The Book of Zohar. Chapter “Who Is Your Partner?” (abridged)

61. Rabbi Shimon said: “How much effort should man exert in the Torah day and night, for the Creator is stern to those who draw near Him. And with every word that man attains by his efforts in the Torah, he builds a firmament.”

62. When the Torah is renewed by one’s mouth (the Light of Hochma is revealed in the Masach of Peh de Rosh), that renewal (new correction) ascends and appears before the Creator (in the World of Infinity). And the Creator (the general Light of Hochma) accepts this wisdom (the newly revealed Light of Hochma), kisses it (joins with it), and adorns it with seventy adornments (Sefirot of the soul’s body). And the renewed wisdom (the Light of Hochma) ascends and settles on the head of the righteous that revive the worlds, and then flies, soaring through 70,000 worlds, until it ascends to Atik, the Sefira Keter. And all that exists in Atik is concealed, Supernal Wisdom.

63. And this hidden wisdom, which is renewed here in this world, ascends and joins with Partzuf Atik, enters 18 worlds, where “No eye has seen the Creator besides you.” The souls emerge from there and appear before Atik, complete and perfect. Meanwhile, Atik adorns them with 370,000 adornments – and the wisdom is transformed into a firmament.

64. And thus, man’s every correction in this world creates firmaments, the new Heavens, which appear before Partzuf Atik – they are “renewed firmaments,” concealed by Supernal Wisdom. And all the other parts of the Torah that are not renewed by means of Supernal Wisdom appear before the Creator, ascend and become “the lands of life” (Artzot HaChaim). They then descend and adorn the land – and out of all the renewed a new land comes into being.

65. It is written, “When the new land and the new Heavens, which I make.” It is written “I make,” in present tense, for they are made from revealing the secrets of the Torah. And it is written of this: “And I shall place it in your mouth, and in the shadow of your hands’ garments, that I may take the Heavens (renewed by the Torah), and lay the foundations of the land.”

66. What is the meaning of “in the shadow of your hands’ garments”? – When the Torah was passed to Moshe, thousands of angels appeared so as to raze him with the flames of their mouths. But the Creator protected him. So now, when the renewal in the Torah ascends and appears before the Creator, He protects it and shelters the one who performed it, so as to prevent the angels from finding out and envying him, until new Heaven and earth are made out of this renewal in the Torah. Hence, it is said, “To take the Heavens and lay the foundations of the land from the shadow of your hands’ garments.”

67. The Creator said to these gates and to the words of the Torah, renewed by Him: “Who are you with? You are my partners. Just as I make the Heavens and the earth with My words, as it is written, ‘By the Creator’s word were the Heavens made,’ so you create new Heavens and earth by your (correction) labor in the Torah.”

68. However, if the renewal of the Torah by one who does not even know what he is saying, creates a firmament, then one who does not aspire to reveal the secrets of the Torah, all that he renews ascends, and the reverse side of man (the male part of the impure force), and the false tongue (from Nukva of the impure force, called Tehom Raba – great abyss), and the reversed man skips 500 Parsaot (measures of distance) to receive this renewal of the Torah, takes it and makes a false firmament out of it, called Tohu (abyss).

69. The reversed man then flies across the empty firmament, traversing 6,000 Parsaot, stops, an impure woman emerges, who supports this empty firmament, she leaves it and slays hundreds of thousands, for she receives the power to fly and traverse the whole world in an instant.

70. It is written of it: “Do not facilitate fruitless transgression.” Transgression is related to the male part. The impure Nukva (the female force) draws the male impure part to fruitlessness. And then, as a result, a transgression is committed, as the male part draws the souls towards this Nukva, who grows strong and slays people. And many does she slay thereby. And who is it that caused all this? It is those that study the Torah, but do not attain “Ohrah and Morah” – Light and bestowal!

71. Rabbi Shimon said to his friends, “I beg of you not to utter any discernments from the Torah, so that they don’t hear from the Great Tree of Truth. Do not assist the impure Nukva in slaying people. They all opened and mouthed: “Save us, O Merciful One!”

72. Come and see, the Creator created the whole world by the Torah. And He looked into the Torah four times before He created the world. This should show people how not to err.

