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For a long time now my conscience has burdened me with a demand
to come out and compose a fundamental composition regarding
the essence of Judaism, religion and the Kabbalah, and spread
it among the nation so that people will come to understand these
exalted matters in their true meaning.
Prior to the innovations in the printing industry there weren't
books among us that related to the essence of Judaism, as there
were almost no writers who could not stand behind their words,
for the simple reason that in most cases, an irresponsible person
is not famous.
Therefore if, by chance, one dared to write such a composition,
no scribe would copy it, as it would simply not return the investment,
which was quite considerable. Thus, such a composition was doomed
from the start to be lost.
In those days, knowledgeable people had no interest in writing
such a book, because the people did not need that knowledge.
Quite the contrary, they had an interest in hiding it in secret
chambers for the reason that "the glory of God is to be hidden".
We were commanded to conceal the essence of the Torah from those
who did not need it, or were unworthy of it, and also to not
degrade it by displaying it in shop windows for the lusting
eyes of the boasting, because thus the glory of God demands.
But ever since the printing of books became popular and inexpensive,
thus eliminating the need for manual scribes, the way has been
paved for irresponsible writers to publish whatever books they
please, for money or glory. But they do not take into account
their own actions and examine the consequences of their work.
From that time on, the publication of such non-credible books
began to significantly increase, without any tutoring and mouth-to-mouth
transmission from a rabbi that is qualified for that, and even
without knowledge of earlier books that dealt with this topic.
Such writers fabricated theories of their own empty shells and
relate their words to the most exalted matters, and so claimed
to portray the essence and fabulous treasure of the nation.
Such fools cannot even know how to be careful, and they permeate
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 upward, because they have
plunged their nails in the wisdom of the Kabbalah, not minding
that this wisdom has been locked and chained behind a thousand
doors to this day, 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. That is because in all the genuine books
that were written to this daythere are no more than clues that
barely suffice for a knowledgeable disciple to understand their
true meaning, coming from the mouth of a wise and reliable kabbalist.
And there too the conspirators have multiplied, who make such
delights that disgust those who behold them.
Some of them even go as far as presume to assume the place
of the leaders of the generation, and they pretend to know the
difference between the ancient books and tell which of them
is worthy of study and which is not. It is both frustrating
and infuriating because until today the work of discriminating
the good from the bad had been limited to one in ten leaders
of a generation, and now the ignorant abuse it.
Therefore, the perception of these matters by the public has
been greatly corrupted. In addition, there is an atmosphere
of frivolity and people think that a glance in one's leisure
time is sufficient for the study of such exalted matters. They
superficially browse over the deep sea of wisdom and the essence
of Judaism in a glance and reach conclusions based on their
passing mood. 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 save that which can still be saved. Thus I have taken upon
myself to reveal a certain amount of the true essence, which
relates to the above matter and spread it among the nation.
Author: Rabbi Y. Ashlag
Translator: C. Ratz
Proofreading: J. Kersen
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