Taking the Initiative

 

According to Kabbalah, the dynamics of the relationship between God and man can be described in terms of two general patterns. The first is called “an awakening from below” and the second, “an awakening from above.”

 

When we think about God’s greatness, or study Torah, or call out to God in prayer, we can awaken within ourselves a desire to return to God – a desire for teshuvah. We can reveal a love and fear of God within our souls. Even when we do not feel motivated to serve God, we can do so anyway – and by our own efforts, we can become motivated. When we take the initiative this way in building a relationship with God, it is called, “an awakening from below.”

 

On the other hand, it sometimes happens that without any effort of our own, we suddenly feel inspired with a strong desire to serve God. Such an experience is a gift from heaven, and it is called “an awakening from above.” Since this inspiration comes directly from heaven, it is generally more intense than the love and fear we can generate by our own efforts. Nevertheless, by serving God with our own efforts with “an awakening from below,” we accomplish something that is much more important for ourselves and for the entire world.

           

There are several reasons for this. One is that if a person does not make an effort to serve God on his own, but waits for a “bolt of lightening” from heaven, then even when the “awakening from above” does arrive, he will be open to criticism for having been so lazy in the first place. Although the inspiration he receives will be real and valuable, he will be “billed” for it, so to speak. He will be held accountable for his past behavior, and will be carefully judged to see whether he uses this new gift of heavenly inspiration in a positive way. Thus, when a person receives “an awakening from above,” he may be subject to the forces of Divine judgment and the attribute of din.

           

When, on the other hand, a person serves God with “an awakening from below,” he is free from such criticism – far from being lazy, he worked on his own. In addition since he took the initiative, he is regarded as having “given” something to God. And since he acted with kindness (chesed) towards God, so God will respond to him in the same way, with the attribute of kindness. Hence, even when God responds to his “awakening from below” with “an awakening from above,” it will only be accompanied by kindness. Even when God’s response is far greater than the limited, human effort that prompted it, the person will not be subject to the Divine attribute of strict judgment.

           

According to the Baal Shem Tov, this is the mystical meaning of the verse, “When a woman gives seed and gives birth to a male child…” (Vayikra 12:2) [Baal Shem Tov al HaTorah, parshat Tazriah, section 1]. The relationship between God and the Jewish people is often compared to the relationship between husband and wife (Shir HaShirim is based on this metaphor). Hence when the Torah speaks about a woman giving seed, it refers to a person who takes the initiative in serving God, a person who makes “an awakening from below.” And the result of such avodat HaShem, the verse tells us, is a “male child.” This refers to a revelation of the Divine attribute of Chesed (Kindness) – since according to Kabbalah, the attribute of Chesed is masculine, while the attribute of Gevurah (strict judgment) is feminine. By the same logic, when a person serves God only in response to “an awakening from above,” the result is likely to be a “female child”, which refers to a revelation of the attribute of Gevurah.

           

There is another reason – an even deeper one – why it is essential to serve God with “an awakening from below.” According to our Sages, God created the universe because “He desired to have a dwelling place for Himself in the lower worlds” (Midrash Tanchuma, parashat Bechukosai 3). The term “lower worlds” refers to worlds in which God’s light and presence are concealed; the lowest of all worlds is the material world in which we live, a world in which physical matter conceals the Divine energy that is the true source of its existence. The reason for the creation of the universe was God’s desire that even such worlds, which by their very nature tend to conceal Godliness, should ultimately reveal Godliness. In a general sense, this is accomplished when we serve God with Torah and mitzvot.

 

Now, there are two ways in which a “lower world” can reveal Godliness. One is that the original concealment which made it into a “lower world” is removed; then it becomes, in a sense, a “higher world,” a world with a greater revelation of Godliness. This is similar to what happens when there is an open miracle – the “laws” of the lower world are simply suspended. This, however, is not the purpose for which God created the world.

 

The phrase, “a dwelling place in the lower worlds,” indicates that God wants the lower worlds, even as they continue to exist as “lower worlds,” to provide a “vessel” for Godliness. And that is what we accomplish when we use the natural world, even as it functions in a natural, physical way, to perform mitzvot – without the assistance of open miracles.

