201d According to the above, it turns out that two lines belong to the lower one, and the middle line belongs to the Creator. This means that the two lines cause him to be able to pray from the bottom of the heart to the Creator to help him out of self-love and achieve&nbsp;<em>Dvekut<\/em>&nbsp;with the Creator, since when a person prays from the bottom of the heart, his prayer is answered.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>However, we should know that there are many aspects to the three lines.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Article No. 2, 1986 \u201c\u2018Lend ear, O heaven.\u2019 Rabbi Yehuda started, \u2018I opened for my beloved. \u2018The voice of my [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"featured_media":0,"parent":6243,"menu_order":0,"template":"","meta":{"site-sidebar-layout":"default","site-content-layout":"","ast-site-content-layout":"","site-content-style":"default","site-sidebar-style":"default","ast-global-header-display":"","ast-banner-title-visibility":"","ast-main-header-display":"","ast-hfb-above-header-display":"","ast-hfb-below-header-display":"","ast-hfb-mobile-header-display":"","site-post-title":"","ast-breadcrumbs-content":"","ast-featured-img":"","footer-sml-layout":"","theme-transparent-header-meta":"","adv-header-id-meta":"","stick-header-meta":"","header-above-stick-meta":"","header-main-stick-meta":"","header-below-stick-meta":"","astra-migrate-meta-layouts":"default","ast-page-background-enabled":"default","ast-page-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-4)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center 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