Question: If a person knows that all actions are performed by the Creator, then why does this not weaken him? After all, a person expects a reward for his actions.

Answer: A person who exists in a state of spiritual perception understands that this itself is the reward and needs no other reward.

In the very next moment, he needs to unite even more with the divine, to sharpen his sensations in search for contact with the Creator. The desire for connection with Him is given to a person by intensifying the influence of the surrounding light upon him; that is the reward.

We must understand that advancement toward the state of the final correction (Gmar Tikun), which includes a sequence of alternating states of light and darkness, is itself the reward. It is in the fact that a person is brought to this state, given a desire for spirituality, and the possibility to realize his desire (Hisaron). What is this if not a reward?

Punishment is when a person is as if left alone and feels that he is in a stagnant (suspended) state. A greater punishment is impossible to imagine.

We are speaking about people who passionately strive for spirituality, about whom it is written that they are Jews, that is, the seed of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. How does Abraham differ from the other nations? In that he became a Kabbalist, attained the Creator, and desired to connect with Him. In this lies the difference between Abraham and the people among whom he originated (the city of Ur of the Chaldeans, Mesopotamia).

That is, our people are special not thanks to their genetic makeup, but because there existed a group of Kabbalists that separated itself from the rest of the masses. This group came to be called Jews or Hebrews. “Jews” (from the word “Yichud,” unification) are those who seek unification with the Creator, and “Hebrew” (from the word “Laavor,” to cross, to pass) are those who pass through the Machsom.

This is our people. But as soon as it falls from the degree of Mekubalim (Kabbalists), it is called Goyim (non‑Jews).

Therefore, one who is in the process of spiritual ascent accepts everything sent to him from above as reward.
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From the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 7/3/26, Rabash, “What Is, “There Is None as Holy as the Lord, for There Is None Besides You,” in the Work?”

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Question: What happens when a person begins to study Kabbalah and embarks on the path of drawing closer to the Creator?

Answer: The initial years, roughly after the first six months of exposure to the wisdom, are years of confusion. A person remains confused until various clarifications and definitions begin to emerge that help one cope with what is happening and bring to order and put things in their proper place. This requires time and may continue for years (the first three to five years). There is no way to skip this stage.

Acquiring a spiritual Kli is not easy. It is an entirely different nature. Look at how much people suffer and how much effort they invest just to obtain something in this world through their direct Kelim, that is, through the desire to receive. Consider how developed their perceptions, qualities, and desires must become, and how hard they must work. And you want to acquire a Kli that does not belong to this world!
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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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I perceive every state that comes to me as it is, and I want to examine it regardless of whether I feel good or bad. As it is said: “Everything that the Creator does is for the best.”

I regard these states as having the right to exist and as arriving in order to correct me to such an extent that “Even if a sharp sword is pressed against one’s throat, to not despair of mercy.” In other words, every single thing is a correction.

It is clear that this is easy to say, but we are not able to do it consistently. At first, you are ready to resist and destroy everything.

Upon second thought, you begin to relate to the situation, let’s say, in the right way.

If you remember that this has come to you for your correction, then you must turn to the third perspective: that there is none else besides the Creator. And then in that state, through suffering and pain, you will begin to reveal Him, and immediately come to a feeling of sweetness.
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From the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 7/7/26, Rabash, “What Are Holiness and Purity, in the Work?”

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During an ascent, a person is deliberately given a measure of illumination so that one may feel perfection. But this comes to a person from above, not as something the person has earned by oneself, and it is given precisely so that one will clearly sense the qualities of the Creator and grasp, at least to some small degree, the nature of spirituality. Based on that experience a person is meant to delve deeper into the Torah, the study, the articles, the letters, and all the material that was previously unclear to them.

Now they must work through this material, understand it, and truly internalize something from it. Depending on how quickly and effectively they use this and depending on their desire to derive the maximum benefit during the ascent, they will acquire knowledge, sensations, and discernments.

Later, when they are “lowered,” they must understand that they are now being given the state opposite to the ascent, remoteness from the Creator, so that they may feel who they are without the influence of the surrounding light. But in any case, the surrounding light illuminates them so that they can see that they do not understand or feel, and are in darkness, in remoteness, and in descent. This is the illumination of the surrounding light, but, as it is called, in “Achoraim.”

Then, in the state of descent, one is also obligated to work, that is, not to immerse oneself in this state, not to study one’s Kelim, because they can be studied only in their interaction with the light.

If, while trying to emerge from the state of descent, a person is unable to study or engage in internal work, one should instead perform physical actions in the group, in the kitchen, it doesn’t matter where. Although a person performs them mechanically, with hands and feet, and cannot engage one’s mind and heart, these efforts will be regarded as genuine spiritual actions in the spiritual Kelim, because this is the greatest spiritual self-expression of which one is capable.

