What
Are
the
Forces
Required
in
the
Work?
Article
No.
11,
1989
Our
sages
said
(Megillah
6b),
“Rabbi
Yitzhak
said,
‘Should
one
tell
you,
‘I
labored
but
did
not
find,’
do
not
believe;
‘I
did
not
labor
but
did
find,’
do
not
believe;
‘I
labored
and
found,’
believe.’”
We
should
understand
the
meaning
of
“believe.”
Are
we
speaking
of
people
telling
lies?
We
are
speaking
here
of
people
who
engage
in
Torah;
certainly,
they
are
decent
people.
Why
should
we
think
that
they
are
lying?
Thus,
why
does
he
say,
“believe”
or
“do
not
believe”?
To
understand
this,
we
must
first
know
the
meaning
of
labor.
We
already
said
many
times
that
labor
is
when
a
person
has
to
do
things
against
nature.
That
is,
since
we
are
born
with
a
desire
to
receive
for
ourselves,
in
order
to
have
Dvekut
[adhesion]
and
equivalence
of
form—since
specifically
by
this
it
is
possible
to
receive
delight
and
pleasure
without
shame—there
was
a
correction
that
we
must
do
everything
in
order
to
bestow.
Otherwise,
we
are
left
in
a
vacant
space
devoid
of
light,
which
is
called
“concealment
and
hiding,”
where
we
do
not
feel
any
Kedusha
[holiness]
while
engaging
in
self-love.
For
this
reason,
when
beginning
to
work
in
order
to
bestow,
which
is
against
nature,
it
is
called
“labor”
because
the
body
resists
it.
The
body
resists
with
all
its
might
to
any
movement
that
it
sees
that
it
will
not
be
for
its
own
benefit,
and
it
requires
great
strength
to
overcome
it.
This
is
where
the
main
work
begins,
of
which
it
was
said,
“I
labored”
or
“I
did
not
labor.”
We
asked
about
this,
How
can
it
be
said
that
if
people
come
and
say,
“I
did
not
labor
but
found,
do
not
believe”?
After
all,
we
are
speaking
of
people
who
have
already
“found.”
Certainly,
these
are
decent
people.
It
cannot
be
said
that
they
are
lying!
So,
why
does
it
say,
“Do
not
believe”
them,
as
though
they
are
lying?
But
in
truth,
they
did
labor,
so
why
are
they
saying
that
they
did
not
labor
when
they
say,
“I
did
not
labor
but
found”?
The
answer
is
that
when
a
person
begins
the
work
of
bestowal,
the
body
begins
to
resist.
Then,
a
person
begins
to
use
the
Segula
[remedy/power]
of
Torah
and
Mitzvot
[commandments/good
deeds]
in
order
to
have
the
strength
to
overcome
the
evil
in
him.
With
the
assistance
he
should
receive
from
the
Torah
and
Mitzvot,
he
sees
the
opposite.
He
thought
that
each
time,
he
would
march
forward
and
feel
that
it
is
not
worthwhile
to
work
for
self-love
and
that
it
is
time
for
the
evil
to
surrender
before,
him
and
he
believed
that
he
was
given
this
feeling
from
above
and
henceforth
he
would
no
longer
have
any
contact
with
the
evil.
But
suddenly,
he
sees
that
he
is
once
again
in
utter
lowliness,
immersed
in
self-love
and
feeling
the
concealment
and
hiding
from
the
purpose
of
creation,
which
is
to
do
good
to
His
creations.
Although
he
believes
that
in
order
to
be
rewarded
with
it
we
must
first
be
rewarded
with
the
love
of
the
Creator,
he
sees
that
he
only
loves
himself
and
cannot
accept
that
he
will
annul
before
the
Creator
and
say
that
there
is
no
other
authority
in
the
world,
everything
belongs
to
the
Creator,
and
the
lower
one
does
not
merit
a
name.
Therefore,
when
a
thought
about
annulling
before
the
Creator
comes
to
him,
the
body
stands
against
him
and
makes
him
think,
“How
do
you
want
to
annul
yourself
before
the
Creator
and
have
no
reality
of
your
own,
so
there
is
only
the
single
authority
of
the
Creator
and
you
do
not
want
to
merit
a
name?”
This
is
against
nature,
since
as
long
as
one
is
alive,
he
wants
to
exist
and
feel
his
being.
So
how
is
he
told
that
he
must
annul
before
the
Creator
and
lose
his
being?
At
that
time
the
body
says
that
it
does
not
agree
to
this.
