What was the new spirit that the Ba’al Shem Tov brought? It was nothing but the inner dimension of the ancient Torah that has rested on the study tables in the houses of study for thousands of years. When the Ba’al Shem Tov saw that the soul of people was buried and covered, he understood that the time had come to reveal its equivalent within the Torah—the soul of the Torah, Kabbalah. Only the esoteric wisdom of the Torah had the power to bring the Jewish soul back to life. In Kabbalah’s potent language and profound world of imagery, the Ba’al Shem Tov realized, lie hidden the keys to the locked chambers of the heart, and a way must be found to bring them to its gates.
For example, he taught from the books of Kabbalah that the Holy Blessed One is Or Ein Sof, “Endless Light”—an eternal existence that fills everything and is present everywhere. Every Jew is raised on the Talmudic saying that “since the Temple was destroyed, God has in His world only the four cubits of Halacha [Jewish law]”; but the Ba’al Shem Tov explained that when we move from a diasporic consciousness to a redemptive consciousness, we feel how the Holy Blessed One is present everywhere, in every person, and in every event. Whenever we are confronted with something new, we must ask: What is the Divine secret hidden here? How is this thing meant to assist in the rectification of my soul, or to help me in rectifying others? It doesn’t mean that everything is good; there are definitely dark and evil things in reality; but their darkness is not absolute or final, and if we delve deeper, we will see that even in them hides a spark of holiness that can be redeemed and elevated.
Another example: Kabbalah deals with “Worlds,” “sefirot,” (Divine emanations) and “partzufim” (Divine archetypes)—metaphysical figures and forces that structure reality, and through which the Creator governs His creation. The Baal Shem Tov showed that these abstract models are present in the soul of each and every one and thus can serve as a means to understand and to rectify ourselves. While the Kabbalists’ concern was to make “soul ascents”—to spiritually ascend to the higher worlds and gaze upon them—the Ba’al Shem Tov’s goal was to bring these worlds down to us, to show that they are reflected within us. In this way, the theoretical knowledge of Kabbalah becomes a practical tool for understanding our inner world. Incidentally, understanding Kabbalah in this manner allows us to grasp its abstract concepts through their analogy to the aspects and processes of the human psyche, ultimately leading to a deeper understanding of Kabbalah itself.
