Generational Ascent in Kabbalah
Kabbalah tends to supports the Halachic notion of the Descent of the Generations, by relating it to a metaphysical structure of descending levels of souls in each subsequent generation. Through processes such as Gilgul (Reincarnation), all souls are held to derive from the original collective soul of Adam. As the Sephirot relate the powers of the soul metaphorically to the image of Man, so the souls of Israel derive from different aspects of Adam; supreme Tzadikim who lead the community from his "head", down to simple souls of his "feet". In this way, the latter generations when the "Heels of the Messiah" can be heard approaching, relate to their low souls from the level of Adam's "Heel".
However, at the same time, Kabbalah tends to explains an opposite process of progressively increasing Divine Ohr ("Light"). This light may be said to increasingly illuminate creation in each subsequent generation. In relation to Jewish scholarship, this dialectic process is connected to the mystical concept of the Tzadik. While the en-mass community of souls of Israel in each generation are lower, the most supreme Tzadikim of the generations are unaffected by this limitation. In traditional view, Talmudic and Halachic study (Nigleh-"Revealed" aspects of Judaism) uncovers new interpretations of previously revealed Scriptural and Rabbinic texts. Consequently, this scholarship is affected by diminishing authority of latter generations to disagree with earlier codification. However, Kabbalistic (Nistar-"Concealed") scholarship advances with successive new descriptive articulations, through a progressive process of revelation of new doctrines by select supreme Tzadikim. In this picture, Nigleh, affected by Yeridot HaDorot, involves the ascent of human intellect up to God. The new articulations of Nistar by rare Tzadikim involve the descent of new, successively higher Divine intellect into man's conceptual understanding. Where Halacha descends generationally through time, Kabbalah ascends generationally.
Read more about this topic: Yeridat Ha-dorot
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