Question: How can I work with joy when such terrible things are happening around me? And things aren’t well inside either. In short, there is chaos both inside and out.

Answer: Joy is the result of the revelation of the Creator. The fact that He reveals Himself in such an obvious and clear form is a sign that the Creator is giving us the opportunity to correct this state.

If you do not connect this situation with the Creator, then of course you cannot be happy. You have no reason for it. But as soon as you connect this state with Him, two kinds of happiness arise.

You can be happy knowing that you are being cared for, you are not forgotten: “That means it is not happening by chance, and I can relax a little and rest. It is as if I have applied something life-giving to my wounds, and I feel better. The Creator exists, and I am not working in vain.”

But this is a false joy. By rejoicing in this way, you have simply sweetened (bribed) your desire to receive. By doing so, you have not done any useful work, and you have not advanced spiritually.

The second kind of joy is when you can reveal the Creator, establish contact with Him, and make corrections through these states. I will explain this in greater detail: The state that we receive, whether it is external or internal, descends from above. In fact, it is not the state that descends from above, but the light that shines into my Kli.

My Kli, my desire to receive, is completely covered with sores and festering wounds, and the light shines on them. But I see these sores only in their external form, only their external manifestation: the hostility of the Arabs, wars, diseases, injustice. I do not feel these wounds within my own soul. But the upper light that shines upon it reveals to me that I am completely rotten from within.

You can associate all these external manifestations (diseases, suffering, enemies) with the Creator, but you must see that all of this is a reflection of your soul. All of this is happening inside you, within your soul.
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From the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 6/23/26, Rabash, “What Is the Importance of the Groom, that His Iniquities Are Forgiven?”

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