638. Man’s Inclination
London, July 30, 1965
“Man’s inclination overcomes him every day, and unless the Creator helps him, he cannot overcome it.” We should ask about this: It is known that everything is in the hands of heaven but the fear of heaven, so why did they say, “unless,” etc.?
The thing is that faith is called above reason, meaning above nature, since everything that is within reason is called “within nature and reason,” for that which a person understands, he can do, unless he is lazy. But above reason, he cannot do this. Therefore, anything that is above nature is regarded as a miracle.
All the miracles are attributed to the Creator, meaning regarded as an awakening from above and not as an awakening from below, since the lower one cannot do something that is above nature. But in order for a miracle to be done to him, a person should pray that a miracle be done to him.
Hence, the work from the perspective of the lower one, meaning that he will make a choice, was said only about the prayer, and then the Creator hears the prayer. Therefore, one is given one’s wishes, and the rule is that a prayer pertains specifically to a deficiency.
For this reason, a person must create within him a need and a deficiency for faith, for only when one sees and feels that he is lacking faith, and to the extent that he needs it, since he sees that for himself he cannot receive the above-mentioned, then he makes a true prayer that the Creator will help him, and then the Creator makes a miracle for him and gives him the light of faith.
However, one must be careful not to enjoy this light, as our sages said, “One does not enjoy the work of miracles.” This means that acceptance of faith should be only for the purpose of bestowal and not for the purpose of reception, for then there is room for the spirit of Kedusha [holiness] to be on him.
If he wants the above-mentioned light in order to have pleasure, since he feels that the corporeal pleasures are not eternal, so he wants an eternal pleasure, and this is why he asks for faith—he immediately loses the light of Kedusha.
Instead, one must ask because the Shechina [Divinity] is in exile, meaning that he wants to sanctify the name of heaven in him, and not to have foreign thoughts, since he cannot tolerate the slander that the body says about Kedusha, as it is written, “All day long, my enemies curse me.” At that time, the Creator makes a miracle for him and gives him faith above reason, and he is rewarded with permanent faith.