But when, after a period of descent, a person receives an illumination from above, one must not think that it is the result of one’s own work, that he himself has overcome, acted, and attained. One is being given another state from above in which one must work, and perhaps this is called an ascent. It is still not known what an ascent and a descent really are.

We should evaluate these states not according to how close or far we are from the Creator because of an awakening from above, but according to the extent to which, through our own awakening from below, we strive to come closer to Him. It may be that during a descent a person’s yearning for the Creator is greater than it is during an ascent; then the descent is an ascent.
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From Daily Kabbalah Lesson on 7/7/26, Rabash, Article 28, 1991 “What Are Holiness and Purity, in the Work?”

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Before every lesson, a person should think: What will I receive from this study? This inner preparation before the lesson should prepare him so that during the study he will be able to think correctly. This is possible. A person simply needs to accustom himself to it, and gradually it will become natural. There are many things we must do in a very simple, uncomplicated way, “like an ox to the burden and a donkey to the load.”

Why have we been given reason and thought? To search and discover the one thing that is truly worth holding on to: to study, to examine what is happening to us. This study should lead us to the conclusion called the recognition of evil. I should not resist anything, nor should I force myself to do anything. That is of no benefit.

I need only pay attention to what the Creator is doing to me! From this, I gradually begin to understand: who I am, who He is, what He wants, why He arranges these things for me, and with what subtlety He does so. Through this, I slowly come to know nature.

Kabbalah is the study of nature, but in a broader sense. It includes the world of causes, where everything is conceived and prepared, and from there extends to our nature, to ourselves, and to our environment.

Thus, by studying ourselves, as it is said, “From Your actions we shall know You,” and “From my flesh I shall see the Creator,” we come to study the whole of reality.
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From the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 7/7/26, Rabash, “What Are Holiness and Purity, in the Work?”

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Whether a person is in a state of descent or ascent depends on how he evaluates his condition, either according to the actual spiritual reality or according to his own attitude toward that state. For example, I forget where I am and begin recalling how yesterday I played cards with my friends, drank beer, and felt good and happy. At that moment, I considered that time to have been an ascent.

Then suddenly I “wake up” and ask myself: “What am I thinking about right now? Where am I? What am I immersed in?” At that point, I begin to realize that this is actually a descent. In reality, we can determine whether we are in an ascent or a descent only in relation to the surrounding light. If we truly want to evaluate where we are, this is the only criterion.

A person may be sitting here in a chair, yet inwardly be traveling around the world. As it is rightly said: “A person is where his thoughts are.”

But we are speaking about a situation in which, for example, a person is completely immersed in the study, yet torments himself inwardly, and that is not the right thought. Or he is thinking about matters connected with his activities in the group, and that is not it either. During the study, he should feel himself and the entire group connected to the Creator through the material they are studying. That is truly the state toward which one should aspire.
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From Daily Kabbalah Lesson on 7/7/26, Rabash, Article 28, 1991 “What Are Holiness and Purity, in the Work?”

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Question: In a state of descent, how can I find the strength to awaken from below?

Answer: In order to allow a person to make an effort, an independent movement, he is left alone. Instead of being pulled toward the goal by a force from above, he is blocked from reaching it. However, this does not start right away. Initially, a person is slightly guided in the right direction, which allows him to experience and distinguish certain things, albeit in a limited, beginner’s way.

Suddenly, this is halted, and the person is given the feeling of being completely disconnected, with a foul mood, he falls in both animal and spiritual lives. What is this done for? It gives him a sense of the desert when he does not know what to do or where to go. And his current state is not good either.

When a person does not have an inner state called “the present” or a surrounding light, which shines from afar and is called “the future,” it leads him to a state of despair, to a feeling of lack of fulfillment from both the present and the future. He feels unable to live either in the present or the future.

This is done to show a person what state he is really in when he is not cared for from above. Is it possible to do something in this state? Almost nothing. But still, it is possible to analyze a little and find out to what extent it is beneficial to advance with the help of the forces granted from above. At least this: to want them, to appreciate them.

Ultimately, these states teach a person about his true state when he is not “cared for” from above. That is why these states are good, because they build a person. Otherwise, when he is given all kinds of fillings and is lured in—this is not a great achievement, anyone could advance this way.
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From the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 7/6/26, Rabash, “When Should One Use Pride in the Work?”

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A person’s spiritual advancement is sustained by light; without it, there is nothing to talk about. But what causes the light to come? Either it is an awakening from above, and then a person experiences a positive, uplifted state, is ready to exert effort, and nothing else matters to them.

