Reaching Your Essence - 000 Author's Intro

It is written, כי כל בשמים בארץ, “For all is in the heavens and earth.” (Divrei HaYamim I:29)The Targum translates this to mean as דאחיד בשמיא ובארעא, “unification of heaven and earth”. A person is comprised of a neshamah (Divine soul) and a guf (body). The neshamah comes from Heaven, hewn from the Throne of Glory. The physical body, though, comes from the earth. When a person approaches inner study, which is like “Heaven” and which is applicable to the soul, this must also be integrated with a simpler kind of learning, which is like the “earth” – a study that applies to the physical body.

If one only learns about knowledge applicable to the body, he is feeding the body, but he is lacking the sustenance for his soul. The same is true vice versa – if a person only learns inner matters which apply to the soul, his soul will be satiated, but he will be lacking the simple sustenance for his body. Therefore, man’s task is always to learn about inner matters of the soul, in conjunction with learning about externalities which are applicable to the body. A person needs a balance between the spiritual and the physical, and he should not involve himself solely with any one of the two extremes. One needs to learn about the Heavenly, alongside the simpler learning that is applicable to the body.

These words are being said as an introduction to this sefer. While we will discuss internal matters in this sefer which are applicable to the soul, one needs to also learn and act upon the simplest matters of keeping Halachah, [so that he will be able to gain fully from learning about the internal matters in this sefer and] so that he won’t lose out on the desired goal.

[Translated from the Rav’s introduction to sefer Da Es Havayesecha דע את הויתך ]