Rabbi
Yehudah Ashlag [1A],
Revealing One Grain [of Truth] and Concealing Two. With
“Notes and Commentaries” by Rav Avraham Mordechai Gottlieb [1B]
Usually, this comes from the lips of great men of renown: at the places where they come to reveal certain deep truth, they begin their speech like this: “Behold I am revealing one grain [of truth] and concealing two” [62]. For our predecessors were very careful not to say too much in accordance with how [our sages] of blessed memory taught us (Babylonian Talmud, tractate Megilah, p. 18A, and also the Preface to Zohar with Sulam commentary [1A], §18]): “A word is worth a Sela [literally “word in Sela”] [63], and silence is twice [as expensive]". Explanation. If you have a precious word on your lips, the value of which is equal to a Sela [63], then know that silence is comparatively worth two Selas. This is referring to those who throw around superfluous words that have no meaning and practical use, with no other purpose than to improve the language for the sake of pleasing the reader. And this was, in the eyes of our predecessors, strictly forbidden, which is well known to those who carefully study their words, and as will be proved by me in subsequent brochures. And if so, then we must focus on understanding the meaning of these expressive words that they were accustomed to say.
Three
Kinds of Concealing the Wisdom
The fact is that there are three parts to the secrets of the Тоrah, for each of [these] parts without exception has its own special reason to conceal what is contained in it, and they are called by the following names: 1) not necessary, 2) impossible, 3) the secret of haShem is with those who revere Him [75]. And you will not find in this wisdom a smallest detail, that explanations from these three parts [of the secrets of the Torah] do not apply, and I will explain each of them in turn.
1) Not Necessary
Explanation.
For you will not gain any benefit by revealing [these
secrets]. And naturally, it doesn't do too much harm; for the matter here concerns
only the purity of intention — specifically, the need to avoid those kinds of
actions that are defined by the words "what's wrong with this"; that
is, what's wrong with the fact that I did it, because it did not cause any
harm. And know that [an act like] “what’s wrong with this” is considered in the
eyes of the sages the most dangerous of all destructive acts, for all the
destroyers of the world [78] that have already been and will be created are
none other than a category of people [performing acts] like “what’s wrong with
this”, that is, those who themselves are occupied in and occupy others with
things that are not needed. Therefore, the sages did not accept a single
disciple before they were certain that he would be cautious in his actions so
as not to reveal anything unnecessary.
2) Impossible
Explanation. This means that language is unable to express any content [of the secrets of the Тоrah] with their great subtlety and Spirituality. And therefore, all attempts to clothe [the secrets of the Тоrah] with words only mislead readers and point them to the wrong path, and this is considered an unbearable sin. And because of that, in order to reveal anything of these [secrets], authorization from Heaven is needed, which is the second part of concealing the Wisdom; however, what this permission is also requires explanation.
Authorization from Heaven
This concept
is explained in Arizal’s [22]
book Shaar Maamrei Rashbi (“Portal of sayings of Rabbi Shimon bar Yochai”) [81],
in the commentary on the book of Zohar to the
weekly reading Mishpatim (folio
100, beginning from the words “Yochai’s son knew how to conceal”) [82],
beginning of the quote: Know that among the souls of the righteous there are
those on the level of Or Makif (surrounding Light) [19], and there are those on the level of Or Pnimi
(inner Light) [19]; you will find an
explanation of these concepts in my book Panim Meirot [83] in the portal
haMakifin (surrounding ones), branch 48). And all those who are on the side
of Or Makif are able to speak about the mysteries and secrets of the Тоrah, keeping them in great
concealment and under the strictest secrecy, lest they are understood by anyone
except those who are worthy to understand them.
