Concerning the Maror, it is written in the Haggadah, “This Maror we are eating, what is it for? For the lives of our fathers in Egypt were made bitter by the Egyptians, as it was said, ‘And they made their lives bitter with hard work … which they made them do hard labor.’”

We should understand what “And they made their lives bitter with hard work” means. What is it in the work of the Creator? (Rabash, “The Connection between Passover, Matza, and Maror”)

On one hand, it is written in the Torah that the people of Israel are “stiff-necked,” stubborn, unwilling to listen to anyone; it is difficult to impose anything on them or obligate them.

On the other hand, it is said that this is done by the Creator. He places Israel in such conditions, gives them all kinds of obstacles, hardens their heart so that they cannot hear and fulfill what He demands, and so that they will feel the need for Him with the full depth of their desire to receive, and then within them arises the desire for redemption.

What is required from the people of Israel if the Creator so hardens their hearts?

In the article “Freedom of Will” we learn that nothing needs to be done. There is nothing new that must be built, everything has already been built. All the degrees are arranged, and if a person rises from degree to degree, it is, of course, because he receives the strength, the mind, and the desire from above. If he has an awakening from below, it means he has the desire and the sense of necessity for ascent, and he cannot help but move to the next degree.

So where, then, is the place for our work?

Our work is in the middle, in the constant “and they groaned…”, that is, in a quick, independent check: Can we turn to the Creator?

Our work is in the awareness of the state. As soon as a person becomes aware of his state, from above it is immediately changed to a more advanced one. He becomes aware of the next state, again it is replaced with an even more advanced one. And so, each time.

The entire ladder of states was already created in advance in the process of the expansion of the light from above downward. There is nothing new here, everything has already been prepared for us.

A person must understand that if he wishes to improve his state (and this is also true regarding society and our people in these difficult times), he has no possibility of doing so while remaining on the same degree, because the degree on which he stands determines his state.

If we wish to feel better, we must rise to a degree closer to the light; there we will feel better. And if we want to feel even better, we will be obliged to rise even higher.
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From the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 4/7/26, Rabash, “The Connection between Passover, Matza, and Maror”

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How can we rise along the rungs of spiritual elevation? Kabbalists answer that it is by means of the light that returns to the source.

During the study of Kabbalistic sources with the correct intention, we arouse the surrounding lights, and as it is written in the “Introduction to The Study of the Ten Sefirot,” the surrounding light that comes awakens a person, gives him strength, and the person rises from their degree to a higher one and from that degree to an even higher one.

One must not expect that in my current state I will feel better; this will not happen! On the contrary, if a person does not advance toward the surrounding light and lags behind “the general time,” then he descends, and begins to feel worse and worse until the sufferings bring him to the understanding that he ought to begin to rise, since to change a state means to rise.

And one can rise by means of the light that returns to the source. This constitutes the entire principle of realizing “Jacob’s ladder.” It is immutable and we are all on it.

So it is necessary to become aware of the state we are in, understand the reason we feel bad and how we can be saved, and bring the means of deliverance into action: the study of Kabbalah with the intention to rise. And the closer a person is to the surrounding light in his intention during study, the more strongly this light influences him, and the faster, accordingly, the person rises.

We know that connection in the spiritual is determined by similarity of qualities. The closer a person’s intentions are to bestowal and the farther they are from his own ego, the stronger is the influence of the light on him. Therefore when beginning to study, it is necessary to arm oneself with such an intention, and then we will indeed be able to rise along the spiritual degrees and feel attain a sense of well-being.

This is precisely what the Creator desires: that each of us should find a degree on which he will feel good. Then a person will discover that this is not enough for him and that an even greater pleasure exists. And so on until the very end of correction when he will see that he is in absolute good.
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From the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 4/7/26, Rabash, “The Connection between Passover, Matza, and Maror”

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Question: What is “leaven” (Chametz) that we so carefully remove before the holiday of Passover?

Answer: The leaven before Passover is the evil inclination that we had in Egypt that we used in order to fight with one another.

But the leaven we return to after Passover is used differently. We use it in order to bestow upon one another. After all, without the bad relationships we had before, we would not know how to establish good ones. That is, we use the opposite—where there was hatred, there will now be love.

Yet this new leaven is not the same as the previous leaven because I use it for the sake of bestowal, for the sake of love.

For example, before I would constantly take your toys when playing with you, and I would enjoy the fact that you cried, screamed, and ran to complain to your mother. Now I decide that I will no longer do this. So what do I live on? “The bread of affliction,” Matzah. What do I gain from this? What pleasures are there in life? None! For seven days I remain in such a state.

