The Soul's Emanation

When we say 'Kabbalah', we generally mean 'Kabbalah of the Ari, of blessed memory', as this Kabbalah expands and elaborates on the Zohar, and its study upholds its truth with great depth. This Kabbalah is based on the foundations of the holy Zohar and is synthesized in the method of intentions by the holy Rashash.

These are the three main fountains of the mystic tradition in their periodsA) The beginning of the revelation of the Torah's secrets in the words of Rabbi Shimon bar Yochai to his students, transcribed by them (Rabbi Abba) and the students of his students, compiled in what sages of generations called 'the Midrash of Rabbi Shimon' and known today as 'the Book of the Zohar'; the beginning of the revelation about nineteen hundred years ago. B) The comprehensive and detailed commentaries of the holy Ari to his student Rabbi Chaim Vital, of blessed memory, in the wisdom of the hidden. The Ari, of blessed memory, passed away about four hundred and thirty years ago. C) The concise condensation of wisdom and its arrangement in 'siddur of intentions' for the use of the geniuses of Kabbalah by the holy Rashash who passed away about two hundred and twenty-five years ago. This is the order, then - Rabbi Shimon bar Yochai in the Zohar, the Ari in the book Etz Chaim ('The Tree of Life') and the eight gates, and the Rashash in his glosses (Shaarei Shalom or the book 'Emet VeShalom') on Etz Chaim, in his books 'Introduction to Rechovot Hanahar' and the book 'Nahar Shalom', and in his siddurim of intentions.

 These three pillars of the world, of blessed memory, are the most prominent in the chain of transmission of Kabbalistic knowledge, but they are neither the first nor the last links in this chain, and certainly not the only ones. The days of the Kabbalah are as ancient as the days of the Torah which it comes to interpret, and certainly Moses our teacher, peace be upon him, received the entirety of the Torah's orchard with its various interpretations. According to tradition, the patriarchs knew the Torah (and the Kabbalah in general) even before it was given: the oral tradition attributes the ancient Kabbalistic treatise called 'Sefer Yetzirah' to Abraham our patriarch, peace be upon him, although its name and substance are detailed in the last chapter there. 'The Book of Concealment', a deep and fundamental book in the Zohar, is attributed by some to Jacob our patriarch.

 Indeed, in the days of our patriarchs and throughout much of the biblical period, the emphasis on the study of the hidden was different than in our days and the main reason for this was dual:(a) The existence of the Temple and the sacrificial service. Their existence elevated the world spiritually to levels we cannot match today (and this is the main reason for mourning the destruction); in fact, we cannot even grasp the full extent of the spiritual power of those generations. Indirect evidence of this is the attitude of the nations toward Israel's spiritual leadership at the time, the respect they had for them, and the awe they felt in their presence (this is not the place to expand). Therefore, their service to Hashem was different in many details from ours.

 (b) Prophecy - the elevated spiritual influence flowed abundantly, and for this reason, prophecy was widespread from the patriarchs to a time after the building of the Second Temple by Haggai the prophet, Ezra (some say he was Malachi the last prophet), and Nehemiah. Over the generations, there were about a million two hundred thousand prophets (!), double those who left Egypt. This number includes only those who purified themselves to receive this prophetic flow; it does not include all the students in the prophetic schools who trained under active prophets but did not reach the desired level for various reasons.

 An example from the Temple generation: the Levite service: In the wilderness, their service involved carrying the tabernacle and its implements; in the Temple - the Levite families were divided: some engaged in singing and playing instruments on a platform opposite the place of sacrifice, and some were appointed to open the doors in the Temple. Their service had a spiritual depth unknown to us today. Thus, the sages say that if 'a singer shaved, he is liable to death'. This meant that if one of the musicians tried to assist in closing the doors, he would be liable to death.

 Why? Because he was not aware of the secrets of this service and the depth of the required intentions, and his soul at its root did not match it. But the doors of the sanctuary, forty cubits high (like a six-story building) made of pure gold, were opened by the priests specifically, and the sound of the opening in the morning could be heard all the way to Jericho. May it be our will to witness them and hear their sound and understand their deep intentions. The great spiritual abundance flowed, among other things, from proximity to generations of great spiritual giants such as the patriarchs and the holy tribes, and to generations where there was a large enthusiastic community of commandment keepers like the generation that took part in the conquest of the land in the days of Joshua bin Nun, etc.

