Why
We
Need
“Reply
unto
Your
Heart,”
to
Know
that
the
Lord,
He
Is
God,
in
the
Work
Article
16,
1991
The
Zohar
asks
(VaEra,
Items
89-90),
“‘Know
this
day
and
reply
unto
your
heart
that
the
Lord,
He
is
God.’
He
asks,
‘This
verse
should
have
said,
‘Know
this
day
that
the
Lord,
He
is
God,’
and
in
the
end,
‘And
reply
unto
your
heart,’
since
knowing
that
the
Lord
is
God
qualifies
him
to
reply
so
to
the
heart.
And
if
he
already
replied
to
his
heart,
it
is
especially
so
if
he
already
has
knowledge.
Also,
it
should
have
said,
‘reply
unto
your
heart’
[with
one
Bet]
instead
of
‘heart’
[with
a
double
Bet].’
He
replies,
‘Moses
said
that
if
you
want
to
insist
on
this
and
to
know
that
the
Lord,
He
is
God,
then
‘reply
unto
your
heart.’
Know
that
heart
[with
a
double
Bet]
means
that
the
good
inclination
and
the
evil
inclination,
which
reside
in
the
heart,
have
mingled
in
one
another
and
are
one,
so
the
bad
qualities
of
the
evil
inclination
will
become
good,
meaning
he
will
serve
the
Lord
with
them
and
will
not
sin
through
them.
Then
you
will
find
that
the
Lord
[HaVaYaH]
is
God,
that
the
quality
of
judgment,
called
‘God,’
is
included
in
HaVaYaH,
which
is
the
quality
of
mercy.”
We
should
understand
what
it
comes
to
teach
us
when
The
Zohar
says
that
it
is
impossible
to
know
that
“The
Lord,
He
is
God,”
before
a
person
achieves
the
degree
of
“Reply
unto
your
heart.”
We
should
know
what
is
the
quality
of
“God”
in
the
work,
and
what
is
the
quality
of
mercy
in
the
work,
which
is
called
HaVaYaH.
We
should
also
understand
what
is
the
evil
inclination
in
the
work,
and
what
is
the
good
inclination
in
the
work.
That
is,
in
the
work,
when
a
person
wants
to
achieve
Dvekut
[adhesion]
with
the
Creator,
what
is
the
evil
inclination
and
what
is
the
good
inclination?
For
the
general
public,
this
is
simple:
Those
who
observe
Torah
and
Mitzvot
[commandments/good
deeds]
are
regarded
as
following
the
way
of
the
good
inclination.
If
they
transgress
the
Torah
and
Mitzvot,
this
is
regarded
as
following
the
advice
of
the
evil
inclination.
But
what
is
it
in
the
work,
when
walking
on
the
path
toward
achieving
Dvekut
with
the
Creator?
It
is
known
that
the
creatures
were
born
with
a
nature
called
will
to
receive
for
one’s
own
sake.
For
this
reason,
man
cannot
do
anything
that
does
not
yield
some
benefit
for
oneself.
Hence,
the
Torah
tells
us,
“If
you
observe
Torah
and
Mitzvot,
I
will
reward
you,
as
it
is
written,
‘If
you
indeed
obey
My
commandments,
I
will
give
the
rain
for
your
land
in
its
season,
and
you
will
eat
and
be
satiated.’”
Maimonides
says
(Hilchot
Teshuva,
Chapter
5),
“They
are
taught
to
work
only
out
of
fear
and
in
order
to
receive
reward.
Until
they
gain
much
knowledge
and
acquire
much
wisdom,
they
are
taught
that
secret
little-by-little.”
It
follows
that
for
the
general
public,
the
evil
inclination
and
the
good
inclination
pertain
only
to
the
observance
of
Torah
and
Mitzvot,
but
they
do
not
speak
at
all
about
the
prohibition
to
work
in
order
to
receive
reward.
However,
when
speaking
about
the
work
of
bestowal,
the
evil
inclination
and
the
good
inclination
have
completely
different
meanings.
