Between Creator and Creature

From the book "The Path of Kabbalah"

The question, “Who am I?” exists in everyone. But when that question can no longer be put aside, then it relates to the Creator: “Who is He?” This is because the Creator is inside us, the Source of the human “self.” Hence, no matter how many times we ask ourselves, “Who am I?” the question still relates to the Creator. The “self” is a consequence. Our desires, our every movement, everything we do is, in fact, created by the Creator.

The notion that everything we say and think, even when we speak of the Creator and ourselves, is the work of the Creator, is virtually impossible for us to perceive.

So where is the “self”? There is no “self.” The “self” is the work of nature, created by the Creator. The “self” clothes us, yet everything we do is actually His doing. The question, “Who am I?” can only exist outside the Creator. We are different from the Creator only in wanting to resemble Him and to attain His degree.

The will to receive is essentially the desire of us creatures to enjoy, corresponding to the abundance and pleasure that come from the Creator. We feel that will to receive and the Creator wants us to enjoy it. If one simply follows nature’s instructions, one is like a beast that hasn’t even a spark of a Godly soul.

Only if our will to receive is clothed with an intention that monitors its use and corrects it, can we regard ourselves as creatures enlivened intentionally by the Creator, and not just another rock, animal or bird. But that depends on us.

Our desires to drink, eat, sleep, marry, and have children are natural and come from the Creator. We can’t escape or altogether change them. However, we can robe the will to receive with an aim and build a correct way to use that desire. The extent and depth of this aim depend solely on us. That is what we call, “Creation.” We must search for the right way to use our natures, our desires.

Nature comes from the Creator, and our job is to know how to use it. In Kabbalah, the whole of our desires and yearning for pleasure is termed "heart". And the “point in the heart” is the way we relate to our nature as given to us by the Creator, as well as our ability to use it correctly.