73. Opposite these four times, the Creator saw, counted, prepared, and investigated what He had created. Even before He had created it. It is therefore written, “In the beginning the Creator Et (article)” – four words, corresponding to the four above. And then, it is written: “Heaven” – opposite all four words, for the Creator looked into the Torah before He began to manifest His thought into reality.

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Two questions I received on who can study Kabbalah:

Question: In your blog entry Get a Job you say, “Actually, Kabbalah obligates a person to get a job, get married and only then study Kabbalah.” What does “study Kabbalah” mean? Don’t children study it in many groups? So I’m wondering what “study Kabbalah” means. I think that “study Kabbalah” means the more in depth study, the full study, not the study of human interaction and coexistence with one another that the kids are involved in.

My Answer: Kabbalists write that in our time there are no bans on studying Kabbalah, and it can be studied at any age. The children will grow up, get married, and start working with the knowledge in depth. The world is made in such way that a person must “establish himself according to nature” (get married, work, and so on), and only then can he begin discerning his differences from the Creator and correcting them.

Question: I have never asked myself what I am living for, but I want to study Kabbalah. Can I do it?

My Answer: Rav Kook and other Kabbalists write that there are no restrictions on studying Kabbalah. Even if you don’t have questions, you can study in a group according to the principle, “You’ll work up an appetite once you start eating.” You will acquire the group’s aspiration for the search of the meaning of life. The environment influences the individual, and hence you will also begin to feel your point in the heart and will include your desire into the common ascent!

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A question I received: In one of your lessons you said, “To be kind means to give people spiritual food.” What is spiritual food?

My Answer: Spiritual food is the Light, that which corrects one’s soul and fills it. It’s because the only things in existence are the Light and the soul. The Light influences the soul, correcting or filling it according to the soul’s desire. If the soul is healthy, then the body will be healthy as well, but not vise versa – see the “Introduction to the Book of Zohar,” item 19:

“But this agony is felt only by the shell of our body, created only to be perished and buried. And that teaches us that the will to receive for oneself is created only to be eradicated, abolished from the world and turned into a will to bestow. And the pains we suffer are but discoveries of its nothingness and the harm in it.

Indeed, when all human beings agree to abolish and eradicate their will to receive for themselves, and have no other desire but to bestow upon their friends, all worries and jeopardy in the world will cease to exist. And we will all be assured of a healthy and complete life, since for each and every one of us there will be a whole world ready to satisfy his every need.

Indeed, when everyone has only the will to receive for himself, from here originate the pains, the wars and slaughter which we cannot escape. They weaken our bodies with all sorts of sores and maladies and you find that all the agonies in our world are but manifestations that are offered to our eyes, so as to push us to annul the evil shell of the body and take on the complete form of the will to bestow. And it is as we’ve said, that the Path of Pain in itself can bring us to the desired form.”

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Questions I received on pity, being judgmental, dreams, and the love of fairy tales:

Question: Why do we feel pity for puppies, kittens, elderly people, the crippled, and so on? What is pity?

My Answer: Always start at the beginning, from the initial premise – we are egoists. Therefore, our pity is egoistic. It’s one’s sensation of suffering, or the fear of suffering.

Question: I often get into the situation where the minute I’m judgmental of someone and say “I would never do what they did,” things suddenly take a turn so that I end up doing exactly what I thought I’d never do. When I’m judgmental of others, I end up in the same situation as them.

My Answer: It is written: “Don’t judge others until you are in their place.” You are being shown who you really are. You should learn about yourself from others, since you only notice all the negative things in them because you also have the same properties.

Question: Dear Rav, what happens to the thoughts, desires, and especially the will during the hours when the physical body rests?

My Answer: They are uploaded into the system in one’s brain that sorts them, and then into one’s memory. At this time one may experience them in the form of dreams, which are removed from reality and therefore the situations in them are fantastical.

Question: Are there people who meet and stay together forever? Does one have to realize something very important to deserve such happiness?

My Answer: We are becoming more and more egoistic. In our time people are realizing their inability to love and be faithful. This is happening so we will realize that it’s necessary to correct egoism, and then we will deserve happiness. Two people with a well developed egoism can meet and stay together forever only in our dreams.

