Musar על שבת 305:12

This alternative is alluded to when the Torah in Deut. 28,25 speaks of: בדרך אחד תצא אליו ובשבעה דרכים תנוס לפניו, "you will go out (to war) against your enemy on one path but flee from him in seven directions." The allegorical meaning of this verse is that there are many ways which may, G–d forbid, lead away from G–d's purpose for His universe. I have mentioned earlier that on the one hand G–d remains concealed, i.e His essence is concealed from us, whereas on the other hand He is manifest through His actions. His being concealed becomes especially noticeable when He manifests Himself and we do not "see Him." The closest we can come to appreciate Him is within the framework called בנין. It is appropriate for us therefore to partake as little as possible in the הבל הבלים of the physical world created during the seven days of Creation and instead seek communion with Him in the higher regions, the seven days of Creation of the higher world. This is the message of the man on crutches, the "cripple" in our parable. If, however, a person needs to venture into the physical world in order to fulfil any of the commandments of the Torah he should do so only for as long as required to perform the מצוה in question. He should return without delay to his communion with G–d in solitude. This is why the Torah (28,6) stresses: ברוך אתה בבואך וברוך אתה בצאתך. "You are blessed when you enter and you are blessed when you exit." This is why the parable described the attainment of solitude in terms of קפיצה, that the earth, so to speak, contracted under the runner to enable him to reach his destination more speedily. There is also an allusion in the parable that we find ourselves suddenly in front of a "cave;" the "cave" is hyperbole for our grave, our death. Since we do not know the day we die, we must hurry to achieve what is our task in life while we have a chance. When the parable describes the seven palaces as being as brightly lit as the sun this is a hint that those who prefer to suffer insults rather than to insult others are viewed as emitting light similarly to that of the sun.

The sixth means of arousing the heart to repentance is this, for a man should always regard himself as though he were about to die. And he should not say, "When I grow old, I will repent," lest he die before he grows old. Thus, at all times he must be prepared to meet his God, for no man knows when his time will come. Therefore, he should arouse his soul to be pure, to return his spirit in purity to God who gave it within him. And he should examine his deeds at every moment, in accordance with the saying of Rabbi Eliezer, "Repent one day before your death" (Shabbath 153a and Eccl. Rabbah 9:8, letter 6). His pupils said to him, "Oh, our teacher, does a man know on what day he will die?" And he said to them, "All the more so! Let him return today, lest he die tomorrow, and if he does so, then all of his days will be spent in repentance, and let him adorn himself at every hour, as though at this very moment he will come before the Great King" (See Eccl. Rabbah, ad. loc.).