Two Trends In The Life Of The Jewish Diaspora, Part 4

Time of The Book Of Zohar

Question: In Spain, several hundred years before the exile of the Jews from there, The Book of Zohar was revealed, a book about the correction of all mankind, about the passing of the method of connection to the world.

Does the revelation of this book suggest that the sages had some opportunity to use this methodology?

Answer: No, there were no great Kabbalists in those days who could use The Book of Zohar to make a spiritual revolution in the Jewish people.

It was revealed in the 7th century and slowly began to spread, but there were a lot of problems with this. The vast majority of Jews and spiritual leaders of the Jewish people did not want it to be revealed because it caused a great deal of confusion in the minds and souls of Jews. In general The Book of Zohar did more harm than good at that time.

But gradually it’s time arrived. This happened in the 16th century in the time of the ARI.

Four hundred years have passed since the revelation of The Book of Zohar. During this time, the Jews have caught up a little. They had already been scattered in different countries and had experienced many problems. They were facing the question of why they were suffering, and so their attitude to The Book of Zohar, to correction, to the achievement of some goal, became completely different.

Moreover, great Kabbalists such as the ARI, Ramchal, and Moshe Cordovero appeared. This was the heyday of medieval Kabbalah in Safed [Israel].

Society was ready for it. It saw how much suffering falls onto each generation, how they constantly are subjected to exile, and so large masses of people began to welcome Kabbalah.

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From the KabTV’s “System Analysis of the Development of the People of Israel,” 7/29/19