586. Which Is the Straight Path

July 20, 1974

“Rabbi says, ‘Which is the straight path that one should choose? Anyone that glorifies its Maker and glorifies Him by man’” (Avot, Chapter 2).

The thing is that there is the matter of the correction of creation and there is the purpose of creation. The purpose of creation is to do good to His creations, and the correction of creation is equivalence of form. That is, as the Creator bestows upon His creatures, the creatures should come to a degree of bestowing upon the Creator.

It therefore follows that the correction of creation is called “glorifies Him by man,” which is glory for man when he has corrected himself, when he achieves equivalence of form, regarded as bestowing in order to bestow, meaning when he has come to obtain the Hesed [grace/mercy].

The purpose of creation is when a person has achieved a degree where he can receive the pleasures of doing good to His creations, called “receiving in order to bestow.” This is called “glorifies its Maker.”

In other words, the beauty of the Creator is apparent when He reveals to the created beings the delight and pleasure that He wants to impart upon them, called Hochma [wisdom] that comes to expand in Kelim [vessels] of reception of pleasure. This is why this path is regarded as comprising two things together—Hochma and Hassadim.