The Anguish of Lofty Souls
„There is a person in whose soul the moral demand shines with great clarity, and every image of moral loftiness that he envisions immediately makes his soul demand of him to bring it into accord with the course of his life; and because the fountain of imagery flows far more swiftly than the practical movement and the natural contents that are in the nature of body and soul, he is therefore always full of anguish and bitterness over his soul.”From Shemonah Kevatzim, V 13
There are people who want to be the best possible, and each time they discover a new summit, they wish to reach it. Their demand of themselves is immense, and the revelation of a higher summit awakens in them an intense desire to advance and conquer it too. But we must remember that our thought is faster than our deeds, which are built upon daily, Sisyphean labor. And so, this mighty desire may become a trap, and cause them not to create, to stand in place, to fall into depression and an inability to advance. When we understand that the new summits are not a source of guilt but of repair, when we give ourselves the time to reach them, we will succeed in producing the longed-for repair, for ourselves and for the whole world. And we will advance, and rejoice.
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From the community archive of Mishpetei HaRav Kook — studying Rav Kook's teachings since 2011.