(37)Cleaving – from theory to practice

(38) 12. We have thoroughly explained the sages’ answer to the question how we can cleave to him. They replied that it means cleaving to his attributes. This is correct for two reasons. The first is that spiritual cleaving is not about spatial proximity but similarity of form. The second is that the soul is separated from God’s essence only due to the desire to receive that the blessed Creator imprinted on it. Therefore, after a person removes the desire to receive from it, he regains the initial cleaving to God’s essence.

(39) All this is in theory. In practice, they have not explained anything by interpreting it as cleaving to his attributes. It is tantamount to separating the desire to receive that is inherent in us from the nature of our creation and arriving at the desire to give, which is opposite to our nature. As we have explained, someone drowning in the river must hold on to the rope with all his might. Before he engages in the Torah and the commandments for their own sake in such a way that he will not turn back to folly, he is not considered to be holding on to the rope with all his strength. We thus return to the original question where he would take the energy to labor with all his heart and might just for the sake of giving satisfaction to his maker. For a person cannot make even a single movement without self-benefit just like a machine cannot function without fuel. If there will be no self-benefit but just giving satisfaction to one’s maker, he has no fuel for the work.

(40)Attaining God’s loftiness
13. The answer is that the abundance bestowed on whoever properly attains God’s loftiness turns into receiving, as said in tractate Kiddushin, 7a that when an important man marries, it is the bride who gives him money, which is considered as if she received it [due to the benefit she acquires], when she is married to him. It is the same with the blessed Lord. When a person attains God’s loftiness, no act of receiving is more important than bestowing satisfaction on one’s maker. This is sufficient fuel for work and labor with one’s whole heart, soul, and being to give satisfaction to the Lord.

(41) But it is clear that as long as he does not properly attain God’s loftiness, giving satisfaction to the Lord is not considered an act of receiving for which he would give his whole heart, soul, and being to the Lord. Thus, when he truly focuses his intention on only giving satisfaction to his maker and not on self-benefit, he will immediately lose all strength to work, remaining as a machine without fuel. For a person cannot move a limb without deriving some self-benefit from it; this is truer for such a huge effort as giving one’s whole soul and being, as the Torah requires of us. Undoubtedly, he cannot accomplish that without deriving any self-benefit from it.

(42)The level of loftiness depends on the environment
14. In truth, attaining God’s loftiness properly to the point that giving is transformed into receiving, as said with regards to an important man, is not difficult at all. Everyone knows the greatness of the Creator who created everything and sustains everything; who is without beginning or end; whose loftiness is endless and infinite. The difficulty lies in the fact that perception of loftiness does not depend on the individual but on the environment. For example, if a person full of good qualities is not esteemed and respected by the people around him, he will always be low spirited and unable to take pride in his qualities even if he does not doubt their veracity. The opposite is also true; a person who is devoid of virtues but is nonetheless respected by people around him as if he has many good qualities will be filled with pride because perception of importance and loftiness depends solely on the environment.

(43) When a person sees how people in his environment treat God’s service lightly and do not properly appreciate his greatness, that individual cannot overcome the environment; he too cannot achieve God’s loftiness but treats God’s service lightly like they do. And since he does not have the foundation of attaining God’s loftiness, he obviously cannot work to either give satisfaction to his maker or for his own benefit since he has no fuel to enable the labor, and “(If a person says to you:) I have not labored but nevertheless found [success], do not believe him” (v tractate Megillah 6b). His only option is to either work toward self-benefit or not work at all since giving satisfaction to his maker will not be considered true receiving for him.

(44) This will help you understand the verse, “In the multitude of people is the king’s glory” (Proverbs 14:28). It claims that perception of loftiness comes from the environment under two conditions: one depends on the measure of social appreciation. The second depends on the size of the environment. Therefore, “In the multitude of people is the king’s glory.”