1.<\/p>\n
\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Now, I know that this (idea) is intolerable to some thinkers who simply can\u2019t accept the notion that man, whom they regard as lowly and worthless, is the focal point of creation in all of its splendor. <\/strong><\/p>\n After all, they might reason, man is neither angel nor is he any greater than the humanoids he\u2019d evolved from. So how could he possibly be God\u2019s prized entity and the focus of all His attention?<\/p>\n \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 \u00a0\u00a0 But (they only feel that way because) they\u2019re like a worm that was born and raised in a radish who deemed all of God\u2019s creation as being as bitter, dark, and tiny as that radish, and who suddenly sat up in stunned wonder and said: \u201cI thought the whole world was the size of the radish I was raised in, and now I see a huge, splendid, beautiful, and wondrous world before me!\u201d the moment the radish-shell breaks open and he was able to peer out. <\/strong><\/p>\n \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 For they too are encased — in the shell of the ratzon l\u2019kabel<\/em> they were born with, and they never savored the sweet scent of Torah (study) and mitzvah-observance that can break through that hard shell and turn it into a willingness to bestow pleasure onto the Creator. In fact they can\u2019t help but consider humankind worthless and empty — since that\u2019s what they themselves are (for all intents and purposes). (And it also explains why) they can\u2019t fathom how all of reality was created for humankind\u2019s sake alone.<\/strong><\/p>\n Ashlag\u2019s point is that those who contend that humankind is small and of little worth only feel that way because they\u2019ve never attained the rank of true humanness. They\u2019ve never looked past the pettinesses that they — and most of us — function out of, or caught sight of the human they could be if they\u2019d but follow the mitzvah-system that encourages selflessness and surrendering to God\u2019s will. For following it enables one to transcend the ratzon l\u2019kabel<\/em> that defines most of humanity, and to draw close to God, which is God\u2019s great aim and focus.<\/p>\n 2.<\/p>\n \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 \u00a0\u00a0 Indeed, if they\u2019d only delve into Torah and mitzvah-observance in order to bestow their Creator with satisfaction with as much purity (of intention and self) as they\u2019d have to, and if they\u2019d only try to pierce through the shell that is the ratzon l\u2019kabel<\/em> they were born with, and would be willing to accept a willingness to bestow, …<\/strong><\/p>\n Ashlag is reiterating the conditions under which we\u2019d all have to live out a life of Torah and mitzvah-observance in order to reap the full ineffable rewards due us. For at bottom, most of us<\/em> simply can\u2019t accept the notion that “man is” — that we ourselves are — “the focal point of creation”.<\/p>\n We\u2019d have to sincerely, wholly, and only mean to delight God in the process, and we\u2019d have to do that by transforming our innate ratzon l\u2019kabel<\/em> into a ratzon l\u2019hashpia<\/em>, a willingness to bestow. For if people would only do that,…<\/p>\n \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 \u00a0 … their eyes would open right there and then, they\u2019d come to behold themselves (for what they are), and they\u2019d gain all the delicious, delightful, and ego-undoing wisdom, understanding, and lustrous knowledge prepared for them in the spiritual worlds. <\/strong><\/p>\n \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 \u00a0\u00a0 And they themselves would then acknowledge, as the Jewish sages put it that, “A good guest is one who says, \u2018How much trouble my host has gone to for my sake! How much meat, … wine, … (and) cake has he set before me! And all for my sake alone!\u2019” (Berachot<\/em> 58A).<\/strong><\/p>\n For anyone who\u2019d come to that point couldn\u2019t help but catch sight of God bestowing them with one favor after another in this world in His love for humankind and as a consequence of His aim for us.<\/p>\n (c) 2011 Rabbi Yaakov Feldman<\/p>\n Feel free to contact me at feldman@torah.org<\/a><\/p>\n AT LONG LAST! Rabbi Feldman’s translation of Maimonides’ “Eight Chapters” is available here<\/a> at a discount.<\/p>\n You can still purchase a copy of Rabbi Feldman’s translation of “The Gates of Repentance” here<\/a> at a discount as well.<\/p>\n Rabbi Yaakov Feldman has also translated and commented upon “The Path of the Just” and “The Duties of the Heart” (Jason Aronson Publishers).<\/p>\n Rabbi Feldman also offers two free e-mail classes on www.torah.org entitled “Spiritual Excellence<\/a>\u201d and \u201cRamchal<\/a>\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" 1. \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Now, I know that this (idea) is intolerable to some thinkers who simply can\u2019t accept the notion that man, whom they regard as lowly and worthless, is the focal point of creation in all of its splendor. After … Continue reading