In spirituality, desire determines everything. Therefore, a created being is not capable of willingly desiring suffering in order to subsequently, after a few steps, delight the Creator with an altruistic intention. This is impossible. This entire process must begin from above. The Creator is always the initiator.

Question: In the corporeal world, a small child learning how to walk does not see how helpless his state is because his mother is before his eyes and he knows she will help him. What about spirituality?

Answer: If we were standing and crying like a child, but while crying, looking toward the Creator, this state would be different from when He is concealed. If you see the Creator, it means He has not left you; He has not concealed Himself.

In the corporeal world, connection can be felt through sight, touch, an embrace, and so on. In spirituality as well, there are various degrees of connection: an embrace, a kiss, and so forth. If you have drawn closer to the Creator (no matter to what degree you are connected with Him), this cannot be called a state of darkness because you remain in connection with Him. He does not abandon you.

We must understand that states of darkness are sent to us from above according to how much effort we must apply at a given degree. Perhaps they are sent to you with the initial intention that you will not succeed. Perhaps this is meant to give you the opportunity to accumulate Reshimot and to clarify your failures, so that you will exert certain efforts in this situation.

You do not know this, but you are given exactly what you need at this moment for your spiritual advancement. The accounting is done from above. You do not know why or for what purpose—just as a child does not understand why his mother has stepped away from him, why she seems so harsh.

He was always in her arms and suddenly she places him in the middle of the room and steps back. The child is completely helpless, while the mother rejoices; she is teaching him to walk, teaching him independence.

This is what: “You shall see My back” (Achoraim) is. That is, from a state of darkness, you begin to see the light. It does not mean that through the Achoraim you directly see the light. In the state of Achoraim, you build the Kli. And through the Kli, you then reveal the face of the Creator.
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From the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 3/31/26, Rabash, “Show Me Your Glory”

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Question: How can I ask a friend for help?

Answer: The help you can request from a friend should consist of his telling you something good. What else could there be?

When you turn to a friend, you should not tell him about all your misfortunes because this will bring him down.

Whether you want to or not, you are negatively affecting the other person, which is forbidden to do; it is called evil speech. If a person tells someone else something bad, no matter the form, it is slander.

What is slander? Anything one hears that brings him down and weakens him. Even just frivolity or any mockery weakens a person because his thoughts and intentions disappear the moment he hears it.

But the slander that is openly directed against the Creator is especially serious: “Who is the Creator that I should listen to Him?” This is the root cause of slander, because it cuts off any opportunity for a person to turn to the Creator, and in it lies his salvation.
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From the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 4/7/26, Rabash, “The Connection between Passover, Matza, and Maror”

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In order for a person to have equivalence of form with the Creator, he must try to have fear in everything he does, as it is written (there), “Fear means that he is afraid lest he will diminish in bringing contentment to his Maker.” (Rabash, “What Is, If He Swallows the Bitter Herb, He Will Not Come Out, in the Work?”)

It is impossible to begin any relationship between a person and anyone else without the condition of awe. Awe is what the desire to receive feels as it strives for fulfillment, for life, for pleasure. However, opposite this, it also feels fear.

An unfulfilled desire to receive experiences fear that this state will remain or that it will come to such a state. This is animalistic fear—awe (Ira).

If we acquire a screen over this animalistic awe, which is directed inward toward the desire to receive, then from the desire to receive this awe turns toward the Creator and becomes something else entirely. Instead of thinking about myself and fearing for my own state, I tremble and think about His state. This means that I begin to feel the “suffering of the Shechina.”

Just as the desire to receive is the foundation for developing a system of relationships directed toward bestowal, so too, awe is the foundation for developing a system of relationships directed toward love. There can be no love without awe.

Even in the highest love, there must be awe. What if I could have given one gram more and I did not? And this is not any kind of deficiency on the part of the Creator, nor any natural deficiency on the part of 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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The name “Pesach” comes from the word “Pasach” (to skip over, to pass over, to leap over). This means that from all the great work a person performs, with all the ascents and descents he goes through, when at times he strives toward spirituality and at other times sinks back into the pursuit of pleasures of this world, when sometimes he thinks only of himself, and at other times is capable of thinking of someone else (although, of course, all his thoughts about others are still egoistic); and all these calculations are still within the bounds of this world, out of all this work, only the ascents are taken into account, while the descents are not considered; they are “skipped over.”

