Question: When reading The Book of Zohar, we look at the Hebrew letters on a white background and feel their power. If The Zohar were translated into other languages, would this power be maintained?

Answer: The letters of The Book of Zohar are not sacred, meaning they don’t carry a particular spiritual energy. A person receives the spiritual energy because through these symbols (for these are not letters but symbols) he is connected with their spiritual source, with their essence.

Therefore it makes no difference in what language the book is written and in what form the person will get it. The main thing is that he will comprehend it as a carrier of spiritual information and will understand that he needs to properly attune to it.

At one time I was very interested in the subject and talked about it a lot with Rabash. I remember that I was very surprised when he said: “What difference does this make? This book could also be written in English. Only the key to the connection between my soul and the collective soul, Malchut de Ein Sof, is conveyed to us not through the English language, but through Aramaic and Hebrew.”

These two languages were in use in ancient Babylon since the days of Adam. Also they went as a pair, as direct and indirect. In fact, they are very close and are able to express spiritual characteristics because the Kabbalists conveyed all of the spiritual information to us through the arrangement of the letters and the words. The Book of Zohar works with this a lot. The entire problem is in conveying the information.

For if we were not in concealment of the Creator, we would not have any need for letters. I would feel what he feels. And there would not be any need for letters, for words, for sounds, for combinations of colors, nothing, because it would be felt directly in my heart. Pay attention to how often it is difficult to convey what we feel even in our native language. This is because all words are only an external conveyance.
[129889]
From a lesson in Russian, February 7, 2014

Related Material:
The Secrets Of Reading The Zohar
The Zohar: The Link To Perfection
Through The Letters Of The Book Of Zohar

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Preparation for the Lesson

Workshop

The Book of Zohar — Selected Excerpts, Parashat “Bereshit-1,” “Let Us Make Man,” Item 159   

Writings of Baal HaSulam, “Introduction to the Book, Panim Meirot uMasbirot,” Item 10

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Preparation for the Lesson

The Book of Zohar — Selected Excerpts, Parashat “Bereshit-1,” “A Prayer for the Poor,” Item 184

Writings of Baal HaSulam, “Preface to the Wisdom of Kabbalah,” Item 24 

Writings of Baal HaSulam, “Introduction to the Book, Panim Meirot uMasbirot,” Item 9

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Preparation for the Lesson

The Book of Zohar — Selected Excerpts, “Torah and Prayer,” Item 184 

Writings of Baal HaSulam, “Preface to the Wisdom of Kabbalah,” Item 22   

Writings of Baal HaSulam, “Introduction to the Book, Panim Meirot uMasbirot,” Item 9

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Preparation for the Lesson

Workshop 

The Book of Zohar — Selected Excerpts 

Talmud Eser Sefirot, “Histaklut Pnimit,” Vol. 6, Part 15, Item 200   

Writings of Rabash, “Dargot HaSulam,” Article 913

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It doesn’t matter whether I read The Zohar or whether I am on duty in the kitchen; what’s important is that I constantly yearn for the Light that Reforms and to connect with the friends. I cannot yearn for the Light without unity or connection. It is an essential pre-condition, which we don’t even speak about since it is obvious.

If there is no connection, my yearning for the Light is egoistic and false and is only for my own benefit. Without it we cannot climb Mt. Sinai because from that point onwards we begin to think only together.

This doesn’t happen automatically, of course, and we have to constantly remind one another about it, and this is the reason for mutual guarantee. This is why it was agreed to accept mutual guarantee at Mt. Sinai, since no one can yearn for a real vessel unless all the other parts of this vessel agree to it, the 600,000 souls that make up a whole vessel.

600,000 souls is a symbol of your yearning for reaching the goal by planning it first. The ultimate goal is to reach the level called 60 Ribo, Arich Anpin, and so we have to collect 600,000 souls, which means that we have to yearn to climb to the top of the mountain together.

Question: How do we strengthen the mutual guarantee between us by yearning for the Light while reading The Zohar?

Answer: One simply doesn’t work without the other. This is the principle. Therefore, “love thy friend as thyself” is the general rule and the only way by which we can receive the Torah. Without it the Light will not come, or may come only in a very weak form.
[129833]
From the 3^rd part of the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 3/11/14, Writings of Baal HaSulam

Related Material:
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Degrees Of Mutual Guarantee
The Light Of The Soul Breaking Through The Fence Of The Ego

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Preparation for the Lesson

The Book of Zohar — Selected Excerpts 

Writings of Baal HaSulam, “Preface to the Wisdom of Kabbalah”   

Writings of Baal HaSulam, “Introduction to the Book, Panim Meirot uMasbirot”   

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Preparation for the Lesson

Workshop 

The Book of Zohar — Selected Excerpts 

Writings of Baal HaSulam, “Preface to the Wisdom of Kabbalah”   

Writings of Baal HaSulam, “Introduction to the Book, Panim Meirot uMasbirot”   

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Recommendation for how to work at the time of reading The Book of Zohar: I read along together with everyone and I listen. But in the beginning I don’t listen to the reader, I don’t want to hear and think about the text. I think only about adherence with the group and adherence with the Creator, wanting the Upper Light to hold me all the time and increase my state of adherence more and more.

If I succeed in holding a few minutes in this state, I allow myself to begin to start listening. I keep bobbing all the time, like a buoy on water, constantly checking myself: Am I listening, more or less, seeing the letters or not? But the main thing is to “float” all the time, to be in adhesion.

To the degree that I can add my impressions from the text here (suppose that it touches me because I have already gone through similar states), then I allow myself to combine the text with adhesion. And if not, then even though I don’t hear it at all, the main thing is that my thoughts will always remain correct.

That is, first of all we all want to remain in adhesion with the upper power, in mutual Arvut, in connection, and the Creator strengthens and adheres us together. And as much as possible, we add to this what The Book describes. The Zohar talks about all kinds of changes, all the kinds of guiding routes, roads, paths: capillaries, cells, body parts of this entire system of unification; it explains how it works, how it acts. To the degree that I am also ready to be in this, I do this, and if not, then I don’t.

We want to feel ourselves under a shower of Ohr Makif (Surrounding Light) or in a sea of Ohr Makif, in the depths of this sea so that it will influence us all the time. The closer we join together, the stronger its influence. We need to feel that we are in a sea of Upper Light and that the words of The Zohar pierce us. To the degree that we are prepared to combine them to intentions and to our state of connection, we make it possible for them to enter into our feelings and intellect. And to the degree that they disturb us and distract us from connection, we don’t allow them to enter into us.
[129245]
From the 4^th part of the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 3/2/14, Writings of Baal HaSulam

Related Material:
How to Read The Book of Zohar
Before Reading The Book Of Zohar
The Secrets Of Reading The Zohar

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Preparation for the Lesson

The Book of Zohar — Selected Excerpts 

Writings of Baal HaSulam, “Preface to the Wisdom of Kabbalah”   

Writings of Baal HaSulam, “Introduction to the Book, Panim Meirot uMasbirot”   

Filed under: Daily Kabbalah Lesson, Zohar - No Comments →