Fixing Your Earth [Sadness] - 011 Unfulfilled Wishes & The Solution

Wind-of-Wind-of-Earth: Feeling Deficient From an Unfulfilled Will

With siyata d’shmaya we continue here to learn about the element of earth and the trait of sadness. Now we shall discuss sadness that comes from the “wind” that is within “wind-of-earth”.

As explained in the previous lesson, the element of wind is expressed through the soul’s power of ratzon, the will. Therefore, “wind”-of-wind can be defined as the very “will” of the will. It is the root of the will, and it is a will that is constant. A person has many things that he desires, wants, and wishes for. Yet, he doesn’t necessarily desire these things on a constant basis. The will of the will, “wind-of-wind”, is a consistent will.

In most people, the will alternates. One day a person will want a certain thing, and the next day he will want something else. The will of most people keeps switching from one will to another will. But the inner root of the will is constant, and it doesn’t change. The outer will alternate from one wanting one kind of desire to another, and sometimes one will want something more, and at other times, he will want it less. Every person wants certain things, and the only question is: (1) How much a person wants it, and (2) What a person wants.

It is these factors of the will which change, and the stronger the will, the more a person will want it, and the more presence it will have.

Every will is based on some deficiency. If I want something, it means that I am missing something. Before I want something, I wasn’t necessarily missing it. Now that I want it, I feel deficient if I don’t have it. If I remove the will for it, I won’t suffer when I don’t get what I want.

Whenever wants something, it places the soul into a state of confinement (tzimtzum). The will places a person into a narrow confine. For this reason, wind-of-wind, the root of will, can also cause sadness, when a person doesn’t get that which he mainly wants. If a person gets what he mainly wants, he is happy, and when he doesn’t get it, he is sad. That is the sadness that comes from wind-of-wind-of-earth.

The Depth of Sadness: Feeling Deficient

This kind of sadness (which comes from wind-of-wind-of-earth) also represents the very depth of the trait of sadness. Although the general root of sadness is in the element of earth, sadness doesn’t only come from the “earth” within earth – it can also come from the “wind” within the element of earth.

When Hashem breathed a spirit of life into man’s body, man became essentially different from all other creatures. Man is different from other living beings, such as animals and plants, because man feels lacking when he doesn’t get what he wants. A plant or animal never feels deficient about itself, whereas a human being can feel deficient, and therefore, a human being can become sad. In fact, already at the very beginning, man felt that he was missing something, and that is why he wanted the woman to be created. The root of this is because man was created from the “earth”, which is devoid of life and hence deficient. Whenever man feels deficient because he doesn’t get what he wants, he returns to the “earth” he was created from: he becomes sad.

Earth Is Represented By Action, Wind Is Represented By Spiritual Speech

Now let’s proceed to discuss a deeper point.

Man has a soul, and the soul has three “garments” that cover it: action, speech, and thought. Action is the lowest use of the soul, speech is the intermediate use of the soul, and thought is the highest function of the soul [besides for the essence of the soul itself, which is beyond thought]. When one is very connected to the realm of action, he will feel more deficient, because physical action represents This World, which is inherently deficient [since it lacks the spiritual completeness of the Next World]. When a person connects to the realm of speech, he is elevated beyond the realm of action, and he will feel less deficient. This is all the more so when a person becomes more connected to the realm of thought, for as the sefarim hakedoshim state, “Man is thought” (“adam da machshavah”).

Action cannot be the primary function of man, for even animals can do actions. Therefore, the primary use of man is in the realm of speech, and even more so, in the realm of thought. The lower aspect of man is power of action, and this is represented by his element of earth. The intermediate aspect of man is power of speech, which is represented by his element of wind. The highest aspect of man is his power of thought. As long as a person is only connected to the realm of actions, he is connected to a state of deficiency, and his element of wind cannot be expressed.

Therefore, a person needs to make use of his element of “wind” in order to become elevated above the state of feeling deficient. But, more importantly, he needs “wind”-of-wind, an unceasing kind of spiritual speech, which is expressed through constantly speaking words of Torah, as in the expression, “The Torah does not cease from his mouth.”

When one is connected only to his element of earth - via the power of action - his “wind- of-wind” will not be active. In contrast, when one speaks words of Torah and he is also very much connected to it, and especially when he thinks about the words of Torah he says, he is utilizing the spiritual power of his wind-of-wind.

