Time to Act

For a long time now, my conscience has burdened me with a demand to come out and create a fundamental composition regarding the essence of Judaism, religion, and the knowledge of the authentic wisdom of Kabbalah, and spread it among the nation, so people will come to know and properly understand these exalted matters in their true meaning.

Previously in Israel, prior to the development of the printing industry, there were no fallacious books among us relating to the essence of Judaism, as there were hardly any writers among us who could stand behind their words for the simple reason that in most cases, an unreliable person has no renown.

Therefore, if, by chance, one dared to write such a composition, it was not worthwhile for any scribe to copy it, as he would not be paid for his labor, which, for the most part, was a considerable sum. Thus, such a composition was doomed from the start.

In those days, knowledgeable people, too, had no interest in writing such books, since the general public did not need that knowledge. Quite the contrary, they had an interest in hiding the matter in secret chambers because “It is the glory of God to conceal a thing.” We were commanded to conceal the essence of the Torah and the work from those who did not need it, or were unworthy of it, and to not degrade it and display it in shop windows for the lusting eyes of the boasting, because thus the glory of God demands of us.

But ever since the printing of books has become popular, and writers no longer need scribes, the price of books has been reduced. This has paved the way for unreliable writers to publish whatever books they please, for money or for glory. But they do not take their own actions into account and do not examine the consequences of their work.

From that time on, publications of the aforementioned kind have significantly increased, without any learning or reception mouth-to-mouth from a qualified rav [teacher/great one/sage] or even knowledge of earlier books that dealt with this topic. Such writers fabricate theories of their own empty shells, and relate their words to the most exalted matters, to thus portray the essence of the nation and its fabulous treasure. As fools, they know not how to be scrupulous, or have a way by which to learn it. They instill faulty views to generations, and in return for their petty lusts, they sin and make the nations sin for generations to come.

Recently, their stench has soared ever upward because they have plunged their nails into the wisdom of Kabbalah, not minding that this wisdom has been closed and locked behind a thousand doors to this day, to the point that no person may understand the true meaning of even a single word of it, much less the connection between one word and the next.

This is because in all the genuine books that have been written to this day, there are but clues that barely suffice for a knowing disciple to understand their meaning from the mouth of a wise and qualified Kabbalist sage. And there, too, “the porcupine nests and lays [its eggs], and hatch, and brooded in its shade.” These days, such conspirators multiply and make such delights that disgust those who behold them.

Some of them even go as far as to assume the place of the leaders of the generation, pretending to know how to sort through the books of the first [sages] and tell which of them is worthy of studying and which is not, since it is filled with fallacies, and they arouse contempt and wrath. Until today, the work of such scrutiny had been limited to one in ten leaders of a generation; and now the ignorant abuse it.

Therefore, the public’s perception of these matters has been greatly corrupted. In addition, there is an atmosphere of frivolity, and people think that a glance at one’s leisure is sufficient for the study of such exalted matters. They skim over the ocean of wisdom and the essence of Judaism in a single glance like that angel, and draw conclusions based on their own states of mind.

These are the reasons that have prompted me to go out of my way and decide that it is time to “do for the Lord” and salvage what can still be salvaged. Thus, I have taken upon myself to reveal a certain portion of the true essence, which relates to the above matter, and spread it in the nation.