What the Rav said:
If a person goes to Uman, it doesn’t mean that now he won’t fall any more. On the contrary, the fact that he was in Uman, now he needs to know that he’s going to fall much more.
Since he’s now reached a much higher level, so now everything around him clothes itself to bring him down.
That’s why, when the Kohen HaGadol goes into the Kodesh Kodashim on Yom Kippur, he’s in great danger, as all the spiritual husks try to overcome him.
My thoughts:
Spiritual growth is not easy. Just when you think you’re finally getting there, you get hit with some massive punch out of left field, and you’re back lying on the grass looking up at the sky and wondering, am I ever going to get this right?
I once had a chavruta who told me, ‘I’m not trying to improve my avodat Hashem. I know that if I do, I’ll only get hit with more problems.’
It’s a tough call. He’s right, but do we really have any choice?
I guess, we do. You could take the view of my chavruta.
But, if we want to grow and to get closer to Hashem, we’ve got to face down the bad guys.
They’re our bad middot, and they can be the hardest obstacle we face in trying to serve Hashem.