Question: A person should turn to the Creator in any state. But there are different states, right?

Answer: The states the Creator sends to a person are not different from each other. They are all very simple and create a simple light that fills the entire reality. The states only seem different to you because the light has created a Kli containing many different properties.

And then, under the pressure of the simple light, as you move toward a simple goal, you feel as if you are experiencing different states: good and bad, coming in various forms, contradicting each other, opposite in essence and meaning. However, this is not true. All states come with only one purpose and according to the Creator’s plan—to delight the creation, and with only one intention—to push you toward the source.

The fact that you perceive it in various forms and cannot draw a connecting thread between separate situations while under the pressure of simple light, means that you have not yet reached a certain threshold. A specific trigger has not yet been activated in you; the right button has not yet been pressed that would allow you will see only one thing in each state.

On the contrary, if you start to delve into each state, dissecting it and questioning how it arrives and what it does, you only move further away from the correct action. The correct action is to see the Creator in each state, and remind you that here, in this place, as it is written: “In every place where I mention My Name, I will come to you and bless you.”

You should not overanalyze the state, it suffices to reveal that it was sent by the Creator. Once you have attained this realization—that is it, do not dig into the small details because this will only plunge you into the swamp of egoism. It is enough that you are in contact with the Creator, regardless of how you perceive this contact at the moment, whether in a positive or negative form.

To resolve this state, you need to connect it to the Creator. If you start complicating things, all your other actions will be mere speculation, devoid of spiritual value. The next state may be more profound in its essence, quality, and depth of scrutiny. But as soon as the right trigger mechanism activates in you, and you connect the new state to the Creator and ask to unite with Him—it will be on a higher degree.

That is, you can delve into the state only based on how the Creator illuminates and presents it to you. You cannot make decisions yourself. You cannot say: “Now I will delve deep into the state, into the left line.” You would lose the correct contact with the Creator that way. This is a Klipa (an evil force) that says, “No, you have to suffer to get into the depths of your egoism, and to see how bad you are.”

By no means. You only need this evil to turn to the Creator. You can do it now, immediately.
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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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What are ascents and descents? It is when I have done the utmost I was capable of. I tried to apply all my strength, knowledge, time, and energy. I squeezed everything I could out of myself.

At the moment I exert this effort, I am filled with self-confidence, pride, drive to move forward, and certainty that I will surely succeed. But at the very peak of my inspiration and enthusiasm, a descent suddenly befalls me.

This descent is meant to reveal to me that even at the utmost limit of my effort and inspiration, I am still very far from the goal. Each time, the more strength I exert and the harder I try to break through and move forward, seemingly succeeding and achieving something, the more I discover that I am actually drifting further and further from the goal. Each time, my state is shown to me in a truer light, and the truth is revealed to me more and more.

It turns out that, in this way, I develop two things within myself. First, the awareness that I am farther and farther from the goal. Second, the goal itself is becoming increasingly important to me. Therefore, I have no choice since it is absolutely necessary for me to attain this goal, and I understand that I am completely incapable of achieving it by my own strength. Then disappointment and despair come to me.

But I am not disappointed either in the goal itself, or in my desire to attain it. I am disappointed only in my own strength. I am fully determined to reach it, I am ready to invest all my energy for that purpose, but I simply do not know by what means it can be achieved.

Then I come to a state where I understand that I must go above reason, against human logic; that there must be some “unnatural” solution here, something above our nature. Only then is this solution, which does not belong to our nature, revealed to me.

It must come from the combination of two opposites: the importance of the goal and the lack of my own strength to attain it. Both of these poles must be present here. I see that my strength is at zero, and that there is nothing that can help me. And from above, no new possibilities are revealed to me that I could still try, do, or add.

I have completely exhausted my potential, exhausted myself, tried everything, and failed in all my attempts. There is nothing left for me. And this is a sign that I have reached a state in which I have examined all my strengths and seen that they are utterly insignificant and worth nothing. Yet with every new disappointment in myself, I received a greater desire to attain the goal. This is the meaning of ascents and descents.

Every impulse upward or downward produces two results: disappointment in one’s own strength and the importance of the goal. One versus the other. With every new descent or ascent, with every such impulse, this contradiction grows sharper and sharper and these two poles move farther and farther apart, until a person reaches a certain critical point.

