Spiritual Thirst

We are not always prepared for spiritual, elevated experiences. The many times that we lack supernal illumination are well-fitted for a dedication to the revealed, exoteric teachings of the Torah and this-worldly service. But since the light of our soul breaks forth immediately, we must give that light its freedom so that it will spread forth. We must envision, imagine, grow wise and attain, strive and yearn for the highest heights, for the source of our root, for the life of our soul, for the light of the Life of the Soul of all worlds, for the light of the supernal God, for His goodness and majesty.

Orot Hatorah 10:2

In special moments of divine illumination, we feel a great thirst: a thirst for holiness in general and for the Torah and its commandments in particular. That allows us to attain in the correct degree the ability to be constantly involved—with great love and constant diligence—in Torah and its commandments, in perfecting our character and in elevating our thought. Together, these make it possible for us to cling to the Divine. Then all the pleasures of that closeness to God are broadened for us.

In the fullness of our soul, we sense the necessity of absolute goodness, the impossibility of its not existing, and the unceasing longing in the depths of our heart to rise to it, to approach its heights, to gaze upon its pleasantness. We feel that the fulfillment of this absolute goodness in the completeness of its being—free of every boundary, of every condition and ordinance, of every definition and alteration—is a universal fulfillment.

We rise above everything to the simple vision that our senses could grasp from existence only superficially. We step forward spiritually, striding higher than the sun. Then we pronounce that there is nothing old: everything blossoms, everything rises, everything constantly increases light and life.

Orot Hakodesh II, pp. 466-67