So, Rabbi Shimon bar Yochai, peace be upon him, had a soul on the side of Or Makif [19], and therefore he had the ability to clothe these [subtle] matters [in words] and explain them in such a way that even if he explained them to many people, no one would understand except those who are worthy to understand them. And therefore, he was "authorized" to write the book of Zohar, and such "authority" to write a book on the [Kabbalistic] wisdom was given neither to his teachers nor to the first of his predecessors, despite the fact that they undoubtedly possessed greater knowledge in the [Kabbalistic] wisdom than he did, but the reason was that they did not have such an ability to clothe these [subtle] matters [in words] as he had. And it is written about this: “Son of Yochai knew how to conceal his paths,” from which you should understand how great is the concealment of the Book of Zohar written by Rabbi Shimon bar Yochai, and therefore not every intellect can understand his words. End of quote. Therefore, we cannot find a single book in which True Wisdom is consistently expounded prior to the book of Zohar by Rabbi Shimon bar Yochai, since no previous book about this Wisdom could be identified as giving clarifications about it, other than just hints, and in addition, these books were devoid of the logical sequence known to those who attain knowledge [91]; this is the reason that the words of [Rabbi Shimon bar Yochai] of blessed memory are understandable.
It is necessary to add that from the lips of the authors of the books and from the books themselves, I have learned that from the time of Rabbi Shimon bar Yochai and his disciples who had contributed to the book of Zohar, until the time of Arizal [22], there was not even one author who would understand the words [of the books] of Zohar and Tikunei Zohar [92] like Arizal, and all the works written before him contained nothing but allusions to this Wisdom including the books of the sage Rabbi Moshe Cordovero of blessed memory.
In addition, the same words should be said about Arizal [22] himself that he said about Rabbi Shimon bar Yochai, that is, the predecessors of Arizal were not given authorization from Heaven to reveal the explanations of this Wisdom, but such authorization was given to Arizal. Thus, there is no question that [Arizal and his predecessors] differed from each other in smallness and greatness [of merits], because, it is possible that the merits of Arizal's predecessors were immensely higher than his merits, but they were not given the authorization to speak about this, therefore they were careful not to write explanations concerning the essence of this wisdom, but only produced scanty and completely incoherent allusions.
And for this reason, since the time when the books of Arizal [22] were revealed to the world, all those engaged in Kabbalistic wisdom have put aside all the books of Rabbi Moshe Cordovero of blessed memory, and all the Rishonim and Geonim that preceded Arizal, which is well known to all those engaged in this Wisdom, and all their Spiritual life became firmly connected only with the works of Arizal; so none other than the books of Zohar and Tikunei Zohar [92], and after them the books of Arizal, are considered to be the main writings that properly explain this Wisdom.
The secret of haShem is with those who revere Him [75]
This means that the secrets of the Тоrah become clear only to those who are in awe of His Name, be He glorified, to those guarding His Glory with all their soul and all their being [93] so that no defilement of the Name ever comes from them, G-d forbid, and this is the third part of the concealment of this Wisdom. This part requires the most careful concealment, for many of the dead are felled by violations of this kind of concealment, since they have given birth to all sorts of exorcists, makers of amulets, "experts" in practical Kabbalah, who lure souls with their cunning, and all sorts of authors of "mysteries" used to dry up the Wisdom, who originate from bad disciples, who seek to derive earthly benefits from them for themselves or for others, which has been and still is the cause of great suffering in the world.
And know that the main part and the source of the concealment from its very beginning had only this part as its cause, and because of that the sages took additional strictures upon themselves when testing their disciples, as they of blessed memory said, ([Babylonian Talmud, tractate] Chagigah, p. 13A): “The titles of the chapters [of Maaseh Merkavah, Story of the Chariot] are not transmitted to anyone but to Av Bet Din [to the head of a religious court] [and only] if his heart is caring”, and also “Maaseh Bereishit [Story of the Beginning] is not expounded before two, and Maaseh Merkavah before one” [96], and you will find many similar [sayings]. For all this fear is caused by what has been explained above. And therefore, very few chosen ones have merited this Wisdom; and even those who have passed seven trials and investigations according to all the requirements, for this reason are adjured with severe and terrible spells lest they reveal anything from those three parts that were mentioned above (for this, see the Preface of Rabbi Moshe Botarel of blessed memory to Sefer Yetzirah) [99].
