I receive many questions about studying The Zohar from old-time students as well as total beginners. People write, “We used to understand what we were studying. Talmud Eser Sefirot and “Introduction to the Wisdom of Kabbalah” (Pticha) gave us knowledge about the structure of the universe. Articles about the group made us think about unity and the goal that the group has to reach. Baal HaSulam’s articles explained Kabbalah’s connection to other sciences and its attitude to religion, philosophy, and freedom of will. It was clear that these articles dealt with the structure of the external society as well as man’s inner structure, which are questions related to psychology. But what the heck are we studying in The Book of Zohar?”

These questions indicate the wrong attitude to the study because everything must eventually unite into one. For example, the group is a collection of souls that have to unite together. It only seems to our vision and sensations that there are different, foreign souls and desires around us, and that we want to attach them to us in order to see the true picture.

It is impossible to study Kabbalah theoretically; this wisdom can only be attained practically. This is the whole point of studying the science of Kabbalah: it is intended for revealing the Creator to the creatures in this world.

The Creator (Bo-reh) means “Come and See” – come experience the quality of bestowal by revealing it inside you, by going from “love for the neighbor” to “love for the Creator.” The true perception of reality is when reality is no longer divided into “myself and others,” but everyone is united together into one whole. But how can we attain this unity and perception if we are still unable to feel all the souls as one man with one heart, to unite them with the Creator, and to feel this whole world inside us? How can we discover and understand it?

All of this has to be done to us by the Upper Light. The Light must bring us to the state where “There is none else besides Him” and “He is Good that does Good,” despite anything that happens to us. These two forms of concealment have to come together and unite; we just don’t know how to make it happen.

This is exactly our purpose when we start studying The Zohar: we have to desire for it to reveal the true reality to us, for the Creator to become revealed to the creation here and now, for the desire to be revealed together with the Light in it! In addition, we have to add a bit of sensitivity, concern, and fear to this approach. Each one of us should ask himself: Am I doing everything that has been allotted to me? Am I making the required amount of efforts that I am supposed to? This, in turn, depends on our sensation of the spiritual goal’s importance and a constant inner concern about it. Then we are guaranteed success.

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