Machshava:

Kabbalah 

Collections: Rabbi Weinberger: Living The Derech Of The Ba'al Shem Tov

Description

P. 80. The five senses have an influence on us, but machshava (thought) is really who we are. When you think about something without any other sensory input, you are completely invested in the subject of that thinking. Marriage is the practical world while (erusin) engagement is the world of thought, and in some ways is higher and deeper than marriage. When thinking about another person's thoughts, we become unified with that person. When we deeply think about an inyan (subject) in Torah, we are 'embracing the King', and there is no yichud (unification) like this. When we learn for ourselves and not lishma (for itself), we are missing out on the true joy of life. The Meor Einayim says that a tzaddik is buried in his words, so that learning a tzaddik's sefer is greater than being at the kever (grave).