צריך האדם לחשוב את עצמו כאין וישכח את עצמו מכל וכל ויבקש הכל בכל תפלתו על השכינה, ואזי יכול לבוא למעלה מהזמן, דהיינו לעולם המחשבה, ששם הכל שוה, חיים ומות, ים ויבשה, וזהו מה שכתוב בזוהר (בשלח דמ"ח ע"א) אלי דייקא דא בעתיקא תליא, שהיו צריכין להפקיר את עצמן, ולשכח בצרתן, כדי שיבואו לעולם המחשבה, ושם הכל שוה, מה שאין כן כשהוא דבוק בגשמיות עולם הזה הוא דבוק בהתחלקות טוב ודע, דהיינו זיי"ן ימי הבנין, ואיך יבא למעלה מזמניות, ששם אחדות גמור, וכן כשחושב את עצמו ליש, ומבקש צרכיו, אז אין הקדוש ברוך הוא יכול להתלבש בו, כי הוא יתברך שמו אין סוף, ואין כלי יכול לסבלו, מה שאין כן כשחושב את עצמו לאין: (ליקוטי אמרים די"ח ריש ע"ג, והוא בקיצור בכתר שם טוב ח"ב ד"כ ע"ד).
A person must consider himself as nothing, forgetting himself completely and praying only for the good of the Shechinah. Then he can attain a level that transcends time – the world of thought, where everything is equal: life and death, ocean and land. This is the meaning of the Zohar: “‘Why do they cry to Me?’ (Exodus 14:15) – ‘to Me’ specifically, for the matter depends upon Atik.”58Zohar 2:48a. When the Jewish people stood before the Red Sea, they cried out to G‑d. G‑d responded to Moses: “Why do they cry out to Me. Speak to the Children of Israel and tell them to travel on.” The Zohar explains that their prayers were to a lower level of Divine manifesation – “to Me” – whereas the redemption depended upon the revelation of Atik, which is the most recondite level of Divinity, the place above all duality and difference. They had to abandon themselves completely and forget their own danger in order to enter the World of Thought, where everything is equal.59I.e., by transcending their own concerns and reaching the World of Thought, the sea turned into dry land, allowing them to pass though. Since on that level of oneness, everything is equal, land and sea, good and bad. However, when a person is attached to this physical world, he is attached to the duality of good and evil; that is, the seven days of creation. How then can he rise above temporality, to absolute Oneness? So too, when he considers himself as something and prays for his own needs. Then, G‑d is unable to clothe Himself in him, for G‑d is infinite, and no vessel can contain Him. This is not the case if he considers himself as nothing. Likutim Amarim, p. 18c60See Kesser Shem Tov II, p. 20d for a shorter version of this teaching.
צריך האדם לחשוב את עצמו כאין וישכח את עצמו מכל וכל ויבקש הכל בכל תפלתו על השכינה, ואזי יכול לבוא למעלה מהזמן, דהיינו לעולם המחשבה, ששם הכל שוה, חיים ומות, ים ויבשה, וזהו מה שכתוב בזוהר (בשלח דמ"ח ע"א) אלי דייקא דא בעתיקא תליא, שהיו צריכין להפקיר את עצמן, ולשכח בצרתן, כדי שיבואו לעולם המחשבה, ושם הכל שוה, מה שאין כן כשהוא דבוק בגשמיות עולם הזה הוא דבוק בהתחלקות טוב ודע, דהיינו זיי"ן ימי הבנין, ואיך יבא למעלה מזמניות, ששם אחדות גמור, וכן כשחושב את עצמו ליש, ומבקש צרכיו, אז אין הקדוש ברוך הוא יכול להתלבש בו, כי הוא יתברך שמו אין סוף, ואין כלי יכול לסבלו, מה שאין כן כשחושב את עצמו לאין:
(ליקוטי אמרים די"ח ריש ע"ג, והוא בקיצור בכתר שם טוב ח"ב ד"כ ע"ד).
A person must consider himself as nothing, forgetting himself completely and praying only for the good of the Shechinah. Then he can attain a level that transcends time – the world of thought, where everything is equal: life and death, ocean and land. This is the meaning of the Zohar: “‘Why do they cry to Me?’ (Exodus 14:15) – ‘to Me’ specifically, for the matter depends upon Atik.”58Zohar 2:48a. When the Jewish people stood before the Red Sea, they cried out to G‑d. G‑d responded to Moses: “Why do they cry out to Me. Speak to the Children of Israel and tell them to travel on.” The Zohar explains that their prayers were to a lower level of Divine manifesation – “to Me” – whereas the redemption depended upon the revelation of Atik, which is the most recondite level of Divinity, the place above all duality and difference. They had to abandon themselves completely and forget their own danger in order to enter the World of Thought, where everything is equal.59I.e., by transcending their own concerns and reaching the World of Thought, the sea turned into dry land, allowing them to pass though. Since on that level of oneness, everything is equal, land and sea, good and bad. However, when a person is attached to this physical world, he is attached to the duality of good and evil; that is, the seven days of creation. How then can he rise above temporality, to absolute Oneness? So too, when he considers himself as something and prays for his own needs. Then, G‑d is unable to clothe Himself in him, for G‑d is infinite, and no vessel can contain Him. This is not the case if he considers himself as nothing.
Likutim Amarim, p. 18c60See Kesser Shem Tov II, p. 20d for a shorter version of this teaching.