And do not
be deceived by what I have said: that I have singled out here three parts
concerning the concealment of this Wisdom; [do not think] that I
mean that the True Wisdom itself is subdivided into these three parts, while I
want to say about every detail without exception in all areas of this Wisdom,
that you will not find a single least significant word in any area of this
Wisdom, such that these three parts do not branch off from it, for they are
only always practiced ways of explaining this Wisdom; and understand that.
However, the
question arises here: if it is true that this Wisdom is so seriously concealed,
then where have all these thousands of composed works devoted to this Wisdom
come from?
The answer is that there is a difference between the first two parts and the last part, for, as already said, only the third part bears the main burden [of the prohibition] for the reasons stated above; but the first two parts are not under permanent ban; because from the "Not necessary" part, one thing sometimes turns into something opposite and, for some reason, goes beyond the "Not necessary" and becomes necessary. Also, from the part "Impossible", something sometimes becomes possible; and this happens for two reasons: either due to the development of the generation, or due to authorization from Heaven, as happened in the case of Rabbi Shimon bar Yochai and Arizal [22] and, to a lesser extent, to their predecessors. And due to these processes, all genuine books dedicated to this Wisdom come to light.
This is what is
meant in the saying [of the sages] “I have revealed a grain [of truth] and
I will keep two in secret,” [62] which means that something happened [to
the sage pronouncing these words] that prompted [him] to reveal something new,
what his predecessors were not supposed to reveal, and therefore he points out
that only one grain [of the truth], that is, only one of three parts of the
concealment mentioned above, is he revealing in this case, and he continues to
keep two parts secret; and the purpose of this is to indicate that something
happened to him that caused him to reveal it: either the unnecessary became
necessary, or he was given authorization from Heaven, as I explained above. And
this is precisely what is expressed by the saying: I have revealed a “grain”
[of truth].
And let it
be known to the readers of these brochures, which I intend to publish within a
year, that all of them are [publications] of new things, not given in their
pure form and not conveyed with absolute accuracy in any book prior to me, and
they were transmitted to me mouth to mouth from my teacher of blessed memory
who was authorized to [transmit] them, that is, they were also transmitted to
him mouth to mouth from his teachers, and so on.
And although I received them under all the same conditions of concealing them and keeping them secret, which are mentioned above, after realizing what I referred to in my article It Is Time to Act, I came to the conclusion that the part "Not necessary" turned into its opposite, went beyond [unnecessary] and became "necessary", and therefore I revealed this grain [of truth] on completely legal grounds, as I explained above, but two grains I will keep secret, as I am commanded.
Translator’s
Notes
----------------------
[1A] Ashlag, Yehudah Leib haLevi (also Baal haSulam, i.e., the author of Sulam [Commentary] (“Sulam” means “ladder”, i.e, Yaakov’s Ladder), 1885, Warsaw – 1954, Tel Aviv) was a founder and head of a Kabbalistic school, the author of Sulam Commentary to the book of Zohar (for the Aramaic text of the book of Zohar with Baal ha Sulam’s translation into Hebrew and Sulam Commentary see here), the author of the book (Teaching of Ten Sfirot [9] (a commentary to Arizal‘s [22] Tree of Life [21]) and other works.
[1B] Gottlieb, Avraham Mordechai (b. 1963, Bnei Brak) is a disciple and successor of Rav Baruch Ashlag [1C], a founder and the head of the beth midrash Birkat Shalom [1D], publisher, editor, and commentator of the works by Rav Yehudah Ashlag [1A] and Rav Baruch Ashlag.
[1C] Ashlag, Baruch Shalom haLevi (Rabash (acronym of the words “Rav Baruch Shalom“), also “Birkat Shalom” [1D] (the name Baruch is replaced with the related word “Birkat”), 1907, Warsaw – 1991, Ramat Gan) was the elder son, disciple, and successor of Rav Yehudah Ashlag, [1A], commentator of his works.
[1D] The expression “Birkat Shalom” (blessing of the peace) was apparently used for the first time by Rashi. In Rashi’s commentary to Bereishit 33:11 it means appeasing (Eisav by Yaakov), and in his commentary to Dvarim 29:18 – wishing peace for oneself. In the later literature this is a name of the last benediction of the Amidah. Here it is used as a name of Rav Baruch Ashlag [1C]. It is also used as a name of the beth midrash in Kiryat Yearim, led by Rav Avraham Mordechai Gottlieb [1B].
