Baruch Ashlag

Rabbi Baruch Shalom HaLevi Ashlag RABASH
Rabbi Baruch Shalom Ashlag
Native name	ברוך שלום הלוי אשלג
Born	January 22, 1907 Warsaw, Congress Poland
Died	September 13, 1991(1991-09-13) Bnei Brak, Israel
Nationality	Polish
Other names	RABASH
Occupation	Kabbalist
Years active	1954–1991
Organization	Institute of Kabbalah and Ashlag Hasidim
Known for	Son and successor of Kabbalist Yehuda Ashlag, Baal HaSulam
Notable work	Shamati Letters of the Rabash Steps of the Ladder Rungs of the Ladder
Title	Authentic Kabbalist of the Master-Disciple Lineage "from Mouth to Mouth"
Predecessor	BAAL HASULAM
Spouse(s)	Mrs. Yohevet Ashlag and Mrs. Feiga Ashlag
Children	?

Rabbi Baruch Shalom HaLevi Ashlag (also known as the RABASH) (January 22, 1907 – September 13, 1991) was a Kabbalist, the firstborn and successor of Rabbi Yehuda Ashlag also known as Baal Hasulam, the author of "The Sulam" commentary on the Zohar. Among his writings: Shlavey ha Sulam ("Rungs [of] the Ladder"), Dargot ha Sulam ("Steps [of] the Ladder"), Igrot Rabash ("Letters [of the] Rabash").

Baruch Shalom ha Levi Ashlag (also known as the "Rabash") was born in Warsaw, Congress Poland, Russian Empire on January 22, 1907. He began his Kabbalah studying with his father's (Kabbalist Rabbi Yehuda Ashlag) selected students at the age of nine, and joined him on his trips to the Rabbi of Porisov and to the Rabbi of Belz. In 1921, at age 13, he immigrated with his family to the Land of Israel, and continued his schooling at the Hasidic institution "Torat Emet".

He was ordained as a rabbi at age 20 by the chief rabbis of Israel at that time, Abraham Isaac Kook, Yosef Chaim Sonnenfeld, and Yaakov Moshe Harlap. He did not want to use the knowledge of Torah he had acquired for a living. For most of his life, he was a simple worker, doing road works, construction works, and low-level clerical work. When the Rabash grew, he became his father's prime disciple. He joined his father (Yehuda Ashlag, author of the Sulam commentary on The Book of Zohar) on his trips, did his father's errands, and provided for his father's every need.

He would often study with his father in private, and what he'd heard from his father he wrote in his personal notebook. Thus, thousands of unique notes were accumulated, documenting Rabbi Yehuda Ashlag's explanations concerning the spiritual work of an individual. (It should be pointed out that Rabbi Yehuda Ashlag is considered one of the foremost Kabbalists of the 20th century. He is known as Baal HaSulam (Master of the Ladder) for his Sulam (Ladder) commentary on The Book of Zohar.