רֵאשִׁית הַהֲכָנָה לְהִתְעַסְּקוּת בִּשִׂכְלִים עִיּוּנִים, וּבְשֵׂכֶל אֱלֹקִי בִּפְרָט, הוּא א) יְגִיעַת בָּשָׂר לְהָסִיר הַטּוּב טַעַם מֵעִנְיָנֵי עוֹלָם, ב) יְגִיעַת נֶפֶשׁ לְעוֹרֵר הַטּוּב טַעַם בְּמוּשְׂכָּלוֹת בִּכְלָל, וּבְעִנְיָנֵי אֱלֹקוּת בִּפְרָט.

The first step in preparing for disciplined meditation, especially on G‑dly concepts, requires: (a) toiling with the flesh to remove one’s pleasurable taste for worldly matters; (b) toiling with the soul to arouse a pleasurable taste for the contemplation of concepts in general, and of G‑dly concepts in particular.1

Probing Beneath the Surface

Fill a cup with water. So long as the water remains in the cup, we will not be able to fill it with anything else. Our mind is that cup. As long as we are focused on worldly matters, we cannot become sensitive to the spiritual. However, merely turning our attention from the material is not enough. We have to develop a taste for the spiritual. Only when a person experiences pleasure and satisfaction in understanding spiritual concepts will he yearn to proceed further along that path.