Question: What did Baal HaSulam add to the correction of the soul that the ARI started?

Answer: The ARI himself did not write anything. It was his student Marhu (Chaim Vital) who wrote, and his writings were published over the course of three generations after the death of the ARI.

Baal HaSulam explained and systematized the entire teaching of the ARI. Before him, the teaching of the ARI was not arranged in a structured way, and therefore, it was impossible to study it properly. Many who began studying the ARI would eventually switch to studying the works of the Ramak.

I myself studied the Ramak until I discovered Baal HaSulam. I saw many Kabbalists who preferred studying the Ramak instead of the ARI because the books of Ramak are clear and organized.

The writings of the ARI were not structured. Baal HaSulam systematized, detailed, explained, and arranged them: the three lines, the first and second restrictions, the Creator and the created being, the definitions of the worlds, Sefirot, Partzufim, NRNHY KHB, ZON, and he even created a collection of diagrams of the upper worlds in the book Elan.

Although some parts are missing that he could have systematized further (like Adam HaRishon, the impure worlds of BYA), it seems he chose not to deal with them. Without Baal HaSulam, we would not have the method of the ARI. It would be impossible to understand the ARI.

Today when we read other Kabbalists, we understand them only because we are familiar with the works of Baal HaSulam. Without him, we would be confused.

Whatever you read, whether it is the books on Hasidism, the Ramak, or the Agra, you only understand them because you studied Baal HaSulam. Without the articles of Rabash, we would not be able to understand what is required of us and what the work of the Creator truly means.

Without these two Kabbalists Baal HaSulam and RABASH who complement each other, we would not have the correct approach to the method of correction.
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From the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 8/8/10, Writings of Baal HaSulam Preface “Introduction to the Book Panim Meirot uMasbirot”

Related Material:
Before the Ari, the Gates of Wisdom were Closed to Us
The ARI (Rav Isaac Luria), Man of God
Legacy Of The Ari

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