אות-ב

All of a person's actions exist within time and place, and there is where the main grip of the sitra achra lies. But Hashem, may He be blessed, is, so to speak, above time and place — and there all is good, and there the sitra achra has no grip at all, and there everything is sweetened. This is the aspect of: "If I ascend to the heavens, there You are… days are formed, yet not one of them" [Psalms 139:8, 16] — meaning, there is no place or time from which to flee or despair, G-d forbid, from Hashem, may He be blessed, for all places in the world belong to Him and He gives life to all the places and levels in the world, and likewise regarding time. Therefore in every time and every place one can find Him, may He be blessed — for all place in its totality and all time in its totality, all comes from Hashem. Therefore through teshuvah one can draw close to Him and ascend above place and time. (ibid., Ois 15) When a person must ascend from level to level, he must have a descent before the ascent — for the descent is the purpose of the ascent. And from this every person can understand how greatly he must strengthen himself in the service of Hashem and never fall in his resolve from any of the falls and descents in the world. For if he strives and strengthens himself not to look at this in any way whatsoever — even if something passes over him — he will ultimately merit that all the descents will be transformed into great ascents, for the descent is the purpose of the ascent. And there is much to say here, for everyone who has fallen to wherever he has fallen imagines that these things are not said about him — that they are said only about those of great stature who ascend each time from level to level. But in truth, know and believe: all these things are said even about the smallest of the small and the worst of the worst, for Hashem, may He be blessed, is good to all, always. (ibid., Ois 22) Each person according to his level — the more he desires to enter into the service of Hashem, the more the Ba'al Davar overpowers him and provokes him further — like two men fighting one another: when one sees his fellow prevailing against him, he summons all his strength and prevails even more against him. And from this comes the fact that sometimes the Ba'al Davar provokes a person even more intensely — because the evil sees that some good has begun to be aroused in the person, and therefore it strengthens against him even more. Therefore the person must be wise about this matter, and through tactics make war to overpower the evil with great strength each time.