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Three questions I received on dealing with fears and doubts on the path to revealing the Upper World:

Question: I have been drawn to Kabbalah for the last two years. My problem is that although I read the books you recommend and try to study, I seem to get no understanding. I worry that the Creator hasn’t opened my point in the heart. Also, when I feel as though something real might be taking place in me, some external influence takes my attention from my studies. Does this mean that this isn’t my time for drawing nearer to the Creator?

My Answer: No. You just need to:

1. Accumulate inside you the desire for the correct goal.
2. Realize that you cannot correct yourself – only the Light can correct you in accordance with the goal.

This is the only way to reveal the Upper World. It takes time and a certain amount of effort and experience. Concerning the efforts, it is written that you have to be “As an ox to the burden and as a donkey to the load,” and “Know that it’s not up to you to complete this work, but you are also not free to leave it.”

If you accept these conditions for changing your nature, then you will attain the goal. You will reveal the Upper World inside the property of bestowal, and then you’ll discover that our entire world is but a small, insignificant dimension.

Question: Is crossing the Machsom the most difficult part in the spiritual ascent? Once you cross over, is the process accelerated?

My Answer: Yes, it is accelerated by many times, and this happens clearly in your perception and awareness.

Question: Rav, I’ve read that as one studies Kabbalah, he is shown his egoistic side and that as the Creator wants someone to advance, His blows against him are harder and harder.

In the past few months, my “luck” (for lack of a better term) has gotten much worse. What is the Creator telling me? That I am not putting enough effort into Kabbalah? I feel beaten down. My only consolation is that maybe, just maybe, this is the precursor to the Creator correcting my egoism. But what if I’m wrong? I think we are all here studying Kabbalah because of the promise of the reward, but am I doing something wrong to be on such a path of pain while trying to reach the goal of correction?

My Answer: You must read the Shamati articles immediately. Precisely your current state will help you understand what the Creator wants from you.

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A question I received: A few months ago I started studying Kabbalah with the Ari Online classes for beginners. I am proud to say I have already watched twenty two lessons! I’m now beginning to understand that I need a group and a teacher in order to gain a better perception of the study material (I already have the books). The problem is that my wife is opposed to my studies, and our relationship is very uneasy at the moment, although I am doing everything I can to save our marriage. I have registered for the Congress that will be held in the United Kingdom from the 7th to the 9th of November, but my wife is absolutely against me going. She believes that family bonds are much more important than my studies, or my “hobby,” as she likes to call it. What should I do? How can I explain to her that I need to study Kabbalah and attend the Congress?

My Answer: If she sees that you love her, but you also have something else that’s important to you in this life, then she has to come to terms with it and accept it with love. If she doesn’t, then what kind of a friend and companion is she, if she egoistically wants to dominate over your entire life? It is written, “A man can sacrifice everything in this world, except his soul,” because one’s soul belongs to the Creator, and he is obligated to return it to Him (to grow close and adhere to Him through equivalence of form). This is the only case when a man would be justified in getting a divorce – if staying married will mean that he has to live in this world in vain.

Test yourself and the Creator, for He is one, and everything comes from Him. If you are serious about the path you have chosen (and I emphatically stress this point) and are willing to leave your wife for it, and if you have explained it to her and she still doesn’t concede, then she’s not the right life partner for you.

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Here’s a letter I received from my student about the newspaper dissemination event at the Black Sea:

Dear Rav,

I just got back from Sochi where I participated in the dissemination of our newspaper Kabbalah Today. I’d like to tell you about my impressions from talking to people while giving out newspapers. As you extend your hand to give someone a newspaper, people already know you and say things like: “Give me one, I want to read it,” “We already know Kabbalah,” “Thanks, but we already have a copy,” “We already read it yesterday.” You suddenly realize that most people you see already know about Kabbalah, have read our newspapers, accept and agree with it, are interested in it, perhaps they don’t understand everything because of the complexity, but they support it and recommend it to others. And you suddenly find that you’re surrounded by a society where everyone knows about Kabbalah!

Here are some more responses I got: “Give me three copies, because I had to give mine to a friend,” “Where can we buy your books?” “Do you have other books, because we already read this one?” “What do I need a newspaper for? I’m reading the books,” “When is the next issue coming out? We’ve already read this one.” One woman told a group of teenagers who were walking past our newspaper, “Take a copy, read it!”

