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.

Rabbi Baruch Shalom HaLevi Ashlag (the Rabash) was the son and successor to the greatest Kabbalist of the generation, Baal HaSulam. He was a prolific writer who rewrote his father’s materials in a form that the world could understand. The fact that we are able to advance using Baal HaSulam’s method is possible only thanks to Rabash. In addition, Rabash took the revolutionary step of opening up the study of Kabbalah to anyone who was interested, in defiance of the Hassidic community in which he lived. For the last 12 years of Rabash’s life, Michael Laitman was his student and personal assistant. Dr. Laitman carries on the teaching lineage of authentic Kabbalah that was brought to our age by Baal HaSulam and his son Rabash.

Rabbi Shimon Bar-Yochai (Rashbi), author of The Book of Zohar (The Book of Radiance) was a great sage in the 2nd century CE. Rashbi’s name is tied to numerous legends, and he is mentioned constantly in the Talmud and in the Midrash, the sacred Hebrew texts of his time. He was a student of the greatest Kabbalist of the time – Rabbi Akiva – who was brutally executed by the Romans. Rashbi hid in a cave with his son for 13 years until it was safe to return. He then gathered 9 students who helped him write the The Book of Zohar. Baal HaSulam described Rashbi and his students as the only beings who achieved perfection, the 125 spiritual degrees that complete the correction of one’s soul.

Dr. Michael Laitman (1946-) is the founder and president of the Bnei Baruch Kabbalah Education & Research Institute, which is dedicated to teaching and sharing the wisdom of Kabbalah. He is a professor of Ontology, and holds a PhD in Philosophy and Kabbalah as well as an MSc in bio-Cybernetics.
After a lifelong search for a place where he could study the comprehensive systems of reality, Dr. Laitman finally found his teacher—Kabbalist Rabbi Baruch Shalom Ashlag (the Rabash), the firstborn son and successor of the great Kabbalist Baal HaSulam (see above). For the next twelve years, 1979-1991, he never moved from Rabash’s side until his death.

Dr. Laitman served as Rabash’s personal assistant, secretary, and prime student. With Rabash’s encouragement, Dr. Laitman wrote and published his first three books in 1983. After the passing of Rabash, Dr. Laitman began to develop the knowledge he had acquired and circulate it openly, as Rabash had instructed him to do. In 1991, he established Bnei Baruch, a group of Kabbalah students that implements the legacy of Baal HaSulam and Rabash on a day-to-day basis. Today, Bnei Baruch has developed into an extensive international organization with thousands of students the world over who research, study, and circulate the wisdom of Kabbalah.