Letter
No.
38b
Who
is
the
self
that
we
say
is
the
servant
of
the
Creator,
and
who
is
the
recipient
of
the
reward
that
was
promised,
where
by
good
deeds
he
will
be
rewarded
with
the
good
future?
All
those
things
were
said
only
about
man,
the
apex
of
creation,
as
it
is
written,
“And
God
created
the
man
in
His
own
image.”
Creation
means
something
new,
which
is
existence
from
absence.
This
is
the
desire
to
receive
pleasure,
meaning
the
creation
of
a
deficiency
that
always
craves
to
satisfy
the
lack
with
pleasure.
In
order
for
the
sensation
of
pleasure
to
be
utterly
complete,
he
was
given
work
in
Torah
and
Mitzvot
(commandments),
by
which
he
is
to
be
perfected
and
become
fit
to
receive
the
pleasure
without
any
deficiency.
That
is,
one
who
receives
pleasure
from
another
feels
torment
along
with
the
reception
of
the
pleasure
due
to
the
shame,
called
“bread
of
shame.”
By
being
perfected
with
virtues
he
will
have
the
ability
to
receive
pleasure
without
the
feeling
of
shame.
It
follows
that
man
is
called
“desire
to
receive
pleasure,”
and
the
desire
to
receive
pleasure
was
given
hands
and
legs
to
serve
it,
as
well
as
the
most
esteemed
servant,
called
“intellect.”
All
those
servants
bring
him
pleasure,
and
if
one
of
the
servants
is
missing,
the
pleasure
associated
with
that
servant
is
missing.
If
he
is
lacking
the
most
esteemed
servant,
meaning
the
intellect,
he
still
feels
pleasure
and
pain,
except
that
he
might
swap,
and
instead
of
receiving
great
pleasure,
he
might
receive
minute
pleasures.
That
is,
he
cannot
judge
with
his
intellect
which
is
more
worthwhile
in
terms
of
quantity
and
quality,
and
might
therefore
cause
harm
and
break
tools.
Even
an
insane
person
intends
to
receive
pleasure
through
his
actions,
or
he
would
not
do
this
bad
thing,
but
there
is
a
reason
that
causes
him
to
do
this
foul
thing.
Everything
that
he
thinks
might
bring
him
pleasure,
he
does
immediately,
and
does
not
have
the
mental
capacity
to
weigh
with
his
intellect
if
this
is
a
real
reason
or
an
imaginary
one.
And
do
not
wonder
how
one
can
derive
pleasure
from
breaking
or
spoiling.
It
is
said
about
the
philosopher,
Aristotle,
that
he
burned
a
big
and
expensive
house
because
he
wanted
to
commemorate
his
name,
meaning
that
his
name
would
remain
forever
because
everyone
would
remember
his
name
through
this
act.
That
is,
everyone
would
remember
that
Aristotle
burned
the
big
mansion.
It
follows
that
although
he
did
a
bad
thing,
he
had
a
reason.
That
is,
he
felt
pleasure
in
doing
the
bad
thing
that
he
did
by
commemorating
his
name.
Likewise,
anyone
who
is
insane
lacks
the
power
of
critique,
but
the
essence
of
man
still
exists.
Also,
there
is
pleasure
in
avoiding
pain,
since
this
is
already
a
calculation
for
the
future,
meaning
that
he
is
acting
now
in
order
to
avoid
suffering
later.
This
already
belongs
to
the
intellect,
meaning
that
the
intellect
reminds
him
that
this
is
something
bad.
And
since
his
intellect
is
already
flawed,
he
cannot
put
thoughts
together
and
therefore
feels
only
the
present
and
not
the
past
or
the
future.
It
turns
out
that
the
mind
is
only
man’s
servant,
like
the
rest
of
the
servants,
but
the
essence
of
man
is
the
lack
that
craves
to
receive
pleasure,
meaning
that
he
feels
complete
wholeness
in
the
pleasure.
The
will
to
receive
exists
in
all
the
animals,
but
only
man
was
given
the
ability
to
feel
another.
That
is,
he
can
share
with
his
friend
and
sympathize
with
his
friend,
meaning
derive
pleasure
from
his
friend’s
pleasure,
as
well
as
suffer
when
his
friend
suffers.
It
follows
that
man
was
given
an
additional
place
to
receive
pleasure—outside
his
own
body.
Animals
are
impressed
only
by
themselves,
and
not
by
others,
but
the
speaking
has
been
given
the
ability
to
feel
another,
too
(with
the
exception
of
certain
animals
that
were
given
this
sensation
by
nature,
but
they
feel
it
specifically
toward
the
same
species).
In
addition
to
the
speaking,
a
person
from
Israel
was
given
a
power—the
sensation
of
Godliness.
It
is
in
this
respect
that
it
was
said,
“You
are
called
man.”
It
is
an
additional
power
to
the
speaking,
meaning
that
he
can
regret
the
exile
of
the
Shechina
(Divinity)
and
rejoice
with
the
glory
of
heaven
that
appears
in
the
world.
It
therefore
follows
that
a
person
from
Israel
was
given
another
place
to
receive
pleasure,
additional
to
the
speaking.
