Messiah's Horn

Redemption Only through Kabbalah
Know, that this is what it means that the children of Israel are redeemed only after the wisdom of the hidden is revealed to a great extent, as it is written in The Zohar, “With this composition, the children of Israel are redeemed from exile.” This is because at that time there was great hope.

Writing The Zohar and Concealing It
The writing of The Zohar began at the time of the disclosing of Bar-Kokheva, of which Rabbi Akiva, Rashbi’s teacher, said, “There shall step forth a star out of Jacob.” Additionally, after the ruin of Beitar, there was great hope.

And because of that, Rashbi permitted himself and disclosed the wisdom of the hidden in his books the Zohar and the Tikkunim. However, it was with great care, since he only permitted Rabbi Abba, who could disclose in secret, so only the sages of the children of Israel would understand, and the sages of the nations of the world would not understand, for fear lest the wicked would know how to serve their masters. Therefore, as soon as they saw that the time was too soon for Israel’s redemption, they hid it. That was at the time of the sages, the Savoraim, because we find that our sages, the Savoraim, wrote plenty concerning matters in The Zohar.

Disclosing the Kabbalah Is God’s Will
Indeed, it was God’s will that it would appear. This is why it wandered onto the widow of Rabbi Moshe de Leon. She inherited the manuscript from her husband, and he probably told her nothing of the prohibition to disclose, and she incidentally put it up for sale.

Israel’s Troubles Are because of the Disclosure of Kabbalah
Indeed, to this day, it caused many ruins in the vine of the house of Israel for the above reasons.

The Benefit from Revealing the Kabbalah
However, there is no evil without good. And therefore, this dominion, which the nations have obtained by stealing the secrets of the Torah, propelled a great thrust for the development of the holiness. In my assessment, we are in a generation that is standing at the very threshold of redemption, if we will only know how to spread the wisdom of the hidden in the masses.

First Benefit
This is because apart for the simple reason of “He hath swallowed down riches, and he shall vomit them up,” this will reveal what is between me and my father-in-law, and the difference between the essence of the nucleus and the upper Klipa (shell), from which all the sages of the nations in the world peeled. This is because all the camps of Israel that have denied the Torah are sure to return to the Creator and to His work.

Second Benefit
There is another reason for it: We have accepted that there is a precondition for the redemption, that all the nations of the world will acknowledge Israel’s Torah, as it is written, “and the land shall be full of the knowledge,” as in the example of the exodus from Egypt, when Pharaoh, too, acknowledge the true God and His laws and allowed them to leave.

Redemption through Disseminating Kabbalah to the Nations of the World
This is why it is written that each of the nations will hold a Jewish man and lead him to the Holy Land. And it was not enough that they could leave by themselves. You must understand from where the nations of the world would come by such a will and idea. Know that this is through the dissemination of the true wisdom, so they will evidently see the true God and the true Torah.

Dissemination of the Wisdom of Kabbalah the World Over
And the dissemination of the wisdom in the masses is called “a horn.” Like the horn, whose voice travels a great distance, the echo of the wisdom will spread all over the world so even the nations will hear and acknowledge that there is Godly wisdom in Israel.

The Revelation of Kabbalah to All the Nations Is the Revelation of Eliyahu (Elijah)
And this task was said about Eliyahu the prophet, since the disclosure of the secrets is always referred to as the disclosure of Eliyahu. It is as they have said, “let it rest until Elijah comes,” and also, “the Tishbi will answer the questions and problems.” For this reason they said that three days (a known intimation) prior to the coming of the Messiah, Elijah would walk upon the hilltops and will blow in a great horn etc..

Disclosing Kabbalah to All the Nations Is a Precondition for the Complete Redemption
You must understand these intimations, that the horn is only the issue of the disclosure of the wisdom of the hidden in great masses, which is a necessary precondition that must be met prior to the complete redemption.

And the books that have already been revealed in this wisdom will testify to it, that matters of the greatest importance have been spread out like a gown for all to see, which is a true testimony that we are already at the threshold of redemption, and that the voice of the great horn has already been heard, though not in the distance because it still sounds very softly.

But indeed, any greatness requires prior smallness, and there is no great voice if it is not preceded by a soft sound, for this is the way of the horn, that it progressively grows. And who better than me knows that I am not at all worthy of being even a messenger and a scribe for disclosing such secrets, and much less to thoroughly understand them. And why has the Creator done so to me? It is only because the generation is worthy of it, as it is the last generation, which stands at the very threshold of complete redemption. And for this reason it is worthy of beginning to hear the voice of Messiah’s horn, which is the revealing of the secrets, as has been explained.

-Baal HaSulam
Rabbi Yehuda Leib HaLevi Ashlag (1884-1954) is known as Baal HaSulam (Owner of the Ladder) for his Sulam (ladder) commentary on The Book of Zohar. Baal HaSulam dedicated his life to interpretations and innovations in the wisdom of Kabbalah, disseminating it in Israel and throughout the world. He developed a unique method to the study of Kabbalah, by which any person can delve into the depth of reality and reveal its roots and purpose of existence.