Baal HaSulam: biography, works, quotes

2024 Author: Leah Sherlock | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 05:25

Yehuda Leib Alevi Ashlag, better known as Baal HaSulam, is considered one of the greatest enlighteners of Kabbalistic ideas of the last century. He received his second and more world-famous name, which stands for "Master of the Ladder", after the publication of his commentary "Sulam" (Ladder) on the book of The Zohar.

The beginning of the path of the great philosopher

He was born in Warsaw (Poland) in 1884. From the very beginning, he chose the path of religious enlightenment: by the age of 19, Baal HaSulam became a rabbi, that is, he received an academic title that allows him to interpret Jewish law. He joined human rights activists, having worked as a judge for 16 years, while teaching young rabbis his craft. However, Baal HaSulam was attracted by the religious and ethical side of Judaism, the philosopher soon plunged into the interpretation and rethinking of the teachings of Kabbalah, which became his life's work.

Outreach activities in Jerusalem

His first spiritual teacher was Meir Rabinovich, later Baal HaSulam studied with his son, Rabbi Yoshua. The result of his enlightenment was a move toThe old city of Jerusalem in 1921. Then the rabbi was already quite famous for his interpretations of Kabbalah, and in 1922 a circle of students formed around the philosopher, with whom they studied it together. Baal HaSulam did not abandon his academic studies either, researching the issues of Judaism in the yeshiva (Jewish analogue of the seminary) "Chayei Olam".

First publications

Several years (1926-1928) he spent in London. It was during that period that his commentaries “Panim Meirot” and “Panim Masbirot” on the book “The Tree of Life” (“Etz Chaim”) by the then-famous Kabbalist Yitzhak Luria were published. During his departure, the philosopher kept in touch with his students, conducting an active correspondence, which in 1985 would also be published under the title “The Fruits of Wisdom. Letters.”

Last works of a Kabbalist

On his return to Palestine, he actively engaged in writing and educational activities. In 1933, Sulam began writing his main work, The Teaching of the Ten Sefirot, which lasted for about twenty years. Shortly after the publication of his work, in 1954, the philosopher passed away. The Kabbalist is buried on Har ha-Menuhot (Mountain of Rest). This is a cemetery located at the entrance to Jerusalem.

Legacy

In total, 30 books of Baal HaSulam were published. Thanks to his work, he received the status of the founder of the modern doctrine of Kabbalah. Yehuda described the practical application of this religious direction, in the course ofwhich a person will be able to know himself and the depth of the world around him. According to his ideas, Kabbalah can become the basis for the ethical and political transformation of society. The main idea of the teachings of Baal HaSulam can be described as follows: God is absolute goodness, who gives everything and takes nothing in return. By following His will, we can overcome our desire to receive something by learning to bring something back into the world. This way we can become good in nature.

Philosophical and religious reflections on the essence of man

The philosopher tried to convey this idea to the general public as much as possible. Most of his articles ("The World", "One Law", "Free Will") are intended for readers who are just beginning to study Kabbalah. In them, the author discusses self-knowledge and what depth his teaching can bring to this process. So, in "Freedom of Will" Baal HaSulam speaks about the measure of freedom, about how correctly we interpret the concept itself. He believes that a person is initially free only up to a certain limit, God controls him. Only by understanding what he can influence and what he cannot change initially, a person will be able to gain freedom. “Our life is between pleasure and pain,” says the philosopher. We cannot avoid suffering when we see a distant goal and know that these are forced measures. It is even more difficult for us to refuse any pleasures. Sulam comes to the conclusion that a person cannot change his essence, but he can change the environment.

In his article "Body and Soul" Yehuda describes the attitude of the Kabbalistic teaching to various theories about the essence of man. The doctrine excludes the construction of any theories and claims that everything around and the person himself is the result of feeling his five senses. Everything that the individual passes through himself is called the term "revealed", that is, something already conscious. Everything that a person can still discover for himself, the Kabbalist calls “hidden”, potential. One way to know this "hidden" knowledge is to discover it through the sixth sense. Sulam concludes that Kabbalah is a practical guide for cultivating the sixth sense in oneself.

The ideological basis of Kabbalistic teachings

The next step in his teaching after a person has reached the required level of self-knowledge is direct acquaintance with what Kabbalah offers. Sulam described the ideology and application of the teachings in such his works: “The Science of Kabbalah and Its Essence”, “Comparative Analysis of Kabbalah and Philosophy”, “The Science of Kabbalah and Modern Sciences” and others. In them, he describes ways to achieve the main goal of the entire teaching - the personification of the Higher power.

Yehuda believed that there were two ways to achieve this desire. The first involves a descent from top to bottom to our world, from the knowledge of the Higher power to its disclosure around us. This path was called the "descent of the worlds" or "sefirot". Another option involves a gradual ascent along the same spiritual ladder from the realities of our world to the highest divine goodness, and Kabbalists called it “comprehension of the Higher Power.”

All these reflections are more fully described in his fundamental textbook "The Teaching of the Ten Sefirot". In it, Sulam describes the whole process of working on one's spiritual beginning, changing one's nature by approaching the Creator. Some quotes from Baal HaSulam, in which he talks about exactly how internal changes should occur, are:

It is necessary to destroy the iron wall that separates us from the science of Kabbalah by its existence.

You need to correct your nature from selfish to altruistic.

Baal HaSulam and The Zohar

What was the most important? Baal HaSulam's main work is considered to be his commentary on the book Sefer ha-Zoar ("The Book of Radiance"). This work is revered by Kabbalists as sacred and is taken as the basis of all teaching. It is a commentary on the Pentateuch of Moses, in which three learned men discuss among themselves ambiguous passages in Holy Scripture. The book expresses the principle of the unity of being, the merging of good and evil into single attributes of the Higher Power, arguing, however, that the latter will absolutely disappear as soon as the world reaches a blissful future.

Certainly, a complex ancient and semi-mystical religious text could not be understood by a simple public and needed to be interpreted. Zohar Baal HaSulam's comments are the most popular.

In the first parts of his explanation, the author talks about the purpose of the "Book of Radiance", arguing that it is in it that the essence is revealedrelationship between man and the universe. According to Kabbalists, the soul of any person is a particle of the creator. This means that there are no differences in their basis, except that the Creator is something whole, and man is a part of this whole. It is in the Zohar that it is described how to move from a state of fragmentation to spiritual integrity. As part of the so-called "research" in the commentary-preface, the Kabbalist briefly outlines the essence of each chapter of the Zohar, describing what philosophical questions each of them hides. Thus, the book raises the following questions:

• connection of evil and the will of the Creator;
• essence of resurrection of the dead;
• relationship of spiritual worlds;
• the purpose of creating creations.

In his preface, the author successively explains each of these aspects, and in the conclusion article he sums up the result that a person should come to after merging with the Creator.

The consistency, depth and at the same time simplicity of thoughts that Yehuda expounds made him the main modern teacher of ancient Jewish teaching, perpetuating his works in history. However, it attracts the interest of not only the followers of Kabbalah, but also people interested in finding alternative ways of spiritual knowledge, many of them are not of Jewish origin. So, at one time, the singer Madonna went on a pilgrimage to the mausoleum of the famous philosopher.