 Even when the spiritual reservoir shrank, leading to the physical destruction of the First Temple, individuals who rose above their generation in their spiritual ambition, actual self-purification, and remarkable self-sacrifice, could, with proper guidance, reach heights such as prophecy. The most prominent example was Ezekiel the prophet: Although he is not counted among the greatest prophets like Moses our teacher and Samuel the seer, he was privileged with the astounding revelation of the 'Chariot Vision' and even commanded to tell it.

  Not only that, but he achieved this on impure land, outside the holy land! This serves as encouragement for a lowly generation, encouragement for us at our lowly level because each person is judged based on their deeds and receives their reward, including spiritual, according to their actions. As mentioned earlier, there were special seminaries for prophecy in their time, and we probably encounter the concept of 'sons of the prophets' in the sense of students of prophecy with the ascension of Elijah the prophet into heaven in a whirlwind. Hundreds of years beforehand, Saul (before he was anointed king) was sent to prophesy with a 'band of prophets', a group of young prophets inspired by suitable music. In regular yeshivas there were high-level Kabbalah studies, though probably not in the same format as we know today.

Thus, it is told of Rabbi Eliezer ben Hyrcanus, about a thousand years after Samuel and Saul, who expounded on Kabbalah before his teacher, Rabbi Yochanan ben Zakkai. Before the discourse, Rabbi Yochanan ben Zakkai descended from his donkey, wrapped himself, and sat down. This indicates a special respect was shown for this type of study. We mentioned earlier that even non-Jews extended respect to Jewish scholars. They understood the power of Jewish scholars in deciphering the hidden, predicting the future, understanding divine management through hints such as dreams, and the power of their blessings, among others.

From here, we see a special conduct in several events. Most notable is the respect given to Abraham our patriarch in the courts of Pharaoh and Abimelech, in the presence of the King of Sodom and Melchizedek King of Salem, and by the Hittites, the inhabitants of Hebron ('You are a prince of God in our midst'). The same happened to Isaac his son, and again to Joseph. Pharaoh's cautious regard for Moses and Aaron is also astounding, considering he killed tens of thousands of Israelites without hesitation. In the first exile when Nebuchadnezzar King of Babylon exiled Jehoiachin King of Judah, he placed on his throne Jehoiachin's uncle Mattaniah (after changing his name to Zedekiah); then he exiled with him those described in the scriptures as 'the artisans and the enclosers', that is, the best of the people. The term 'artisan' refers to Kabbalistic sages skilled in interpreting through divine insight, the opposite of sorcerers from the non-Jewish nations, but on the side of holiness. Generally, the term 'artisans and enclosers' refers to the entire stratum of the learned and possibly some of the nobility.

Apparently, he did so to prevent the remaining Jews from forming a spiritual center from which a group might arise to use their power for political rebellion; in practice, this benefitted the Jewish people as the sages exiled to Babylon were able to organize and establish a foundation for Jewish spiritual life during the few years until the First Temple's destruction (building ritual baths, schools, and synagogues, and creating a community infrastructure to later absorb the uprooted exiles). Midrash also tells us about the special respect that Jeremiah the prophet received from the Babylonians, allowing him to decide whether to come to Babylon or remain in the land with the remaining survivors.

It is also noteworthy the special respect Daniel received in the courts of the Babylonian kings (and according to one opinion - also in the courts of the Persian kings later) and what he was recognized for: he chose to sustain himself for years on seeds alone, to avoid defiling himself with non-Jewish cooking and foods prohibited by the insight he had reached, partly due to his dietary precision through which he purified his body as a vessel for the elevated soul. In the king's palace.

He was also prepared to sacrifice his life (again, according to the rule of 'being killed rather than violating') rather than bow to an idol, even when threatened with being burned in a fiery furnace. Our lesson from him and other great spirits is: acquiring knowledge is not enough; it is essential to add actions that will lead to bodily purification and both physical and spiritual purity. According to Kabbalah, this is the purpose of the system of commandments given to us at Sinai: a precise and elaborate system of actions leading us on the winding but sure path to spiritual heights; the only path leading there; a system specifically created by the Creator of the world to guide us to the desired goal. It is understood from here that without observing commandments, there is not much benefit in studying Kabbalah, and it is impossible to reach the capabilities to which students aspire. Without commandments, the learning is barren!