One time I saw two men with our newspapers looking for somewhere to sit down. I thought to myself, “What a shame! They’ll use the newspapers as something to sit on,” but no – they sat down, read for a while, then carefully folded their newspapers and put them in their pockets. Another time I saw a boy of about fourteen years old walking down the street and reading, with his eyes glued to the newspaper even as he was walking. I saw all kinds of people – white, gray, black, dressed or half-naked, with long hair or with no hair at all, wearing crosses and covered in tattoos – and they all opened up the newspaper, read it, and then carefully folded it back up and took it with them wherever they went!

After a day of giving out newspapers, I walked along the boardwalk to gather up any copies that people may have thrown out. But out of 1500 newspaper that I gave out, the number of copies I found lying around didn’t even come up to ten, and five of those were carefully folded up and placed somewhere where others could find them. Then I looked at the beach and – wow! Almost every person had our newspaper!

The strange thing is that when you start disseminating (at 7:30AM), you keep looking at your watch to check how much time is left, but at the end of the day (11:30PM), despite the scorching hot sun that beat down on you all day, you feel like you don’t even want to leave.

One of the guys who was with us, Kolya, managed to make a few rounds every shift, checking up on all of us, taking pictures, giving moral support, bringing us cold drinks, and cooling us down with an ice cream cone!

And don’t forget that all of this is happening right by the sea. After a day of dissemination, we jump into the water. The impressions are simply beautiful – the water here is crystal clear, warm and not very salty…

I was there for a week, but felt that it was too short. It was so difficult to leave. In fact, it’s even easier to leave a congress. On the way there I drove from Moscow making three stops to rest, and the trip just dragged on and on. The trip back was a breeze – I was so excited that I drove for 25 hours straight, only stopping for gas a few times, and didn’t even think about sleeping!

But the most important thing is that this dissemination event probably won’t happen again next year, because there will be new events waiting for us! So this is a once in a lifetime chance that every person has for himself and for the GROUP! It’s only here right now! I’m grateful to the Creator and the Group for giving me the strength to rise above all the obstacles, and for giving me such a priceless gift – a chance to participate, to go through this, and to be a part of it!

P.S. Right now this dissemination event is at its halfway point – it will still keep going for the rest of August and all of September. Everyone who was able to has already been there. But it’s still too early to relax! We have to put everything we have into this until the very last day! The team is replaced by new people every 7-10 days, and then everything happens again like it’s the first time! The vacationers who still have to receive our newspapers are only now booking their tickets.

So let’s keep up the pace!

L’Chaim Gelenzhik – Sochi – Crimea!

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In a recent blog entry, I wrote that we have just published a new edition of the collected works of Rav Baruch Shalom Ashlag – the Rabash. Here I would like to offer some insight and history on the most precious text that Rabash left behind – the book Shamati:

Shamati is the most valuable book in the world, because it has the power to bring a person to the purpose of his life. Shamati is the main Kabbalistic source text. It contains all the foundations of man’s spiritual work. The articles contained in this book summarize everything one needs to enter the Upper World. They encompass the infinite depth of all 125 degrees that a person can and must go through in his spiritual path, whose summit is the goal of creation. This book is the most special book in the world, because no book in the entire history of mankind has gone deeper into man’s spiritual work.

Where did the book Shamati come from? Here’s a brief history. Among all the books and manuscripts that my teacher, Rav Baruch Shalom Ashlag, used for study, there was one special, personal notebook, whose cover held the inscription “Shamati” – Hebrew for “what I heard.” He never parted with this notebook and always made sure to take it along anywhere he went. He never stopped studying it, and used to read it over and over again.

One day, late at night, he suddenly gave it to me and said: “Take this notebook and use it.” I immediately understood that his path was soon to reach an end. And indeed, he passed away the very next morning. His pure soul ascended into the unknown heights as soon as the night was gone.

The notebook he gave me was rather thick, and its contents revealed lessons by my teacher’s father, the great Kabbalist Yehuda Ashlag – Baal HaSulam.

