The Lost Value of the Process
In earlier times, many of a person’s basic desires could be fulfilled only through involved processes. To obtain water, one had to draw it; to obtain milk, one had to milk the animal; and one who needed a new table had to turn to a carpenter, who would cut, sand, and carve the wood until the finished product emerged.
Today’s reality, by contrast, is marked by consumerism and abundant accessibility. Nearly everything a person desires is readily available, and every desire is accompanied by the immediate capacity to consume—to obtain the object as quickly as possible. On the surface this appears to be only an advantage: everything has become easier and simpler. Yet a deeper look reveals a significant drawback.
We have noted more than once a principle that applies to nearly every endeavor: it is the process itself that builds a person’s stature, not the end result. Along the way, a person encounters many obstacles and variables that compel him to think differently and adjust his course. Once the end result is attained, however, resistance disappears and nothing further needs to change.
The Nature of True Ratzon
The essence of ratzon is likewise such that seder and process naturally arise from it. It cannot be actualized at once, without progression. We see this with the Creator, Whose desires are not fulfilled instantaneously but through ordered steps, stage by stage, even though He could have realized them immediately without delay. From this we learn that a ratzon which can be expressed immediately is not truly a ratzon but merely a need; a true ratzon is one that requires a process in order to be realized.
The capacity for instant gratification therefore blurs and diminishes the depth of ratzon. No process develops from it. A person simply asks and the item is already in his hand, without having passed through any seder that builds and develops him. His entire focus remains on results alone—whether he has obtained the object or not. Yet a person’s growth, and spiritual growth in particular, must come through engagement with the paths and processes themselves. There is no room for shortcuts.
Man and Beast: Two Approaches to the Process
Every living creature that seeks to bring prey to its mouth understands the need to arrange the steps leading to its desire. The difference lies in the attitude toward the process and the weight given to it. When an animal plans its moves to reach a result, it would gladly forgo the process if it could. It takes no enjoyment in the process and feels no connection to it; its whole being is fixed on the end.
When a person arranges his steps toward fulfilling a ratzon, however, he must love the process itself and feel connected to it regardless of the outcome, recognizing that the source of his growth lies within it. The doing is not merely a technical means of realizing the ratzon; the doing itself carries great significance.
This is comparable to a woman who bakes. She does not stand impatiently waiting for the work to be finished. Rather, she finds interest and engagement in each stage—measuring, kneading, rolling the dough, and so on. The process itself speaks to her, apart from the final product. So too must we discover interest and connection in the process we undergo for the sake of our ratzon, rather than treating it as a mere compulsory act.
Applying the Principle: Pesukei D’zimra and the Apparent Contradiction
We can practice this in many settings. We should not recite Pesukei D’zimra out of a sense of obligation, but from a clear understanding that one cannot stand before the King immediately whenever one wishes.
Preparation is required: first Pesukei D’zimra, then Birchos Krias Shema, and only then may one stand before Him, Yisborach. From this understanding we must desire, and strive, to find interest and connection in Pesukei D’zimra themselves, as part of a process that builds us and leads to the summit of ratzon—standing before the King.
At first glance this may seem contradictory. If the process is primary, then the ratzon is the process; if the ratzon aims at the result, then the process is only a means. Upon reflection there is no contradiction. Although the ratzon is directed toward an ultimate goal, every stage of the process must still belong to the ratzon itself. When we want something, our ratzon and our sense of connection extend to the path and the process as well.
If our soul yearns to develop the qualities of ratzon and seder, we must seek retzonos that can set in motion a process in which we will find interest and ratzon for its own sake. Even though the ratzon is directed toward a more distant goal, the process itself is an integral part of the ratzon, not merely an obstacle along the way. In this manner we can elevate ourselves in this vital area.