The Hidden Wisdom: Why Kabbalah Teaches That True Knowledge Begins with Humility

There is, in fact, a sort of happiness in the limitation of human knowledge. If people were to know even slightly more than is appropriate for their spiritual level, they would become aware of the vastness of what they do not know, and ultimately suffer from that awareness.

When something is necessary for the proper functioning of the world, Heaven reveals it, even to non-Jews — as Yosef said to Pharaoh, “God has revealed to Pharaoh what He is about to do.”

To the people of Israel however, whom God chose from among all nations, He revealed the Torah and its commandments — so that through them we may influence higher worlds, repair ourselves and the flaws that appeared in creation, and, through intentional spiritual unifications, draw divine abundance down into this world.

The Hidden Belongs to God

“The hidden things belong to the Lord our God.” The Creator did not reveal to us the full nature of divine governance — the inner workings, refinements, connections, and cosmic outcomes, perhaps because these mysteries are not necessary for us, or because we have no power to affect them directly.

Especially for those who do not feel an inner drive to elevate themselves spiritually, Scripture says: “The fool walks in darkness and sees no light.” To such a person, no true insight is revealed — for even if it were, it would serve no purpose, since he would not use it to grow or transform.

The Test of Spiritual Readiness

There is a simple way to know whether we belong to those who are not yet ready for spiritual revelation: If you believe yourself already perfected — needing no learning, no guidance, no teacher, then you belong to that group who are content with their current state and therefore will not rise beyond it.

If however, you have a hunger for something hidden, something beyond the veil of the material world; if you are willing to make the effort to ascend, to humble yourself before one wiser than you; if wealth, status, and artificial pleasures lose their appeal before your yearning to understand the secrets of existence — then it is likely that the springs of higher knowledge will open before you, if you persevere with diligence and humility.

That yearning itself is the true source of Jewish faith.

Faith as a Subtle Faculty of the Soul

As one of the great sages of modern Jewish thought wrote: “Faith is a delicate inclination of a refined soul. When a person possesses a soul, and his hour is one of quiet, free of bodily cravings, and his eyes gaze upward to the heavens and downward to the depths of the earth, he feels awe and wonder. The world appears to him as an enigma, mysterious and profound.This enigma envelops his heart and mind until he feels faint — all life within him focused only on that mystery. His entire being longs to understand it, even if it means passing through fire and water for its sake. For what is life worth, if the sweetness of existence remains forever hidden from him?”

The Righteous and Their Expanding Vision

The more a person purifies himself, the more is revealed to him.
The righteous who are capable of deeper correction, are granted deeper truths, each according to his spiritual level. Sometimes a single ray of higher light is revealed, depending on what the world needs at that moment.

The secrets of creation are never ends in themselves. They exist only to serve the ultimate purpose of the universe — to fulfill the divine will.

Who is a righteous person? There are several definitions, but at its core, it is one who nullifies his own will to do the will of his Creator.
This begins with keeping the commandments — the very reason they are called mitzvot, “commands”, for we were directly commanded by God to fulfill them.

Beyond the Letter of the Law

The aspiration of the righteous elevates him beyond mere obligation. He seeks to do more — this is known as acting lifnim mishurat hadin, “beyond the letter of the law.”

Those called kabbalists are in fact obligated to greater spiritual precision — to live with heightened awareness and refinement in every mitzvah, as explained in the writings of Rabbi Isaac Luria (the Ari). We will discuss this further in the chapter on the conditions for studying Kabbalah.

It must be emphasized again: This extra precision defines the very goal of the Kabbalistic path. A true kabbalist does not perform different work from other Jews — but rather, deeper work, in addition to what is already required of every Jew.

The Ultimate Purpose of Kabbalah

Let us now turn to the words of Rabbi Chaim Vital — the foremost disciple of the Ari, who recorded and organized his master’s teachings. In his Introduction to the Tree of Life (Etz Chaim), he writes: “The main goal of this knowledge is to remove thorns from the vineyard.”

Let us ponder his words carefully: He does not speak of knowing — but of doing. The action, he says, is removal — meaning elimination or destruction.

The true purpose of one who studies Kabbalah is to destroy. What exactly is to be destroyed? Rabbi Vital concealed the answer in the phrase “the thorns from the vineyard.”

What Are the “Thorns of the Vineyard”?

One who is familiar with Jewish ethical (mussar) works might say:
“To destroy one’s own negative traits.” That is partly true — but only as a means, not the ultimate goal.

This is made clear by Rabbi Shalom Sharabi (the Rashash), who was not merely a commentator on the Ari but his definitive interpreter — the voice through which the Ari’s teachings were fully clarified.

In his book Nahar Shalom, the Rashash writes: “First of all, one must be very careful to subdue, remove, and separate the side of evil — that is, the negative traits.”

The Deeper Meaning: Eradicating the Roots of Evil

A superficial reading might recall the Talmudic phrase in Bava Metzia, “to eliminate the wicked among Israel,” but that is clearly not the intent here. The Ari himself explicitly forbids taking life or causing harm.

Rather, the true goal is to eradicate the roots of evil — the spiritual source of corruption within creation, so that when those roots are nullified, the external husks (or kelipot) lose their power, and all beings and worlds are filled with divine vitality.

Thus, Kabbalah is not theoretical knowledge, not intellectual curiosity for its own sake — but a path of knowledge for the sake of transformation and action.

Learning to Transform Reality

Through the detailed methods revealed by the Ari and further clarified by the Rashash — particularly in his sacred Prayer Intentions (Kavanot), we are taught what to do and how to do it.

This, indeed, is the ultimate purpose of learning: To repair, to refine, and to fill creation with divine light.

The Ari’s True Vision Above All Interpretations

Although later Kabbalists proposed various systems and interpretations, none carry the same authority as the Ari’s words themselves. Even those who appeared to disagree with him still based their thought on his foundations.

The passage we read above expresses the Ari’s authentic vision — the living word of divine truth that continues to illuminate all who seek the inner purpose of life and the universe.