The
good
inclination
means
that
it
leads
a
person
to
obtain
the
delight
and
pleasure
that
He
wished
to
impart
upon
His
creations,
as
it
is
written,
that
the
purpose
of
creation
is
because
of
His
desire
to
do
good
to
His
creations.
But
in
order
to
avoid
the
shame,
there
were
Tzimtzum
[restriction]
and
concealment
where
the
creatures
cannot
receive
the
good
before
they
have
equivalence
of
form,
called
Dvekut.
This
is
obtained
by
doing
everything
for
the
sake
of
the
Creator.
At
that
time,
the
Tzimtzum
is
lifted
and
there
is
room
for
the
good
to
spread
within
it.
This
is
called
the
“good
inclination.”
The
evil
inclination
is
when
the
inclination
advises
a
person
to
work
only
for
self-benefit,
meaning
only
to
receive.
Since
this
is
disparity
of
form
from
the
Creator,
whose
desire
is
only
to
bestow,
and
that
disparity
of
form
causes
man
never
to
be
able
to
receive
the
delight
and
pleasure,
therefore,
this
inclination
is
called
“bad”
because
it
harms
a
person
by
not
letting
him
work
in
order
to
bestow,
which
causes
him
not
to
be
able
to
receive
delight
and
pleasure.
According
to
the
above,
we
can
interpret
what
it
means
that
a
person
should
work
with
himself
to
love
the
Creator
with
both
inclinations.
The
thing
is
that
as
long
as
one
has
two
inclinations,
they
are
disputed.
Sometimes
the
good
prevails,
and
sometimes
the
bad
prevails.
It
follows
that
two
forces
work
within
man
in
a
mixture.
This
is
called
“light
and
darkness
working
together.”
As
long
as
the
bad
has
not
surrendered,
the
Tzimtzum
and
concealment
that
were
on
the
Kelim
[vessels]
of
the
evil
inclination—called
“will
to
receive
for
oneself”—control
it,
and
he
cannot
receive
the
delight
and
pleasure.
It
follows
that
then
a
person
does
not
obtain
the
good.
For
this
reason,
he
is
in
a
state
of
“judgment,”
meaning
he
says
that
he
does
not
see
the
Creator’s
mercy,
so
he
will
be
able
to
say
that
the
Creator
leads
the
world
with
the
quality
of
mercy,
but
rather
with
the
quality
of
judgment,
since
the
person
cannot
see
His
guidance
as
delight
and
pleasure.
Thus,
as
long
as
one
has
no
vessels
of
bestowal,
a
person
does
not
have
Kelim
in
which
to
be
able
to
receive
delight
and
pleasure.
Naturally,
he
remains
devoid
of
delight
and
pleasure.
The
person
says,
“Who
is
to
blame
for
this?
Only
the
Creator,
for
not
giving
the
creatures
what
He
should
give.”
That
is,
since
creation
was
in
order
to
delight
His
creatures,
because
of
the
correction
so
that
there
would
not
be
the
bread
of
shame,
the
creatures
are
unfit
to
see
it
because
of
the
inherent
evil
in
man,
which
is
called
in
the
work,
“evil
inclination.”
Accordingly,
we
can
understand
what
we
asked,
“What
is
judgment
and
what
is
mercy
in
the
work?
Also
what
is
the
good
inclination
and
what
is
the
evil
inclination
in
the
work?”
“Judgment”
means
that
a
judgment
was
passed
over
the
vessels
of
reception,
called
“will
to
receive
for
oneself,”
that
the
light
does
not
shine
within
it.
It
follows
that
when
we
say
that
there
is
judgment
in
the
world,
it
means
that
there
are
no
vessels
of
bestowal
that
can
receive
delight
and
pleasure
in
the
world.
For
this
reason,
suffering
and
lack
reign
in
the
world.
But
when
there
are
vessels
of
bestowal
in
the
world
called
“mercy,”
as
our
sages
said
about
the
verse,
“And
to
cleave
unto
Him,
as
He
is
merciful,
so
you
are
merciful,”
meaning
that
as
the
Creator
is
the
giver,
so
man
should
see
that
he
has
vessels
of
bestowal.
