But when a person is in an ascent, he thinks that he no longer needs the Creator’s help, since now he has a basis of feeling, which he called “knowledge.” In other words, now he knows for what purpose he is working. His work is no longer above reason because he has a basis to rely on, meaning this feeling that he feels that this state is good for him. On this basis he determines the work (Rabash, ‘What Is, ‘Return, O Israel, Unto the Lord Your God,’ in the Work?”).

Rabash does not specify here what kind of ascent he means: an ascent according to one’s feelings, according to the true state, or according to what appears to a person. Perhaps he is speaking about a person who has passed the Machsom, for whom an ascent consists of receiving in order to bestow, when the pleasure and the inner definition of an ascent are determined by a completely different understanding of the concept from our present one.

But when a person is in an ascent, he thinks that he no longer needs the Creator’s help. We can already see that we are talking about feelings, rather than the true state. A person has received some fulfillment and does not need the Creator because his Kli is satisfied by this fulfillment. This means that he is not above the Machsom, but below it. For above the Machsom, a person’s fulfillment is the establishment of a connection with the Creator, whereas below the Machsom, fulfillment depends on the degree to which his Kli is filled.

Below the Machsom, I “take a reading” from my Kli, whereas above the Machsom I “take a reading” from His vessel, checking to what extent I have filled Him, rather than myself. This is the difference between being below the Machsom and being above it.

Comment: It turns out to be the opposite.

My Response: Of course, the opposite. Everything depends on where I am, where my heart is: Whether I am checking within myself the degree to which my own “belly” is filled, or whether I am checking in the Creator to what extent I have filled Him.

But when a person is in an ascent, he thinks that he no longer needs the Creator’s help, since now he has a basis of feeling. I have filled myself, so what more do I need? Give me fulfillment, and I don’t need any Creator.

Which he called “knowledge,” when he thinks: “I know this. This is what I have. This is mine.”

Now he knows for what purpose he is working. His work is no longer above reason. He, his heart, his intentions, everything is in his belly, in his Kli. He has a basis to rely on: “I have filled myself, and that’s it.” This feeling that he feels that this state is good for him. On this basis he determines the work.

At that time, as soon as he reaches this state, he is immediately thrown from above, and it is as though he is asked, “Where is your wisdom? You said that you already know on what the work relies.”

Thus, through this, a person is taught that he must never abandon his intention, his connection with the Creator, or his examination of himself in relation to Him: Where exactly am I in relation to Him, and what am I filling? One must never, God forbid, disconnect from this and withdraw into one’s own shell. This is how a person is taught.

How is he taught? He is filled, and by doing so he is thrown off course: “Enough about the Creator. What do you need Him for? You already have everything.” If the person really does stray from the path, then he is lowered in his feelings, and he falls, feeling bitter and bad. Then he begins to cry out to the Creator; through his cry he renews his connection with Him and gradually rises again toward connection with Him, filling himself.

As soon as he again abandons the Creator, he is once again lowered in his feelings, and he cries out again, until he comes to understand that the connection with the Creator itself must be his fulfillment, his satisfaction. The connection with the Creator, and not the degree to which my Kli is filled.

Thus, a person begins to feel the Creator’s vessel: what He gives and what He fills. A person lives through Him, “for in Him our heart shall rejoice.”
[360579]
From the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 8/16/26, Rabash, Article 2, 1991 “What Is, “Return, O Israel, Unto the Lord Your God,” in the Work?”

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Talks about the Steps of the Ladder, Part 216

How Do We Make a Movement in Spirituality?

A movement is made through a change of form. If we become somewhat more similar to the Creator than we were before, it is a sign that we made a movement. In other words, movement takes place through the effort we make upon ourselves. To the extent that our qualities change in relation to the Creator’s qualities, to that same extent we have advanced toward Him. The distance from the barrier to the Creator is measured in 125 degrees. According to the extent to which we can achieve equivalence of form with the Creator, this is the place where we stand on this ladder of degrees between ourselves and the Creator, moving ever upward upon it.

In this work, we are never in a worse state than the current one. We can only advance. At times it seems to us that we retreat, as though we “fall away,” but this is only how it appears to us. It happens in order to awaken us, to seemingly trip us up, to give us various opportunities to feel new discernments. Usually, disturbances come so that we will delve precisely into them and view ourselves more clearly, because it is specifically through disturbances that we will later feel a special attitude from the Creator. The place where we are given blows is the very place where a special relationship develops, both now and in the future. Evil becomes replaced by good.

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