Each person has their own measure they must traverse. But, as Rabash says, the hero here is only the one who has patience, who tries again and again, and does not ease the pressure. He always says: “If I am not for myself, who will be for me?” There is no other method here. One must always speak to oneself in this way. And when one sees an unsuccessful result and feels that they have not succeeded, one should say: “There is none else besides Him,” and understand that in this way He is revealing one’s true state.
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From the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 6/13/26, Rabash, “And the Lord Appeared to Him at the Oaks of Mamre”

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We cannot initiate a single action, even now, in the preparatory period and our most egoistic state (Lo Lishma), unless we intend to attain faith, bestowal, and an altruistic intention through that action. It all begins with rising above our desire in order to connect with another person. Otherwise, I will never establish contact with them and will remain locked inside myself.

To come out of oneself and connect with a friend means to separate from one’s ego, to raise oneself above it; only then will I be able to come into contact with others. Otherwise, nothing will work out, and I will remain walled up inside myself like in a shell.

All our actions must be directed toward coming out of our ego and connecting with a friend outside of it. As it is written: “The righteous will live by his faith.”

If for now only a small egoism is revealed to me, then it is relatively easy to come out of myself and begin to draw closer to others. But as soon as I achieve the first successes, the ego begins to grow more and more. And again, I must apply efforts in order to tear myself away from it.

This is how it is on all 125 degrees until the desire to enjoy expands to its full volume and I nevertheless remain above it. This will mean that I have risen to the degree of Lishma, the degree of Bina.

And then I will already be able to return to my ego and begin to receive within that sphere for the sake of bestowal, first in the thinnest “peel,” and then expanding it more and more, and so on until the very end, until I have engaged the entire desire.
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From the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 12/28/11, Baal HaSulam “Introduction to The Study of the Ten Sefirot”

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Preparation to the Lesson

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1st part of the Lesson — Writings of Rabash, Article 6 “The Importance of Faith that Is Always Present” (1987) (2.11.2002)

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2nd part of the Lesson — Writings of Baal HaSulam, “Preface to the Wisdom of Kabbalah” (5.24.2001)

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It is very difficult for us to understand for what purpose we must perform spiritual work, and why the Creator created the world in such a way that we have to exert effort. If He is omnipotent, why did He not create the final state from the outset? And if it already exists and we are already in it, why didn’t He make it so that we would feel this perfect state (Gmar Tikkun) immediately?

Why must we open our eyes and develop the organ of perception of the spiritual, called the screen (Masach) and the reflected light (Ohr Hozer) since it is only then that will we feel where we truly are and perceive true reality?

We are told that all this is because of shame. We ask: Why did He create shame? And we are told that shame is a correction, and that if we do not correct ourselves, we will not feel the goodness that has been prepared for us.

We must acquire the greatness and importance of the Creator, the giver. Our attitude toward Him must be with the intention for the sake of bestowal. A Kli (vessel) with an altruistic intention is an eternal Kli that never disappears and is never emptied. On the contrary, it becomes increasingly filled.

There are many more explanations used to “justify” our present state, and a person may live by them for a long time until one acquires a second nature, the nature of the Creator.

But before that, a person is incapable of understanding or agreeing with the states they have to go through, because the definitions they hold now are opposite to the definitions they will have afterward.
[358219]
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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Question: What does it mean to make a correct discernment?

Answer: Making a proper discernment means seeing that every state is sent to us by the Creator, and that the upper force wants you to turn to it and, at the very least, attribute that state to the Creator.

If you are able to continue further, think about the fact that this state was sent so that you could unite with Him and understand the reasons for what is happening. Think about why the Creator is sending you this situation as a path toward adhesion with the Creator.
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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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States of descent or ascent are not defined by whether I feel good or bad at the moment. If I have thoughts about the Creator, even in the most difficult state, then spiritually this is regarded as a “good” state. A descent, however, is a state in which a person loses connection with the Creator.

Maintaining connection with the Creator, holding a thought of Him even during an unbearably difficult state, is preferable to losing that connection in the most favorable state. Here we must make tremendous efforts to correctly distinguish between what constitutes a descent and what constitutes a spiritual ascent.

At any moment when the Creator reminds us of His presence, no matter how He does it, we must thank the Creator for it. The reminder may come in the form of a blow or through extremely difficult situations.

Conversely, as soon as we lose our connection with the divine, animalistic pleasures or everyday concerns distract us from thoughts of spirituality. We become confused and forget that it is precisely the Creator who sends us all these situations and problems; this is what we call a descent. Thus, a state of spiritual descent or ascent is not determined by our animate senses as a feeling of bitter or sweet, but by whether it is truth or falsehood.

