The Zohar talks only about the desire and what takes place within it. My friends are also my desires; they are aspirations to connect with each other and with me in order to reveal the Creator. The desires that work against that are called my enemies.

This is how I divide all reality. There is no such thing as “this world” or “the world to come,” but only one desire. We have to get used to these definitions and stop seeing the world in other ways. We have to get rid of the habit that we have from birth – seeing the world as a structure that exists outside us. We have to feel that we have had enough of that false perception and we want to return to the truth. We don’t want to live in this illusion anymore.

I want to understand my desire and reveal the force that operates within it. This force is attained through its actions. This is why The Zohar explains how my desires are connected with each other and how they influence one another. By learning what’s going on between my desires, I begin to understand this force.

This force cannot be revealed on its own, but only through its actions inside the desires. For example, how do we recognize a magnet? We do it by seeing how it moves pieces of metal. In order to identify it, you have to be smart and understand the sequence of cause and effect. If you show it to a child, he’ll think that you are performing miracles.

We perceive phenomena through cause and effect, through the reaction of matter as well as the consequences. We can’t see an electric current, but only the resulting effect, such as a moving or rotating object. Thus, we only perceive the manifestations of something, but cannot grasp the essence, even if it’s our own essence. This is why The Zohar explains all phenomena to us inside the general desire.

The problem is that Kabbalists do not have words at their disposal other than the words that belong to this world; that is why they use the language of branches. They use words that describe things in this world to depict things in the spiritual realm. It’s a true blessing that this language exists, as it allows us to enter spirituality independently and voluntarily, by learning to understand it from the outside in.

How can we find out about spirituality if we are on the outside and we don’t know or understand anything about it? In relation to spirituality, I am like a newborn. The difference is that a baby develops instinctively, pushed ahead by nature (the Creator), whereas we have to ask Him to give us the strength to advance towards Him. Yet, by doing so, we exercise our freedom of will – the freedom to become similar to the Creator.

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Whenever we begin reading The Book of Zohar, we have to attune ourselves so as to flow along with the material prepared for us by the great authors of this book. They tell us that the only thing that was created is the desire to enjoy. This desire has two forms of perceiving reality (or perceiving its Creator). One is a direct perception within the desire, which they call “from above downward.” In this form the desire can only perceive what we feel right now, “within ourselves.” Such a perception is called “this world.” The second form of perception take place above the desire, “outside” of it. It is when we don’t fulfill ourselves, but others (or, what seems as others).

We are not accustomed to the second kind of perception since we weren’t born with it. It seems odd and alien to us, and yet the authors of The Zohar tell us that this form of perception is the most natural, because it stems from nature (the Creator). In addition to the tiny world we feel within ourselves, there are other vast worlds “outside” ourselves.

The Zohar aims us so we could acquire this additional perception of reality outside our bodies. For this reason, if we want to see what The Zohar speaks of, we must attune ourselves to perceive the reality that exists “outside” of us, rather than “within.”

This book describes many things that sound like phenomena in this world, as well as magical creatures like angels, spirits or chambers. However, regardless of how realistic or supernatural these things may appear to us, The Zohar always speaks of the form of perception “within” ourselves. Therefore, if we want to understand what The Zohar wants to tell us, or rather, what it wants to reveal inside us, we must attune ourselves in the same direction – instead of aspiring for self-fulfillment, we should aspire to feel reality “outside” ourselves.

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During the period when The Book of Zohar was concealed from people – since its composition in the 2^nd century and until its discovery in the 11^th – no one called it “concealed” because no one knew anything about it. Today, however, every person in the world can easily buy The Book of Zohar and read it, so why is it called secret or concealed?

The Book of Zohar contains everything. It has the ability to reveal this world and the Upper Worlds to us in their entirety because it was written from the peak of all 125 levels, from the attainment of the entire universe, and it narrates about our entire path. The only problem is that this book remains closed because the person reading it is closing it to himself with his inability to concentrate, to attune himself correctly for seeing what is taking place inside the book. On his own, naturally, the reader is unable to position himself before the text the way he can do it by reading any other kind of text. He gets confused about the text of The Zohar, thinking that it describes images of our world, history, geography, physiology or anatomy. He erroneously connects the concepts, objects and actions using his earthly understanding.

