צָמְאָ֬ה נַפְשִׁ֨י ׀ לֵאלֹהִים֮ לְאֵ֪ל חָ֥י מָתַ֥י אָב֑וֹא וְ֝אֵרָאֶ֗ה פְּנֵ֣י אֱלֹהִֽים׃
내 영혼이 하나님 곧 생존하시는 하나님을 갈망하나니 내가 어느 때에 나아가서 하나님 앞에 뵈올꼬
Duties of the Heart
When one will fulfill all of these and combine them with abstinence from the pleasures and lusts of this world, and he understands the greatness of the Creator, His might and exaltedness, reflects how small is his own worth, how puny and lowly he is, and he comes to realize the great benevolence of the Creator on him, and His great kindness with him - then the love of G-d from the believer will come, with a perfect heart and with genuine purity of soul, and a longing for G-d that will be with exertion, zeal, and passion, similar to what was said: "With my soul have I yearned for You in the night" (Yeshaya 26:9), and "the desire of our soul is to Your Name, and to the remembrance of You" (Yeshaya 26:8), and "My soul thirsts for You" (Tehilim 63:2), and "My soul thirsts for G-d" (Tehilim 42:3).
Duties of the Heart
This is the highest of the levels of those who trust in G-d, reached by the prophets, pious ones, and treasured, pure men of G-d, and this is what the verse refers to in saying "Even [for] the way of Your judgments, O L-ord, have we hoped for You; for Your Name and for Your remembrance is the desire of [our] soul directed." (Yeshaya 26:8), and "my soul thirsts to the Al-mighty, the living G-d; [when shall I come and appear before G-d?]" (Tehilim 42:3).
Olat Reiyah
“R’ Elazar said ‘from the day that the Holy Temple was destroyed the gates of prayer were locked. And though the gates of prayer were locked the gates of tears were not locked. “Keep not silent at my tears.” (Tehillim 39:13) ’” [ibid.]
Despite one’s intellectual perfection, they will never be complete if this perfection is not accompanied by the wholeness of their power of imagination75See Moreh Nevuchim Part II, ch. 36 “A man who satisfies these conditions, whilst his fully developed imagination is in action, influenced by the Active Intellect according to his mental training,--such a person will undoubtedly perceive nothing but things very extraordinary and divine, and see nothing but God and His angels. His knowledge will only include that which is real knowledge, and his thought will only he directed to such general principles as would tend to improve the social relations between man and man”, in order that their conceptions and imaginative powers be founded on the deepest rectitude, which comes through delineation76See Mesillat Yesharim ch. 11 sect. 10 on the boundaries beyond which lie bad traits by the intellect and wisdom. The Holy Temple is called the beauty of the world (See Shmuel I 19) and a house of prayer for all peoples. True beauty is the perfection of imagined conception through intellectual delineation, from which the highest moral guidance is drawn into the world - the essence of prayer is built upon this. Truly, so long as the abode of the all-embracing center, of the parity between the intellect and the imagined conception which is universally human, existed in the world, it was easy for individuals to lay the pathways of their conceptions according to the foundations of the intellect. And when, through this the imaginative power was elevated, it was readied to pour out great goodness into practical life. But from the day the Holy Temple was destroyed, and the all-embracing center, where the principles of the human soul found within the imaginative faculty could connect to the light of the intellect, was nullified - the gates of prayer were locked. Because it is extremely difficult for an individual on their own to elevate their power of imagination to the heights of the intellect; and sometimes in its overflowing, the imagination will stray from the path of the intellect and through excitement leave the line of the upright. In reality, this is only true when one’s seeking to conceive images of the good comes through a chosen act of imagination – then a general guiding force is needed, which we lack (due to our sins) from the day that the honor was taken from the House of our Life. It is the house of life from the side of the imaginative faculty, which is the axis upon which the life of man turns in its desires and inclinations. But true revelation is the revelation of the pure, G–dly intellect, “there is no honor other than Torah.” (see Pirkei Avot 6:3) However, it can happen that one’s conceptions will overcome him for the good, not by choice or through volition but as an outgrowth of all the pathways of the good intellect which are fixed in him, through which he continually