The Beginning of the Revelation

The first broad exposition of the inner dimension of Torah was by the great Mishnaic sage, Rabbi Shimon Bar Yochai. Mentioned in nearly every chapter of the Mishnah,132 the famed Rabbi Shimon began teaching pnimiyus haTorah to a small circle of disciples after having merited to receive this hidden wisdom from Eliyahu HaNavi.133 Revealing the depths of Torah in an unparalleled, comprehensive manner, it is these teachings that are recorded in the Zohar.

Composed as a mystical Midrash on the Chumash, the Zohar was to become the first comprehensive composition of this holy tradition. While the Zohar may be a mere fraction of Rabbi Shimon’s teachings,134 it is this compilation of Rabbi Shimon and his students’ teachings that became the basis for the entire expansion of Kabbalistic teaching.

After Rabbi Shimon Bar Yochai, the Kabbalistic tradition continued throughout the following generations; however, it was extremely limited. Some of the sages of the Talmud were proficient in this knowledge,135 and the post-Talmudic Geonim penned several Kabbalistic epistles in cryptic form. Ultimately, all this was in no way comparable to the magnitude of the revelation in Rabbi Shimon’s times. In fact, even the manuscripts of the Zohar were mostly concealed, and only a select few had access to them. It would seem that the revelation caused by Rabbi Shimon Bar Yochai was just a small “break in the clouds,” where the bright light of the inner element of Torah peeked through.136

However, the Zohar’s concealment was not meant to be permanent. In fact, Eliyahu HaNavi, the harbinger of the future Redemption, foretold that the Zohar would eventually be revealed and appreciated as a preparation for the Redemption. In the words of Eliyahu to Rabbi Shimon Bar Yochai:

“When your composition will be revealed in future generations at the end of days, many people here on earth will be nourished by it; as a result, freedom will be called for the land.”137

Indeed, while manuscripts of the Zohar were mostly concealed for generations, only being publicized in the thirteenth century,138 it has since become a cornerstone of Torah scholarship. The teachings of Zohar have had tremendous influence in halachah, custom, and prayer across the spectrum of Jewish communities. In this manner, the “soul of the Torah” began shifting from the subconscious to the conscious.139

The Various Schools of Kabbalah

In the days of the Rishonim,140 several systems of focus among the sages involved in the mystical element of Torah emerged. This ultimately developed into defined paths, or “schools” of Kabbalah. While some focused on the theo-philosophical implication of Kabbalah, others centered their teachings on the nature of the various Divine Names and their functions.141

The terms Kabbalah iyunis, “contemplative Kabbalah,” and Kabbalah ma’asis, “practical Kabbalah,” are also employed to describe the various themes of Kabbalistic application that became the focus of specific communities and sages.

The distinction between these two approaches can be explained as follows:

Kabbalah iyunis brings the student to an awareness of the Divine via intellectual and meditative techniques. This results in the student’s focused dedication in the service of G‑d. Contrastingly, the study of Kabbalah ma’asis highlights the spiritual forces that enliven existence. This knowledge enables one to affect and alter the course of nature via Kabbalistic techniques.

Eventually, opposition grew towards the dissemination of Kabbalah ma’asis. Many felt that such teachings should be concealed out of concern that they would fall into the wrong hands and be exploited for their “magical” powers. Moreover, perhaps we are not worthy of such direct revelation, given our demoted stature in the age of Exile.142

What initially began as opposition to “practical Kabbalah” soon manifested itself as a stance against the study of all forms of Kabbalah, including Kabbalah iyunis.143 Amid the ­gradual ­emergence of Kabbalah, significant segments of the Jewish world grew suspicious of Kabbalah as a whole. Consequently, only the greatest sages of the time continued to privately delve into Kabbalah and its study was largely limited to the elite.

The Golden Age of Kabbalah

A significant advancement in the revelation of the Torah’s inner depths was made in the generations following the Jewish expulsion from Spain in 5252/1492.144 With the substantial migration of the Jewish population, it was a the beginning of the sixteenth century that many great sages settled in the Holy Land’s northern city of Tzfas.145

Among these Torah luminaries were many Kabbalists, including Rabbi Shlomo Alkabetz, Rabbi Moshe Alshich, the author of Shulchan Aruch – Rabbi Yosef Caro, Rabbi Moshe Cordovero, the Arizal, Rabbi Chaim Vital, and many more.

During this time period, several of the most monumental works of Kabbalah were composed. Among them is the Pardes Rimonim authored by the Ramak, Rabbi Moshe Cordovero. This encyclopedic volume engages in the systematization and reconciliation of seemingly disparate teachings in Kabbalah, greatly enhancing Kabbalah’s accessibility and lucidity. Organizing the precepts of Kabbalah into an almost philosophical structure, the Ramak clarified and elucidated the vastness of Kabbalistic wisdom, while exhibiting its basis in the Zohar.146

The most revolutionary contribution to the revelation of Kabbalah was made by the Arizal, Rabbi Yitzchak Luria.147 Succeeding the Ramak as the city’s primary teacher of Kabbalah, the Arizal taught pnimiyus haTorah in a truly innovative fashion.

Although the Arizal did study under the tutelage of the Ramak, he also merited tremendous revelation when Eliyahu HaNavi taught him many primary ideas of Kabbalah that were previously unknown.148 These teachings gave Kabbalah both added profundity and important relevance. It was in the Arizal’s teachings that the full scope and purpose of Kabbalah were exposed.149

Significantly, the Arizal provided specific applications of Kabbalah in everyday life. These instructions were broadly received, and many of them were incorporated within the codes of halachah.

Notably, among the most well-known contributions of the Arizal to the wisdom of Kabbalah is the precept of Tikkun, rectification.150 Giving tremendous insight into the scheme of the spiritual worlds and Sefiros, this idea also has many implications for the day-to-day service of G‑d. It is therefore the Arizal who is credited with revealing the rehabilitating effect of Kabbalah in the healing of the world.151

Another significant result of the Arizal’s novel teachings is that it unlocked much of the Zohar, which until that point was yet to be deciphered and understood. Moreover, with the advent of the Arizal’s teachings and the resulting revelation of pnimiyus haTorah, the Zohar began to have more of a permeating and nourishing effect on the Jewish People.

Just as physical nourishment is only accomplished when the body actually eats and digests the food, so too spiritual nourishment is achieved when the appropriate soulful nutrition is internalized. In the same way the body is not satiated from the mere sight or taste of food, it is when the soul of Torah is internalized and understood that the student is nourished from its teachings.152

Thus began the realization of Eliyahu HaNavi’s prophetic words that “in the future generations many people will be nourished by teachings of the Zohar.”153 This statement emphasizes the nourishing effect of the Zohar’s teachings, not its simple publicization. It was the broad elucidation of pnimiyus haTorah following the Arizal that allowed the masses to be nourished by the teachings of the Zohar, thus hastening the promised liberation from Exile.154