This
is
called
“exile,”
meaning
that
the
“nations
of
the
world”
in
a
person
control
the
“Israel”
in
him.
It
is
known
that
“Israel”
means
Yashar-El
[straight
to
the
Creator].
That
is,
a
person
does
not
want
to
have
a
reality
of
his
own,
but
wants
to
annul
directly
before
the
Creator.
As
it
was
in
the
exile
in
Egypt,
the
Egyptians
controlled
the
people
of
Israel
and
they
could
not
emerge
from
their
governance.
Rather,
as
it
is
written,
“I
am
the
Lord
your
God,
who
brought
you
out
from
the
land
of
Egypt.”
This
means
that
a
person
cannot
have
the
power
to
overcome
and
emerge
from
the
control
of
the
body
by
himself.
Rather,
the
Creator
Himself
can
redeem
them
from
this
exile.
Now
there
is
a
question:
A
person
made
great
efforts
and
went
through
many
states
of
ascents
and
descents,
and
many
times
despaired,
meaning
came
to
the
conclusion
that
the
verse
“All
your
works
will
be
for
the
sake
of
heaven”
is
not
for
him,
but
belongs
to
people
with
exceptional
skills,
and
who
are
strong
and
brave.
But
he
himself
cannot
achieve
this,
and
he
has
already
decided
that
he
must
leave
this
campaign.
But
then
he
received
another
awakening
from
above,
to
the
point
that
he
has
forgotten
his
decision
prior
to
the
current
state.
He
says,
“Now
I
see
that
I
am
back
on
the
horse
and
I,
too,
can
achieve
a
state
of
bestowal
and
emerge
from
self-love.”
But
then,
he
suddenly
declines
from
his
degree
once
more.
Also,
there
is
the
matter
of
forgetfulness.
That
is,
he
forgets
what
he
said
earlier,
that
he
could
come
to
work
in
order
to
bestow,
and
it
did
not
occur
to
him
that
there
could
be
a
time
when
he
would
fall
from
his
degree
once
more.
Rather,
he
was
certain
that
now
he
would
move
forward.
But
now
he
sees
that
it
is
not
as
he
thought.
Such
thoughts
and
states
come
upon
him
ceaselessly.
It
therefore
follows
that
when
the
Creator
Himself
helps
him
and
delivers
him
from
exile,
he
does
not
know
what
to
say,
but
sees
that
on
one
hand,
all
the
efforts
he
had
made
bore
no
fruit.
He
sees
within
reason
that
had
the
Creator
not
helped
him,
he
would
have
left
the
campaign,
since
many
times
he
had
such
thoughts.
Thus,
he
cannot
say,
“I
labored
and
found”?
since
he
sees
that
the
labor
earned
him
nothing.
The
fact
that
he
was
rewarded
with
finding
was
only
by
the
Creator’s
salvation,
which
is
why
he
comes
and
says,
“I
did
not
labor
but
found.”
That
is,
the
labor
he
had
given
made
no
difference.
Now
we
will
understand
the
question,
How
can
we
suspect
that
he
is
lying?
According
to
the
above,
this
is
simple:
He
says
what
he
sees,
and
he
sees
that
all
his
labor
did
not
help
him
whatsoever.
Therefore,
he
makes
an
honest
statement:
“I
did
not
labor.”
That
is,
with
regard
to
attaining
the
goal,
he
did
nothing.
That
is,
for
all
the
labor
he
had
given,
he
remained
in
a
state
of
lowliness
that
is
even
lower
than
he
felt
in
the
beginning
of
the
work,
since
when
he
started
the
work
of
bestowal,
he
thought
he
had
a
little
bit
of
evil,
and
he
would
certainly
have
the
power
to
overcome
it
and
be
able
to
work
in
bestowal
and
not
receive
for
himself.
But
what
did
he
earn
from
the
work
and
the
labor
he
had
put?
It
is
that
he
has
reached
the
worst
lowliness.
Thus,
how
can
he
say,
“I
labored
and
found,”
since
the
labor
caused
him
to
perceive
more
evil,
and
not
to
find
the
Kedusha
and
enter
it.
Therefore,
he
knows
that
he
is
making
a
true
statement,
meaning
that
the
labor
is
worthless.
Thus,
he
is
certain
that
the
labor
is
not
the
reason
for
the
finding.
This
is
why
he
says,
“I
did
not
labor
but
found.”
In
his
eyes,
he
is
not
lying.
Now
we
should
ask,
Why
do
they
say,
“Do
not
believe”?
since
he
is
telling
the
truth.
