Each new level we attain signifies that a person has corrected themself by rising to it, and has thereby fulfilled a commandment. Therefore, the number of levels corresponds to the number of commandments: 613 plus another 7 commandments instituted by the sages.

A person rises from degree to degree by virtue of the Exodus from Egypt; therefore, we attach the remembrance of the Exodus from Egypt to many commandments, since it is the foundation that allows us to begin spiritual actions called “commandments.”

We are not speaking about the commandments known to us in the material world (simple movements of the hands, feet, or tongue), but about spiritual actions through which a person fills himself with the upper light.

In the absence of a screen (a spiritual filter that would allow the upper light to enter within us), for now we can draw it toward ourselves through the study of the books. It reaches us in the form of surrounding light that gradually purifies and corrects us. The same actions can be carried out not only through study, but also through real deeds.

On the holidays, such as Pesach (Passover), which brings us goodness, there are specific surrounding lights, and here the participation of a person in preparing the festive event is important, specifically physical participation, carried out in unison in the whole nation.

But in addition to the general participaction, we must have an intention: the desire to attain the essence of the holiday, to ascend to the level of Pesach, so that what the event known as the Exodus would actually happen to us. Depending on the correct direction of the pre‑holiday preparation and the sincerity of the intentions, a person can merit very great surrounding lights even at the stage of preparation for the celebration.

That is why we try so hard: everyone wants to take part in this work and loves it because it gives a greater spiritual result than study.

Baal HaSulam and all the Kabbalists who preceded him singled out Pesach and Sukkot from among all the holidays. Pesach corresponds to the exodus from this world into the spiritual, to entering eternity and perfection, which, in essence, everyone wants.

And Sukkot is the “cloud of His Glory,” that is, a cloud, a Sukkah, a shelter: All this is also surrounding light that comes to a person and corrects him. The principle remains unchanged; only the conditions in which a person’s soul is found change. Therefore, in our world these holidays, these spiritual states, manifest in various forms and modes of expression.

On Sukkot the surrounding light acts differently, because the soul is already on a higher level, whereas Passover is truly the exodus from our state to the light.

Therefore, every time a person takes part in lessons or in work, it is desirable not to forget that everything that happens to them, all their efforts, require an accompanying intention: one undertakes these actions in order to come out of this world into the spiritual world, to feel the upper reality. Then these efforts accumulate and bring a person the holiday of Passover.
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From the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 4/1/26, Rabash, “Why the Festival of Matzot Is Called Passover”

Our world is the world of consequences, the world of deeds and actions, whereas the upper world is the world of causes, the world of roots and decisions. A person is not elevated in the physical sense; rather, within his consciousness he simply begins to see the causes of everything that happens. This is known as the revelation of the spiritual, the revelation of the Creator.

Such a state is “Pesach,” from the word “Poseach,” to pass over, to skip. It is the result of the fact that the Creator “passed over” all the person’s actions and gathered only those deeds in which the person wanted to attain the spiritual.

Pharaoh (Paro) is our nature. Moses (Moshe) is that small force within us that wants to pull us into the upper world. All the disputes between Pharaoh and Moses are the inner work that a person performs, that one experiences within oneself. One’s heart is hardened. The further a person advances, the harder it becomes, until one comes to the ten Egyptian plagues, which are ordeals a person is obliged to go through.

These are truly unpleasant things. One must overcome them by constantly devising new strategies in search of strength to maintain the attraction to the spiritual, the goal, that not only does not shine brightly, but actually recedes into the shadows so much that a person stops seeing it, as if no longer desiring it. And all this happens through the hardening of the heart: Pharaoh appears greater, Egypt more attractive, and it no longer seems so terrible to live in this essentially animalistic world without any benefit.

This goes until the quantity of efforts that a person continuously makes transforms into a new quality, a quality that in turn continues to grow, and then the person merits the exodus from Egypt.

It is here that, in essence, the spiritual process begins, that a person ascends the first spiritual rung of Jacob’s ladder, the spiritual ladder comprised of 620 steps that leads to the end of correction. There is the level of the righteous, the level of the holy spirit, and the level of prophecy.

But even there, whenever one wishes to rise from one degree to another, a person cannot do without the same surrounding light, which comes to a person through study and inner work, just as here on the material level.

