Intelligence
Natural Intelligence
Every learning, every spiritual elevation, must be built on the foundation of natural feeling and natural intelligence. And natural intelligence itself with all natural feelings in a good measure of their stance—must be in their beginning planted on the foundation of the holy of holies, which carries within itself the load of the holy and the load of the secular, the material and the form, in a form that is uplifted and ideal, in an elevated unity.
Orot Hakodesh, p. 64
The Stifling of Intelligence
The subjugation and stifling of intelligence—-whatever the cause—represents the destruction of the world.
In fact, the holier the cause, the more damaging that subjugation is. It is like a false prophecy in the name of God. Such a prophecy conveys evil and uncleanness, idolatry and abomination—like a corpse.
And so, when any attempt is made to silence the mind—whether in the name of faith, piety, Torah learning or carrying out the commandments—it is a terrible lie, a toxic contamination.
At that point, people who are the holy ones of the Supernal Being, those who fear God in purity, must step forward to save the world, the people of Israel, the Torah, faith, and everything that is holy to God.
They must save them from the hands of the destroyers, whoever they may be.
These destroyers may be liars whose only wish is to delude others, who wrap themselves in the prophet’s cloak in order to deceive (Zechariah 13:4).
Or they may be men who are weak of spirit and small in consciousness—who, because of the reduction of the light of wisdom in them; who, because of their habitual dimness and coarsened vision, trample (with celerity and energy) the active, this-worldly material. They are rooted in the fabulistic images of a faith that comes from their own superficial misunderstanding. That misunderstanding brings poverty of spirit and lack of life to the world.
These people possess compassion and weakness, pride and opaqueness—and an inner cruelty. That inner cruelty stems from ego, foolishness and confused opinions regarding basic tenets of faith, upon which all faith is founded. They drive themselves to rule the world with a short temper, with hatred and despair, with weakness in their hands and contention.
Their influence puts the mind to sleep, extinguishes the light of Torah, and sets at a distance the world and a happy life, purity of character traits and the purification of thought.
As a result, souls stumble and fall. People live animalistic, mean lives without knowledge and understanding, without recognizing the honor due to human beings—which is the basic foundation to recognizing the honor due to heaven. This is an honor that fills the world, that enlivens worlds, that supports the spirit and soul.
Orot Ha’emunah, pp. 67-68