Question:
What is the proper way to view our different moods? Do our moods alternate at different times? Can a person be on a high spiritual level in which he doesn’t have alternating moods?
Answer:
Yes. Sefer HaYashar attributed to Rabbeinu Tam says that every person has times of love and times of hate, and in other sefarim, this is described as alternating periods of gadlus (expanded consciousness) and katnus (limited consciousness). It is also called ratzu (running or advancing) and shov (retreating or returning). Even when a person is normally at a high level, gadlus, he can still find himself in alternating states of ratzu (gadlus, growth) and shov (katnus, regression). But every person has movements, and changing levels from period to period, from day to day, from hour to hour, from moment to moment (there are 1080 moments in every hour). A person is always going through inner movements and he never stays the same. This point is very fundamental in understanding the design of Creation in general and the soul especially.
Categories
