The Essential Opposition

Question: I relate to the Creator with respect and awe. He is great and grandiose in my imagination, whereas the friends, the “others” among whom He is revealed, are the opposite. It is as if we lower the bar. They seem less important. How do we solve this problem? How do I increase the value in my eyes of the “electricity” that already has been revealed within the world Kli, the unity, on the background of the greatness of its source?

Answer: As the sages say, you cannot show children that our love for them is absolute. It will only spoil them. Parents who show unconditional love to their children bring their children to circles (Igulim) instead of straight lines (Yosher), instead of law, mercy instead of justice, and this is not good.

Therefore, we simply cannot imagine the Creator is good that does good. He conceals Himself behind very specific and rigid views of the relationship with us that appear to us as ranging from the very unkind to the quite cruel.

We need to take into account both extremes, the two sides of the same coin. On the one hand, He is good and that does good, and on the other hand, I find it as bad. So, how can I connect these two opposing extremes?

The goal of creation is to benefit His creatures, and this is attained according to corrections that the creatures make and only at the end of development. Baal HaSulam writes about this in the article, “The Essence of Religion and its Purpose.” If I adopt this approach, if I realize this during my process of investigation, then I will understand why everything is arranged in this way. I understand the Creator is like a loving father. From love, He must pressure His child in order to lead him toward the good.

Specifically, the idea here is how to clearly identify the problem, the contradiction between the Creator who is good and that does good and the troubles of our world, for I see that the troubles are just increasing, becoming more acute, and pressing more and more strongly on humanity. Until recently, it was as if times were good, and everyone hoped for a brighter and good future, for the “American Dream,” but today, this is no longer serves as a benchmark, and soon we will be happy not to live there.

Why do we need this opposition, this contradiction? This conflict is specifically designed to create internal dissonance in me: How can it be that power of nature, the good and who does good, the absolute power beyond all limitations, locks us into such serious disasters?

I begin to examine and investigate this conflict and search for a solution to the problem. Maybe, the Creator doesn’t exist, and everything is at the mercy of blind nature, and I must fight against it.

However, in reality this approach doesn’t solve the problem. After all, the Creator and nature are the same thing. It follows that I have not changed anything. I only have changed the words but I am left facing the same unsolved problem. The condition is still ongoing and becoming worse, and in any case, I must search for a way out.

Therefore, ultimately, I can solve this conflict only if I will understand that I don’t need to change anything except myself, and here is the key point: Do we need to change ourselves or not? Do we worship through all kinds of physical actions, actions that have been written down, and wait for these to bring us everything good, or do we correct ourselves, and from these, our corrected Kelim, it will be good for us.
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From the 1^st part of the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 11/12/13, Shamati #3 “The Matter of Spiritual Attainment”