Audio Version Of The Blog – 5/1/26
Posted on May 1st, 2026
Listen to an Audio Version of the Blog
Download:MP3Audio
Listen to an Audio Version of the Blog
Download:MP3Audio
On the spiritual path there are three states: ascent, descent, and a constant state. In a state of ascent, I receive an awakening from above; whether I want it or not, I “wake up” and begin to work. I am awakened in one way or another: I am given some yearning and shown that there is some goal that can be attained and enjoyed, that it is great and pleasant.
Then I reach out toward it, work, and make efforts, as a result, I attain something. I see something, feel something, and am in contact with something higher. This is called an ascent.
Once the connection has been established, a state ensues that is similar to eating a meal. A person may have been very hungry, but once they begin to eat that’s it, their appetite gradually subsides and accordingly the pleasure disappears. What happens next? One has to add Kelim, that is, appetite, a sensation of lacking enjoyment.
When I begin to receive new Kelim, until I go further and fill them, the sensation I experience is called a descent. In general, it is an addition of appetite, an addition of empty Kelim. Now go and fill them! But following the pleasures I experienced, I feel empty.
If I am inside my Hisaron (feeling of lack) and not in the understanding that I now have new Kelim that I can fill, then I define this state as a descent. But in essence, it is not a descent.
Once I stayed at a health resort. There they fed us five times a day. People deliberately went for walks or engaged in other physical activities before meals specifically to induce hunger and come to the dining room with a hearty appetite so they could savor every nuance of the food’s flavor, to eat more, and to enjoy the meal. They did not regard that walk to increase the appetite as a descent.
If you know that pleasure awaits you and you undertake an action specifically to create a Kli for it, then the Kli itself is part of the pleasure. You are glad that you are hungry now: “I am about to receive such exquisite delights!”
In other words, everything depends on how a person relates to ups and downs, what those state signify for them. All this is highly relative and must be evaluated in relation to the goal.
If my goal is to attain pleasure, and I know that it is impossible to attain them without the prerequisites of hunger and appetite, then hunger and appetite become a source of a joy for me. They are not a descent, but rather an integral part of the ascent, the very Kli that enables that ascent. Therefore, our task is to see the process as a whole, to step back and observe it objectively, to fully comprehend its nature, and to ascribe profound significance to every state in this process, recognizing each one as the necessary cause leading to the next, even finer more exalted state.
If adopt this perspective, I will never experience descents. I will always be able to discern between the two phases: this is the time when I actively cultivate my appetite, and this is the time when I satisfy my appetite, filling myself with pleasures. That is all.
As for the constant state, that is very bad! One cannot remain in such a state for long, because in it I receive neither pleasures nor the Kelim for pleasures. It is a dead state. One must remain in it as little as possible. What does that mean?
If I detach from the intention, from the goal, if I follow the desires of the body and am not in actions aimed at attaining the goal, it means that I am in a dead state. One must try as much as possible to be in the most extreme states, only these are useful.
[355495]
From the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 4/15/26, Rabash, “What It Means that the Generations of the Righteous are Good Deeds, in the Work”
Related Material:
Falling For The Sake Of Rising
Spiritual Sine Wave
Descent – Ascent
Question: You said that if there are no ascents and descents, it is a dead state, and that as much as possible we should try to be in the most extreme states. Does this depend on us, or do we not decide anything here?
Answer: This whole process is predetermined, signed, and stamped in my soul. I cannot change anything. When I will fall and when I will rise, what will happen to me in each state, all this is inside my qualities. With them, I must attain a certain state.
That is, the whole path is clear; all states are known in advance. In my sensation, I can only go through them, feeling joy instead of hunger and suffering, because now I am preparing the Kli for pleasure. You could say that this is a psychological difference, but it is very significant and depends on the degree of closeness to the Creator, whether in all states I know that I am in a process of development, constant ascent, and advancement toward adhesion with the Creator.
If, in addition to the states I go through, I have connection with the goal, then none of them can be bad for me. On the contrary, I see each state as beneficial, since nothing is created “just like that,” not for the sake of attaining the goal.
We cannot change the process of our development, but by changing our attitude toward it, our awareness of it, and its value, we change our impression, our feeling, and the depiction of our state. In this way, I perceive the reality surrounding me differently, as diametrically opposite.
Life, which seemed worse than death and full of enormous sufferings, will look different; I will begin to feel unceasing, indescribable pleasure. I am already connected with the goal, and it shines for me. I already rejoice as if I were there.
