Baruch Ashlag - Publications

Publications

The Rabash's primary engagement was interpretation and expansion of his father's (Baal HaSulam) compositions. The Rabash's essays are a far easier read than compositions of former Kabbalists, since they are written in a simple language. Baruch Ashlag dedicated most of his efforts to elaborate on an individual's spiritual path, from the very first steps, when one asks, "What is the meaning of my life?" to one's climb toward the revelation of the spiritual reality. His disciples testify that "the Rabash believed that any person, man or woman, and even the youngest child can study the internality of the Torah, if they only wish to complete the correction of their souls".

His primary publications:

• Shamati ("I Heard"): This is the Rabash's personal notebook, where he wrote what he had heard from his father throughout the time he was studying with him. The uniqueness of the book is in its content, and the (conversational) language in which it is written. The book contains essays that describe the spiritual states one experiences along the spiritual path. These essays are the only documentation that we have of the conversations the author of the Sulam commentary had had with his disciples.

The book title comes from the writing that appeared on the cover of the notebook in which it was written, where the Rabash himself wrote, "Shamati" (I heard). From the 2nd printing onward, the book also contains "The Melodies of the Upper World," music notes to 15 of the melodies Baal HaSulam and the Rabash composed.

• Igrot Rabash ("Letters Rabash"): These are letters Baruch Ashlag had sent to his disciples while he was overseas. In his letters, the Rabash answers his disciples' questions concerning their spiritual path and progress, indicates the spiritual meaning of the Jewish holidays according to Kabbalah, and addresses many other issues.
• Dargot ha Sulam ("Steps the Ladder"): This is a two-volume publication containing primarily utterances and notes that Rabbi Baruch Ashlag had written in the course of his life. These were mostly written as drafts on scraps of paper and served as headlines, drafts for essays and answers he'd written to his disciples. This book can teach a lot about the Rabash's state of mind and thoughts, and it continues the essays in the book Shamati.
• Shlavey ha Sulam ("Rungs the Ladder"): A comprehensive five-volume composition containing all of Rabash's essays between 1984 and 1991. In this publication, Ashlag explicates in detail his Kabbalistic doctrine, beginning from man's work in a group, which is a fundamental element in this teaching, through a Kabbalistic interpretation of the Torah (Pentateuch) as an allegory to a person's spiritual path in our world.