Baal HaSulam integrated all of the Kabbalistic knowledge that was previously passed down in secret, from teacher to student, from generation to generation, and thus for millennia. In doing so, Baal HaSulam prepared for us a method of mass spiritual ascension.

Rav Baruch Ashlag recorded his father’s lessons word for word, because he heard them directly from his father and Teacher. Hence, we have to follow these words just as they appear, and abide by the exact form that Baal HaSulam chose for his words. One should strive for his thoughts to go through the very same path as the text lays out, following Baal HaSulam’s thought. It’s more important to adhere to a great Kabbalist than to pay attention to the beauty of the linguistic nuances in the text. One should strive to see the inner beauty of the text, and then, as one will continue reading it, his understanding of the articles will undergo constant transformation, penetrating deeper and deeper.

In these articles Baal HaSulam often relies on quotes by other Kabbalists, written from the heights of their attainment. These quotes should give us an understanding of how profound the topic at hand is. They should also help us realize that we are receiving the method of adhesion with the Creator from the entire lineage of Kabbalists, and this method is being passed to us by the very last Kabbalist in this lineage – the great Baal HaSulam.

All of these texts should be regarded as one article, because they all speak about the same thing. They describe how the creature searches for its Creator and grows closer to Him, until it attains adhesion with Him. Essentially, these articles describe all the work that a person has to do in order to attain equivalence of form, adhesion and union with the Creator. In all of reality, there is no other reason for existence besides this one goal. According to this goal, man enables the entire reality, all the worlds and everything that inhabits them, to rise and incorporate in the Creator.

Hence, we have to understand that the entire universe, all the creatures, and all the worlds, are inside one person. Every person has to imagine that he is that person, and that he has freedom of choice and freedom of action. He, and only he, is standing opposite the Creator, and he has the responsibility and the privilege of doing the work necessary to attain equivalence of form, unification and adhesion with the Creator.

This is what all the articles in the book Shamati are about.

The clock has started ticking and time is flying by. In every part of the world there are people who are starting to feel an interest in spiritual ascent and to ask the question, “What is the meaning of my life?” In light of this, I understood the uniqueness and importance of the Shamati articles, and this is why I decided to publish this book and to reveal it to the world.

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The Book of Zohar. Chapter, “Who Has Created These, of Eliyahu” (abridged)

11. Rabbi Shimon said: “Elazar, my son (the continuation of the present state, the next degree), reveal to us the supernal secret (law), which the people of the world know nothing of (which they cannot observe in their properties).” Rabbi Elazar was silent (unable to reveal this to the lower ones). Rabbi Shimon wept (entered the state of Katnut, descended to a lower degree on the spiritual ladder), was silent and then said: “Elazar, what is THIS? If THIS was the stars and the signs of the zodiac (destinies), they would have been visible the whole time and located in Malchut, i.e. created, as it is said, “by the word of the Creator were the heavens made.” Meaning, by Malchut, called the “Word of the Creator,” were the heavens made. And if THIS refers to the concealed secrets, then it wouldn’t be written THIS, for the stars and the signs of destinies are visible to all (“THIS” indicates that the object is understood).

12. But this secret was revealed on the day when I was at the seashore (the edge of wisdom). Eliyahu the prophet (the revelation of the degree of wisdom) came and told me: “Rabbi, do you know what WHO HAS CREATED THESE means?” I told him: “These are the heavens and their hosts, the works of the Creator, that man can look at them and bless them, as it is written, ‘When I behold Your heavens, the work of Your hands! Our Master! How glorious Your name is throughout all the earth!’”

13. Eliyahu told me: “The Creator revealed the concealed to the Supernal Assembly: When the ‘concealed of all the concealed’ desired to reveal himself, he first made one single point (Malchut), and this point ascended into his thought (Malchut ascended and joined Bina). With it he drew all the forms and with it engraved all the images.”