In summary, when one is more connected with his element of earth – represented by an involvement in the realm of action, with less connection to the realm of speech [namely, speaking the words of Torah] – he is essentially connected to a state of deficiency, for the element of earth is the symbol of deficiency. When one is in a deficient state, he feels that he is in an empty void, and hence, he will be sad. In contrast, when one becomes more connected to the power of speaking words of Torah, he will find joy.

Practical Example - Viewing The Will As A Garment of the Soul

So far, we have outlined where the source of sadness is (feeling deficient), and, in turn, where we can find a source of joy. Now we will speak of this idea on a more practical level.

Consider the following. A person walks by a store and sees something in the window, and he feels like he wants it. He thinks of how much he wants it, and he begins to feel lacking without it, and he feels that if he doesn’t get it, he will be missing something in his life. But before he saw it, did he feel like he was missing anything? No, he didn’t feel like he was missing anything. He has seen it and he desires it, and now he wants it badly, and this places a confinement on his soul, because he feels somewhat ‘locked in’ unless he gets it. However, he needs to remind himself that the ratzon (will) is but a “garment” of his soul. One will feel deficient as long as he thinks that his ratzon is coming from his very essence.  Instead, one needs to view his ratzon as a “garment” atop his soul.

Practically speaking, when a person wants something and then he feels that he “must” have it, how can he remove this feeling that he is missing something? He may be very tempted to go ahead and buy it, so that he can calm his desire. If he does so, though, he is making a mistake, because there is a rule that “Whoever wants one hundred, will want two hundred”.[1] Once he gives in to getting what he wants, he will only want more. So it will not really calm his desire if he allows himself to buy it. Instead, he can remove his feeling of deficiency from the root, by having the attitude that “What I want is not who I am. My ratzon (will) to buy this item is a “garment” that clothes my soul, but it is not my soul itself. It is something I want, but it is not me. I can separate from my will.”

In this way, one can stop “wanting” what he wants. But this can only happen when one has the awareness that the will is a “garment” of the soul. All of the various powers of the soul are the “garments” of the soul, not the soul itself. So one needs to be aware and remind himself that even when he wants something very badly, this, too, is but a “garment” of the soul. (We are speaking here only of private desires, which are mundane, and not about the innermost desire of the soul itself, which is holy.)

When one wants something badly, he wants it deeply in his soul, and he will be terribly disappointed when he doesn’t get it. After that, he will just stew in his disappointment. Instead of this, one needs practice seeing his will as a “garment” of his soul, as opposed to a desire that is coming from the soul itself. When that is the case, it will be much easier for a person to let go of trying to get something he wants.

Compare this to an article of clothing which a person wears. If the clothing is small, it feels confining. When a person wants something badly, it’s like wearing tightly fitting clothing. It confines him. One needs to remove the “confine” upon his soul that has been created from wanting a certain thing, and when he lets go of trying to get what he wants, he removes himself from the confine.

The idea can also be explained in different terms, which mean the same thing. The soul of a person is his essence, whereas the body is the “garment” which confines the person. Any desire comes from the body, which confines the soul. The more that a person learns how to identify himself as a soul and not as the body, the more he enables himself to pull out of the “confine” of the body, i.e. his various retzonos (desires).   

In summary, the idea is for a person to view his will as a garment of the soul, as opposed to being an intrinsic part of him. One needs to first contemplate this concept on an intellectual level, until it internalizes in him and he senses the truth of it. One should keep up this awareness until he reaches a point that whenever he wants something, it doesn’t cause him to feel deficient when he doesn’t get it.

The more a person becomes aware of this, he will feel more complete inside, and in turn, he saves himself from the feeling of deficiency.

Being Happy With What You Have: Realizing Your Divine Soul

Chazal state that one should be “someiach b’chelko” (happy with his share)[2]. On a simple level, this means that one should have a positive attitude, by focusing on the good instead of the bad. This is true - but it is only the superficial layer of what it means to be happy with what you have. Instead of simply ‘seeing the glass as half full, not half empty’, one needs to realize that he really has a full glass, not half a glass! Being happy with what you have means that you realize that you have everything!