[9] Sfirah (plural: Sfirot)
represents an element of a Spiritual object and is itself a Spiritual object.
According to one interpretation, the word Sfirah comes from the word
Sapir (sapphire). It can characterize a vessel [10] and the Light [11] that the
vessel receives. Just as a precious stone shines with different
colors, and just as colored glass transmits light of a certain color,
different Sfirot characterize obtaining the Light of different
quantity and quality by a vessel. According to another interpretation,
Spiritual objects are called Sfirot when they have a certain measure,
are finite, and characterized by a certain number (i.e., the word
"Sfirah" comes from the word "Safar", to count). Each
Spiritual object is divided into ten Sfirot or five main Sfirot.
[10] Vessel is a desire to
receive.
[11] Light is a pleasure.
[21] Tree of Life (by Arizal [22]) is a book summarizing the foundations of Arizal’s teaching. Written down in 1573 by Arizal’s disciple, Rabbi Chaim Vital. See Hebrew text.
[22] Arizal means Divine Ashkenazi Rabbi Yitzchak of blessed memory.
[62] I am revealing one grain [of truth] and concealing two. This phrase almost verbatim repeats the words from the Babylonian Talmud, tractate Nedarim, p. 20B (reveals a handbreadth and covers a handbreadth). Only the grammatical form of one word is different (singular in Talmud and dual number here). In the tractate Nedarim, during sexual intercourse, the husband, showing modesty, reveals a handbreadth of his wife's body and covers a handbreadth. As a result, beautiful children are born to them.
[63] Sela – 1) in Tanach: rock, 2) in Talmud also a monetary unit.
[75] The secret of haShem is with those who revere Him – Tehilim 25:14.
[78] “Destroyers of the world” is an expression from the Babylonian Talmud, tractate Sotah, pp. 20A and 22A.
[81] Shaar Maamrei Rashbi (Portal of the Sayings of Rabbi Shimon bar Yochai, by Arizal [22]) is the second book in the Eight Portals series detailing the teaching of Arizal, that contains comments on the book of Zohar. The passage cited by Baal haSulam starts here.
[82] For the cited text of the book of Zohar see §122 on page 38.
[83] Panim Meirot means: a [human] face, illuminated [with wisdom], as well as the Shining Face [of the Most High]. More precisely, in Vayikra Rabbah for the weekly reading Bechukotai (part 36, ch. 2) it is said that the face of one who drinks wine becomes ruddy. In Chidushei Radal (New Interpretations of Rabbi David Luria) it is explained that the verse "The wisdom of a man enlightens his face" (Kohelet 8:1) is meant. Finally, in Bamidbar Rabbah for the weekly reading Nasso, part 11, ch. 6, verse "HaShem will illuminate you with His face" (Bamidbar 6:26) is commented as follows: He will turn to you the shining face and not the wrathful one. The book Tree of Life [21] by Arizal [22] with the early commentary by Rabbi Yehudah Ashlag [1A] Panim Meirot is available on Internet. Branch 48 is located on pp. 21 – 23 of this file (in the book: pp. 233 – 235).
[91] To those who attain knowledge – it is said in Mishlei 8:9: They [these sayings] are all true to an understanding one, and straight to those who attain knowledge.
[92] Tikunei Zohar (Correction of the book of Zohar) is a supplement to the book of Zohar. The Aramaic text with Hebrew translation and commentary can be accessed here.
[93] With all their soul and all their being – It is said in Dvarim 6:5: And love your haShem Elokim with all your soul and all your being. See also Shma.
[96] Maaseh Bereishit [Story of the Beginning] is not explained to two, and Maaseh Merkavah [Story of the Chariot] to one – Mishnah, tractate Chagigah, 2:1.
[99] Preface to Sefer Yetzirah (by Moshe Botarel) is a preface to Sefer Yetzirah which speaks of trials, investigations, and spells that people undergo before being rewarded with the revelation of Kabbalistic wisdom.