“One learns only where one’s heart desires” (Avoda Zarah 19).
We should understand why one learns specifically where one’s heart desires. According to this rule, that one learns specifically where he wants, it follows that it is impossible to teach a person ethics if he does not want this. Since a person does not want to hear words of admonition, how can one admonish one’s friend?
We also need to understand what our sages said, “One does not see one’s own faults” (Shabbat 119). Accordingly, how can one correct his practices if he never sees that they are corrupt and require correction? According to this, a person should always remain corrupted.
The thing is that it is known that man was created with a nature that he wants to delight only himself. Hence, everything he learns, he wants to learn from this how he can enjoy. For this reason, if a person wants to enjoy, he will not learn other things that his heart desires because this is his nature.
Therefore, one who wants to come closer to the Creator and be able to learn things that show ways by which to bestow upon the Creator must pray to the Creator to give him a different heart, as it is written, “A pure heart, create for me, O God.”
In other words, when there is another heart, and the desire in the heart is a desire to bestow, everything he learns will show ways of things that show only bestowal upon the Creator. However, he will never see against the heart, as was said about it, “And I will remove the stony heart from within you, and I will give you a heart of flesh.”
Also, one cannot see one’s own faults because he learns where his heart desires. And since the heart wants to enjoy, and a person does not enjoy faults, the person does not enjoy and will therefore never see his own faults.
The only advice is to pray to the Creator to give him a different heart, meaning to understand that there is nothing better than to give contentment to the Creator.
At that time, he will be able to see his faults, for specifically by understanding that if he sees the fault, he will gain merit for himself because he will be able to correct, for otherwise he will remain with all the faults.
It follows that the debt is his privilege. At that time, it will be possible to examine the fault, unlike one who does not work in correction, and who will never see the faults.