Love of Hashem & Love of One’s Self [#180]

February 9, 2018

Question:

Do we need to first love Hashem in order to be someach b’chelko?

Answer:

We must first believe in Hashem, before we work on trying to love Hashem. A person can believe that all that Hashem does is good, and from that, a person is someach b’chelko.
There are people who are naturally happy with themselves, because they have a very pleasant nature that is drawn towards calmness and pleasantness; these are people who were born with a dominant element of water in their souls (which is the root of pleasure). There are only a few people who are like this, but they do exist. As for those of us who do not possess this nature, we need either the paths described in the earlier chapters (of the series on Hisboddedus), or we need to use our power of emunah in order to reach our someiach b’chelko.