We elevate sparks by sanctifying the mundane and revealing G-dliness in places that seem devoid of holiness. We can identify, reveal, and connect with the spark of divinity in food, work, family, and more. This is done by remembering that all we have is from Him, thanking Him, and enjoying His gifts in a way that enhances, rather than distracts from, our service of Hashem. We can be constantly mindful of Hashem “meirov kol,” when we have an abundance of goodness. Then Hashem has less of a ‘need’ to send us challenges that cause us to ‘look up’ and remember Him, because we haven’t forgotten about Him!
Sometimes the avodah is to elevate the mundane, freeing these sparks from the klipos, but other times the avodah is to run away from the klipos as fast as we can! Sometimes the enticing pull of the klipah to get us to sin is so powerful that the risk of failure is simply too high. These sparks are ‘above our paygrade’ to elevate, and our mission is to run for our (spiritual) life.
Our self-control ‘muscle’ works like any other muscle. The more we work it out, the stronger it gets. We work it out every time we control ourselves from anything, from the most severe of sins to something as simple as chewing a little slower when we want to eat quickly. Every time we’re faced with a spiritual challenge, and we control ourselves from seeing, saying, or doing something forbidden, we strengthen this muscle, making it a bit easier to ‘lift that weight’ the next time we face the challenge.
Our sages teach us that we should work out this muscle in permitted realms, where failure won’t damage us, and not in forbidden realms, where the stakes are too high – just as an alcoholic shouldn’t sit down with a bottle of scotch and a glass at the end of a stressful day and work on his self-control! When the stakes are too high, and the risk of failure is too great, Hashem wants us to steer clear of the battlefield. He wants us to set up fences to avoid the encounter with the yetzer hara in the first place.
The nature of every person is different, and based on a person’s spiritual level, something that can be less harmful for one person can be very damaging to another. Every person should honestly evaluate the spiritual damage that may be caused by the things he brings into his home, and determine whether there are any klipos that can not be elevated by him, and should rather be avoided entirely. Some things are a Merkava L’klipah, a chariot whose very essence is a host to the klipos! The way to free the sparks held there is only by distancing ourselves from it completely. I think you did a fine job let people apply it as they will in a personal way
The mission of the Jewish people is an exalted one. Hashem chose us as His “Mamleches Kohanim v’goy kadosh, a kingdom of priests and a holy nation.” The ‘nature’ of the Shechinah is that it seeks places to dwell in the lower worlds; our mission is to be Its worthy host. When the Shechinah sees a Yid set boundaries to preserve the holiness of his soul, his home, and his family, the Shechinah recognizes that a place has been found to dwell. When we distance ourselves from things that distance us from Hashem, Hashem comes closer to us.
Take It To Go: We are a holy people, the beloved children of Hashem. To ensure we are a vessel that welcomes the Divine Presence, we should honestly evaluate whether we are connecting ourselves to anything that is a Merkava L’klipah, where the risk of falling into sin is so great that the only way to ‘free that spark’ is to set up boundaries to remove ourselves from that battlefield entirely.
This article was found in Nekuda Tova Issue 25.