Nahama d'kisufa refers to a certain experience of shame. Why is it so important? The entire physical universe and the concept of a body, of justice and mercy, all exist because of this concept. Nahama d'kisufa is a problem which requires a resolution, and the world was created to address this problem. How can we understand all of creation then if we don't understand what it comes out from? A search through the texts turns up several different descriptions of nahama d'kisufa. One opinion is that it is a problem of pride; we make the mistake of thinking that we control success and we control existence, when really it is all in G-d's hands. Who gets greater reward for a mitzvah, someone who is commanded to do it and does it or someone who is not commanded to do it and does it anyways? The one who is commanded to do it receives greater reward, because he had to fight against his evil inclination in order to get it done. Another concept of nahama d'kisufa is that it is shame. The soul cannot accept the World to Come because it did not earn it and did not work for it, so then the World to Come evinces feelings of shame. It's a problem of taking something not actually earned. The world was created with the attribute of lovingkindness, but that left an imperfection on the soul and mercy and justice had to be added in order to correct this imperfection. There are two ways we can view our relationship with G-d. We can view it as either the way an egg relates to a chicken, i.e. the egg came from the chicken but is completely separate from it; or we can view it as a drop that's part of a wave - a distinct being which is part of the greater being as a whole. The first way causes insecurity because it is detached, whereas the second gives a strong sense of security and connection to the source of all existence. What happens when we compare ourselves to G-d? The evil inclination can try to make us see G-d as an equal, and not as Divine. All of the theories of nahama d'kisufa can be integrated into a single big picture to provide a rounded theory. How does our own free will factor into this equation?