Sins Involving Personal Holiness [#1662]

January 7, 2019

Question:

Are the ways of avodah written in the Rav’s “Bilvavi” sefarim and “Da Es” series also for a person who has still not yet rectified sins which involve violations of personal holiness, such as damaging the Holy Covenant and etc.? Without getting into the details, if one still has not yet rectified these sins, or if he has begun but he still has a long way to go when it comes to rectifying these sins, or if he is on the path of rectifying this sin but he is still falling to these kinds of sins, because his evil inclination keeps getting a hold on him – 1) Can he still practice what the Rav says in his sefarim? 2) Will a person in this situation be able to have any understanding of the ways of avodah in the Rav’s sefarim? 3) In connection with the first two questions, are there some ways of avodah in the Rav’s sefarim which he can practice, and others which he can’t? 4) Or are these ways of avodah only for a person who is like a child who is pure from sin, whose only task is to ascend higher in spirituality? 5) Is there any way of avodah mentioned in the sefarim of the Rav which can help a person come out of this [particular case of] darkness which he is found in?

Answer:

1) Yes.

2) Yes.

3) The parts which involve change of action and emotion may still be practiced, but as for the parts which involve actual ruchniyus (spiritual improvement), these parts can only be of gain to a person in this kind of situation if he has mesirus nefesh (self-sacrifice) or temimus (earnestness) throughout his self-work.

4) The Rav did not answer

5) Through mesirus nefesh - even if it is only a little bit.