This
is
the
main
pleasure
for
which
the
world
was
created—to
receive
the
pleasure
of
the
sensation
of
Godliness.
All
the
pleasures
that
exist
in
the
world
come
from
the
Creator,
since
the
Creator
illuminates
in
all
those
things,
but
why
are
these
pleasures
called
“corporeal
pleasures”?
It
is
because
a
person
can
enjoy
them
without
having
to
include
the
Creator
in
them.
That
is,
even
if
one
does
not
feel
Godliness,
when
he
does
not
believe
in
the
Creator,
he
can
still
enjoy
all
those
things.
But
tasting
the
flavor
of
Torah
and
Mitzvot
is
impossible
without
assuming
the
burden
of
faith.
To
the
extent
that
the
light
of
faith
shines
for
him,
to
that
extent
the
pleasure
in
Torah
and
Mitzvot
grows
for
him.
This
is
why
we
call
the
pleasure
in
Torah
and
Mitzvot
“spiritual
pleasure.”
One
can
feel
corporeal
pleasure
even
when
one
has
no
relation
to
Torah
and
Mitzvot,
since
a
person
cannot
live
without
vitality,
for
every
person
must
taste
the
taste
of
pleasure,
since
the
nature
of
creation
is
a
desire
to
receive
pleasure,
for
the
thought
of
creation,
called
“His
desire
to
do
good
to
His
creations,”
imprinted
in
the
creatures
the
need
to
enjoy.
When
one
sees
no
pleasure
in
the
present
or
in
the
future,
he
must
commit
suicide
because
his
coming
into
this
world
was
only
in
order
to
receive
pleasure.
And
since
man
was
given
the
work
of
choice,
to
reject
the
bad
and
choose
Torah
and
Mitzvot—for
only
at
the
time
of
choice
is
it
possible
to
nurture
good
qualities
that
can
receive
the
true
good—there
was
given
a
time
of
concealment
during
the
work.
That
is,
one
does
not
feel
the
taste
of
pleasure
in
Torah
and
Mitzvot,
since
only
during
concealment
is
there
choice.
In
the
meantime,
until
one
is
rewarded
with
the
flavor
of
vitality
of
spirituality,
he
takes
all
his
vitality
only
from
corporeal
things,
whose
pleasure
is
limited.
But
this
is
only
a
transition
until
he
comes
to
taste
spiritual
flavor,
so
he
must
feel
only
the
flavor
of
corporeal
things.
But
even
in
those
corporeal
things
it
is
possible
to
accustom
oneself
to
receive
pleasure
for
the
Creator.
The
will
to
receive
is
called
“man’s
body.”
This
is
why
it
does
not
undergo
any
changes,
but
rather
remains
in
that
state
of
always
wanting
to
receive
pleasure.
Clothing:
Anything
that
undergoes
change
is
not
the
essence
of
the
object,
for
an
object
does
not
undergo
any
change.
Hence,
all
those
things
from
which
one
derives
pleasure
are
regarded
as
garments.
For
example,
today
he
is
wearing
this
garment
and
tomorrow
another
garment.
There
are
clothes
with
which
one
works
in
the
kitchen,
and
there
are
clothes
with
which
one
serves
the
king.
Any
pleasure
is
regarded
as
light,
and
there
is
no
light
without
a
Kli
(vessel),
which
is
a
spiritual
thing,
and
any
spiritual
thing
must
be
clothed
in
some
corporeal
clothing,
but
only
through
clothing
can
one
receive
the
pleasure
that
is
found
within
it.
Therefore,
we
were
given
many
garments
in
which
there
are
pleasures,
such
as
eating,
drinking,
royal
apparel
or
simply
respect
that
one
is
given,
or
delight
from
intellectual
things
or
from
Torah
and
Mitzvot.
Every
person
has
different
attires,
and
no
person
is
like
another.
However,
there
is
one
thing
where
all
are
the
same—everyone
wants
pleasure.
Changing
attires:
The
changes
in
a
person—who
sometimes
wants
to
enjoy
honor,
and
sometimes
only
lust,
and
sometimes
Torah
and
Mitzvot—come
from
many
reasons.
Sometimes
it
is
hereditary,
meaning
that
the
forefathers
had
chosen
to
enjoy
certain
pleasures,
and
it
passes
from
generation
to
generation.
This
is
the
meaning
of
ancestry,
where
the
good
qualities
pass
from
the
father
of
the
family
to
the
following
generations.
Also,
we
undergo
changes
through
books
and
authors—where
a
person
is
impressed
by
the
environment.
As
the
tree
sucks
from
what
is
around
it,
which
is
why
the
thorns
and
other
bad
things
around
the
tree
are
always
cut
off,
man,
too,
is
the
tree
of
the
field—sucking
from
its
environment.
This
is
why
he
is
impressed
by
authors.
That
is,
he
has
good
friends
and
he
accustoms
himself
to
enjoy
the
things
that
the
friends
say
are
good
or
are
bad.
Or,
there
is
the
environment
of
books,
meaning
what
he
learns
and
reads
in
books,
and
the
books
state
which
is
a
good
thing
and
which
is
a
bad
thing,
and
then
the
person
follows
their
advice.