Thus,
what
do
we
find
in
his
words
that
is
untrue,
for
which
our
sages
said,
“Do
not
believe”?
The
thing
is
that
there
is
a
rule:
“There
is
no
light
without
a
Kli
[vessel].”
That
is,
there
cannot
be
a
filling
without
a
lack.
Therefore,
when
a
person
makes
an
effort
to
come
to
bestow
upon
the
Creator,
the
more
he
exerts,
the
more
the
need
for
the
filling
awakens
in
him.
That
is,
to
the
extent
of
his
effort
to
achieve
the
degree
of
bestowing,
so
he
sees
that
he
is
far
from
it.
And
who
makes
him
see
that
he
is
far
from
being
a
giver?
It
is
the
work
itself.
It
is
like
a
person
who
catches
a
thief,
and
the
thief
wants
to
run
away
from
him.
Therefore,
if
the
person
is
holding
the
thief
and
the
thief
does
not
show
much
resistance,
the
person
does
not
need
to
make
great
efforts
to
hold
the
thief.
But
if
the
thief
begins
to
show
more
resistance,
the
person,
too,
must
make
greater
efforts
to
prevent
the
thief
from
escaping
him.
And
if
the
thief
is
more
powerful
than
the
person,
and
he
sees
that
soon
he
will
escape
from
him,
the
person
begins
to
yell
for
help
and
cries,
“Help!”
Thus,
when
does
one
yell
for
help?
Precisely
when
he
cannot
save
himself
by
himself.
Then
he
begins
to
yell,
“Help!”
But
if
the
thief
is
but
a
small
child
and
the
person
caught
him
in
his
hands,
he
would
not
normally
yell,
“Help
me
keep
the
boy
from
running
away
because
I
haven’t
the
strength
to
keep
him,
since
he
wants
to
run
away
from
me!”
Certainly,
everyone
would
laugh
at
him
because
we
do
not
normally
ask
for
help
where
we
can
do
what
needs
to
be
done
without
anyone’s
assistance.
This
is
because
the
conduct
is
that
“there
is
no
filling
without
a
lack.”
Therefore,
since
he
has
no
need
for
help,
when
he
asks
for
help
needlessly,
everyone
laughs
at
him
because
this
does
not
match
the
order
of
correction
of
creation.
It
follows
from
this
that
when
a
person
does
not
need
people
and
has
sustenance,
yet
asks
for
help
and
support
for
his
sustenance,
those
who
see
him
laugh
at
him,
even
though
he
is
standing
and
asking
for
help.
We
see
that
to
the
extent
that
he
pleads
for
mercy,
people
who
know
him—that
he
is
not
in
need—laugh
at
him
and
do
not
give
him
anything.
Now
we
can
understand
why
when
he
says,
“I
did
not
labor
but
found,”
our
sages
say,
“Do
not
believe.”
As
we
explained,
he
makes
an
honest
statement.
But
as
we
explained,
a
filling
is
not
given
without
a
lack.
Therefore,
a
person
must
work
and
exert
and
do
all
that
is
required
to
achieve
the
degree
that
“all
your
works
will
be
for
the
sake
of
heaven.”
To
the
extent
of
the
labor
he
put
into
the
work,
so
he
becomes
more
needy
of
the
Creator’s
help.
Then,
when
he
has
a
Kli,
meaning
a
need
for
the
Creator’s
help,
when
he
sees
no
way
that
he
can
achieve
the
degree
of
bestowal,
this
is
when
he
receives
help
from
above.
It
therefore
follows
that
both
are
true.
He
must
say,
“I
did
not
labor,”
meaning
that
his
labor
was
worthless,
since
he
sees
that
he
did
not
gain
from
the
effort
he
had
made.
Quite
the
contrary,
through
his
efforts,
he
came
to
realize
that
the
labor
is
worthless,
meaning
that
nothing
can
be
obtained
through
the
labor.
He
sees
this
within
reason,
and
there
is
no
issue
of
believing
above
reason
here
that
the
labor
did
not
help
him
and
only
the
Creator
helped
him,
since
he
sees
it
with
his
own
eyes.
Then
he
can
say,
“I
did
not
labor
but
found.”
This
is
why
he
says
to
everyone
that
the
labor
is
worthless.
In
his
opinion,
he
is
telling
the
truth.
But
our
sages
said
about
him,
“Do
not
believe”
that
he
did
not
toil,
since
“There
is
no
light
without
a
Kli,
no
filling
without
a
lack.”