[355501]
From the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 4/15/26, Rabash, “What It Means that the Generations of the Righteous are Good Deeds, in the Work”
Related Material:
Life Is Motion
When Your Ups And Downs End
A Smooth Path Without Any Ups And Downs
Question: If I am in a state where I cannot do anything, could interactions with me harm my friends?
Answer: If your state really stems from striving for the goal, there is nothing in you that could harm your friends. You are always adding to others because our states are not up to us. In bad states, we can share with others and add to them.
I do not want to say you should be proud of going through a bad period right now, but if you are connected to a friend at this time, he will not take on your bad state, because there are different types of interconnection.
[355434]
From the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 4/11/26, Rabash, “What Are the Four Qualities of Those Who Go to the Seminary, in the Work?”
Related Material:
Two Prohibitions In Relations With Friends
Fear Of Harming The Group
Do Not Hurt A Friend
One who wants to walk on the path of Kedusha is called holy.
A person is named according to what he aspires to be. Why? Perhaps he will never reach it? No. If he aspires, he will certainly reach it because the Creator acts according to a person’s aspiration. The actual action is never in our hands, but the desire to attain the goal is within our power. The realization comes from above.
“Holy” means as it is written, “You will be holy,” which means that they retire from self-reception. For this reason, he is holy, since he intends to reach holiness. This is the meaning of the words, “Israel are holy; there is he who wants but does not have.” And there are also those who have but do not want. This means that he has Mitzvot and good deeds, but he does not want to walk on the path that leads to “in order to bestow.” Instead, he settles for Lo Lishma [not for Her sake]. He, too, is called “holy,” since the act is fine and he has nothing to add in actions (Rabash, “What Are the Four Qualities of Those Who Go to the Seminary, in the Work?”).
Later, together with the actions, intentions will also come. What does this mean? Let’s say I use my group, but I do not yet have the correct intention in the heart. Still, I use the group, the books, the study, everything possible, so that they bring me to the correct intention. Am I called holy then? Am I called “Israel” or not?
Let’s say I have just joined a group. I simply have a desire to reach some goal. My goal is not to be freed from the will to receive and come to bestowal. Certainly not. My goal is to attain something, to receive something more, to acquire something. I am told that this brings eternity and perfection. I am willing, give it to me.
Am I called holy now, according to my thoughts and desires? No. One who is called holy is at least one who desires holiness, and I do not even desire that.
However, I begin with the desire I have, and I use the group. I am told that one must humble oneself before the friends, do something for them, “buy yourself a friend,” and I invest in them. Thus, the whole group begins to invest in me and influence me positively. And by doing something practical, without any intention, without lofty ideas, I begin to act.
What does it mean to act? I know that they have something that I do not have. In any case, I do not simply want to serve them and bring them a cup of coffee, but through that cup of coffee I want to receive something from them. There is something in them that is slightly more elevated. Then, instead of my immediate desire and intention, something higher comes to me from them. Thus, by aspiring to this holy goal, I am already called “Israel” and “holy.”
That is, according to my initial action, even when I did not yet have the thought or intention for it, I am still called “holy.” Why? Because at least through the actions I perform, I am advancing.
We cannot judge a person according to what he has in each state, because whatever he has is given to him from above according to his aspiration. If I aspired to reach the goal but instead received a descent, then I also cannot be judged for that. It was given to me from above; perhaps I needed to fall. I do not know the upper calculations regarding me.
Therefore, one is never judged according to actions, that is, according to the current state, but only according to the direction, the aspiration of a person, because every state is arranged for him from above.
[355393]
From the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 4/11/26, Rabash, “What Are the Four Qualities of Those Who Go to the Seminary, in the Work?”
Related Material:
Many Roads Lead To The Creator
“Holy” Means To Bestow
Newspaper Publishing Is No Longer Profitable
Preparation to the Lesson
 Video: Play Now | Download |
 Audio: Play Now | Download |
1st part of the Lesson — Writings of Rabash, Article 10 “Concerning Prayer” (1986) (2.5.2003)
| Video: Play Now | Download |
Audio: Play Now | Download |
2nd part of the Lesson — Conversations of a Kabbalist with His Students During the Day
| Video: Play Now | Download |
Audio: Play Now | Download |
3rd part of the Lesson — Writings of Baal HaSulam, “A Speech for the Completion of The Zohar”
| Video: Play Now | Download |
Audio: Play Now | Download |
Daily Audio Version-MP3
Get the Weekly eNewsletter
Follow on Twitter
