Tuesday, January 31, 2006

Approach

The inner core of every Jew is essentially good, and in the depth of his being every Jew yearns to do mitzvos. It is his thick shell of materialism and the darkness of his yetzer hara, his evil inclination, that obscure the Divine Light within him. This inner light cannot overpower the massive darkness and the evil of the outer shell.

There are people who respond to an admonition by a tzaddik. His reproach will crack their crust of corporeality and cause them to repent. But there are others whose outer layer of materialism is so thick that no rebuke can penetrate it. The only way to reach these people is to approach them with love and kindness, appealing to their inner core of goodness. This will kindle the spark of morality within them.


(Rebbe Zusia of Anapol)