So a person must have times of learning Torah in the company of others, as well as by himself when he is alone. When one makes sure to have times every day of learning Torah alone, along with holiness and purity, he can slowly penetrate, at least to some level, to his own personal part in the Torah. When he reaches it, his “individual” aspect intensifies and he activates it from its potential state, more and more. Then a new gate will be opened to him, where he can reach his own inner world, through his own personal share in Torah that he has reached.
THE HIGHER LEVEL: RESEMBLING THE “INDIVIDUALITY” OF HASHEM
Even more so, the Ramchal in Mesillas Yesharim says that a person was not created except to bask in the pleasure of Hashem....and the true perfection of man is in attachment with Hashem.” It is explained in Pirkei D’Rebbi Eliezer, and in other sources, that before Hashem created the world, “He was one, and His name was one”. Just as Hashem is the Individual One of the world, so did He give man a resemblance of this power, so to speak, to become an “individual”. This is a root force in man.
There are a myriad amount of creations, but they are united under the oneness of Hashem. Chazal teach that man must resemble Hashem’s attributes: “Just as He is compassionate, so must you be compassionate.” The deeper aspect of resembling Hashem, though, is to resemble His individuality. Yaakov fought the angel of Esav “alone”, and Chazal teach that when Yaakov remained “alone” after fighting the angel, he resembled Hashem’s complete reign in the future, when it will be clear to all that He alone rules the word. Chazal also state that Yaakov Avinu also resembled the likeness of Adam HaRishon; just as Adam was an individual man of the world, so did Yaakov reach the “individual” aspect of man.
TOGETHER, AND ALONE
The personal avodah of man to reach d’veykus (attachment) with Hashem contains two deep aspects. One part of it is to connect with all of Klal Yisrael together, which was the state of Har Sinai, when all of the people received the Torah together. The other part is to use the light of Moshe Rabbeinu, who ascended alone to Heaven, receiving the Torah alone, from Hashem.
Each soul contains both of these deep aspects. On one hand, a person can connect to Hashem through the Torah that was given to all of Klal Yisrael. But the deeper aspect is to be like Moshe Rabbeinu, who received the Torah privately from Hashem; the Rambam says that everyone can reach a level that resembles Moshe Rabbeinu, and Reb Elchonon Wasserman in the name of the Chofetz Chaim wrote about this extensively.
A person needs to use both of these aspects together. On one hand, a person should learn Torah in the company of others who exert themselves in Torah, and to connect himself with the company of Torah scholars. But a person also needs to develop his own inner world, by connecting to his own personal share in the Torah, and to activate the potential of his inner world.
But even more so, as a result of combining the above two aspects of the soul together, there is a greater level as well that one can reach: a person can reach a level in which he stands “alone” with Hashem, and resemble the individuality of Hashem, so to speak. Besides for revealing the power of “alone” in the soul, there is a higher level one can reach through it: to discover the power of “Moshe Rabbeinu” within, on his own level. Moshe is called the “faithful shepherd”, who had true ahavas Yisrael to all souls of the Jewish people – a genuine connection to each Jew.
Therefore, the more a person develops the power of “alone”, the more his connections to others will improve, as a byproduct. Then a person will merit rectifying the power of “alone”, of the impaired kind of “alone” of the metzora, who sits alone, outside the camp - and in its place, to reveal the true “alone” – which is balanced by an ability to connect to all others.
The way life looks like for a person who traverses the ways of our teachers is to have connections with others, out of a general love for each Jew, and on a particular level, to be able to learn Torah with others; and at the same time, to build the “individual” aspect of the soul, with true, complete d’veykus, in the Creator.