When
man
has
vessels
of
bestowal,
the
Creator’s
quality
of
mercy
becomes
apparent,
meaning
that
the
Creator
bestows
delight
and
pleasure
to
the
creatures
in
the
Kelim
of
mercy
that
the
creatures
have.
Thus,
once
a
person
obtains
the
vessels
of
bestowal,
meaning
that
the
evil
inclination
has
surrendered
to
the
good,
it
means
that
the
evil
inclination
already
wants
to
work
in
order
to
bestow.
This
is
called
“Reply
unto
your
heart,”
meaning
both
hearts.
Then
he
realizes
that
“the
Lord
[HaVaYaH],
He
is
God.”
In
other
words,
until
now,
it
was
only
mercy
and
not
judgment.
That
is,
what
he
saw,
that
His
guidance
was
judgment,
now
he
sees
that
this
was
a
reason
to
come
to
the
quality
of
mercy.
Therefore,
now
they
see
that
“the
Lord,
He
is
God,”
that
the
quality
of
judgment
is
included
in
the
HaVaYaH,
which
is
all
mercy.
But
before
he
achieved
the
state
of
“Reply
unto
your
heart,”
His
guidance
seemed
to
him
as
good
and
bad.
By
this
we
can
interpret
the
meaning
of
the
verse,
“And
God
made
it
that
He
would
be
feared.”
That
is,
the
Creator
deliberately
made
it
so
there
would
be
governance
to
the
Klipot
[shells/peels],
so
“He
would
be
feared,”
meaning
to
create
a
need
to
obtain
the
greatness
of
the
Creator.
Otherwise,
everyone
would
remain
still,
without
knowledge
of
Kedusha
[holiness],
and
would
settle
for
the
work
of
observing
Torah
and
Mitzvot
without
any
need
to
work
to
be
rewarded
with
the
greatness
of
the
Creator.
They
would
remain
with
the
same
mind
they
had
when
they
were
little
children
and
would
have
no
need
for
the
Creator’s
help.
We
must
know
and
understand
what
our
sages
said,
“I
have
created
the
evil
inclination;
I
have
created
the
Torah
as
a
spice.”
This
means
that
only
when
a
person
has
evil
inclination,
he
needs
the
spice
that
is
found
in
the
Torah.
Otherwise,
he
does
not
need
the
Torah,
since
he
can
observe
Mitzvot
without
the
Torah.
But
when
he
has
the
evil
inclination
and
he
comes
and
asks
“What
is
this
work
for
you?”
or
when
he
asks
Pharaoh’s
question,
“Who
is
the
Lord
that
I
should
obey
His
voice?”
and
he
must
overcome
him,
then
he
needs
His
help.
The
Zohar
says
that
the
help
of
the
Creator
is
the
light
of
Torah.
That
is,
it
is
considered
that
he
is
given
a
soul
from
above,
by
which
he
can
overcome
the
bad
within
him.
It
follows
that
if
there
were
no
Klipot,
man
would
have
no
need
to
receive
the
help
of
Torah
from
above.
This
is
called
“And
God
made
it
that
He
would
be
feared.”
There
are
many
issues
concerning
the
help
that
comes
from
above:
1)
The
help
is
simple:
The
Creator
gives
him
the
kingdom
of
heaven
called
“permanent
faith.”
Since
before
a
person
is
rewarded
with
vessels
of
bestowal,
it
is
impossible
to
have
faith
because
there
is
disparity
of
form
between
the
creature
and
the
Creator,
a
person
is
still
unfit
to
receive
the
good.
Therefore,
when
he
receives
bad,
he
must
lose
the
measure
of
faith
that
he
had,
since
this
is
a
correction
so
he
would
not
slander
the
Creator.
For
this
reason,
before
one
is
rewarded
with
faith,
he
must
have
vessels
of
bestowal,
since
when
he
has
equivalence
of
form,
the
Tzimtzum
that
was
on
the
vessels
of
reception
is
lifted
from
him
and
he
receives
delight
and
pleasure.
Only
then
can
he
be
at
the
degree
of
permanent
faith.
