The work in ascents and descents is given to us from above, from the Creator, who pushes us to this work. Sometimes He reveals a new will to receive to us that was hidden inside and forces us to fall, then He helps us rise and explore our egoism in the upper light, in the will for bestowal.

Ascents and descents alternately reveal increasing egoistic desires and an increasing desire for bestowal so we get to know ourselves and the whole creation. We study our nature compared to the nature of the Creator and get an opportunity to advance toward Him by combining one with the other.

All this comes as a result of ascents and descents. Therefore, a lot of preparation is needed. Patience is needed in order to go through many thousands of ascents and descents until the very end of correction where the highest ascent occurs, preceded by the lowest descent.

The further we advance along the spiritual path toward correction, the deeper the descents and higher the ascents become. The Creator created one against the other for us, and we move forward studying His work as the advantage of light from darkness.

It always happens only in such a contrasting form: the greater the darkness, then the more light is revealed. The time axis that leads us to the end of correction takes us along a sinusoid (sine wave)—from ever greater descents to ever greater ascents where plus and minus always correspond to each other in absolute magnitude.

Therefore, the whole work is comprised of accepting the descents, trying to annul oneself, to bend down, as it is said about King David: “O Lord…You hid Your countenance and I became frightened.” And in fact, it is unpleasant when each time weakness, indifference, and disappointment overcome us in a new way. That is, new forms of lack of desire for spirituality are revealed. But then an ascent comes, gives us more strength, clarifies the past descent, and allows us to justify it.

Therefore, it is necessary to learn one thing from the other. This study does not end until the very end of correction as the advantage of light out of darkness. The more darkness manifests itself in all its forms, the more light and elevation unfolds after it. And thus we get to know the light, the ascent, the Creator, the forms of nearing Him precisely in contrast with the forms of distance and darkness that were in the descent.

It is said about Rabbi Shimon that he felt like just Shimon, a simple merchant in the market, an ordinary person. And then he realized that this descent was so significant that apparently after it, there would be a special, unusually high ascent.

This is how we should try to hold ourselves through the ascents and descents so that these two forms will support each other, because one is impossible without the other.
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From the 1^st part of the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 7/7/21, “Working in Ascents and Descents”

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