קבלה אויף דברים 11:22

With the above in mind, it should not be difficult for you to understand the matter of prophecy. This is in line with what our sages, of blessed memory, stated about the verse,⁸⁵⁸Deuteronomy 11:22 “and to adhere to Him (L’Davkah Bo-לדבקה בו),” and the verse, ⁸⁵⁹Deuteronomy 10:20“to Him you shall adhere (u’Vo Tidbak-ובו תדבק).” For, a prophet adheres to HaShem-יהו״ה, blessed is He, by drawing down prophecy and influence to the lower worlds, as stated by the Ramban⁸⁶⁰Rabbi Moshe ben Nachman and all the commentators, of blessed memory. Thus, this in no way is astonishing, since as explained, no light has greater adhesion to the light of the ten Sefirot than the light of the source of the souls, and this is the meaning of the verse,⁸⁶¹Deuteronomy 4:4 “You who adhere (Dveikim-דבקים) to HaShem-יהו״ה your God are all alive today.”

1. As we know, the expected goal of the work with the Torah and the commandments is to cleave to blessed God, as said, “to hold fast to him” (Deuteronomy 11:12, Ibid. 30:23, Joshua 22:5). We need to understand the meaning of cleaving to God, seeing that thought cannot grasp him at all. The sages have preceded me in discussing this issue, raising the question regarding the verse “to hold fast to him.” How can one hold fast to him, who is a consuming fire? And they answered, by cleaving to his qualities: “Just as he is compassionate and merciful, so too should you be compassionate and merciful…” (tractate Shabbat 133b). This seems difficult. Why did the sages ignore the verse’s literal meaning? It is clearly written, “to hold fast to him.” Had the interpretation been to hold fast to his qualities, it should have been written, “hold fast to his ways.” Why does it say, “to hold fast to him”?

After all this, he should engage in the study of Torah completely for its sake (Lishmah),⁸⁷²As explained at the conclusion of Part 1, Gate 3, this means, for the sake of the Name of HaShem-יהו״ה, blessed is He. doing so with all his strength, solely to bring delight to the One who formed him. When engaging in the study of Torah and the fulfillment of the mitzvot, he should be joyous to the ultimate extreme, as written,⁸⁷³Psalms 119:162 “I rejoice in Your words like one who has discovered vast treasure,” for, through this, he draws down beneficence to all the worlds. Of primary importance over everything, is to fear HaShem-יהו״ה, blessed is He. This should be constant, at every moment, and he thus will be free of sin. This is accomplished by literally placing HaShem-יהו״ה before his very eyes at every moment, as written,⁸⁷⁴Psalms 16:8 “I have set HaShem-יהו״ה before me always.” He should actively focus his thoughts on HaShem-יהו"ה, blessed is He, adhering them to Him unceasingly, without stopping for even a moment. This is the meaning of the verse,⁸⁷⁵Deuteronomy 11:22 “to adhere to Him (L’Davkah Bo-לדבקה בו),” and the verse,⁸⁷⁶Deuteronomy 10:20 “to Him you shall adhere (u’Vo Tidbak-ובו תדבק).”