Therefore, it is very difficult for us to become accustomed to this kind of discernment. But when a person examines his states in this way, he begins to analyze them in a new light.

By evaluating them according to the principle of “truth or falsehood,” one assesses their state according to only one criterion: Is it beneficial for my spiritual advancement? This discernment is made independently from sensory perception. Then, as a person becomes truly ready for it, doubts arise once again: should I turn to the Creator or attempt to do something myself?

If I turn to the Creator when I am capable of doing something myself, then it will be an artificial request. Rabash gives the following example: a little boy is crying in the street, and hardly anyone pays attention to him. After all, he is still a child and cries over trifles. But when a grown man is weeping, it is taken seriously.

Similarly, a person carrying a heavy load that is about to fall and asks for help is helped immediately. But if he cries out, “Help!” for no particular reason, and everyone sees that there is nothing serious happening, no one will even pay attention to him.
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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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Preparation to the Lesson

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1st part of the Lesson — Writings of Rabash, Article 28 “What Are Holiness and Purity, in the Work?” (1991) (17.06.2002)

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2nd part of the Lesson — Writings of Baal HaSulam, “Preface to the Wisdom of Kabbalah” (5.17.2001)

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During the period of preparation, a person ascends the degrees in order to cross the Machsom, and enter the king’s palace. Each time one goes through states of receiving, a great illumination from above supports, fills, and awakens them.

Then the person falls, and instead of an even greater light, they receive darkness. In the state of darkness, a person is “tested” because no matter how high one has risen, if they haven’t crossed the Machsom yet, as soon as the light stops shining upon them, they immediately fall into an animalistic state. They know nothing, and nothing is important to them except simple animate existence.

They feel they have made no progress. The animalistic nature present during the descents they experienced one or two years ago remain unchanged. Indeed, when the divine spirit departs from him, only the animal soul remains.

In such states, it is possible to measure whether a person is advancing spiritually in the direction of bestowal or not. If they are capable of reading even a few lines, or simply reflect on them without necessarily penetrating deeply, and if they realize the extent to which the state of darkness is becoming increasingly deeper, then it can be said that the rudiments of vessels of bestowal have appeared in them.

They see that they have nothing, no sense of fulfillment. But despite this, they live by the conviction that this state is somehow connected with the spiritual path. Then they are not confused by the pleasures that shine upon them, nor are they confused by the pleasant sensation of receiving fulfillment that might otherwise cause them to “swell.” On the contrary, in such a state they have no calculations for themselves. They cannot justify the Creator since they receives nothing from Him and live only by faith.

What is faith in this case? Faith after crossing the Machsom is the light of Hasadim, and complete faith is the light of Hasadim with the illumination of Hochma. But during the period of preparation, when there is neither one nor the other, faith is the illumination that comes to a person from above, the light that sustains them.

Alternatively, in a state of descent, specifically when this illumination disappears, what remains is only the importance of the goal in its pure form, which is something a person receives from the group, not from above.

That is, they hear or heard in the past from the friends about the importance of the goal, and now this sustains and serves them. Now in a state of darkness, one is sustained by the importance of the goal that they acquired in the past when they were able to hear and were working in the group.

They drew inspiration from what they read, what they were told, and by what they heard from the teacher, that is, by the three sources: the group, the books, and the teacher.

In other words, the greatness of the goal now comes to them not from above, but from the environment. The importance that they feel in the state of darkness, they perceive as an illumination coming from the outside, and this is called the faith that sustains a person.
[358452]
From the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 6/29/26, Rabash, “One’s Greatness Depends on the Measure of One’s Faith in the Future”

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Question: Must the importance of the goal and the realization of one’s own lack of strength always advance in parallel? Doesn’t the importance of the goal increase during an ascent, given that it is felt just during an ascent?

Answer: The highest point in recognizing the importance of the goal, and the lowest point in evaluating one’s own strength, are revealed through two processes: ascent and descent.

It cannot be said that only an ascent increases the importance of the goal for me, and a descent brings only disappointment in my own abilities. In reality, the difference between these states generates both. In other words, it is the direction in which you are moving that gives rise both to the importance of the goal and to disappointment in your own strength.

Of course, the feeling of the goal’s importance comes during an ascent. But it never happens that something is born without its opposite appearing alongside it. There is always a contrast between black and white; otherwise, no definition would be possible. Every definition is based on two opposites, just as black letters are perceived only against a white background.
[357883]
From the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 6/13/26, Rabash, “And the Lord Appeared to Him at the Oaks of Mamre”

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