He saw a spiritual drought gripping his generation, a darkness born from something quite specific: a decline in faith. Not just any faith, but faith in the wisdom of the ages, in the tzaddikim, the holy sages who held the keys to unlocking the Torah's deepest secrets.
But why this decline? What caused it?
Baal HaSulam, in his introduction to the Zohar, points to a fascinating reason. He says that sifrei Kabbalah, Kabbalistic books like the Zohar, are overflowing with stories, with parables, with metaphors that use material, earthly things to explain the divine. Think about it – trying to grasp concepts that are beyond our limited human understanding. How else can you even begin to describe the Infinite?
And here’s the rub: people became afraid.
Afraid that delving into these mystical texts, with their seemingly physical descriptions of God and the spiritual realms, would lead to a terrible sin. Afraid that they would misinterpret the metaphors, taking them literally and, in doing so, fall into the trap of believing in gashmiut, in corporeality, in a physical, limited God.
So, what did they do? They stopped teaching. They stopped exploring. They stopped sharing the secrets of the Torah. They reasoned that it was better to be safe than sorry, better to protect people from potential error than to risk leading them astray.
Can you imagine the consequences?
Baal HaSulam believed this fear, this well-intentioned but ultimately misguided caution, was the very source of the darkness he saw around him. By withholding the wisdom of Kabbalah, by silencing the voices of the sages, they inadvertently created a spiritual famine.
It's a powerful reminder, isn't it? That sometimes, the greatest dangers lie not in the risks we take, but in the knowledge we suppress. And that true faith isn't about blind acceptance, but about wrestling with complex ideas, engaging with challenging texts, and trusting in the guidance of those who have walked the path before us.
So, the next time you feel lost in the dark, maybe the answer isn't to shy away from the light, but to seek out the wisdom that can illuminate your way.