June 11, 1962, Antwerp
To my friend,
I received what you wrote, and in these lines you open your heart, what is missing and what is abundant. May you succeed in the new place. “Arise and go up” means that the place causes. That is, sometimes a person rises by sitting, meaning by “sit and do not do,” as our sages said, “Sat and did not commit a transgression; it is as though he performed a Mitzva (good deed/correction).” Also, sometimes he ascends in degree by rising and doing.
It follows that “Arise and go up” refers to his ascent by rising and doing. This means that the “do” is more important than “do not do,” as our sages said, “Do repels do not do,” since man’s way is to love rest, and in “do,” when he must get up he has more labor, so it is more important.
In ethics, “do not do” is more important, as explained in the holy Zohar. But in the revealed, regarded as the externality of the Torah, where we begin with externality, and then, when we keep the externality, we begin delve into the internality, the order of the work is that “do” is greater.
This is so because initially, man chooses only rest. Hence, where he should arise and not be in “sit and do not do,” it is more difficult for him. And in all the places where there is more labor, it is more important. But once he is used to the work, he considers only the profits.
“Do not do” indicates that the pleasure appearing by Torah and Mitzvot, and there is the matter that a great reward and pleasure appears, which is forbidden to receive before the end of correction, as our sages said, “The pig is destined to return to the Torah” …
And let us return to our issue. We must know that man’s main purpose in this world is to be rewarded with the sweet pleasantness and savor of the Torah. Only when one feels the sweetness of the Torah can he see that he is the happiest man in the world.
But when he looks at the rest of the people, it evokes in him pity at how they are spending their lives in torment, and never feel any flavor in life that will be worth suffering the torments they are suffering in the world in return for the pleasure they are receiving for the toil.
And even they cannot explain why they agree to live under such conditions. But the real reason is that “You live against your will,” and this is why they want to live, and “All that a man has he will give for his life.” And even though according to the calculation that he will do it is better to give up living, still, the “You live against your will,” does not let him think this, but rather man wants to exist.
However, we need to understand why the Creator would do such a thing—that man’s vitality will be only because of recognition and not because of pleasure. Indeed, it is done only for man’s correction. That is, on the one hand he sees that it is not worthwhile to live for corporeality, meaning that corporeal pleasure will not suffice for him, for the labor that one must pay for this. And for this reason there is room for one to introspect and place all his ambitions in the Torah. If he is satisfied in corporeality, he will never conclude that it is better to move from corporeal needs to spiritual needs. Were it not for the matter of “You live against your will,” every person would immediately commit suicide, so as to not suffer torments. It turns out that “You live against your will” helps him only so as to not escape from the torments.
Suffering cleanses one’s iniquities. That is, the suffering causes him to place all his passions only in Torah and Mitzva [commandment], by which he is rewarded with the vitality of the Torah. We say about this, “for they are our lives and the length of our days.” That is, we want long lives not because “You live against your will,” but because “They are our lives,” which is really life, and this is why we want such days to prolong.
And since now you have made the “Arise and go up,” meaning went into a new place, “And you have not a thing that has no place” (Avot 4:3), you should try to always be as in “Arise and go up,” and not be idle but rise higher and higher and be rewarded with the pleasantness of the brightness of the light of Torah.
From your friend, Baruch Shalom HaLevi,
Son of Baal HaSulam