Think of an electrical device with many wires and details, and you are connecting all of them incorrectly. Will you ever be able to make the device work? Obviously not! So is the case with The Zohar: Everything is lying open before us, but the problem is that we cannot reveal it because we are unable to properly involve ourselves with this system or to connect ourselves to it correctly. We simply don’t have the right approach to The Book of Zohar.

Before and during the reading, a person must constantly be learning to attune himself to a new focus, understanding and vision. In addition, he has to advance gradually, without rushing. The tuning process is necessary because if one simply opens up The Book of Zohar and starts reading it, he will only get confused, and later on it will be very difficult to correct the mess and return back to the beginning.

Therefore, the biggest difficulty lies in learning how to enter The Book of Zohar correctly. And that is why The Book of Zohar is accompanied by materials that talk about how to attune our instrument or perception – the soul.

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In order to see the true reality, we have to imagine nothing but our own desire. Since birth we have been conditioned to see a movie that shows the whole as being outside of us. However, it exists only inside our desire. We have to fight an inner war with ourselves in order to become convinced that everything happens inside the desire. However, this fact does not revoke reality, since desire is reality.

We normally think that a desire is simply when we want something. However, desire is everything. The wall that blocks our path is also a desire – when we come up against it, we come up against a desire. Everything around us is desires or forces, which are depicted a certain way on our screen. When we look at a photograph on a computer screen, we don’t think that there are real objects inside the computer. We know that the picture is created by electrical forces. However, when we look at our world, we don’t realize this because we don’t see the screen onto which this world is projected.

Yet, in reality, everything taking place is even simpler. What we see on a computer screen seems to be happening outside of us, on the screen, and from there the image enters our eye, is processed, compared with what is stored in our memory and is then recognized with the help of electro-chemical processes in our brain. However, when we see the world, we see it inside ourselves, in our brain. That is where we see a projection of this world, which appears as being outside of us. In reality it’s also projected on a screen where electrical forces are depicting a picture. Meanwhile, however, we think that this picture is located outside of us.

If we come closer to this authentic perception with the help of The Zohar, then we will see a world of forces and qualities before us. These forces and qualities are operated by one general force, the Creator. Upon reaching this vision and realization, we will reveal the Creator, which is our greatest desire. This revelation takes place inside our desire, depending on its equivalence of form with the Creator. All of The Zohar is aimed only at revealing the right perception of reality.

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When reading The Zohar, we encounter names such as Jacob, Esau, Abraham and Noah, but if we interpret them through our previous notions about the Torah, seeing it as a historical tale, then we will be completely confused and will entirely misunderstand what The Zohar is talking about. We have to go into an empty vacuum in outer space where there is no earth and nothing that ever took place there; all of it had only seemed real to us. Time, motion and space are an illusion which only exists in our imagination. We think that something existed thousands of years ago, and that we are now doing archeological excavations of it; we are even finding bones as proof of its existence. Yet, all of this exists only in our perceptions, which we call reality.

However, now we want to rise to the right understanding – to see the desire which contains Reshimot (informational genes). This is what we want to research, instead of the archaeological excavations.

I want to see this entire world inside my desire, since that is the only place where it really exists. I have to shift to perceiving the true reality instead of an imaginary one. I want to see the people around me as various forms or images inside my desire, instead of the physical bodies that appear before me. I want to see how all of reality – even the Creator – is contained inside my desire. Then my reality will be called Malchut of the World of Infinity.

I have to unite everything into one, since everything is contained inside one desire. The reason I see different images, actions, and movement across time and space (both in spiritual and material time and space) is because the Light, the Creator, is operating inside my desire. In this manner, gradually, step by step, he leads me to the true understanding of His actions.

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The Book of Zohar – Selections, Chapter “VaYishlach (And Jacob Sent),” Item 52
I want to see the entire world as existing within my desire because it is in fact so.
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“Preface to the Wisdom of Kabbalah,” Item 81, Lesson 34
The middle line always rises upwards from the lower level, except for those cases where the Upper Level wants to show an example.
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“Preface to the Book of Zohar,” Item 1
In the World of Atzilut, behind the “letters” and shapes (which are my constituent parts), I discover the Light that surrounds them. This is, indeed, a true revelation.
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Those who work in the dark without sensing any taste of the reward should understand that this is very beneficial to their advancement towards bestowal. It is even more so if they don’t wish to be in any other state. Your effort is the reward, provided that you love the One who creates these circumstances for you.