Baal HaSulam writes that the Creator counts all of a person’s attempts to rise toward Him, gathers them all together so that they accumulate into the necessary critical measure sufficient to give a person the light that takes them out of Egypt and allows them to unite with the Creator, to reveal spirituality, to open the “future world.”

Therefore, all the actions a person performs countless times, all the states one goes through day by day during study, during the preparation, and when working for the group all gradually accumulate into a state called “Pesach,” when everything positive is added up and the negative is not taken into account.

Here, descents, when a person was submerged and under the rule of the Egyptians, are not considered. This is what is alluded in the Torah, that the Creator has one calculation for the “houses of the Egyptians,” upon which He brings judgment, and another calculation for the “houses of the sons of Israel,” which He saves.

For each soul there is a unique calculation, a specific measure, that enables a person to reach this very state. But when, with respect to that soul, the necessary critical measure of the “houses of Israel” relative to the “houses of the Egyptians” is reached (the “houses” are called Kelim), then the Creator gathers them all together, performs “Pesach” (collects the good while skipping over and passing over the bad), and takes them out of Egypt.

After He gathers the good Kelim, He gives them the light, correction, and a person, within these Kelim, feels that he has come out of Egypt. Meanwhile, the Egyptians (the receiving Kelim) remain in Egypt, they still cannot be given redemption; only Galgalta ve Eynaim can be redeemed. Therefore, the people of Israel came out from there and later merited receiving the Torah. However, in Gmar Tikkun (the end of correction), the Egyptians, too, will receive their correction.

Those Kelim that the Israelites took out of Egypt are gradually corrected; this includes their shattering and the building and destruction of the First and Second Temples. We are now at the very final stage of correction, just before the final correction.
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From the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 4/8/26, Rabash, “Come unto Pharaoh – 2”

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It is written in Shaar Hakavanot [Gate of Intentions], “This is the meaning of the Maror [bitter herb], which is ‘death,’ in Gematria. This is also why he must taste bitterness, and if he swallows it, he does not do his duty… (Rabash, “What Is, If He Swallows the Bitter Herb, He Will Not Come Out, in the Work?”)

There are three states in the universe. The first state is the stage of infinity (Ein Sof) that includes souls before they leave the direct control of the Creator. This stage is as He created it; He gives everything the qualities of perfection and eternity. As He is, so are they.

However, this is done on by Him. Therefore, souls that sense the Creator experience what is called “shame.”

They need to be freed from shame, and thereby be brought to a state in which they will no longer simply receive from Him, like a fetus in the womb, in perfection due to His efforts, but would acquire their own level, their own feeling, their own awareness, that they will really rise to the level of the Creator, become similar to Him in properties, and not be compelled by Him.

Then the second state arises, the state of work and effort, during which we go through the process of correcting and installing Kelim in order to experience the first state in its entirety. We ourselves desire it, and acquire it; it is ours. When this happens, the second state turns into the third.

Therefore, Maror (bitter herbs) should not be swallowed but chewed. According to our Passover laws, a certain amount of time, a certain measure, is allotted for this.

And then, if we “chewed” it well, if we went through all the attributes of the properties in the desire to receive relative to the Creator’s desire to give, understood what our nature is, and then achieved the use of the intention for the sake of giving, i.e., as they say, “swallowed” Maror, then we really come out through the work of acquiring new vessels, and we merit “getting out of Egypt.”

In the work itself, there are three special stages: faith, prayer, efforts (in Hebrew: “Emuna,” “Tefila,” “Igiya,” the acronym of the first letters of which is “Iti“, which means “with Me”).

The “place,” the state we have to reach, is called “with Me” (“Iti“): “Here is the place [next to] Me.” This is the place of the Creator, and you can come to this state “with Me” through faith, prayer, and effort.

These stages are present at every stage of our work, in every state. Accordingly, the overall process of our advancement is divided primarily into these three parts: faith, prayer, and effort.
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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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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 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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