“The Kabbalah teaches that God created man with two very different powers:

The Koach HaMekabel (the ability to receive) and the Koach HaMashpia (the ability to be a giver).

The human body [is characterized by] the Koach HaMekabel; it needs to receive, it derives pleasure from many things in life.

The human soul is the Koach HaMahspia, the power of giving.

The soul is Divine, a part of God. That which is Divine is unselfish, loving; it wants to give…

When [body and soul] come together, conflict [arrises] because they represent different kochot (powers/abilities).

A human being can chooses to be a giver and not a taker….

What can help a person to become more of a giver than a taker?… Self-control… What are we trying to control? The physical part of us, [with its materialistic compulsions].

In order to have self-control, we need to have responsibility, to understand that we are accountable for our actions…

Viktor Frankel said… ‘Freedom is but the negative aspect of the whole phenomenon whose positive aspect is responsibilities. In fact, freedom is in danger of degenerating into mere arbitrariness unless it is lived in terms of responsibilities’.

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Accountability, responsibility. This will not happen unless people have meaning and purpose.

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We live in a world today of pleasure-seeking. The physicality that has taken over creates a greater concealment, making it more difficult to access the spiritual dimension.