One Needs to Have Boldness of Holiness

271 – One Needs to Have Boldness of Holiness One must possess boldness of holiness, as explained in various places— for example, as it is written (Avot chapter 5): “Be bold as a leopard”, and as mentioned above. Even toward the rabbi himself, one must have boldness—strengthening his resolve to speak openly with him about all that he needs, and not be ashamed. The reason one person draws nearer more than another is only because he possesses greater inner boldness, and because of that, he speaks with him more. But this itself is dependent on something deeper: the boldness to speak comes from his service—that he serves and labors much in the service of Hashem. Because of this devotion, he has the confidence to speak with the rabbi. And through speaking with him, he becomes further aroused and inspired, and through that inspiration, he serves and accomplishes even more. Thus, this depends on that. And similarly, there are many things in the world that depend on one another, and we do not know where the beginning lies—for each one begins from its counterpart, and one supports the other, as explained above.