The ratzon/will causes a person to feel deficient when he hasn’t yet gotten what he wants, and to feel that his ‘glass is half empty’. To counter this, one needs to learn how to be “happy with his share”, someiach b’chelko, and one’s true “share” is the fact that he has a Divine soul, a neshamah, which is called a cheilek eloka mimaal, “a portion of G-d, from above”.[3] This awareness is the true “cheilek”, the true “share”, that one needs to find joy in: the fact that he’s a “cheilek” eloka mimaal ! This provides a person with the perspective that he is really complete on the inside, and that any of his desires which cause him to feel deficient are but a “garment” atop his soul.

Havayah (Unchanging Essence) vs. Tenuah (Movement)

This concept, of separating oneself from one’s ratzon (will), through the awareness that the will is but a “garment” of the soul and not the soul itself - can also be described in terms of the difference between havayah (unchanging essence) and tenuah (movement).

The soul moves in various directions, through the many abilities present in the soul, but beneath all of the soul’s movements is the very essence of the soul itself. The element of wind in the soul causes a person to move and utilize his various abilities. This is tenuah, movement. Deeper than man’s tenuah is his very havayah, the very essence of the soul. On a deeper level, before the Creation, there was only the havayah (essence) of Hashem, and after Creation, Hashem allowed for movement (tenuah) in the Creator. In terms of the soul, havayah is one’s “portion of G-d, from above”, and tenuah is expressed through the various movements of the soul.

Tenuah/movement corresponds to the avodah of Moshe Rabbeinu, who represents ratzon, the will for holiness. Moshe is also personified by daas (spiritual knowledge and awareness), and daas is the power that moves and leads the world. The sefarim hakedoshim state that there is “an extension of Moshe in every generation”[4], and this is because the power of Moshe, which is daas, is what guides and moves every generation. Havayah/essence corresponds to the avodah of Mashiach. Mashiach will reveal that “Hashem is one”, just as in the state of before Creation. This corresponds to havayah, the unchanging essence. (Havayah also corresponds to Yaakov Avinu, who was called the “wholesome man”, ish tam, for he stayed spiritually perfect and he was unchanging, just like havayah.)

The concepts of havayah and tenuah also exist in our personal souls. The element of wind in the soul is the manifestation of tenuah/movement, whereas the essence of the soul itself is the manifestation of havayah is the very essence of the soul.

A person can stop feeling deficient when he doesn’t get what he wants, by going above tenuah/movement/ratzon/will and by accessing his havayah/unchanging essence. How can one have more access to his havayah? One way is, when a person understands that it is impossible for him to always get what he wants, for the ratzon is always bigger than what is actually capable of achieving. In this way, one lets go of ratzon. Another way is when a person uproots his retzonos. The more a person uproots his various retzonos, the closer he is to revealing havayah.

When one is only connected to the power of tenuah\movement in his soul, he will only be happy in the part of his ‘glass’ that’s ‘half full’. When one is more closely connected to his havayah, one finds that he has a ‘glass’ that’s completely full. Havayah offers a person a sense of inner completeness and satisfaction with whatever one has, and this also corresponds to the concept of menuchah (serenity) on Shabbos. Menuchah is essentially about connecting oneself to the havayah in his soul, which is above all of his tenuah/movement/ratzon/will. Thus, the depth of being happy with one’s share is when one connects to his havayah.

In Conclusion

In summary of the lesson, sadness that comes from wind-of-wind-of-earth is when one over-identifies with whatever he wants, with his various retzonos that stem from his ratzon/will. A person becomes sad from being overly connected to what he wants, which essentially means that he is too connected to the various “movements” of the soul. When one cannot go above the “movements” of the soul, he is essentially connected to a state of deficiency, where he will feel like he is missing something in his life because he isn’t getting what he wants. At this state, the most he will be able to do in order to calm his sadness is by focusing on the part of his ‘glass’ that’s ‘half full’. To repair this sadness, one needs to learn how to connect to his havayah – the unchanging essence of the soul which isn’t lacking anything.

Havayah can also be described as a perfected element of earth. This is also an implication of the verse, “All is from earth, and all returns to earth” [5] - it is referring to an element of “earth” that is rectified and perfected, the deep place in the soul of havayah, where one can find the depth of what it means to be someiach b’chelko. This is the way of how we can repair the sadness that comes from wind-of-wind-of-earth.