Then I pass as though through a tiny opening, from exile to redemption. This is called the crossing of the final sea (Red Sea). That is, I exit the state in which I used my ego and enjoyed my own power, like Pharaoh.

And afterward when I have made the decision to become different, that same leaven, that is, those same toys that I took from you and enjoyed your crying about it, I return to you, and now I enjoy the fact that you receive pleasure.

This is bread after the exodus from Egypt, not the “bread of affliction,” not even ordinary bread, but a luxurious cake that is 620 times richer, that we call “bread of love.”

We take all the evil that we had in Egypt and turn it into good. This is what the people of Israel wept about during the forty years of wandering in the desert. They cry, “Where is our Egypt?!” because they include it within themselves, and then they correct it, again and again.
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From KabTV’s conversation “New Life 539 – Jewish Culture: Between Chametz (Leavened Food) And Matzah,” 3/24/15

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Preparation to the Lesson

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1st part of the Lesson — Writings of Rabash, Article 34 “Judges and Officers” (1986) (10.10.2002)

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2nd part of the Lesson — Recording of Rabash, Writings of Baal HaSulam, “Study of the Ten Sefirot,” Vol. 2, Part 5, Item 43

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3rd part of the Lesson — Studying with Friends

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Question: What does humility above reason mean?

Answer: It is about the fact that when the Creator is revealed, a person feels like they are in a good state.

During this period, one must understand that he received this state not by his own efforts; it is not his achievement. It is simply that now he is pleasing to the Creator, so He wishes to bring him closer and does it at His own expense.

And afterward, the Creator will give a person the opportunity to approach spirituality at one’s own expense.

What does this mean? You must reach a state where you feel filled with light and the closeness of the Creator on your own, through your own efforts, the moment you are given the feeling of darkness. This can be compared to a situation where a mother leaves a child, takes a step back, and now the little one must take a step forward to fall into his mother’s arms. This is how she teaches him to walk.

In the same way, a person must once again connect with the Creator and try to restore the previous state of unity with spirituality, like a child returning to his mother’s arms. But the person must do this by their own efforts, that is, to fill their emptied Kelim with their own reflected light.

Previously, the mother filled his Kelim; this was the filling from above. Now he must fill himself through the light of Hassadim and come to the same state of joy, unity, and closeness as when the upper filled his Kelim.

This state is called filling with the light of faith during darkness, so that a person does not feel a lack (Hisaron), so that faith fills his whole Kli, as it is said: “And the darkness will shine as light.”

Similar processes are present also before the Machsom, but the light in these states is not real. Even before the Machsom, you feel confidence and joy from the closeness and feeling of the divine presence.

And after entering the spiritual world, all sensations are measured by light; you go through true, real states. This is like the birth of a new life.
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From the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 3/31/26, Rabash, “Show Me Your Glory”

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Question: What is the connection between a person’s advancement in spirituality and the length of the periods of darkness?

Answer: The periods of darkness (Achoraim) test us; they check how ready we are to make efforts in order to come to a good state in our sensations. But this does not mean that we disconnect from the work.

Let us say I was in a good state, I had an excellent mood, a good attitude toward the study, I felt some closeness to spirituality. Now I have run out of steam, I no longer feel my former enthusiasm, my mood has worsened, I again lose interest in spirituality.

If I stop studying now, go on a trip, go have fun in a bar, or simply go to sleep, I would not build new Kelim, I would not advance myself in spirituality. Of course, I will experience some sensations, and these Reshimot will be added to the general fund. In time, based on these Reshimot, a shift in the right direction will come.

But the most effective and powerful shift is achieved when we resist the state of darkness with all our might. We strive to return to the feeling of spirituality as much as possible.

From above, I was given the opportunity to return from the state of darkness to light by my own strength. I can attach myself to spirituality despite the fact that I am not being helped from above. My emptied Kli, which had previously been under the influence of the surrounding light, must be filled with my own impression of the importance of spirituality, and then I will feel myself as I felt before the state of darkness.

Previously, this feeling was given to me by the light that filled me. Now, I give myself this feeling of closeness of spirituality. However, for this, I need an environment, a teacher, books, and various actions that help me acquire the greatness of the Creator. That is, I must fill my empty Kli myself. And the ideal situation is when I succeed in doing this.

Then I instantly move to a new state. I succeeded, I did it, I rose one degree higher by myself. Now an even heavier feeling of darkness is added to me. That is, I took a step forward toward the mother, again fell into her tender arms, I rejoice, but suddenly the mother leaves me again. I have just embraced her, again united with her, and she takes a step back again. And this step back is now much greater than the previous one.