strives to guide his soul. And when the powers in the soul come to this state, to a central point, fierce feeling beyond his normal power is aroused, and the tears pour out from the abundance of his longing for the good and the transcendent loving kindness “my soul thirsts for G–d, for the living G–d.” (Tehillim 42:3) In such a state of overflow of the products of the power of consciousness and its conceptions, G–d made man straight (See Kohelet 7:29) , that the innocence of his soul would always guide him in the straight path, and therefore the gates of tears were not locked. Through the wholeness that prayer such as this brings about, with the anchoring of one’s total state in consciousness and awe of G–d, the realization of the request is revealed according to prayer’s measure and worth, “keep not silent at my tears.” (Tehillim 39:13)
Despite one’s intellectual perfection, they will never be complete if this perfection is not accompanied by the wholeness of their power of imagination75See Moreh Nevuchim Part II, ch. 36 “A man who satisfies these conditions, whilst his fully developed imagination is in action, influenced by the Active Intellect according to his mental training,--such a person will undoubtedly perceive nothing but things very extraordinary and divine, and see nothing but God and His angels. His knowledge will only include that which is real knowledge, and his thought will only he directed to such general principles as would tend to improve the social relations between man and man”, in order that their conceptions and imaginative powers be founded on the deepest rectitude, which comes through delineation76See Mesillat Yesharim ch. 11 sect. 10 on the boundaries beyond which lie bad traits by the intellect and wisdom. The Holy Temple is called the beauty of the world (See Shmuel I 19) and a house of prayer for all peoples. True beauty is the perfection of imagined conception through intellectual delineation, from which the highest moral guidance is drawn into the world - the essence of prayer is built upon this. Truly, so long as the abode of the all-embracing center, of the parity between the intellect and the imagined conception which is universally human, existed in the world, it was easy for individuals to lay the pathways of their conceptions according to the foundations of the intellect. And when, through this the imaginative power was elevated, it was readied to pour out great goodness into practical life. But from the day the Holy Temple was destroyed, and the all-embracing center, where the principles of the human soul found within the imaginative faculty could connect to the light of the intellect, was nullified - the gates of prayer were locked. Because it is extremely difficult for an individual on their own to elevate their power of imagination to the heights of the intellect; and sometimes in its overflowing, the imagination will stray from the path of the intellect and through excitement leave the line of the upright. In reality, this is only true when one’s seeking to conceive images of the good comes through a chosen act of imagination – then a general guiding force is needed, which we lack (due to our sins) from the day that the honor was taken from the House of our Life. It is the house of life from the side of the imaginative faculty, which is the axis upon which the life of man turns in its desires and inclinations. But true revelation is the revelation of the pure, G–dly intellect, “there is no honor other than Torah.” (see Pirkei Avot 6:3) However, it can happen that one’s conceptions will overcome him for the good, not by choice or through volition but as an outgrowth of all the pathways of the good intellect which are fixed in him, through which he continually strives to guide his soul. And when the powers in the soul come to this state, to a central point, fierce feeling beyond his normal power is aroused, and the tears pour out from the abundance of his longing for the good and the transcendent loving kindness “my soul thirsts for G–d, for the living G–d.” (Tehillim 42:3) In such a state of overflow of the products of the power of consciousness and its conceptions, G–d made man straight (See Kohelet 7:29) , that the innocence of his soul would always guide him in the straight path, and therefore the gates of tears were not locked. Through the wholeness that prayer such as this brings about, with the anchoring of one’s total state in consciousness and awe of G–d, the realization of the request is revealed according to prayer’s measure and worth, “keep not silent at my tears.” (Tehillim 39:13)