Our entire world is designated as the level preceding the spiritual world, but nevertheless it is a level. Therefore, the same principle is prevails there above it; the difference is that there, the light is already revealed, as are the forces of resistance and assistance, which enable the person to better understand and discern the nature of their actions.

Of course, each time, while on the lower degree, one does not understand the nature of the higher degree, and is compelled to go with eyes shut. But this is no longer as difficult as leaving this world for the spiritual levels. Therefore, the exodus from Egypt is the most difficult exodus, the “Exodus” with a capital “E”; and the subsequent exits from each lower degree to a higher one are simply steps.
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From the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 4/1/26, Rabash, “Why the Festival of Matzot Is Called Passover”

When learning Torah, a person is in wholeness, according to the rule, “Where one thinks, there he is.” One should receive vitality from this time to the rest of the day, for this is called “A separate time for Torah, and a separate time for prayer” (Rabash, “We Should Always Discern between Torah and Work”).

“A time for Torah” means that I study the Torah and must be in maximal equivalence with the light so that it will influence me.

The only law that exists in the world is the law of equivalence of form, and all other laws are its consequences. Thus, if I study what relates to the upper lights and want something from above to influence me, I must be as close as possible to the source in my thoughts, intentions, desires, qualities, and impressions.

In other words, while studying the Torah, on one hand, I must feel wholeness and eternity, that I lack nothing, and I am entirely in it. On the other hand, I must understand what I demand from my study. After all, I am not simply going to be like an angel.

Therefore, it is said: “A separate time for Torah,” meaning that on the one hand I connect through the Torah, and on the other hand, through the study I ask for correction, which is called prayer, “a separate time for prayer.” Both must be present in my attitude toward the upper force that I seek to receive.
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From the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 3/21/26, Rabash, “We Should Always Discern between Torah and Work”

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Question: Is truth revealed to us only in periods when the light disappears, during periods of Achoraim?

Answer: We experience two states: either light or darkness. When a person is filled with light, one cannot perceive oneself; the person is under the influence of the Creator, feels ready for anything, and feels like a hero. In this period, it is as if the person is under the dominion of nature, specifically the properties of the light. Therefore, it is not he himself, but the filling (the light) that determines his state, his degree, his qualities and thoughts.

When can a person know his true “I,” what state he is in, and on which degree? This is only in the absence of light. The fact is that the screen, when in the darkness, determines to what extent the Partzuf can be filled with the light of Hassadim, and based on this one can predict what will occur when the light comes and to what extent it will be able to fill the Partzuf.

Therefore, it is only during darkness that a person exists in a true state. This holds true during the preparation period, the time when the Kli has not yet acquired a screen (an intention for the sake of bestowal). Let’s assume I am currently in this preparation phase; it depends on my experience of past states, on efforts, on the group, on all the things that are around me, to what extent they together give me strength.

It is more correct to formulate it as follows: during the period of concealment to what extent does the surrounding light (Or Makif) hold me in a state independent of whether I am under the influence of darkness or light, in a state of ascent or descent. It is precisely the descent that I use to build my spiritual Kli, since only in a period of darkness can I show myself, make efforts, and demonstrate persistence. I am given a chance from above.

And at the time when the light influences me, I have no possibility to manifest myself, since the Creator performs His actions over me without my participation. Thus, we have two states: in the period of light the Creator influences me and in the period of darkness I influence myself.

The fact is that when the Creator influences a person, he thinks that he is a hero, that the actions are his, that he has achieved something. But it is not so; it is simply means the Creator is currently drawing closer to him. Conversely, when the Creator moves away it is similar to a mother teaching her child to walk. At first she holds the child with both hands, steadies him between her knees to prevent him from falling, and then she lets go and steps back. By withdrawing, the Creator gives a person a chance to take a step forward toward Him.

And so, time and again, the Creator teaches us to walk independently. We must come to realize that these are desirable and effective states that benefit us because they bring us closer to spirituality and that we must use them by taking a step forward, then another, and another.

But we cannot do this alone. We must build an environment: a group, books, a teacher, the support of friends, and a daily schedule. All these things support us in periods of darkness. Only with their help will we be able to take an independent step forward.
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From the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 3/31/26, Rabash, “Show Me Your Glory”