THE DESCENT THAT ELEVATES How Struggle, Stillness, & Subtle Effort Become Spiritual Growth

A Divine Nudge
Sometimes life hits hard. A challenge appears, a relationship shifts, a quiet ache settles in. These moments, though painful, often carry an invisible invitation: to grow, to stretch, to wake up. In Jewish thought, this paradox is captured in the phrase yeridah l’tzoreich aliyah—a descent for the sake of ascent. Struggle isn’t a detour from the path; it’s part of the path.

Rather than seeing difficulty as failure, Chassidic teachings suggest it’s a form of divine strategy. The soul doesn’t just fall—it’s sent. Like the Baal Shem Tov taught, hidden sparks of holiness lie in the darkest places. The descent is a mission.

Psychology echoes this. Research into post-traumatic growth shows that people often become more resilient and spiritually grounded after hardship. But Judaism adds a deeper insight: we don’t need trauma to grow. Even a whisper of discomfort—a restless feeling, a spiritual lull—can be enough to nudge us forward.

The Lubavitcher Rebbe emphasized that spiritual “falls” are often signs of readiness, not regression. The challenge comes because we’re being called higher.

Growth in Balance
Still, not all stress leads to growth. The Yerkes-Dodson Law, a principle in psychology, teaches that we thrive under just the right amount of challenge—too little, and we stagnate; too much, and we collapse. Real growth happens in the sweet spot: where we’re stretched but not broken.

This is true spiritually as well. The Tanya describes avodah—effortful service—as the place where transformation happens. Not in comfort, but in consistent, gentle resistance to our lower instincts.

Climbing the Ramp
We often think growth comes in breakthroughs or dramatic moments. But tradition teaches something quieter and steadier.

In the Temple, the Kohein Gadol—the High Priest—ascended the altar via a ramp, not stairs, so his garments wouldn’t be lifted immodestly. The message is powerful: true elevation is modest and continuous, not sudden or showy. This idea is beautifully echoed by the Rambam. In his Hilchos De’os (2:2), he writes:

“A person who swayed in the direction of one of the extremes should move in the direction of the opposite extreme, and accustom himself to that for a long time, until he has returned to the proper path, which is the midpoint for each and every temperament.”

In other words, we change not by flipping a switch, but by moving gently and deliberately in the direction of balance. Growth is a recalibration, not a reinvention. This is in line with learning neuroplasticity.

Modern therapy agrees. In Dialectical Behavior Therapy, psychologist Marsha Linehan teaches the technique of Opposite Action—acting against our unhelpful emotions in small, embodied ways. If we’re afraid, we try something brave. If we’re angry, we soften. It’s not forced. It’s not fake. It’s practice.

When Struggle Grows Subtle
As we mature, the tests often shift. They become less about crisis and more about consistency. Not about dramatic failures, but quiet fading. We don’t crash—we coast. And this too is a descent.

The Tanya teaches that the highest spiritual work can happen in these moments—not in emergency, but in effort. The oved Elokim, the one who truly serves God, isn’t perfect. Such people just keep trying. They notice when the light dims and make the smallest move to turn it up again.

Vygotsky, a developmental psychologist, called this kind of growth the “zone of proximal development”—the space just beyond what we’ve already mastered. The soul, too, grows in that space—when it’s nudged, not shoved.

Falling Forward
Growth doesn’t always feel like progress. Often it feels like falling. But if we see our descents as sacred—if we move with them, learn from them, and rise through them—we discover that we’re not falling downward, but falling forward and upward. This is the dance of life: between stillness and movement, ease and challenge, descent and ascent. Each step, however small, becomes holy when we take it with intention.

We love hearing from you, please feel free to leave your comments below.

With Gratitude,

Rus Devorah

References and Further Reading

• Csikszentmihalyi, Mihaly – Flow: The Psychology of Optimal Experience. Harper & Row, 1990. A foundational book on how we thrive when fully immersed in meaningful challenge.
• Linehan, Marsha M. – Cognitive-Behavioral Treatment of Borderline Personality Disorder. Guilford Press, 1993. Introduces DBT and the practice of Opposite Action for emotional balance.
• Maimonides (Rambam) – Mishneh Torah, Hilchot De’ot 2:2. Translated by Sefaria.org. A guide to finding balance in character through gradual movement toward the middle path.
• Sacks, Rabbi Jonathan – Future Tense: Jews, Judaism, and Israel in the Twenty-First Century. Schocken Books, 2009. Offers insights on effort, growth, and spiritual responsibility.
• Schneur Zalman of Liadi – Tanya: Likkutei Amarim. Kehot Publication Society. A foundational text in Chabad Chassidus on the nature of the soul and inner struggle.
• Selye, Hans – The Stress of Life. McGraw-Hill, 1956. Introduced the concept of the stress response and adaptation.
• Tedeschi, Richard G., & Calhoun, Lawrence G. – On post-traumatic growth, showing how adversity can lead to deeper purpose and strength.