To prevent a sense of personal satisfaction from one’s love, a person should know that the love and fear of God that s/he feels is not due to their effort, rather it is a gift from God.
If one lacks this conviction – and instead thinks that they are the cuase of their spirituality, they will not give rise to a true love and fear of God – a permanent – but a temporary love.
Furthermore, one should contemplate that every single hour of life is a gift from God to fulfill a purpose, and if one loses even a single moment in fulfilling their mission, this is a transgression against the King of Kings, God.
When a person has such a belief, then their personal love and fear of God won’t becomes selfish (as there is a higher motive now.)
This also rectifies the sin of Adam which was that life became about “me.”
Even Holy-Love (seeking to love God as it is God’s will) still contains ego (as love creates an expansion of self.)
(In contrast fear of God creates a self-contraction.)
EGO & LOVE
One cuase of ego from love is that love causes a sense of self-expansion.
This comes from a love which is the result of understanding God’s greatness.
One of the reasons for this is that the fact that you know another – demonstrates in fact a distance – for example a servant who is actually within the presence of the king would be in such a humble state that speech would be impossible.
Even the highest level of Love of God (like Abraham – as one who is so close to the king, the king reveals to him everything…) nevertheless as the nature of love is self (as it is the pleasure one feels…) therefore it still is connected to ego – in contrast fear – the highest level of one who takes pleasure in doing the will of the king – it is the king’s (not his will) that to him is important.)
LOVE =CLOSENESS
The feeling of love for God comes from feeling close – this expresses itself in two (contradictory) ways.
The first is through feeling the light of God.
The second is actually through feeling distant but knowledge of God’s greatness – this creates a longing.
These two types of loves are compared to love of water (closeness) and love of fire (passion from distance.)
BENEFIT OF FIRE LOVE
The love that comes from a distance has the benefit of as one feels distant one is careful to not sin.
HOW TO FEEL CLOSE
Regarding the feeling of closeness to God this can come either from the relationship of Divine light (which one feels and can feel close to) or from the level beyond revelation, nonetheless can also be felt (and therefore loved.)
This level beyond revelation can be felt, as the Jewish soul which is sourced in her, can sense it.
One can contemplate that the infinite light of God (which is beyond every, both high and low, hence is) equally found below (there can be nothing stopping or concealing from God) b. furthermore God (being infinite and all-knowing and capable – think a computer…) is in fact connected to you and hears you, your prayers and requests.
FEELING LOVE FROM DISTANCE
When a person contemplates how infinitely great God is and therefore they are in fact infinitely distant (this causes a longing) likewise when a person contemplates that due to the blockage of the physical (which is attracted to physicality) they cannot fully unite (this too causes a longing.)
There is also the contemplation of the distance of all the universes (especially ours) from the infinite light of God (concealed within.)
This profound feeling creates a strong (perhaps strongest love) even greater than the love felt in the times of the Beis-Hamikdosh when Godliness was seen.
This is intensified by the recognition that the difference between what we see (physically and perhaps even spiritually) compared to the infinity of God which is within it – is infinite.
The recognition of God’s infinity is in the light of Sovev which transcends all universes, as well as in Atzmus which transcends infinitely Sovev.
It is just that the knowledge that God’s infinity being beyond our universe creates a sweetness (and longing whereas when we contemplate how far we are from it, this creates a humility / fear.)
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