February 18, 1973, Bnei Brak
To my friend,
I received your letter together with 18, etc., and concerning the group, it is known that “As water face to the face,” etc., meaning that when a person feels his lowliness, it is because he feels His greatness. That is, normally, when we give to another, if he is of inferior degree, his giving is also very small.
Therefore, usually, when we collect donations, we search for influential and respectable people because according to the importance of the receiver, so is the measure of the donations. Therefore, when one wants to bestow upon the Creator, the evil inclination comes and depicts the Shechina [Divinity] in the dust. That is, whatever we give is enough and we need not give more.
But for one who wishes to receive reward for his work it is to the contrary. He appreciates the giver and says to himself that He must be benevolent and merciful. He mentions all the virtues of the giver because he wants Him to give him abundance.
Therefore, all those whose work is based on reward for the work, regardless of whether the reward is corporeal or spiritual—what one imagines to be spiritual, as long as it is a reward for one’s work—then through a little bit of thought and effort he can appreciate and cherish the giver.
But in the way of Baal HaSulam, where the whole foundation is that one should ask that all of one’s thoughts and desires will be only to benefit the Creator, a depiction of lowliness, called Shechina in the dust, immediately appears. Hence, we must not be impressed by the descent, since many pennies join into a great amount.
This is as we learned, “there is no absence in spirituality,” rather that it has temporarily departed in order to have room for work to advance. This is so because every moment that we scrutinize into holiness enters the domain of holiness, and a person descends only in order to sort out more sparks of holiness.
However, there is an advice that one should not wait until his degree is lowered for him, and when he feels his lowliness he goes up again, and that ascent is regarded as sorting a part into holiness. Instead, he himself descends and elevates other sparks, and raises them into the domain of holiness.
It is as our sages said, “Before I lose, I search” (Shabbat, 152), meaning before I lose the situation I am in, I start searching. It is as Baal HaSulam said about King David, who said, “I awaken the dawn.” Our sages said, “I awaken the dawn and the dawn does not awaken me.”
Therefore, the keeping is primarily during the ascent, and not during the descent. During the ascent we need to extend fear, lest we are pushed out, God forbid. But after all these, all we need is to cry out to the King and ask for His mercy on us once and for all.
I will conclude my letter for I am not accustomed to letters.
Baruch Shalom HaLevi
Son of Baal HaSulam