1 May 2026 05:43 -
On the spiritual path there are three states: ascent, descent, and a constant state. In a state of ascent, I receive an awakening from above; whether I want it or not, I “wake up” and begin to work. I am awakened in one way or another: I am given some yearning and shown that there is some goal that can be attained and enjoyed, that it is great and pleasant.
Then I reach out toward it, work, and make efforts, as a result, I attain something. I see something, feel something, and am in contact with something higher. This is called an ascent.
Once the connection has been established, a state ensues that is similar to eating a meal. A person may have been very hungry, but once they begin to eat that’s it, their appetite gradually subsides and accordingly the pleasure disappears. What happens next? One has to add Kelim, that is, appetite, a sensation of lacking enjoyment.
When I begin to receive new Kelim, until I go further and fill them, the sensation I experience is called a descent. In general, it is an addition of appetite, an addition of empty Kelim. Now go and fill them! But following the pleasures I experienced, I feel empty.
If I am inside my Hisaron (feeling of lack) and not in the understanding that I now have new Kelim that I can fill, then I define this state as a descent. But in essence, it is not a descent.
Once I stayed at a health resort. There they fed us five times a day. People deliberately went for walks or engaged in other physical activities before meals specifically to induce hunger and come to the dining room with a hearty appetite so they could savor every nuance of the food’s flavor, to eat more, and to enjoy the meal. They did not regard that walk to increase the appetite as a descent.
If you know that pleasure awaits you and you undertake an action specifically to create a Kli for it, then the Kli itself is part of the pleasure. You are glad that you are hungry now: “I am about to receive such exquisite delights!”
In other words, everything depends on how a person relates to ups and downs, what those state signify for them. All this is highly relative and must be evaluated in relation to the goal.
If my goal is to attain pleasure, and I know that it is impossible to attain them without the prerequisites of hunger and appetite, then hunger and appetite become a source of a joy for me. They are not a descent, but rather an integral part of the ascent, the very Kli that enables that ascent. Therefore, our task is to see the process as a whole, to step back and observe it objectively, to fully comprehend its nature, and to ascribe profound significance to every state in this process, recognizing each one as the necessary cause leading to the next, even finer more exalted state.
If adopt this perspective, I will never experience descents. I will always be able to discern between the two phases: this is the time when I actively cultivate my appetite, and this is the time when I satisfy my appetite, filling myself with pleasures. That is all.
As for the constant state, that is very bad! One cannot remain in such a state for long, because in it I receive neither pleasures nor the Kelim for pleasures. It is a dead state. One must remain in it as little as possible. What does that mean?
If I detach from the intention, from the goal, if I follow the desires of the body and am not in actions aimed at attaining the goal, it means that I am in a dead state. One must try as much as possible to be in the most extreme states, only these are useful.
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From the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 4/15/26, Rabash, “What It Means that the Generations of the Righteous are Good Deeds, in the Work”
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Falling For The Sake Of Rising
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