A Higher Level

Translated by Rabbi Lazer Brody

Tribulations are designed to uplift a person to a higher spiritual level. Just as a person must peel a juicy orange before he can enjoy the fruit, one has to go through darkness before he can reach the light.
 
Some people think that dark times indicate a spiritual setback – on the contrary. Rebbe Nachman of Breslev explains (see Likutei Moharan I:25) that when a person ascends form a certain spiritual level to a higher one, he goes from the top of the lower level – where there was light – to the bottom of the next higher level, where there is darkness. So, even though a person has gone from a situation of light to a situation of darkness, he is now actually at a higher spiritual level.
 
Imagine the following example: a person was an honor student in high school and was accepted into a top university. In university, where the scholastic challenges are much more difficult than they were in high school, he no longer gets straight A’s but now B’s with an occasional A. Does that mean he’s gone down? By all means, no! He’s now learning at a higher level.
 
Rebbe Nachman also explains that sometimes people over bad habits and bodily lust. Yet, all of a sudden, he seems to suffer a setback since the old habits and lusts suddenly overcome him. This is not a setback, but only more difficult challenges. This sudden darkness is a test to determine whether that person is truly deserving of the higher spiritual level. If he falls into despair and disappointment, then he is certainly is not worthy. But, if he realizes that the darkness is a growth opportunity, for on every level the peel comes before the fruit and the darkness comes before the light, and he continues to thank Hashem and to depend on Him for assistance, then he is truly worthy of the new higher level.
 
Sometimes a person finds himself in darkness so deep that he feels like a groping blind man. In such a situation, says  Rebbe Natan of Breslev, one must cry out to Hashem from the depths of the heart, just like the prophet Jonah cried out to Hashem from the bowels of the whale. When a person cries out from the depths of his heart, Hashem flashes him advice how to escape the darkness. Such an outcry also strengthens emuna, for a person realizes that only Hashem can help him and therefore seeks Hashem with all his might. The emuna obtained as a result of crying out to Hashem cures one’s soul.
 
We therefore have another reason why the darkness comes before the light. If we didn’t have occasional darkness in our lives, we’d become complacent and arrogant, and we’d likely become superficial and mechanical in our service of Hashem. Occasional darkness that makes us cry out to Hashem arouses us from spiritual slumber and triggers renewed spiritual growth.
 
The great tzaddikim weathered deep and seemingly endless darkness before they reached the light. Joseph spent thirteen years in an Egyptian prison before he became the viceroy of Egypt, second only in power to Pharaoh. His incarceration was not graced with the amenities of modern-day prisons either, but the most inhuman conditions imaginable. King David suffered from every single tribulation a person can imagine – his own father father disdained him, his father-in-law tried to kill him, his sons and advisors revolted against him, and much more. Yet, he became Hashem’s anointed and he wrote the Book of Psalms. Rebbe Shimon bar Yochai spent thirteen years hiding in a cave from the Romans, but as a result, he received the Divine secrets that laid the foundation for the Zohar, his esoteric elaboration of Torah which is the basis of Kabbala. Rebbe Nachman and Rebbe Natan were threatened and disparaged constantly. Rebbe Nachman suffered ill health and Rebbe Natan was the victim of libel, which caused him to be incarcerated in a Ukrainian prison. Such was the price they had to pay to bring the bright lights of Breslev teachings to the world. All of the great tzaddikim suffered similar tribulations on their own path to greatness. To paraphrase King David in Psalm 112, their light shone forth from the darkness.
 
One who lives his life with emuna and realizes that he is nothing without Hashem is able to traverse the darkness, not only unscathed, but stronger. The darkness inhibits arrogance and brings a person closer to Hashem, that is, if he does what he should do and calls out to Hashem from the innermost depths of his heart.
 
Hashem does everything with love and for our ultimate good. He sends us periodic darkness to get us back on track, to remind us to be humble and to stimulate our personal and spiritual growth. The darkness is a catalyst for stronger emuna and deeper and more sincere prayer, particularly personal prayer.
 
A person who fails to recognize the growth opportunities of darkness’s challenging times will find himself stuck in the darkness with no way out. But, once we learn to place our emuna before logic and intellect, we recover quickly from setbacks and turn our falls into ascents and our darkness into light. It’s all part of our journey to a higher level. G-d bless!