History: The Chronology of Kabbalah

When we say - ''Kabbalah'' we usually mean - ''Kabbalah of the Ari, may his memory be blessed'' because this Kabbalah expands and details in the explanation of the Zohar and its study is itself evidence of its truth. This Kabbalah is based on the foundation of the holy Zohar and realized in the method of intentions of the holy Rashash.

These are the three great fountains of mysticism in their times:a) The initial revelation of the secrets of the Torah in the words of Rashbi to his students, written down by them (Rabbi Abba) and his students' students, and compiled in a book known to the sages of generations as ''the Midrash of Rashbi'', known today as ''the Zohar''; the initial revelation took place approximately 1,900 years ago. b) The comprehensive and detailed explanations of the holy Ari to his disciple Rabbi Chaim Vital, of blessed memory, in the wisdom of the hidden. The Ari of blessed memory passed away about 430 years ago. c) Conciseness and editing of the wisdom in the ''Prayer Books of Intentions'' for use by the geniuses of Kabbalah by the holy Rashash who died about 225 years ago. Thus the order is Rashbi in the Zohar, the Ari in the book Etz Chaim and the Eight Gates, and the Rashash in his notes (the Shemesh or Book of ''Amat V'Shalom'') on the book Etz Chaim, in his books ''Introduction to the River'' and the book ''Nachar Shalom'' and in his Prayer Books of Intentions.

These three pillars of the world, their memory for a blessing, are the most prominent in the chain of transmission of Kabbalistic knowledge, but they are neither the first links nor the last in this chain, and they are certainly not the only ones. The days of Kabbalah are as ancient as the days of the Torah that it comes to interpret, and surely Moses our teacher, peace be upon him, received the entirety of Pardes of the Torah on its various interpretations. According to tradition, the fathers knew the Torah (and Kabbalah in general) even before the giving of the Torah: orally passed down tradition attributes the ancient Kabbalistic exposition called ''Sefer Yetzirah'' to our father Abraham, peace be upon him, even though his name and subject matter are detailed in the last chapter there. ''Sifra Detzniuta'', a deep and foundational book in the Zohar, is attributed by some to our father Jacob.

However, in the days of our fathers and throughout the biblical period, the emphasis in the study of the hidden was different from today and the main reason for this was twofold:(a) The existence of the Temple and the sacrificial worship. Their existence elevated the world spiritually in a way we cannot equal today (and this is the main reason for mourning the destruction); in fact, we cannot even grasp the extent of the spiritual power of those generations. One indirect proof of this is the attitude of the nations towards the spiritual leadership of Israel at the time, the respect they had for them and the awe they felt before them (and this is not the place to expand). Accordingly, their service to Hashem was different in many details from ours.

(b) Prophecy - the uplifting spiritual influence flowed abundantly for this reason, the phenomenon of prophecy was widespread from the time of the fathers until sometime after the construction of the second Temple by Haggai the prophet, Ezra (some believe he is Malachi, the last prophet) and Nehemiah. The number of prophets that stood for Israel throughout generations was like 1,200,000 (!), twice as numerous as those who left Egypt. And this number includes only those who were purified enough to receive this prophetic influence; the number does not include all the trainees in prophecy who graduated in ''prophetic academies'' and later as apprentices of an active prophet but their personal work in self-improvement was not enough to elevate them to the desired level.

An example of Temple generation service: the Levite service: In the desert - their work was to carry the Tabernacle and its vessels; in the Temple - the Levite families were divided: some engaged in song and music on a tribune opposite the place of sacrifices, and others were charged with opening the Temple doors. There was spiritual depth to their work that is not known to us today. Thus the sages say, ''a singer who shaves is liable to death'' meaning if one of the musicians attempted to assist in closing the doors, he would be liable to death.

Why? Because he was not aware of the secrets of this work and the depth of the required intentions and his soul at its root did not match it. But the Temple doors, which were forty cubits high (the height of a six-story building), of pure gold, were opened by the priests specifically and the sound of opening in the early morning was heard as far as Jericho. May it be Hashem's will that we merit to witness and hear their sound and understand the depth of their intention. The immense spiritual abundance stemmed, among other things, from proximity to generations of spiritual giants such as the patriarchs and the holy tribes, and generations where there was a vast community of enthusiastic mitzvot keepers such as the generation that participated in the conquest of the land in the days of Joshua Bin Nun, etc.

