A question I received: Is it possible to publish the Torah with an explanation of its inner meaning, the Sulam commentary? Many people I know say: “I only know the Torah of Moses. I don’t know The Book of Zohar, only Moses. I don’t know Rashbi, the Ari, or Baal HaSulam, only Moses, and I read his Torah every day.” The problem is that they read a beautiful tale without the inner meaning. Is it possible to publish the Torah with explanations of its inner meaning beneath the text? Does such a thing exist? It would open the eyes and hearts of many!

My Answer: This won’t open anything up for anyone. About twenty or thirty years ago, people used to ask how Kabbalah explains different excerpts from the Torah. Lured by these commentaries, they came to learn Kabbalah – myself included.

However, today people want to know about themselves, and they don’t care about what’s written in the Torah. One considers one’s own soul as being more important. In the past, people were interested in theoretical problems, but today, they are interested in practical problems, the problems of survival.

Thus, we should speak to people directly, and not confuse them with beautiful phrases. We should succinctly explain causes and their effects, get straight to the point, and tell people how they can change their lives in a way that everyone will understand. I dismiss those who set their terms and say, “I only want to hear it this one way.” Let them receive a few more blows of fate, and then they’ll feel the approaching disaster, the suffering, and will come without setting any terms. A hungry person is ready to eat anything, and doesn’t ask for a menu.

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The image on the right is a page from a Latin translation of The Zohar, ascribed to Isaac Newton.

In the book, The Religion of Isaac Newton, Frank E. Manuel wrote that “Isaac Newton was convinced that Moses possessed the knowledge of all scientific secrets.” Dr Seth Pancoast wrote that “Isaac Newton was led to the discovery of physical laws (forces of gravitation and repulsion) through the study of Kabbalah.”

A Latin translation of The Book of Zohar (Kabbalah Denudata), was found in Newton’s library, and is currently kept at the Trinity College in Cambridge. Isaac Newton based his scientific research on philosophical principles. In particular, Newton wrote: “In my books I laid down the principles of philosophy that are not purely philosophical, but also mathematical, which can serve as the basis for discussing physical matters. So that they don’t seem fruitless, I accompanied them with some physical explanations” (Newton I., Mathematical Principles of Natural Philosophy, 1686, V. 3, “The System of the World,” p. 501).

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