It
follows
that
the
Creator
must
give
the
first
assistance,
giving
him
vessels
of
bestowal,
which
are
called
“second
nature.”
2)
By
having
constant
disturbances
from
the
Klipot,
he
always
needs
the
help
of
the
Creator.
By
this,
a
person
needs
the
Creator’s
help,
and
through
the
help
that
he
receives
from
above
each
time,
it
is
possible
that
the
NRNHY
that
he
has
in
his
soul
will
be
revealed
to
him.
It
is
known
that
there
is
no
filling
without
a
need.
Hence,
the
Klipot
are
the
cause
of
the
revelation
of
the
Kedusha,
as
it
is
written,
“And
God
made
it
that
He
would
be
feared.”
According
to
the
above,
it
follows
that
the
thoughts
that
the
Klipot
send
to
a
person
cause
deficiencies
in
a
person,
and
deficiencies
are
called
“Kelim
to
receive
fillings
to
fill
the
lack
in
the
Kelim.”
In
other
words,
the
questions
that
the
Klipot
ask,
which
are
the
wicked’s
questions
and
Pharaoh’s
questions,
called
“Who”
and
“What,”
cause
a
deficiency
in
a
person,
which
pushes
him
to
ask
the
Creator
to
help
him
overcome
those
questions.
It
follows
that
these
Klipot
keep
a
person
walking
on
the
right
path
that
leads
to
Dvekut
with
the
Creator.
At
that
time,
we
see
that
the
Klipot
were
not
enemies
of
the
Kedusha,
as
it
seemed
during
the
work.
Rather,
now
we
see
that
they
are
the
ones
that
caused
being
rewarded
with
the
Kedusha.
The
like
of
this
is
presented
in
The
Zohar
(Beresheet,
Item
175),
“‘And
there
is
no
God
with
Me’
refers
to
other
gods,
which
are
SAM
and
the
serpent,
for
then
it
will
be
revealed
that
SAM
and
the
serpent
never
separated
between
the
Creator
and
His
Shechina
[Divinity],
and
was
but
a
servant
to
hurry
the
redemption
of
our
souls.
The
Creator’s
guidance
from
the
beginning
will
appear
throughout
the
world,
and
then,
‘Sinners
will
cease
from
the
earth,
and
the
wicked
shall
be
no
more.’
That
is,
unlike
what
it
seems
to
us
during
the
6,000
years,
that
there
is
a
governance
that
objects
to
Kedusha,
which
are
SAM
and
the
serpent.”
We
see
from
this
that
the
matter
of
Klipot
that
the
Kedusha
must
sustain
as
in
“God
has
made
one
opposite
the
other,”
is
that
we
need
the
Klipot
to
be
a
servant
helping
the
Kedusha.
This
becomes
revealed
only
at
the
end
of
correction
in
the
general
public,
and
to
individuals,
at
the
end
of
the
work.
At
that
time,
the
matter
becomes
revealed
in
retrospect,
as
it
says,
“and
was
but
a
servant
to
hurry
the
redemption
of
our
souls.”
It
is
said
in
The
Zohar
(Tazria,
Item
6),
“‘Her
price
is
far
above
pearls.’
He
asks,
‘It
should
have
said
‘worth,’
meaning
that
it
is
harder
to
buy
her
than
pearls;
why
does
it
say
‘her
price’’?
He
replies,
‘She
sells
and
turns
over
to
other
nations
all
those
who
do
not
fully
cling
to
her
and
are
not
whole
with
her.
And
then
they
are
all
far
from
those
high
and
holy
pearls,
which
are
the
secrets
and
the
internality
of
the
Torah,
for
they
will
have
no
part
in
them.
This
is
the
meaning
of
‘Her
price
is
far
above
pearls.’”
It
therefore
follows
that
the
Klipot,
which
are
other
nations,
she
sells
them.
That
is,
since
there
is
the
quality
of
“other
nations,”
when
person
begins
to
walk
on
the
path
toward
achieving
Dvekut,
and
in
the
middle
of
the
work
he
becomes
negligent
in
the
work,
meaning
falls
into
the
governance
of
the
nations,
who
control
him,
he
cannot
emerge
from
their
control
and
achieve
Dvekut
with
the
Creator,
called
“equivalence
of
form.”