You are given a chance to apply your efforts even while not being able to taste the reward resulting from your work. That way you have nothing with which to revive your egoism, your “evil inclination,” your arrogance, consciousness, intellect, and sensations. Precisely these conditions are the greatest chance to accumulate all your energy and to make that tremendous push, the effort that will advance you toward bestowal.

The reward for your effort is the chance to touch holiness from within the darkness. Then it’s clear that you are not being “bribed” by your desire to enjoy. Therefore, you should be happy for being placed into a state where you feel no pleasure, because that is how you grow.

To do this, however, you need the support of the group and the general inspiration from the world community of Kabbalists. This mutual support really helps.

Particularly during periods when you don’t get help from the Creator or from within yourself (which also comes from the Creator), you start to yearn for the support of your group. And indeed, it provides the best and most reliable support, directing you towards the goal. This is where you will find the point of applying the right efforts, as well as the opportunity for a collective prayer.

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The Zohar: The prayer of the masses ascends before the Creator, and the Creator is beautified by this prayer because it rises with different requests: one asks for mercy, another – for courage, and a third – for pity. In addition, it includes several sides: the right, the left, and the middle.

However, the prayer of one person does not include all the sides and it has only one form: either he asks for mercy, or courage, or pity. Therefore, the prayer of one person is imperfect and it cannot be accepted as a common prayer is, since it does not include all three lines.

In order to come to a common prayer, a prayer for everyone as one whole, and in order to be one whole, one must first go through very difficult states of inner searching. A person has to understand that:

1. The spiritual goal is more important than all other goals.
2. It is impossible to achieve this goal alone, but only by creating one common aspiration out of all the individual aspirations. Then the aspiration will be similar to the Creator and the Upper Light will fill it.

Only this kind of request or prayer can be “heard,” meaning that only this kind of prayer is able to elicit the reforming actions of the Upper Light.

Reading The Book of Zohar awakens an inner realization that we need to be together, since without coming out of ourselves, it is impossible to attain bestowal, the Creator’s quality, and to exist in the Upper World.

It is written: “From love for the created beings to love for the Creator.” The Creator gave us an illusion that there are many people around us. We have to break through this illusion and understand that everything exists inside of us, and to ask Him to unify the whole world inside us.

Then the prayer of many will turn into a genuine prayer of one.

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Kabbalists gave us The Book of Zohar so that through it we would see the spiritual world and reveal the Creator. The science of Kabbalah is the revelation of the Creator to the created beings (see the definition in Baal HaSulam’s article, “The Essence of the Wisdom of Kabbalah”).

The Book of Zohar talks about me. Although its narration is rather strange, it describes what happens to me inside – and only inside! Much like my animate body consists of many parts and systems, so my spiritual body, the soul, consists of analogous parts and systems.

The matter of my animate body is the desire to receive and be fulfilled. The matter of my spiritual body is the desire to bestow and to fulfill. Only the spiritual body or the soul is the human being in me because the animate body cares only for itself, the animal, and exists only as long as this animal is alive.

So who is the human being in me? It is someone I have to discover, expose, and examine; this is the only thing that the science of Kabbalah and The Book of Zohar talk about.

I have to try to recognize my inner desires and their forms (qualities), which are described in The Book of Zohar through various names taken from our world. For example, the human being in me contains qualities called “Yaakov” and “Eisav,” a “bull” and a “mule,” “birds” and “trees,” “Adam HaRishon,” “Noah” and the “ark.” These are all qualities that exist inside me.

What do I get from engaging in this inner search? Do I actually discover all of these qualities? In truth, I do not! I will not find anything by searching. However, by exerting effort, I awaken the Upper Light – the revelation of the Creator. My attempts to recognize the Upper Qualities in me elicit the revelation of the Light and its Source, according to the principle, “Higati ve Matzati” – "I labored and found.”

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The Book of Zohar – Selections, Chapter “VaYishlach (And Jacob Sent),” Item 1
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