A question I received: You explained that while reading The Book of Zohar, I must find forces described in it within myself. However, how can I do this if I do not know what “maid,” “lady of the house,” “wife,” “man,” and other words mean in the spiritual sense.

My Answer: We start with simple meanings of words known to us from our corporeal world. While The Book of Zohar is concealed from us, it can still become a spiritual teacher for each of us. Everyone is able to envision basic material images and actions by using our preexisting understanding of those concepts. Meanwhile, The Book of Zohar elevates us above corporeality and pulls us into the spiritual realm.

We are unable to understand the connections made between the Upper World and our material plane that were created by the authors of The Zohar – Rabbi Shimon and his disciples. They were able to create a connection between the two worlds, and our role is to see the Upper World through concepts that we already understand. However, we must make a great effort for that to happen – to start seeing the spiritual forces behind the common words that belong to this world.

This is what we call a “miracle” (Segula). We don’t know how the system works to connect us to the Upper World and we don’t understand the connection between what we imagine and the actual spiritual meanings of what we read.

Question cont’d: Should I be looking for that connection myself?

My Answer: You should be looking for your true state of being and trying hard to sense the Upper World, like a child trying to become an adult. Play this game according to the rules that are given to you by the Kabbalists – and you’ll succeed!

Although we visualize images in The Book of Zohar as material things and are unable to free ourselves from those associations, we are also unable to understand what those images mean in the spiritual world. However, our effort to understand will eventually lead us to be able to sense spirituality.

The authors of The Book of Zohar created a system for connecting with us on a material plane that transforms our “child like” efforts into a true state of being. This is what makes The Book of Zohar so great and unique.

(From the TV program, “Opening the Zohar,” November 6, 2009)

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