At
that
time,
he
thinks
that
it
is
because
he
is
incapable
of
this
work,
and
this
is
why
he
is
under
their
governance.
At
that
time,
the
writing
tells
us
that
the
fact
that
he
has
fallen
under
the
control
of
other
nations
is
for
his
own
good,
so
he
will
not
fool
himself
and
think
that
he
is
walking
on
the
right
path
and
can
continue
in
this
state
without
feeling
that
he
is
marching
on
the
wrong
way.
For
this
reason,
there
are
Klipot
called
“other
nations,”
outside
of
Kedusha,
and
then
a
person
sees
that
he
is
in
a
state
of
descent,
and
he
has
no
connection
to
the
Kedusha.
At
that
time,
he
should
seek
advice
how
to
be
saved
from
them
and
march
on
the
right
path
that
leads
to
Dvekut
with
the
Creator.
It
follows
that
the
Klipa
[singular
of
Klipot]
keeps
the
Kedusha.
This
means
that
if
there
were
no
Klipa
that
the
Shechina
could
sell
him
there
to
be
under
their
governance,
man
would
remain
in
his
lowliness
and
he
would
think
that
he
is
advancing
on
the
path
toward
Dvekut.
But
when
he
is
shown
from
above
the
deficiencies
that
he
is
in,
he
can
feel
that
he
must
correct
his
way.
This
is
the
meaning
of
the
words
“Her
price
is
far
above
pearls,”
meaning
that
the
Shechina
gives
the
man
to
the
authority
of
the
Klipa.
In
other
words,
at
that
time
he
sees
how
immersed
he
is
in
self-love
and
that
he
has
no
desire
to
be
a
giver.
That
is,
he
is
so
immersed
in
self-love
that
he
never
thought
that
he
was
such
a
sordid
person,
the
worst.
It
follows
that
we
should
interpret
that
the
words
“And
God
made
it
that
He
would
be
feared,”
mean
that
specifically
through
this
Klipa,
when
he
sees
that
it
governs
him,
this
pushes
him
to
do
all
that
he
can
to
achieve
Dvekut
with
the
Creator.
However,
when
a
person
sees
that
he
is
under
the
governance
of
the
Klipot,
since
he
sees
that
they
are
the
ones
who
sent
him
the
known
questions
of
“Who”
and
“What,”
and
he
cannot
provide
them
with
the
right
answers
that
will
settle
in
the
heart,
he
thinks
that
he
must
be
so
ignoble
that
he
cannot
answer
them
these
simple
questions.
At
that
time,
one
should
know
that
this
is
not
as
he
thinks,
that
these
questions
really
are
tough.
This
is
so
because
the
Creator
gave
power
to
the
Klipot
to
ask
tough
questions,
so
that
a
person
will
know
his
real
situation,
that
he
was
created
in
disparity
of
form
from
the
Creator,
and
that
he
should
achieve
equivalence
of
form.
It
was
done
on
purpose
that
man
would
not
be
able
to
answer
these
questions,
so
he
would
need
the
Creator,
meaning
that
only
the
Creator
can
answer
him
because
man’s
entire
intellect
is
built
on
a
basis
of
doing
everything
within
reason,
and
man’s
reason
understands
only
that
which
concerns
one’s
own
benefit.
Therefore,
they
are
correct.
However,
one
must
know
that
we
were
given
the
path
of
observing
Torah
and
Mitzvot
above
our
reason,
since
our
entire
reason
understands
nothing
but
that
which
concerns
self-benefit.
This
is
called
“faith
above
reason.”
Before
a
person
can
go
above
reason,
anyone
who
comes
to
him
and
asks
questions
that
are
built
on
the
reason
of
the
body,
it
is
impossible
to
answer
them
in
a
manner
that
the
reason
will
understand.
Therefore,
why
did
the
Klipa
come
and
ask
these
questions,
which
a
person
certainly
cannot
answer?