 

So too in the microcosm of the individual, there are two ways in which a person can experience a revelation of Godliness and a new awareness of God. One is with the assistance of “an awakening from above,” an “artificial” and temporary change in the nature of the individual. But this is like an open miracle, and hence is not the purpose for which God created the world. A true “dwelling place in the lower worlds” is created when a person uses his own intellect and emotions to generate a new awareness of God and new desire to serve God. Thus it is precisely when we serve God with “an awakening from below” that we fulfill the purpose for which the universe was created. Through such avodah, we truly become “God’s partners” in the creation of the world.

 

 

The practical implication of this is that we must not wait for god to provide us with inspiration. We must generate our own motivation and serve God with our own powers.

           

But what should we do if we are lazy and then, without any effort of our own, God gives us “an awakening from above”? As mentioned earlier, this can subject us to heavenly criticism and scrutiny, to the extent that we might actually be in a danger.

 

In such a case, the trick is to use this sudden arousal as a springboard to rise even higher. If we feel a sudden inspiration to serve God that is unrelated to our previous thoughts, we must immediately use our own powers to make this feeling deeper and more permanent. By responding with a tremendous effort of our own, we can actually put more energy into avodat HaShem than we received from “above.” Then, even though we did not start the process, it will be considered “an awakening from below” and will only lead to a revelation of God’s loving-kindness. By responding to the “awakening from above” in the best possible way – with an energetic “awakening from below” – we can silence the heavenly criticism and find favor in God’s eyes.

           

As Rebbe Nachman said, “Sometimes, thoughts of teshuvah and a yearning for God enter a person’s mind at a particular time and place. When that happens, he should immediately do something to strengthen those thoughts – at that very moment and in that very place. He might, for example, utter a prayer of supplication in which he asks for God’s help, or he might put his yearning for God into words” (Likutey Moharan II:124).

 

 

The Talmud tells the story of Reish Lakish, who was the leader of a group of bandits – until he met Rav Yochanan, who persuaded him to do teshuvah (Emet ve-Emunah, p 42). In the years that followed, Reish Lakish became one of the greatest Torah scholars of his generation and a close friend and colleague of Rav Yochanan.

 

According to the Midrash, on the day when Reish Lakish did teshuvah, he was in the company of two other bandits, his “students” in criminal activity. When Reish Lakish was told by Rav Yochanan to use his strength for Torah study, he responded by doing teshuvah. His companions, on the other hand, were unaffected by the entire incident and they continued to live as bandits.

 

Strangely, on the day when Reish Lakish left the world, his former “students” also passed away, and all three of them appeared before the heavenly court at the same time. There, in the world of truth, the two bandits saw that Reish Lakish was at the highest level of spiritual perfection and holiness, while they were at the lowest rung of spiritual ruin. When they saw that Reish Lakish was going to be rewarded with eternal delight, while they were going to be punished with the fire of Gehinnom, they cried out: “Wait! Wait! He was together with us! He was also a bandit! Why should he go to Gan Eden while we go to Gehinnom?” (Pirkei d’Rebbi Eliezer, ch.42).

 

To understand this, we must ask the following question: Why did all three of them have to appear before the heavenly court at the same time? The answer is that on the day when Reish Lakish did teshuvah, all three of them were presented with a spiritual opportunity – a kind of “awakening from above”. For Reish Lakish, it was Rabbi Yochanan’s encouragement, and he responded by changing his entire life.

 

For the other men, it was the very fact that Reish Lakish did teshuvah. As long as they were part of a tight-knit band of ruthless criminals, it would have been very dangerous for them to leave the “organization.” But when their own leader decided to leave, they had a perfect opportunity. They could easily have gone with him. And even if they hadn’t thought about repentance before that, the very fact that their own leader was doing teshuvah should have forced them to consider the possibility. Yet, despite the opportunity, they continued to live exactly as they had before.

 

From that moment on, a severe judgment hung over their heads. Hence it was decreed in heaven that in addition to receiving punishment for all the sins they committed, they would also receive a special punishment for the opportunity they wasted. And the appropriate punishment was to see with their own eyes the great reward they might have had, had they only responded to the “awakening from aboveץ

 

To be continued…

 

 

(Excerpt from The Scent of Gan Eden, by Rabbi Yaakov Meir Shechter, Keren Ohr Publications. Used with author’s permission.)