The greatness of the Creator and His glory—which we constantly talk about in the group, and thereby elevate Him—is in fact a means by which a person, based on constantly turning to his inner self, begins to turn to the Creator.

This can be seen even in simple examples. You came here at three o’clock in the morning, you could care less about anything, and you are still half-asleep. The most that you can think of is feeling better. Let’s say that you are not in a good state, that you feel low, and that you have no interest in anything.

There is nothing you can do; you have already come here, you are listening to the lesson, and you are catching all sorts of words and conversations of your friends. You observe that they think differently, that they are in high spiritus, and this starts to inspire you.

When you are inspired, a certain shift, whether you intend it or not, takes place within you regarding your attitude toward life and the purpose of life; as a result, you become capable of exerting some effort. You can say, “Yes, I am making efforts, but they are all based on the elation that I got from the group. Had I not come here, had I not sat here listening to all kinds of things, I would not be inspired. But now I am in a great mood.”

True. But you have already paid for it by coming here. After all, everyone is just like you, and everyone who comes here affects the others in some way. Then, in fact, if you influence everyone so that everyone influences you in some way, and all the benefits from this will be yours.

You are not running on someone else’s fuel, you are running on your own fuel. Then you fulfill another law, another condition, despite the fact that you do not see the goal or the Creator. However, you already understand that it is good that you do not see Him because it does not tempt you to enjoy seeing the Creator for your own sake.

It is good that the Creator is hidden, and that you can get a push toward Him from the group, rather than from Him directly. After all, had you received an impulse directly from the Creator, you would instantly fall into pleasure for your own sake: “Look who I have a connection with! Look who is giving to me! Look at me!” The fact that I receive a push from the group toward the Creator supposedly frees me from the problem of making the first restriction on my Kelim while still obeying the law.

Therefore this work is called the preparation period. Because I have started work and I have made a certain number of efforts, efforts that I must go through according to the root of my soul, I reach a state where I am given a Masach (screen). Then I merit the revelation of the Creator, and to receive forces from Him.

When I see the Creator, I am able to selectively accept, not pleasure, but only the strength to get closer to Him. From the light that comes from Him, I will take what I need to correct my Kelim, but will not use Him to fill them. After I correct these Kelim, I will fill them in order to get even closer to the Creator, to become even more like Him. This is how a person ascends the spiritual ladder and moves from law to judgment.
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From the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 4/17/26, Rabash, “What Is the Difference between Law and Judgment in the Work?”

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If you make war and do not see that the evil inclination is angry with you, it is a sign that you do not even know what “for the sake of the Creator” means.

…the bad is actually within us, but we do not see it. Only through the dispute does it appear. Hence, if a person is at peace with it, he is hopeless… (Rabash, “Peace After a Dispute Is More Important than Having No Disputes at All”).

What is the difference between peace before a dispute and peace after it? It would seem obvious that the best situation is to have no disagreements at all. Why become enemies, hate one another, quarrel, and then reconcile? Is that really better than always living in peace, love, unity, and friendship?

Why are bad periods necessary? What benefit do they bring to the good periods we later attain? Why is peace after war better than peace without war?

On the corporeal level, this is unclear because everything takes place in vessels of reception that do not change. If they do not change and remain egoistic, then why should I suffer during war if I can make peace before the dispute begins? Then I would live well and calmly, without suffering.

But if I arrive at peace after war, I understand that war is not good. Essentially, it gives me nothing except the understanding that it is better to live in peace. And since I did not have enough wisdom to establish peace before the war and avoid descending into it, now, after the war, I guard the established peace with all my strength, until once again the desire to receive increases and pushes me back into war. In other words, the demand of the will to receive becomes stronger than my ability to restrain myself from war.

And so, it keeps returning, giving me no real possibility to prevent wars.
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From the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 4/26/26, Rabash, “Peace After a Dispute Is More Important than Having No Disputes at All”

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Question: How does the Creator, who is referred to as the “Good that Does Good” differ from the image of the Creator that is revealed while wandering in the desert?

Answer: “Good that Does Good” is not the name of the Creator; it is a supreme primordial concept. It is a designation.

“Good that Does Good” is later subdivided into specific influences, which, in turn, include Taamim (tastes) and names.

“Good that Does Good” is plain good; nothing can be said about it. This can be understood once we have attained all other concepts along all the steps of ascent.

The Creator wants us to know Him as the “Good that Does Good.” To come to understand this, you must ascend all the steps, and at each step, you attain how He relates to you, which is part of the “Good that Does Good” in a certain facet.
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From the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 5/2/26, Rabash, “What Are Banners in the Work?”

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Question: Do you have a fear of suffering? Suppose you get sick or something else happens to you.

Answer: No, there is no fear. It is unpleasant of course, because it involves pain and disagreeable sensations; in other words, the absence of light within me is expressed in the same way as in others. There is nothing to be done about it; like everyone else, I would prefer to avoid it, but I understand where it comes from, and I do not fear it.

A Kabbalist believes that the plan of the Creator must be fulfilled, and I do everything to align myself with that plan. As for what is intended for my soul, whatever metamorphoses it is destined to undergo, it will undergo. The main thing for me is to prepare myself so that I can be with the Creator in all these transformations even if He performs very unpleasant “surgical operations” on me.

Question: Are you talking about the suffering of the physical body or inner suffering?

Answer: By “surgical,” I mean internal operations. Of course, this could include physical and physiological ones here, naturally.

When Baal HaSulam was asked: “Surely you could make it so that you do not have to suffer before death?” He answered: “I would never allow myself that.” And he indeed had a very painful death. He suffered from cancer, heart conditions, and various other ailments. He endured great suffering. He did not pass away at such an old age, he was around 70. What kind of years are those?

If a person truly understood the extent to which even these sufferings, which serve as a vessel for spirituality, move him forward, and realized that he has the capacity to rise above them, he would not remove them, he would rise above them. But what is meant here is not an ordinary person who simply suffers like a small beaten animal, but a Kabbalist.
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From KabTV’s “I Got A Call. The Sufferings of the Kabbalists.” 10/8/10

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