The
Klipot
know
that
they
are
correct
and
that
they
will
not
get
answers
for
them.
But
the
question
is
according
to
the
rule
that
is
known
in
the
work,
that
the
fact
that
the
Klipa
comes
and
asks
those
questions
comes
from
the
side
of
Kedusha,
as
was
said,
“And
God
made
it
that
He
would
be
feared.”
Thus,
why
do
these
questions
come
to
him?
The
answer
is
that
he
is
sent
these
questions
from
above,
for
specifically
through
these
questions,
he
can
observe
the
Mitzva
of
faith
above
reason.
This
is
the
meaning
of
“God
made
it
that
He
would
be
feared.”
This
means
that
the
questions
came
to
him
in
order
to
give
him
an
opportunity
to
be
able
to
reveal
the
matter
of
faith
above
reason.
If
he
has
no
questions,
he
cannot
know
that
he
is
going
above
reason.
But
when
he
sees
the
questions
and
does
not
want
to
provide
answers,
which
reason
mandates
doing,
he
says,
“Now
that
these
questions
came
to
me,
I
can
observe
the
commandment
of
faith,
which
is
above
reason,
and
I
want
to
take
the
opportunity.”
Accordingly,
we
can
understand
why
if
the
Creator
knows
that
these
are
tough
questions,
which
a
person
cannot
answer
with
reason,
why
does
He
send
them?
The
answer
is
as
it
is
written,
“And
God
made
it
that
He
would
be
feared.”
That
is,
specifically
through
these
questions,
a
person
can
observe
the
commandment
of
faith,
called
“fear
of
the
Creator.”
That
is,
specifically
now
he
has
an
opportunity
to
observe
the
Mitzva
of
faith
above
reason.
Our
sages
said,
“A
Mitzva
that
falls
into
your
lap,
do
not
miss
out
on
it.”
We
should
interpret
that
“A
Mitzva
that
falls
into
your
lap”
is
the
Mitzva
of
faith,
which
“comes
into
your
lap”
through
the
“Who”
and
“What”
questions.
“Do
not
miss
out
on
it,”
but
rather
accept
it
right
away
and
do
not
argue
with
these
questions
and
think
about
answering
the
questions.
Rather,
take
the
questions
as
they
are,
since
now
you
have
an
opportunity
to
observe
the
Mitzva
of
faith,
so
“Do
not
miss
out”
accepting
it
as
is,
with
all
the
toughness
of
the
questions.
This
is
so
because
anything
that
conflicts
with
the
intellect,
with
what
the
intellect
argues,
that
it
is
not
worthwhile
to
walk
on
this
path,
faith
above
reason
and
intellect
is
greater.
This
is
why
they
said,
“Do
not
miss
out
on
it,”
do
not
miss
out
on
the
opportunity
that
you
received
through
their
questions.
Therefore,
through
the
“What”
question,
which
is
the
question
of
the
wicked,
who
says,
“What
is
this
work
for
you,”
that
you
want
to
work
only
in
order
to
bestow?
He
asks,
“What
will
you
gain
from
this?
You
should
work
only
for
your
own
benefit.”
This
is
a
Kli
[vessel],
meaning
a
deficiency
for
the
Creator
to
give
him
in
the
place
of
deficiency,
since
the
wicked’s
question
interrupts
him
from
having
the
power
to
work
in
order
to
bestow,
which
is
called
“being
rewarded
with
a
second
nature,”
called
“in
order
to
bestow.”
This
is
the
meaning
of
“Reply
unto
your
heart,”
meaning
that
the
evil
inclination,
too,
will
work
in
order
to
bestow.
Through
Pharaoh’s
questions,
who
said,
“Who
is
the
Lord
that
I
should
obey
His
voice?”
when
he
overcomes
this
question,
he
is
rewarded
with
permanent
faith,
which
is
called
what
The
Zohar
says,
meaning
after
he
has
been
rewarded
with
“Reply
unto
your
heart.”
At
that
time,
he
comes
to
the
degree
of
“The
Lord,
He
is
God.”