The place: Mont Méron
Time: Mid-first century CE.
Times are eventful, bloody wars are fought all over the world, the value of human life loses all meaning: control, honors and possessions become supreme values.
Around this same time, in a small dark cave in northern Israel, ten Kabbalists were studying and writing a book that spoke of eternity and love.
Rabbi Shimon Bar-Yochaï is at the head of the group, his face seems to shine when he reveals to his students the secrets of the Higher World. He speaks to them calmly, in a soft and warm voice. Rabbi Abba is by his side. Although night is falling over the mountains of Galilee, his forehead pearls with perspiration, he attentively follows the words and notes them meticulously, he tries not to lose a word.
The rest of the students sit in an authoring circle. Wide-eyed they greedily drink the words “the great light”. Nothing shows the inner storm they are experiencing.
This is how, in the darkness of the night, letter after letter, word after word, the deepest and most mysterious book of the wisdom of Kabbalah was written: The Book of Zohar.
Rabbi Shimon Bar-Yochaï and his son, Rabbi Eliezer. For thirteen years, they prepare to write the book. Day and night they deepen the mysteries of the Upper World, rise to the highest spiritual degrees and clarify what will subsequently be written in the book of Zohar. In their hearts, one and only thought: the time has come to reveal the secrets of creation to the world.
The years pass quickly, Rabbi Shimon and his son complete the repairs they had to make and leave the cave. However, to write the book of Zohar, Rabbi Shimon needs to gather around him students with whom he will be able to “bring down” the Upper Light on the world, himself having already reached too high a spiritual degree causing him to lose his ability to explain what he discovered in the language of men.
Very quickly, he gathered around him the greatest Kabbalists of the time: ten Kabbalists for ten Sefirot. The place to study is a small cave in Galilee, which faces the mountains from the city of Safed.
By their union they create a kind of common spiritual structure, through which Rabbi Shimon passes the Upper Light to the world. However, Rabbi Shimon’s words are so lofty and so impenetrable …
How do you get them across to the rest of humanity?
