Derech Hashem/The Way Of God II

I have spent the last two days in Derech Hashem I. Fundamentals / 3. Man. This is my second trip through the book although I have been studying R' Moshe Chaim Luzzatto via Rabbi Kalatsky, Rabbi Tatz and many other shuirim for five years, eleven months.

This particular portion I'm delving into because I want it in my heart much deeper than I have it now.

It starts out with "man is the creature created for the purpose of cleaving to Hashem. Only man is placed between perfection and deficiency, with the power to earn perfection."

I speaks about free will and how that is only a test of the level of compunction a person has attained. We live in a society where guilt is a "bad thing." Why? Because we live in a "let it rip" society. We have become desensitized to the fact that we are not just here on a joy ride, that this is a time of action.

RamChal: If man were compelled towards perfection, then he would not really be the master of it. Rather He who compelled him would be the one responsible, and God's purpose would not be fulfilled.

This speaks volumes to me these days, whereas the many years of previous learning weren't a pointed as these facts are at this time for me. And yes, I call what I learn from Talmud, Torah...facts -' a piece of information presented as having objective reality.' And yes, I know the difference between subjective reality and objective reality. You can eat an orange, but you can't truly describe the pleasure or perhaps displeasure of that particular orange as no two oranges are ever identical. Kinda like an expert of great pottery who knows not only the aesthetics of a piece, but the provenance of that object.

RamChal: It was necessary that man be given free will, and be balanced between good and evil, and not be compelled towards either. He has the power of choice, and able to choose either side, knowingly and willingly, and possess whichever one he wishes.

The Rabbi's teach that God will help a person no matter where he is headed. If he is headed for evil, he will also be helped along that pathway. This life is a tricky path. It is all about "talk is cheap, actions speak louder than words."

RamChal: In order that God's goal be best achieved, the Highest Wisdom decreed that man should consist of two opposites.

A person has a soul, which is pure an unadulterated. He also has a physical body which is unenlightened. The body is inclined towards the material and the soul toward the spiritual.

This is a battle.

RamChal: If the soul prevails, it not only elevates itself, but elevates the body as well, and the individual thereby attains his destined perfection. If he allows the physical to prevail, then besides lowering his body, he also debases his soul.

The beauty is that even though at some point he may go too far, he still retains the ability to subjugate the physical to his soul and turn it all around, back to the desired direction.

I love Tshuvah.