This
is
why
we
need
the
labor,
as
it
increases
his
lack
so
as
to
need
the
Creator’s
help
more
each
time,
until
he
acquires
a
real
lack.
The
Creator
knows
when
is
the
completion
of
the
lack
so
it
fits
the
filling,
and
then
the
Creator
gives
him
the
filling.
It
follows
that
if
a
person
does
not
labor,
there
is
no
place
for
the
Creator
to
give
him
the
filling.
Thus,
we
see
that
the
labor
does
have
value,
so
much
so
that
without
labor
there
is
no
finding,
as
said
above,
“There
is
no
filling
without
a
lack.”
This
is
why
they
said,
“I
did
not
labor
but
found,
do
not
believe.”
Indeed,
there
must
be
labor,
as
this
gives
us
the
need
for
the
salvation
of
the
Creator.
Therefore,
when
a
person
comes
and
says,
“I
labored
but
did
not
find,”
they
say,
“Do
not
believe.”
That
is,
if
a
person
truly
did
exert,
and
received
the
need
for
the
Creator
to
give
him
the
filling,
the
Creator
would
certainly
give
him
the
filling.
Rather,
it
must
be
that
he
did
not
labor
sufficiently
to
receive
the
filling.
But
when
is
the
need
completed?
This,
the
Creator
knows.
Therefore,
a
person
must
increase
the
efforts
and
not
escape
the
campaign
until
the
Creator
helps
him.
By
this
we
will
understand
the
question
we
asked,
Which
forces
does
one
need
in
order
to
be
able
to
achieve
the
degree
that
“All
your
works
will
be
for
the
sake
of
heaven”?
Does
one
need
great
skills,
a
strong
desire,
and
a
brave
heart
and
so
forth?
That
is,
does
it
require
having
great
powers
in
all
those
things
we
find
among
people,
which
make
them
be
considered
superior
to
others?
Because
it
is
written,
“I
labored
and
found,
believe,”
it
implies
that
we
need
great
powers.
They
said
about
this,
“I
did
not
labor
but
found,
do
not
believe.”
That
is,
it
does
not
require
great
strength
or
great
skills,
but
only
a
desire—to
want
to
adhere
to
the
Creator.
Then
the
Creator
brings
him
closer
without
any
labor
or
great
powers.
As
said
above,
when
a
person
is
granted
with
“finding,”
he
says,
“I
did
not
labor,”
as
he
sees
that
all
the
labor
does
not
merit
a
name,
for
even
if
one
had
the
greatest
powers
in
the
world,
it
would
not
help
him.
In
order
to
achieve
Dvekut
with
the
Creator
and
emerge
from
the
control
of
self-love,
only
the
Creator
can
deliver
him
from
the
control
of
man’s
vessels
of
reception.
It
is
as
it
is
written,
“I
am
the
Lord
your
God,
who
brought
you
out
from
the
land
of
Egypt,
to
be
your
God.”
No
powers
within
a
person
will
help
in
this.
By
this
we
can
explain
what
is
written
(in
the
[Hanukkah]
song,
Mighty
Rock
of
My
Salvation),
“Greeks
gathered
around
me,
then
in
the
days
of
the
Hasmoneans,
and
broke
the
walls
of
my
towers
and
defiled
all
the
oils.”
Since
we
need
the
labor
in
order
to
reveal
the
lack
in
us,
and
only
then
is
it
possible
to
satisfy
the
lack,
in
order
to
know
exactly
what
we
need,
we
can
see
this
specifically
when
a
person
wants
to
approach
Kedusha,
meaning
to
do
everything
for
the
sake
of
heaven.
This
is
regarded
as
the
quality
of
“Hasmoneans,”
whose
role
was
to
bring
out
the
Kedusha
from
the
governance
of
the
Klipot,
which
are
called
“Greeks.”
Precisely
when
a
person
wants
to
draw
near
the
Kedusha,
which
is
done
through
faith
above
reason,
the
“views
of
the
Greeks”
appear
in
a
person.
This
is
a
Klipa
[singular
of
Klipot]
against
faith.
At
that
time
we
see
that
before
he
began
the
work
of
bestowal,
the
Greeks
were
not
revealed
in
the
person,
and
he
thought
that
he
had
sufficient
faith
in
the
Creator
and
had
the
strength
to
observe
Torah
and
Mitzvot,
and
all
that
he
needed
was
to
do
more
Torah
and
Mitzvot.
