The Seriousness of the Inner Work

According to Kabbalah, Adam and Eve were not eternally forbidden to eat the fruit of the tree of knowledge. They would have had to wait only for three hours until Shabbat would have arrived, but they failed because of their desire for instant gratification.

Restriction is the main tool for the spiritual process of Kabbalah. Are we able to resist all the short-term pleasures in this world to attain instead long-term pleasure? Very often we must restrict our speech to prevent long-term harm. The book of Hebrews states, "The tongue also is a fire, a world of evil among the parts of the body. It corrupts the whole body, sets the whole course of one’s life on fire, and is itself set on fire by hell. All kinds of animals, birds, reptiles and sea creatures are being tamed and have been tamed by mankind, but no human being can tame the tongue. It is a restless evil, full of deadly poison." Because, especially, the word is of divine origin, the uttered speech has incredible power to bring either harm or peace. One of the first restrictions one has to perform is in speech. Must I am always busy with talking the whole day?

The second restriction lies in eating. We usually don't eat only if we're starving, but we're all the time busy with putting things into our mouths because they stimulate us. One who wants to become a real Kabbalist should learn only to eat if he's hungry or to have meals for social contacts. The more we detach ourselves from coercive speaking and eating, the more we will elevate our body-mind system so that it will become able to process signals from the upper worlds. We're surrounded by an ocean of infinite light, but we normally don't feel it because our heart is yet full of foolish things.

Can you obey God in silence, when no one is watching, when no one applauds? Public elevation won't come before you have learned your inner lesson. Your soulmate won't arrive before you become a clean receptacle for it. You won't get any money from above when you can't handle it yet. On the path of Kabbalah, it's not only about the complete union with God, which is the highest peak of the process, but we must also refine our character traits. Many leaders and gurus have fallen deeply because they may have achieved some stage of enlightenment, but their morals and ethics have been miles behind their own self-realization.

The spiritual pathway needs an infinite amount of patience. Am I ready to work for God for years or even decades without any external reward? Am I persevering when I see no results? Do I continue when everyone is turning against me? As gold is forged in fire, so the one who wants to approach God must overcome many tests. Only someone is ready who passes all the tests. God is preparing him to carry the responsibility of his mission. He's not left behind but separated apart. Seclusion is not a curse but a blessing. Only someone who can exist with himself in complete separateness is ready to pass through the gates of the divine reality. "First seek the kingdom of God, and the rest will be added to you" (Matthew 6:33). First seek the blissfulness of the transcendent realm, and all other things of this world will come to you. Can you serve without the expectation of a reward? Can you do the work only to bring contentment upon God? Then you're ready to attain the crown of life.