What does it mean when everything around me feels dark?

Rabbi Landau teaches that if everything feels dark right now, that is a proof that light exists. “It’s proof that your light is being requested.”

He uses Newton’s law of motion: every action has an equal and opposite reaction. “The same applies to spiritual law. When the world is swallowed in darkness, it means there’s equal light.” This is what the Zohar teaches, as the caption quotes: לא אית נהורא אלא דנפיק מן חשוכא, there is no light except what comes forth from darkness.

He describes those who saw a world drowning in darkness, with no light on their horizon, and understood that the light was in themselves. “So if you are a person who sees no light in the world and everything is dark, then I got some good news for you. You are the light.”

Going deeper: Rabbi Landau's teaching, level by level

Surface claim

Rabbi Landau teaches that darkness is proof that light exists, and that your light is being requested.

Fear, vulnerability, or tension

A person looks at the world and sees no light anywhere on the horizon.

What may be behind it

Like Newton’s law of action and reaction, spiritual darkness is matched by an equal light. There is no light except what comes forth from darkness.

Deepest human truth

What is my role when the world feels dark?

If you see the darkness, you are the light. In A Soul at Peace, Rabbi Landau writes that the very fact that you see a darkness is your mission, and suggests answering it with one small act of light.