But
when
one
wants
to
be
a
Hasmonean,
meaning
that
only
Kedusha
will
govern
the
world,
the
“Greeks,”
which
is
the
Klipa
opposite
faith,
appears
more
vigorously
every
time
and
wants
specifically
to
break
“the
walls
of
my
towers.”
Faith
is
the
“wall,”
and
all
the
greatness
depends
on
the
measure
of
faith
that
a
person
has
in
the
Creator,
as
it
is
written
in
The
Zohar
about
the
verse
“Her
husband
is
known
at
the
gates,”
that
each
one
according
to
what
he
assumes
in
his
heart.
That
is,
each
person
has
a
different
measure
of
faith
in
the
Creator,
as
it
is
written
in
the
“Introduction
to
The
Study
of
the
Ten
Sefirot”
(Item
14).
Now
we
can
understand
when
the
walls
of
my
towers
were
broken,
meaning
that
they
saw
they
had
no
faith,
that
they
could
not
go
above
reason.
It
is
precisely
when
they
wanted
to
come
into
the
work
that
is
all
to
bestow
upon
the
Creator;
this
is
when
the
“Greeks
gathered
around
me”
and
the
thoughts
of
the
Greeks
began
to
come,
which
let
us
go
only
where
the
intellect
asserts
that
it
was
worth
doing.
But
that
which
is
against
the
intellect,
they
insist
on
resisting
and
do
not
let
one
move
one
bit.
This
is
when
the
labor
begins.
That
is,
precisely
when
we
begin
to
walk
in
the
work
of
bestowal,
only
then
do
we
see
that
a
person
cannot
do
anything
against
his
nature,
which
is
the
will
to
receive
for
oneself.
Therefore,
when
the
Creator
made
a
miracle
for
them,
meaning
helped
them,
everyone
saw
that
all
the
work
did
nothing
for
them,
meaning
that
all
the
work
was
in
vain,
since
they
could
not
conquer
them,
as
it
is
written
(in
“For
the
Miracles”),
“You
delivered
mighty
into
the
hands
of
the
weak,
and
many
into
the
hands
of
the
few.”
That
is,
naturally,
there
was
no
way
for
them
to
win
because
they
were
weak
and
few
there.
Thus,
they
saw
within
reason
that
the
Creator
helped
them.
This
comes
to
teach
us
that
when
the
Creator
helps,
it
cannot
be
said
that
He
can
help
specifically
a
mighty
man,
and
cannot
help
a
weak
person.
Now
we
can
see
what
great
forces
and
good
qualities
must
be
in
a
person
so
the
Creator
will
help
him
approach
Him.
In
the
work,
we
should
interpret
“You
delivered
mighty
into
the
hands
of
the
weak,”
meaning
the
strong
thoughts
and
the
strong
desires
of
the
Greeks
in
a
person
into
the
hands
of
the
“Israel”
in
a
person,
who
are
weak
in
thoughts
and
are
not
skillful.
They
do
not
have
the
strong
desire
and
the
ability
to
overcome
the
desires
of
the
nations
of
the
world
in
a
person.
And
yet,
You
delivered
these
mighty
ones
into
the
hands
of
the
weak.
This
is
called
a
“miracle”
because
it
is
not
natural
that
a
person
will
be
able
to
overcome
them.
This
teaches
us
that
one
cannot
say
that
he
is
unfit
to
be
a
worker
for
the
Creator
in
order
to
bestow,
since
he
sees
that
he
does
not
meet
the
requirements
that
make
him
capable
of
this.
Therefore,
we
are
shown
that
a
person
cannot
overcome
nature,
even
if
a
person
is
the
mightiest
of
the
mighty.
Rather,
the
Creator
is
the
one
who
helps,
as
our
sages
said,
“I
did
not
labor
but
found,
do
not
believe.”
That
is,
finding
means
finding
the
vessels
of
bestowal,
and
this
the
Creator
gives.
This
is
as
it
is
written
(Psalms
33),
“The
king
is
not
saved
by
a
mighty
army;
a
mighty
man
is
not
delivered
by
great
strength.
Behold,
the
eye
of
the
Lord
is
on
those
who
fear
Him,
who
hope
for
His
mercy
[Hesed],
to
deliver
their
souls
from
death.”
The
meaning
of
“Behold,
the
eye
of
the
Lord”
is
that
the
Creator
looks
at
those
people
“who
hope
for
His
Hesed,”
who
await
the
Creator
to
give
them
the
quality
of
Hesed,
meaning
give
them
the
vessels
of
bestowal.