When the thinking person will reflect on these matters in the depths of his heart and brain, then as [surely as] water mirrors the image of a face, his soul will spontaneously be kindled with love for G-d.

[When the love likened to "water mirroring the image of a face" takes effect in a person, so that G-d's manifest love for His people arouses in him a corresponding love towards Him, then, his soul will spontaneously be kindled with love for G-d], and it will clothe itself in a spirit of benevolence, willingly to lay down and resolutely to abandon all he possesses, [for it will no longer be of major importance to him], in order only to cleave unto Him, and to be absorbed into His light with an attachment and longing, and so forth, in a manner of "kissing", and with an attachment of spirit to Spirit, as has been explained earlier.

[Just as kissing involves not only the cleaving of mouths but also a communion of breaths, so too does spiritual unity involve the union of man's spirit with G-d's: man's spirit becomes one with G-d's].

But how does the attachment of spirit to Spirit take place?

[I.e., what measures are to be taken if one seeks to desire to "only cleave to Him"?]

To this end it is stated, [soon after the phrase, "with all your heart," and so on]: [14] "And these words shall be... upon your heart.... And you shall speak of them...." [As will soon be explained, this refers to immersing oneself in the study of Torah and speaking words of Torah].

As is explained in Etz Chayim, the union of "kissing" [which incorporates the union of the "attachment of spirit to Spirit]" is essentially the union of ChaBaD with ChaBaD - [the union of man's Chochmah, Binah and Daat with G-d's]; that is, concentration in the Torah, [which unites man's ChaBaD with the intellect of above, i.e., Torah], while the mouth, as the outlet of the breath and its emergence into a revealed state, represents the category of speech engaged in words of the Torah.

[By speaking words of Torah - as it is written, "And you shall speak of them" - the spirit emerges into a revealed state.

Thus, the union of "spirit with Spirit" is mainly brought about by one's immersion in Torah study. The reason for this follows]:

   

Notes:

14. (Back to text) Devarim 6:6-7.