Meaning of Trust 9

[Ayelet1]

Wow, what a class, I will need more time to digest all of it!!

A few questions:

• Why is connection, achievement and security a goal for my happiness? How does this fit in more deeply with bitachon in Hashem? It seems like it might be good psychological advice to attain happiness, how is it more than that?

• I don't know if we were supposed to, but I didn't really understand what mazal is. Does mazal mean the interaction or connection between the higher self and the lower self? How is this the conduit for Hashem's will? What does it have to do with the stars, and avodah zarah as worshipping the conduit of Hashem's will?

• Chizkiyahu was on the highest level in a certain sense because he feared, but if a person is that clean than they have no reason to fear. So how does this work?

• Lastly, about the yetzer hara being good so people would get married, have kids, etc. Okay, I always felt I had a question on this topic. If you can use a feeling for the bad or good, why necessarily would it be from the yetzer hara? For example in this class anxiety, guilt. It's good when it spurs us towards teshuvah, growth, but not good if we become discouraged. Or from this class, pleasure - with a means is good, without a means is bad. Is the yetzer hara the little voice that is telling me what to use each middah or feeling for? So then how could one feeling be marked "yezter hara feeling" and possibly used for good, like illusion of building a house that will last forever. If it's good to build a house, the yetzer hara wouldn't want you to have that illusion! I understand maybe having nefesh behemi feelings and neshama feelings, and using them both for good or for bad. But where does the yetzer hara and yetzer hatov come in? I would love help on this answer.

As always, thank you Naaleh and Rebebtzin Heller for these indispensable Torah classes!!

[Hadassa1]

You raised some great questions. Although I am not qualified to answer them, I would like to offer some thoughts that occurred to me re: Mazal. I recall learning that Mazal is an influence that is "poured" from above to below. This idea connotes that Mazal connects worlds (upper-->lower, outer-->inner) in a one-directional way. 
According to the Chazal, "Ain Mazal L'Yisrael," certain aspects of our Mazal are not fixed and can change based on our actions. Based on this idea, our actions connect worlds (lower-->upper, inner-->outer).  Thus, it seems that the Mazal relationship is that of interaction and connection in a bi-directional way.

[Ayelet1]

Thanks, Hadassa, that is interesting. I've never heard of this whole explanation of mazal before, about connecting outer and inner worlds.

[miriam4]

Wow, Haddasa! All that Sifsei Chaim is coming in handy!