If a person chooses to live in the manner - with the awareness that his vessel is subordinate to the Light, such that he has no self-existence - he will discover that this is far from easy. This is because the recipient is constantly screaming out "I have my own existence," even though without the bestower he would have nothing at all.
This is similar to a person who merits to receive inspiration from a Tzaddik and subsequently, on the strength of that inspiration, puts great effort into serving Hashem and Torah study. Imagine if afterwards someone were to say to him, "Indeed, you put in a lot of effort. However, it was not from yourself, it was all from what the Tzaddik gave you. What you received from your teacher is what gave you the ability to accomplish. It was all him!"
In response to this the inspired person begins to shout, "What difference does it make if the Tzaddik inspired me?! I am the one who worked day and night. All that work was mine. His inspiration got me started, but I am the one who put in the effort to continue." It is undoubtedly true that a mother is the one who carries the burden of childbirth, but without a father there would be nothing. So too, in our case the "father" of the accomplishment is the one who inspired, not the one who did.
This is true in many areas. When workers build a building with great effort and sweat, no one attributes the finial product to the workers, rather it is known for the company that built it or perhaps the architect. They are the ones who are credited with bringing forth the project from beginning to end. The workers shout : Without us there would be no building, we toiled to bring about the result. They are correct. But the rest of the world will credit those who came up with the idea to build or who facilitated the building. Not those who actualized it.
This is similar to a person who merits to receive inspiration from a Tzaddik and subsequently, on the strength of that inspiration, puts great effort into serving Hashem and Torah study. Imagine if afterwards someone were to say to him, "Indeed, you put in a lot of effort. However, it was not from yourself, it was all from what the Tzaddik gave you. What you received from your teacher is what gave you the ability to accomplish. It was all him!"
In response to this the inspired person begins to shout, "What difference does it make if the Tzaddik inspired me?! I am the one who worked day and night. All that work was mine. His inspiration got me started, but I am the one who put in the effort to continue." It is undoubtedly true that a mother is the one who carries the burden of childbirth, but without a father there would be nothing. So too, in our case the "father" of the accomplishment is the one who inspired, not the one who did.
This is true in many areas. When workers build a building with great effort and sweat, no one attributes the finial product to the workers, rather it is known for the company that built it or perhaps the architect. They are the ones who are credited with bringing forth the project from beginning to end. The workers shout : Without us there would be no building, we toiled to bring about the result. They are correct. But the rest of the world will credit those who came up with the idea to build or who facilitated the building. Not those who actualized it.
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