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Across the Barrier

Our perception of the Upper World varies depending on our
spiritual state. Initially, we cannot perceive the Upper World
because our qualities are opposite from the Creator’s. In such a
state, we can only perceive the material world we presently live
in, and everything we imagine the spiritual world to be is strictly
a figment of our imagination.
But once we acquire the first spiritual quality, the first bit of
altruism, we also gain the ability to see the spiritual as it truly is.
Kabbalists call it “crossing the barrier.” Once we cross the barrier
we can advance even without a teacher because in that state we
are under the conscious guidance of the Creator. Still, in most
cases, Kabbalists continue to study with a teacher even after
they cross the barrier, but their relationship with their teacher
changes drastically: the teacher no longer needs to lead a blind
person by the hand, but the two walk together on an enchanted
path of discovery.
Beyond the barrier, one learns from one’s own soul, through
observation of the soul and its relationship with the Creator. To
understand this learning process, think of how we hear. The hearing
mechanism reacts to some pressure from the outside by working in
the same way as the pressure but in the opposite direction, pressing
back from within. This way, it keeps itself in balance, enabling you
to measure, in this case, the volume and pitch of a sound. But
here’s the hitch: for this type of perception to occur, there must
be some uniting element between the perceiver and the object of
perception. In the case of our hearing it’s the eardrum.
But what’s the uniting force that can tie our perception to the
Creator? Perhaps what we need is a “spiritual eardrum,” which
would have the same quality as what’s given out by the Creator?
Well, such an “eardrum” exists; Whatever you do with an intention to give is
considered “giving” in spirituality.