Try To Perform The Work Yourself!

Dr. Michael LaitmanQuestion: Is it possible to proceed by “faith above reason” all the time?

Answer: Of course not. However, Kabbalists do not discuss whether we can or cannot proceed in that manner; we simply must! And when we can’t, we ask for help, and the Creator does this work for us. The entire work is done by the Creator, not a person. But we need to ask Him to perform it.

A person has to come to an end in trying to perform the work himself. Even if he knows from the start that he is doomed to fail in trying to achieve the goal using his own strength, he should still do it. Thereby he discovers that the work will be done by the Creator, and he knows how to ask Him.

I always exist in a process where I move along a straight line from the initial (current) point to the final goal, which I must reach by any means. The final point is bestowal, love for the Creator and for the created beings, faith above reason, and bestowal above/over reception. I need to leave the initial point and come to the final point, and on the path we have the following:

1st part: Doing everything that is in your power! This is first and foremost.
2nd part: Reaching complete disappointment in my own strength.
3rd part: Understanding that only the Creator can save me.
4th part: Beginning to work together with Him in bestowal (Hafetz Hesed) and love.

But while I am still at the very beginning, I should rely on my own strength and know that I will undoubtedly reach the end. I cannot fold my arms across my chest and wait for action from Above. If I do not exert as much as I can during the first stage, if I don’t do everything that is possible, then I will never reach despair and understanding of my powerlessness. This means that I will never realize that I require the Creator’s help. If so, how can I rouse the Light that Reforms?

Stages unfold one after the other, and the current state determines and builds the next one. A person doesn’t know exactly where he is and what awaits him at the next stage during the next moment. However, the whole advancement is carried out due to his pressure.

From the 1st part of the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 8/30/10, “When A Person Knows What the Fear of God Is”

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