Our Thirst for Divine Light

by Rav Avraham Yitzchak Kook

When a person comes to purify himself, he can clearly sense the iron wall separating him from his Maker. He thirsts for the Divine light and sees that he is far from it. Moreover, he suffers in his spirit for the fact that his thirst is not a genuine thirst. He wishes to feel the pain of the thirst, to feel in his spirit this true preciousness that he is yearning for to the point of his soul perishing. But to his heart’s dismay, he does not feel that within himself. He wanders like a shadow, suspecting himself of falsehood and self-deceit.

But if he is truly strong, pure in heart and straight upon the path, his steps will not totter. He will do what he must: he will improve his actions, rectify his ways, purify his traits, increase learning and study, arouse feeling by means of the service of the heart, by means of prayer and praise, by means of song and melody, by means of the companionship of good, straight people, by means of dwelling permanently in the Holy Land, by means of constantly speaking in the Holy Tongue--until the light of Hashem will shine upon him, and he will have relief.

Pinkas 81 Piskaot (Jaffa), #72