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Two Roads Divide in the Exile's Woods -- By Double Entendre The authors of the Mishnah, the Gemarah, and the rest of the writings of our sages provided the exiled people of Israel with guidance on both the spiritual and the physical levels. The writings narrate spiritual states, but are as readily perceived as physical commandments. The Kabbalists Kept the High Road While We Took the Low Road Because the laws that our sages instructed originated from spiritual laws, they were applicable in physical life, just as Israel had applied them prior to the ruin of the Temple. In this way, Jews maintained some level of connection with the spiritual level of the past, albeit without the actual attainment of the source and origin of the laws. Most Jews focused on maintaining a connection with spirituality on the level instructed to them by the sages of the Mishnah and the Gemarah. However there were always exceptional ones who could not settle for blind observance of commandments. Driven like Abraham to discover the Creator, their unquenched points in the heart brought them to the deepest of all studies, the wisdom of Kabbalah. Around the ruin of the Second Temple, the Mishnah and The Zohar were composed. The former, with the Bible, became the foundation of virtually all Jewish wisdom from that day on, while The Zohar, was concealed soon after its writing. It remained hidden for over a thousand years, until it appeared in the hands of Rabbi Moses de Leon. And Theirs Be the Path to Redemption Before Us Alongside the growing predominance of Lurianic Kabbalah, increasing numbers of Kabbalists felt the time was ripe to disclose the method by which the world would achieve its final correction. Kabbalist Rabbi Abraham Azulai wrote in Light of the Sun: "The prohibition from Above to refrain from open study of the wisdom of truth [Kabbalah] was for a limited period, until the end of 1490. Thereafter, it is considered the last generation... And since the year 1540, it has been a great Mitzva (commandment, good deed, correction) for the masses to study, old and young. And since the Messiah is bound to come as a result, and for no other reason, it is inappropriate to be negligent." Chaim Vital wrote in his introduction to Tree of Life: "Woe unto the people from the affront of the Torah. They do not engage in the wisdom of Kabbalah, which honors the Torah, for they prolong the exile and all the afflictions that are about to come to the world." In the centuries that followed, numerous authorities stated that the study of Kabbalah was vital for our redemption, and even for the survival of our nation. In the 1700s, The Vilna Gaon (GRA), wrote explicitly: "Redemption depends on the study of Kabbalah." In the 1800s, the Rabbi of Komarno wrote: "If my people heeded me in this generation, when heresy prevails, they would delve in the study of The Book of Zohar and the Tikkunim [Corrections], contemplating them with nine-year-old infants." In the 1900s, Rav Isaac HaCohen Kook, later first Chief Rabbi of Israel, openly called for the study of Kabbalah and return of the Jews to the land of Israel. In Orot (Lights), he wrote: "The secrets of Torah bring the redemption; they bring Israel back to its land." And now I would like to invite you to receive FREE Instant Access to Like A Bundle of Reeds: A must-Read book on what it means to be Jewish today. You can access this FREE eBook anytime at: http://www.BundleofReeds.com
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