A question I received: Why is it that after reading The Book of Zohar I feel confusion and heaviness?

My Answer: Confusion and heaviness are neither good nor bad. We must accept any state as a desired outcome. After all, The Zohar is “medicine.”

There are certain medicines that are stressful for the organism to use since they cause unpleasant reactions and side effects. But we still take them because we don’t have a choice. When the need arises, we even use such extreme treatments like radiation and chemotherapy that have significant side effects.

Actually all medicine is poison, and it’s no coincidence that the symbol of medicine is a cup with a snake. One affects the other according to the law of equivalence of form. Just as the evil that manifests from the poison of our egoistic desire can be neutralized and corrected with the help of another poison, so, too, can the desire to receive for oneself be corrected.

Therefore, it isn’t important that at times we are uplifted after studying The Zohar, while at other times we feel confused. We must accept all those states as medicine. If we’ve done all that we can, we shouldn’t concern ourselves with the outcome at all. Whether we are in a descent, confused and unable to feel anything, or in the opposite state of extreme delight, none of it matters.

We know that we must endure all these things for they are the effects from the treatment. We will grow used to them and no longer pay attention to them. Everything will pass. The important thing is to quickly transition to new states – that is the sign of progress.

Filed under: Daily Kabbalah Lesson, Zohar | Add Comment →