14. He engraved inside a concealed, sacred candle (inside Malchut that joined Bina) one concealed image of the holy of holies, a secret structure that has emerged from the thought called WHO, which is the inception of the structure. It is great and is concealed deep inside the name (Bina) ELOKIM = ELOK–IM = THIS-WHO. Initially WHO senses the absence of THIS, strives to the name ELOKIM. He desired to be revealed and be called the full name ELOKIM – hence He clothed Himself in a precious, radiant garment (the Light of Hassadim). He created THIS. The letters THIS of the name ELOK–IM ascended and joined the letters WHO, thereby forming the full name ELOKIM. And until He created THIS, ELOKIM did not ascend (rise) to the name ELOKIM (to the level of Bina). That is why those who sinned in worshipping the golden calf (those who fell from the property of bestowal into the property of receiving for oneself), they pointed their finger at this secret, saying: “THIS is your Lord, Israel!” (they wanted to use only the lower part of Bina, which passes the Light of Hochma to the lower ones, without comparing itself with the properties of the upper part of Bina, the properties of bestowal).

15. Just as WHO joins with THIS to form one name ELOKIM (when Hochma clothes in Hassadim), so does the name join by this beautiful radiant garment. On this secret (the ability to receive for the sake of bestowal) stands the world (the fulfillment of souls), as it is said: “The world was created by mercy.” And Eliyahu flew away (ascended to the degree higher than mine), and I could no longer see him (could not reveal him on my own). But it is from him (from this revelation he made) that I attained the touch of the secret of revelation and of the secret of concealment (how to conceal the uncorrected desires and how to reveal the desires that have been corrected by the Light of Hassadim). Rabbi Elazar and all the disciples drew near (equalized their properties), bowed down (bowed their heads, descended to the same level as the body), wept (lowered their degree) and said (only then did they reveal): “If we had come into this world (attained this degree), but only to hear (attain this property of bestowal, Bina = hearing = ears), it would have been enough for us!” (we desire nothing more than to bestow).

“Who Has Created These, of Eliyahu” – full commentary.

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Two questions I received on evolution and history:

Question: If we were monkeys in the past then who created the monkeys? I’m not sure what to believe in, evolution or religion?

My Answer: Kabbalah says that development in our world does not occur by natural selection, where forces and qualities of “the fittest” are chosen, but rather by the sequential emergence of Reshimot in us. Reshimot is information about the souls’ descent from above downwards – from the World of Infinity to our world. This informational data formed in us as a result of creation’s descent from the World of Infinity to our world, and hence it is built into us as a spiral of data about each degree of descent.

Today we (as well as everything that exists in general) feel the manifestation of this data (Reshimot) inside us about these degrees (from below upwards), and we have to realize them. We can realize the Reshimot in two ways – either through the path of Light or the path of suffering. The path of Light is when we study Kabbalah in order to learn about our future degrees, and we thereby draw the Correcting Light, Ohr Makif. The path of suffering is when we don’t study the structure of the system and don’t draw the Light from the next degree, but only feel the pressure of the following Reshimo that demands to be realized.

Hence, there is no evolution, but only a gradual expression of data that’s already known in advance. Everything is known ahead of time, other than the method of ascending the degrees – whether it will happen consciously (quickly and pleasantly) or forcefully (slowly and painfully). It’s like a film strip where all the future frames already exist, but they gradually appear before the viewer.

Therefore, both Darwin and religion are incorrect.

Question: Do you believe that history can repeat itself? And do you think that people have the right to call their methods using their own names, or should they explain them anonymously?

My Answer: History does not repeat itself. The history that unfolds before our eyes is Reshimot (informational data) that become expressed sequentially (step by step).

In reference to your second question – I don’t care whether people have the right to do something or not; I only care whether their method is a science. If it isn’t a science that’s based on facts, according to the principle “The judge knows no more than what his eyes see,” then I will not take it into consideration. In our times, all “sciences” and “methods” will be tested for authenticity, and to the degree they are authentic, they will become part of Kabbalah.

Today this revolution in our consciousness is not evident yet, because Kabbalah is still concealed. But when Kabbalah will become revealed, then scientists will be amazed at the possibility of “pure” experiment – one that’s not obscured by the egoistic mind. They will then discard everything that is not related to clear attainment of the world, according to a principle that’s explained in The Book of Zohar: One can only attain the material and its form, but not the abstract form and the essence (see the article “Preface to the Book of Zohar”).

As for how a method should be named, this doesn’t matter at all. We either name it according to our egoistic demands, or according to the necessity of scientific notation and definition.
[1727]
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