After the beginning stages of the right connection with the group, it’s necessary to continue through studying of The Book of Zohar with the same method that the students learned with Rabbi Shimon. They wrote this book themselves, revealed the levels, the spiritual states, and expressed them in writing. Rabbi Shimon taught, Rabbi Abba and Rabbi Elazar explained what he said.

The Ramchal described this in the book, Adir BaMarom: And Rabbi Shimon bar Yochai revealed the secrets of the Torah, and the friends listened to his voice, and they joined with him in this connection, each one answering for his part. That is what Rabbi Shimon bar Yochai wanted, that a book would be written that would include the sayings of all the members of his Yeshiva, and the book would be written about the Torah, for other writings speak about particular ideas, yet The Zohar that is made about the Torah is called the great opening of the entire Torah. And Rabbi Shimon bar Yochai commanded Rabbi Abba to be the writer and arrange all the things that the sages of the Yeshiva said, whenever and wherever they were, everything arranged according to the order in the Torah.

That is also how we must get along in groups in order to study The Book of Zohar, and then its Light will influence us. If we make an effort to be like the students of Rabbi Shimon in order to connect together so that all of us will be like one man with one heart and with love of friends, then the Light will influence us and will give us a greater sense of connection. And within this, we will begin to discover the network of connections between us called a Partzuf of ten Sefirot.

First within these ten Sefirot, the smallest Light will appear, Ohr Nefesh de Nefesh de Nefesh. But this is already a breath, some kind of feeling of the spiritual world. Although I still cannot act independently, I am found and exist in the spiritual world. So we develop the relationships between us more and more; we discover Ruach de Nefesh de Nefesh, and so on.

We begin to understand more and to feel the connection between us. The quality of our Partzuf gradually grows, and the general Light will begin to be clearer and clearer within it, in that it reveals its relationship to the Kli. This is how we reach a feeling for the general program that operates between us and we understand what is happening between us, what is happening in all of reality, in the entire world, and in all the worlds.

All this will be revealed within the ten Sefirot of the connection between us, exactly as the ten students of Rabbi Shimon discovered it when they were connected only within their group. They weren’t connected with the rest of the world at all nevertheless they discovered all of the infinite reality.

In other words, all of the means are in our hands. And in the meantime, the world deteriorates becoming darker and more sinister. It is written about these times that insolence will be multiplied beyond measure and all the problems and all kinds of misfortunes will befall the world. But we must understand that all of this is happening specifically because the Light is approaching our world, and the world must be more and more adapted to the Light. And if it doesn’t accommodate itself to the Light, then instead of Light, it will see Darkness, because it is in properties opposite to the Light. And therefore our obligation is immediately to begin to explain to the world what our best future depends upon. That it’s only through connection between us and thanks to The Book of Zohar that all of us can go out from the exile, from this Darkness.

Therefore, I am happy that we have begun to translate The Book of Zohar into several languages. We hope that this convention will be a good beginning for the acceptance of this gift that we have received: The Book of Zohar, and from here on we will continue with the correction with a much greater power than we have had until now.
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From the World Zohar Week “World Zohar Convention,” Day One 2/5/14, Lesson 2

Related Material:
Opening The Book
Not Just A Book
The Book of Zohar And The New Generation

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