Even when the spiritual reserve dwindled, a diminution that led to the physical destruction of the first Temple, there were still individuals who rose above their generation in their spiritual aspirations, with tangible self-refinement and remarkable dedication - able, with proper guidance, to reach heights such as prophecy. The most prominent example was the prophet Ezekiel: despite not being counted among the greatest prophets like Moses our teacher, peace be upon him, and Samuel the seer - he was granted the astounding revelation of the chariot and was even commanded to tell about it.

Not only that, but he was granted this revelation on impure soil, outside the Holy Land! There is an encouragement for a declining generation: an encouragement for us in our lowly level because everyone is judged according to their deeds and receives their rewards, also spiritually according to their deeds. As mentioned above, there were special study houses for prophecy in their time and the concept ''sons of prophets'' probably meaning disciples of prophecy, is encountered with the ascent of Elijah the prophet to heavens. Hundreds of years before, Saul was sent (before he was anointed to kingship) to prophesy with ''a band of prophets'', a group of young prophets prophesying with the inspiration of suitable music. Even in regular yeshivas, Kabbalah studies were held at the highest levels even though not in the format we know today.

Thus it is told of Rabbi Eliezer Ben Hurcanus, about a thousand years after Samuel and Saul, who expounded on Kabbalah before his master - Rabbi Yochanan Ben Zakkai. Before the exposition, Rib''z dismounted from his donkey, cloaked himself, and sat down. Meaning a special respect was taken for this type of study. We mentioned above that even the Gentiles paid respect to the Jewish sages. They understood the power of the Jewish sages in deciphering the hidden, in predicting the future, and understanding the ways of providence through hints such as dreams and more, the power of their blessings and more.

From here we have seen special conduct in several events. Most outstanding of all is the respect received by our father Abraham in the courts of Pharaoh and Abimelech, before the King of Sodom and Melchizedek King of Salem, and by the Hittites, the dwellers of Hebron (''You are a prince of Hashem among us''). The same happened to his son Isaac. And again to Joseph. Also, the cautious relationship of Pharaoh towards Moses and Aaron is astounding, considering he hesitated not to murder thousands of Israel. In the first exile, when Nebuchadnezzar King of Babylon exiled Jehoiachin King of Judah, he set upon his throne David Jehoiachin's. Metaniah (after he changed his name to Zedekiah); then he exiled with him the ones described in the scripture as the ''craftsman and locksmith'', the best of the people. In the word ''craftsmen'' the intention is to Kabbalists, wise craftsmen, because they are against the magicians of the Gentiles, the spirit of craftsmen, but from the side of holiness; in general, the term ''craftsman and locksmith'' refers to the entire layer of the wise people and perhaps also part of the nobility.

Apparently, he did so to prevent from the remaining ones forming a spiritual center around him that might result in a group initiating the use of their strength for the needs of a political revolt; in practice - it benefited the Jews because the exiled wise ones had time in the political exile in Babylon, not a military one, to organize there and lay the foundation for Jewish spiritual life during the few years until the destruction of the first Temple (to build mikvahs, study houses and synagogues, and also establish a community infrastructure that later absorbed the crushed exiles of the destruction). The Midrash also tells us about the special relationship awarded to Jeremiah the prophet by the Babylonians, who allowed him to decide whether to come to Babylon or stay in the land with the remaining remnant.

We should also note the special relationship Daniel received in the courts of Babylonian kings (and according to one opinion - also in the court of Persian kings afterward) and clearly as he received: he chose to subsist, for years, on seeds alone - to avoid defiling himself with non-Jewish cooking and foods forbidden according to the insights he reached, due in part to his meticulousness in dietary laws and thereby - purification of his body as a vessel for the elevated soul in the king’s court.

He was also willing to risk his life (again, according to the law of - ''be killed and do not transgress'') and not bow to the idol, even when threatened to be burned in a fiery furnace. Our lesson from him and from other great spirits is: acquiring knowledge alone is not sufficient; it is crucial to add deeds that lead to physical purification and purity, both physical and spiritual. According to Kabbalah, this is the purpose of the system of commandments we were commanded at Sinai: a precise and meticulous system of actions leading us through a meandering but certain path to spiritual heights; the only path leading there; a system created especially by the Creator of the universe to guide us to the desired goal. It is understood from this that without observing commandments, there is no great benefit in studying Kabbalah and it is impossible to reach the abilities to which the learners aspire. Without commandments - the study is barren!