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Rabbi Chaim Walkin

Sefer Da’at Chaim

32nd ma’amar

conflict emerged they had thoughts of Teshuvah, and so an elevated
refuge was prepared for them in Gehinnom and there they sat.” As we
explained, that the being of a person and his level in Gehinnom are
determined based on the measure of the sins he did and the severity
of their level. Therefore, a “superficial” sin which emerges from the
essence of the soul creates and determines a level of “superficiality”
similar to “an elevated place (i.e., a shelter) within Gehinnom” whose
punishments are awesome.
From here we learn a very basic and necessary profound rule which
should illuminate and give direction to all of our actions and behavior
in the path of Torah and mitzvot. The actions of man are examined
and measured in proportion to his attachment to those actions and
to the degree they originate from the depths of his soul. There are
actions that are sincere which originate and reflect the true essence
of the soul of a person, and there are actions that are insincere and
are merely superficial appearances which do not reflect the level of
his real essence, as we have explained. It is not possible to equate
or compare actions that are sincere and originate from the core of the
soul to actions whose essence is superficial. Therefore a person’s
direction in life and his service to Hashem must be in the context of
(Tehilim 40:9) “Your Torah is within my being” – in learning Torah
and doing mitzvot sincerely, as they are formed and rooted within the
depths of his soul.

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