This is from the discourses of HaChalban on Bereishis. Although it is not from the book we have been translating, when I saw this today, I wished to share it.
The Mahara"l teaches that when the body speaks, the soul is silent. In other words, the more one is listening to the noise of the external world, the more distant he is from hearing the whispering of his soul. Why is he deaf to his soul? Because he doesn't know how to listen to it. Why can't he listen? Because he is too busy speaking, and when a person is speaking he is incapable of listening. A person can only listen to his soul when he first learns how to be silent.
This doesn't refer only to verbal communication, but to all those things which a person is engaged with the external world. Imagine that you have a great idea which you wish to share with your friend, but the friend one stop speaking. As soon as the desire to share your idea has popped into your mind, you no longer hear anything your friend says. The desire to speak overtakes your entire self and prevents you from hearing anything. The same is true for a student who raises his hand to ask a question. Nothing the teacher says from that point on is heard.
A person has many concerns, making a living, health, other personal matters. These fill his mind to the point that he can't feel the needs of others.
The Navi teaches us that לא ברעש ה', you won't find God in noise. All deeper concepts are only experienced in whispers. By contrast, external matters are in your face and noisy and when you are enveloped by them it is difficult to hear the whispers.
The Mahara"l teaches that when the body speaks, the soul is silent. In other words, the more one is listening to the noise of the external world, the more distant he is from hearing the whispering of his soul. Why is he deaf to his soul? Because he doesn't know how to listen to it. Why can't he listen? Because he is too busy speaking, and when a person is speaking he is incapable of listening. A person can only listen to his soul when he first learns how to be silent.
This doesn't refer only to verbal communication, but to all those things which a person is engaged with the external world. Imagine that you have a great idea which you wish to share with your friend, but the friend one stop speaking. As soon as the desire to share your idea has popped into your mind, you no longer hear anything your friend says. The desire to speak overtakes your entire self and prevents you from hearing anything. The same is true for a student who raises his hand to ask a question. Nothing the teacher says from that point on is heard.
A person has many concerns, making a living, health, other personal matters. These fill his mind to the point that he can't feel the needs of others.
The Navi teaches us that לא ברעש ה', you won't find God in noise. All deeper concepts are only experienced in whispers. By contrast, external matters are in your face and noisy and when you are enveloped by them it is difficult to hear the whispers.
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