Souls descend to the physical bodies according to a fixed and predetermined order. They return to this world each time in a new body. The physical characteristics of each generation are similar to the one that precedes it, but the souls of each generation come to the world with an accumulated experience of all the previous generations. They have new powers that they acquired during their stay ‘up there’.
That is why in each generation there is a series of desires, goals in life, that characterize a generation. In each generation souls with new potential desires descend. The desires determine how the science, culture, art and social relationships of that generation will evolve.
Everything is determined from above, even before the souls descend to this world and determine the direction of the development of that generation. Looking at the attributes of the souls that descend to the world, it is possible to predict all the details of development of a certain generation, including all the important events that will occur to the very last detail, because the spiritual data in the souls, includes everything within it to begin with!
Even if a certain generation does not develop the desire to discover the actual reality - the Creator, it still makes certain progress in that direction, when it suffers pain and torments that are sent to it by the Creator. Thus, each generation accumulates experience in relating to its egoism, and as a result, begins to feel that pain. But at that point, it is still unconscious pain, because the actual reason for it, which stems from our egoistic nature, is as yet not grasped.
Eventually, the accumulated memory of the torment of all generations will bring about the understanding that we receive only benevolence from above. When we feel that benevolence through our egoistic vessels only, we will feel it as absolute evil! The evolution of the generations will bring us to the attainment of the actual reality.
A different kind of souls descend during each historic era, because they need a different kind of providence. They need providence that will suit the type of souls that are currently in the world.
That is why in each generation there are people who lead us to spiritual advancement. They write books, set up groups of disciples, all in order to convey to us the method by which to reveal and attain the actual reality, that would best suit the present type of souls.
In his “Preface to the Zohar”, Baal HaSulam writes that over a period of six thousand years, souls descend to this world. In each generation the souls are characterized by worse and coarser qualities.
Each generation demands its own correction. During the first two millenniums, the souls that descended were indeed so pure, that they didn’t even need the Torah in order to fulfill their part. They evolved in this world without any need for a means to reveal and attain spirituality. It was a time of gaining experience and torment in the world. The very fact that they existed in this world was enough for them to advance toward the spiritual correction. The accumulated pain pushed the souls to exit from that painful situation. The driving force in human development is in fact, the desire to be freed from pain.
Over the next two millenniums, they needed only the revealed Torah and the physical observation of Mitzvot, for their spiritual evolution.
They related to the Mitzvot as acts that are concerned with this physical world. The mechanic observation of Mitzvot was enough for them in order to be purified and advance toward correction.
But the attainment of the goal of the souls does not end here. The number of the souls is limited: there are 600,000 souls. Each time, the souls descend to the world in order to perform yet another spiritual advancement.
When we refer to a soul as coarse or not coarse, we relate to the length of time that remains before it attains the end of correction. A soul that needs greater correction is regarded as coarser.
The era of the descent of the souls lasted until the 16th century, and ended when the ARI wrote that from his time on, not only is the study of the Kabbalah desirable, but it is a must for everyone: men, women and children of all nations.
It is explained that the souls have reached a certain degree of evolution, so that each soul, using the unique system that the ARI developed, will be able to attain complete attainment of reality, the attainment of the source of light and its own end of correction. Thus, each soul would be able to attain the purpose for which it came down to this world, to fulfill its destiny in this world.
That condition alone, necessitates the attainment of the actual reality, that the wisdom of Kabbalah enables. That attainment will only be when the whole of mankind finds the laws of the actual structure of the world, their origin, at which time, torment and pain will vanish from this world.
When we realize how reality affects us, and how we relate to it, we will stop corrupting what we mustn’t; we will not miss out on opportunities to do what must be done, and all our actions will be conscious and correct – in accordance with the law of the universe. Then this world and the world we will discover, will coexist in complete harmony.
But in the meantime we can only do wrong. Only in retrospect can we see that we have corrupted rather than corrected. Today, we have no way of refraining from erring. Humanity is at a dead-end and storming on, inflicting more and more pain and harm.
Our pain will continue to increase, until finally the whole of mankind realizes that there is but one way – the way of spiritual growth. We must realize this; we have no other alternative, but to begin studying the laws of the upper world, to try and understand them, because we are an inseparable part of it.
This understanding will dramatically change our situation, and make us attain higher spiritual degrees. We will begin to act consciously, from a broader perspective, grasp the final goal and begin to work together, and not as individuals who care for no one but themselves.