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The Great Commentator

Born in 1884 in Warsaw, Poland, Baal HaSulam studied Kabbalah with the Rabbi Yehoshua of Porsov, and absorbed written and oral law. He became a judge and teacher in Warsaw as early as the age of 19. In 1921, he immigrated to Israel (then called Palestine) with his family (including his first-born son, Baruch, who later succeeded him) and became the rabbi of Givat Shaul in Jerusalem. While writing many other important works, such as The Study of the Ten Sefirot, he also began The Sulam Commentary on The Zohar in 1943. He finished just 10 years later, in 1953. He died the following year and is buried in Jerusalem. Baal HaSulam is the only one who succeeded in composing complete (and updated) commentaries of The Zohar and the writings of the Ari since they were first written. His books allow Kabbalists to study ancient texts in modern language and are indispensable tools for those who aspire to achieve spirituality. In his article “Time to Act,” Baal HaSulam explains that before the printing press, when scribes were in vogue, no one would bother bending their back to copy a book with wild claims; it wouldn’t be worth the time, expense, and candle wax. As bookmaking advanced, theories and connections to Kabbalah were enhanced by authors, which were easily published. With many people trying to define it, an atmosphere of frivolity developed around Kabbalah. Therefore, Ashlag’s goal in his writing was to reveal what he could of its true essence. In his “Introduction to The Book of Zohar,” Ashlag says that he must write Kabbalah books because every generation has its own needs, and therefore its own books. Our generation, too, requires books that we can all understand. Since the books of the Ari were written hundreds of years ago, and The Book of Zohar was written almost 2,000 years ago, he has taken it on himself to interpret them for us. This way, we can come to know what these ancient Kabbalists knew, and experience the spiritual worlds for ourselves.