Around the time of the last exile, in the 2nd century CE, The Book of Zohar was written by Rabbi Shimon Bar Yochai and his disciples. The book describes both the correction method, and everything that one who achieves balance with Nature will experience. It also reveals every state that humanity will experience until the final correction of the ego. However, it uses intimations and allegories to do so.
It should be pointed out that even though The Book of Zohar was written before the people went into exile, it states that this book will be discovered only at the end of the exile. That is, its arrival will bring with it the end of the spiritual exile: “…because Israel is destined to taste from the Tree of Life, which is this book of Zohar, in which they will come out of the exile with mercy” (The Book of Zohar, Parashat Naso, item 90).
The Zohar also writes that toward the end of a 6,000 year period allotted to the correction of the ego, the book will be revealed to all of humanity: “When it is near the days of the Messiah, even infants in the world are destined to find the secrets of the wisdom, and to know in them the ends and the calculations of redemption. And at that time it will be revealed to all.” (The Book of Zohar, Parashat VaYira, item 460).
Thus, immediately after it was written, The Book of Zohar was concealed. The next time the book appeared was in 13th century Spain. Then, in the 16th century, about 1,400 years after the writing of the Zohar, the Ari (Rabbi Isaac Luria) appeared in Zephath, a city of Kabbalists in the north of Israel. In a systematic, scientific language he revealed the Zohar’s correction method. He also described in great detail the phases of the correction of the ego, leading to balance with the comprehensive Nature. His writings contain depictions of the structure of the Higher World, and explain how one can be admitted into that dimension of reality and live within it.
However, since the ego had not yet fully manifested its power during the Ari’s lifetime, only few could understand him. This is because keener perception arrives when the ego is more evolved.
As the end of the correction period arrives, it brings with it the final level of egoism. And with this come the crises that create the necessity of the method to correct the ego. Today, many already need the full correction method, and they can grasp what very few could grasp in the past. This is why the complete method of correction has now been exposed.
Baal HaSulam (1884-1954) interpreted The Book of Zohar and the writings of the Ari so that each of us would be able to understand them. In “The Teaching of the Kabbalah and Its Essence,” he wrote, “I am happy to have been born in such a generation when it is already permitted to publicize the wisdom of truth. And if you ask me, ‘How do I know that it is permitted?’ I shall reply that it is because I was given permission to disclose.”
Baal HaSulam’s primary compositions are The Sulam Commentary on The Book of Zohar, in which he translated the Zohar from Aramaic to Hebrew, and interpreted the words of the Zohar. He also wrote The Study of the Ten Sefirot, in which he described the writings of the Ari.
In addition to these enormous works, Baal HaSulam wrote many essays that clarify how to establish a human society that is balanced with Nature. He explained he was able to do so in response to that generation’s need for a clear, systematic method to correct the ego.
“My whole merit in the way of the disclosure of the wisdom is because of my generation” (“The Teaching of the Kabbalah and Its Essence”).
As Kabbalists predicted, the end of the 20th century saw the beginning of a new era in human evolution. Now, masses of people have become drawn to Kabbalah. Back in the 18th century, the Vilna Gaon pointed to 1990 as the year when the process of mass correction would begin, as it was written in his book, Kol haTor (Voice of the Turtledove). Baal HaSulam named the year 1995 in a conversation with disciples in 1945.
It is no coincidence that interest in Kabbalah is unfolding in this manner. Kabbalists explain that if we wait until the end of the 6,000 years without progress in correcting our egos by ourselves, we will suffer tremendously, the majority of the world population will be extinct through horrendous wars, and the few survivors will still have to carry out Nature’s plan.
In the writings of the last generation, Baal HaSulam explains that, “the Creator eventuated and gave humanity technology, until they have invented the atom and the hydrogen bombs. If the total ruin that they are destined to bring is still not evident to the world, they can wait for a third world war, or a fourth one and so on. The bombs will do their thing and the relics after the ruin will have no other choice but to take upon themselves this work.”
In other words, if we say,“Que sera sera,” and simply sit by without acting, Nature will force us to correct through dreadful pains within the framework of the remaining 233 years until the end of the 6,000 years. This painful process is called “in its time,” meaning “in the time allotted.”
But the suffering will intensify and increase until each moment seems like an eternity, as time is a psychological matter. In fact, we can already feel that our lives are getting increasingly harder, and this is just the beginning.
However, in the path of correction, there is no time limit. Just as Kabbalists throughout time achieved balance with Nature, anyone today can do the same and experience the same perfection and eternity. This path is called, “I will hasten it,” because it accelerates time. One way or the other, we must all achieve balance with Nature, and even death is no escape from the mandatory correction process.
The choice between the two paths depends on our awareness, which will evolve either through suffering or through scrutiny. Evolution through scrutiny can be done using the wisdom of Kabbalah, which describes our situation, explains where we should reach, and provides the means to get there. Thus, it is possible that humanity will experience 233 years of unbearable torment as is described about the days of the Messiah in the Kabbalah books. Or this can be done in a much shorter time in boundless elation. At this crossroads, Israel’s role is critical.