If it were the same small step, I would not worry. But now the situation seems to have worsened. That is, each time you fall even lower, the states of descent are heavier. A person thinks that they have become worse, have moved even further from the Creator. This is a sign of advancement. Because they will now be able to step forward even further by themself. This is the process.
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From the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 3/31/26, Rabash, “Show Me Your Glory”

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Question: The Creator suffers from the fact that He cannot bestow to the creation. But for what reason would the creation develop a need to bestow to the Creator?

Answer: The need to bestow comes to the creation from above without any preparation on its part. Just as the light that filled the first stage gave it its nature, so too the surrounding light that descends upon the one who studies Kabbalah, who wants to connect with the root, gives him its qualities.

Even if for now he simply wants to connect with the root without even yet realizing what it is; however, he studies not for the sake of knowledge, but for the sake of filling the point in the heart. And then the surrounding light, by influencing him, brings him the enchantment of holiness, and brings him precisely an affinity for the quality of bestowal.

The surrounding light gives a person the desire to bestow. A person does not know how this happens. We are not capable of expressing how, within the desire to receive, a desire to bestow is born; just as from the first stage of direct light, the second stage is formed. We have no words to express this transformation.
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From the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 3/24/26, Rabash, “What Is, ‘When Israel Are in Exile, the Shechina Is with Them,’ in the Work?”

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Question: What does bestowal to the Creator consist of? After all, the Creator, in essence, does not need any bestowal from our side.

Answer: Let’s take the example of the guest and the host, which Baal HaSulam chose probably because it describes all the nuances of the relationship. On one hand, it seems that the host needs nothing from the guest, but on the other hand, why does He nevertheless make the guest aware of His existence?

He could receive pleasure from the guest without revealing Himself. Does a mother in our world have an intention to reveal herself to the child when she gives anything to him? No, such is simply the nature of her desire to receive. She enjoys even though the child gives nothing back.

Thus, from the perspective of the desire to receive, the host is not obliged to reveal Himself to the guest; the desire to receive already contains fulfillment from the act of giving. Therefore, the desire to reveal Himself to the guest stems from the desire to bestow; through the revelation of the Host, the guest can reach a higher degree than that of a receiver.

We see that Bina does not need any return from Malchut other than receiving MAN, according to which she passes MAD from Aba to Malchut, and nothing more. Why? ZAT of Bina is the desire to receive, therefore she does not need any response from Malchut, which simply receives without any restriction.

But when Bina reveals herself to Malchut, she does not reveal her essence, but her GAR, the desire to bestow that she received from Keter, and wishes to resemble it because Keter is the giver.

Here there is a kind of paradox. If the desire to receive works for the sake of bestowal, then it does not need any response for its own benefit. The desire of the mother (Ima) to receive is fulfilled; she is satisfied by taking from the father (Aba) and passing it on. Her AHP is full, and she enjoys it—just ask from below, and that is enough.

From this we see that even if the Creator had a desire to receive, He still would have no need whatsoever to reveal Himself to the created being, only to give and to enjoy bestowing. Only the necessity to bring the created being to His level obligates the Creator to reveal Himself, not out of a desire to receive, but from a true desire to bestow, in order to build Kelim within the created being, desires to attain His level.

Therefore, when the created being begins to feel the host, it also senses His status. The host is not simply giving to it, for one who gives actually wants to receive pleasure from it, which seems justified to us. But when the host is revealed as perfect, revealing to the created being its own imperfection in comparison, then the created being truly acquires a deficiency (Hisaron).

Now we see that receiving pleasure from the host within the desire to receive is necessary only to maintain the connection, while everything else is based solely on the unfulfilled desire (Hisaron) of the created being to be like the host. Therefore, each time we deepen in the work, in its importance, in any relationship with the Creator, we must relate to Him not as the giver (“Go to the Master who made me”), but as a model for my Hisaron, as the one I must become like.

I must strive for the same qualities, the same properties, the same aspirations that He has. And this is called the “first nine Sefirot” (Tet Rishonot). The rest of the relationship is then built on the interaction between the receiver and the giver, between the Creator and the created being.
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From the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 3/28/26, Rabash, “What Is, If He Swallows the Bitter Herb, He Will Not Come Out, in the Work?”

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Preparation to the Lesson

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1st part of the Lesson — Writings of Rabash, Article 4 “What It Means that the Generations of the Righteous are Good Deeds, in the Work” (1990) (10.30.2003)

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2nd part of the Lesson — Writings of Baal HaSulam, “Study of the Ten Sefirot,” Vol. 2, Part 5, Item 43

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3rd part of the Lesson — Principles of Spiritual Work in the Top Ten

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