Or this light arrives as a result of their efforts to grasp the importance of the goal. In accordance with these efforts, the light of importance, or, in other words, the light of faith, shines on them.

Then darkness does not matter to them. Even if, after another attempt to draw near the inner chambers, a person finds themselves distanced from the Creator without having gained anything, they still thank the Creator. Even when they fall back into an animalistic state, as was the case in many of their previous falls, they remain grateful to the Creator for simply receiving these various different states from Him.

They do not evaluate these states based on what they possess or what occurs during each ascent and descent, because they understand that doing so would merely be using their receiving Kelim (vessels). Instead, they assess their states according to how much effort they can invest to receive the light of faith through their own efforts and work from below. This is the correct assessment.

When a person comes to a state where, in both ascents and descents, the only thing that matters is that one’s attitude toward the Creator does not change, then we say that one is filling one’s reflected light, the light of faith, from below up, instead of allowing the light to come from above to below.

This is called being ready to bestow upon the Creator by filling oneself with this light, rather than allowing the Creator to fill him. This is the person’s giving. And then, in this measure, the Creator clothes Himself in a person, and they unite, and this union of direct and reflected light, clothed in each other, is called the inner light.

Rabash describes these states for a reason. We can observe this in ourselves when we look at each other—gauging the states we are in: whether we are falling or rising, either as a group or individually.

We need to reach a point where none of these matters to us. No matter what state I am in—whether I am rising or falling, whether I am happy or anxious, whether there is illumination from above or not—none of it interferes, we must immediately fill this Hisaron (lack, need) with the light of faith.
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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: What should I do if I do not experience descents? After all, I am in the best group, and I have the sources and a teacher.

Answer: If everything is going well for you, if you study, and you feel fulfilled by the “holiness” that comes from observing the commandments, then it is a sign that you are not exerting yourself enough, or that perhaps you are making physical efforts, but not inner ones. You are not searching as deeply as you could. And most likely you are still not truly connected with the others. You can work physically alongside them all the time, but being connected with them means seeing something in them that you do not have yourself.

Apparently, you lack a sufficient measure of envy. You are satisfied with what you have: “Thank God, I have something. That is wonderful. Thank You, Creator. Everything is fine. Everything is for the best. I am joyful, and I am righteous.” Then you are operating only in the right line, and in the right line alone, a person cannot grow because he acquires no new vessels. Unfortunately, that is the problem.

Question: But shouldn’t we always remain in an elevated mood?

Answer: You should remain in an elevated mood despite the constant counterbalance of the left side. Every time additional Kelim are added to you, you draw toward the right. But without the left line, what is all this worth? You cannot grow that way.

We grow only when the flesh increases, and it comes from the Kelim that we seek to clarify. So what you are lacking is a sufficient measure of envy. “Counters envy increases wisdom.” You are not envious of how your friends study, take notes, and work. Envy is essential, but it must be the right kind. It is not wishing to bring your friend down and not wanting that he would study and act as you do, but rather aspiring to become like him.
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From Daily Kabbalah Lesson on 7/2/26, Rabash, Article 21, 1988 “What Does It Mean that the Torah Was Given Out of the Darkness in the Work? ”

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There is work during an ascent and work during a descent, and a person must try to find what is relevant to him in each of these two states. But most importantly, a person is required to work during an ascent, because during a descent there is no one from whom to demand anything. He may be in such a state that he neither hears nor is able to move from his place, sometimes not only internally but even physically.

But during an ascent, when he experiences an influx of strength, he should not simply enjoy it, as though he feels good and is in a state of perfection. He must understand that this has been given to him from above, although he does not deserve it. Yet both the state of ascent and the state of descent are given to him solely for the sake of advancing.

There are no reward and punishment in this. It is not that because I suffered before, I am now being rewarded by feeling good. This is a completely mistaken thought and an incorrect approach to the process we are going through.

The state called a descent is given in order to feel our own qualities, while the state called an ascent is given in order to feel the qualities of the Creator. By sensing our own qualities during the descent and the qualities of the Creator during the ascent, we must work with these two states and derive the greatest possible benefit for our advancement from them.

If we go through these states without using them to advance toward the purpose of creation, they simply pass by. We will be given an ascent and a descent once or twice, and then they will stop. Or they will be sent once every six months or once a year. And so, the years will pass.

Everything depends on how purposefully a person relates to each state they find themself in, without thinking that it is given to them as a reward or a punishment, but accepting it simply as a state for work.
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From the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 7/7/26, Rabash, “What Are Holiness and Purity, in the Work?”

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