עֶס דאַרף זַיין עֲבוֹדָה בְּכֹחַ עַצְמוֹ. העֶכעֶר אִיז אַז מ'נעֶהמט פַאר'ן האַנט אוּן מ'פִירט. טַייעֶרעֶר אִיז אַז עֶס אִיז בְּכֹחַ עַצְמוֹ.

One must serve G‑d by his own efforts. [A person’s service] is higher when he is led by the hand from Above, but it is more cherished when it is generated by his own efforts.1

Delving Deeply

The concept that G‑d created the world in order “to have a dwelling in the lower realms”2 implies that man will take part in fashioning it. For were revelation to descend solely from above, a human being would feel it to be an unearned gift; in the words of the Sages, “the bread of shame.”3 Furthermore, not only are hard-earned revelations more satisfying, but fulfilling the Divine Will by our own efforts is the very reason for our creation. G‑d wants us to be “partners in creation,”4 not merely passive participants in His plan.

At present, G‑d is the Creator, bringing the world into existence from nothing, and human beings are the recipients, who take G‑d’s gifts and work with them. But when a human being uses the material world for spiritual purposes, he too is creating, as it were. That spiritual dimension did not exist beforehand, for the natural state of the world is to declare, “I exist for my own material reasons!” This is the partnership: G‑d brings physicality into being, and we add the spiritual dimension.

But for a human being to make that contribution, he must tap the core of his being, the aspect of himself that is truly one with G‑d.5 When he does so, G‑d responds with favor — with the kind of pleasure a father feels on seeing his son succeed in his endeavors.