The Zohar, Chapter “VaYikra (The Lord Called),” Item  129: …The offering of the poor is the lightest: two turtledoves or two young pigeons. And if not, he brings a little flour and is thus forgiven. At that time, it is declared and said, “For He has not despised nor abhorred the lowliness of the poor,” since the offering of the poor is the most praised.

This is talking about a person, with what degree of desire (Aviut) he can work in order to bestow.  In the measure that his will to receive is revealed to him, he takes parts from it, the thicker and coarser ones, and if he is able to work with them in order to bestow, he is called rich. And if he can take only the smaller, weaker ones from his will to receive and bring them as a sacrifice, that is to bring them closer to the Creator, he is called poor.

The word “sacrifice” (Korban) derives from the word “bring closer” (Lekarev). According to what part of his will to receive a person brings closer to the Creator in order to use it to bestow, he is called rich or poor.  The rich brings more, and the poor less; each one to the extent that he is able to work with his will to receive in order to bestow. “Sacrifice” is called the will to receive that I previously used in order to receive but now bring closer to the Creator, and in doing so transform it from a receiving to a bestowing one.  Because of this new will to receive, I came closer to the Creator and made one step forward on the ladder to adhesion with the Creator.

From the 3rd part of the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 5/21/10, The Zohar

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The Zohar, On Major Corrections

Adam was the first person to reveal the order of actions that lead to spiritual success. He passed on this wisdom to his disciples “mouth to mouth.” And everyone can add to his friend (Baal HaSulam, “The Teaching of the Kabbalah and Its Essence”).

One: The Creator is One, all of reality is included in Him at all times; everything stems from Him; He is perfect despite the seeming imperfection of creation. Kabbalists call this investigation “One.”

Abraham laid down the basis of this investigation. In his Book of Creation, he arrived at the conclusion that there are not two different authorities of good and evil, but rather everything is ruled only by good (Baal HaSulam, “The Character of Kabbalah”).

The Book of Zohar, Preface (abridged)

1. Abraham is the root of mercy in the souls. That is why he corrected the common soul (Shechina) and made it suitable for fulfillment by the Light of Mercy.

But if the Light of Mercy (Hassadim) stayed in the souls of Abraham’s disciples (the “people of Israel,” the group he created), they wouldn’t be able to exercise their desire to receive pleasure. That is why the correction of mercy didn’t bring the Thought of Creation to completion. This is because the main idea behind the Thought of Creation is to please the creatures specifically by receiving fulfillment from Him.

2.  This is the reason why Abraham (the property of bestowal) gave birth to Isaac (the property of receiving). As a result of Abraham’s correction, Isaac discovered the existence of the common soul which was in the state of a complete perfection filled with the Light of Mercy. He then sensed its desire to receive the entire perfection that was pre-determined by the Thought of Creation.

In other words, Isaac awakened in it the desire to receive from the Creator for the sake of bestowal which means that the desire to receive emerges only because of the desire of the Bestowing One; if the Bestowing One didn’t desire it, the soul wouldn’t possess even the tiniest desire to receive anything at all from Him.

This type of receiving for the sake of giving is considered bestowal since it is a quality that is not supported by egoism. It completely corrected the general desire (Shechina) to receive the entirety of abundance that was programmed at the time of creation.

3.  However, since the world was not ready for complete correction, the villain Esau appeared and corrupted the process of correction.

Esau didn’t follow “receiving solely for the sake of bestowal” as per Isaac’s correction; he sinned by receiving “for his own sake.” Even when he came to understand that the Bestowing One didn’t want him to receive, he still continued to receive pleasure for his own sake and that’s why Klipot “bonded” with him.

Since Jacob was aware of Esau’s “defect,” he corrected the Soul within the property of trepidation. That’s why it is said: “his hand grasping Esau’s heel.”  As a result, the corrections of Abraham and Isaac were united and no wrongdoing occurred.

4. But this correction was not final since it resulted from fear of sin that comes from “Esau’s heel.”  When complete correction takes place, the fear of “Esau’s heel” is annulled, and trepidation appears out of the greatness of the Creator. Jacob’s fear serves to correct all generations of the people of Israel until complete correction is attained.

5. Everybody has to go through correction, and by doing so perceive the soul created by the Creator. This means obtaining the “qualities of the forefathers.”

Only after the acquisition of such properties, correction of the soul commences; it takes off from the same place which Jacob left for us, meaning elevating trepidation to a degree at which it depends solely on the greatness of the Creator. Afterward, the Upper Light is attracted through this elevated property of trepidation to guide us towards complete correction.

6. The reason for all afflictions that emerge in this world is exclusively to correct the desire to receive within souls so that they become ready to receive all of the abundance included in the Thought of Creation.

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The Zohar was revealed only during our times since we have now gone through the inanimate, vegetative, and animate levels of our development and reached the human level (human, "Adam" – from the word "Edame," which means "similar" to the Creator). Therefore, presently we feel a crisis, helplessness, despair, and disappointment in our lives. This is precisely why The Zohar is being revealed: so that we could realize our connection, reach the same system of connection between us as exists in Malchut of Infinity where we are all connected as one whole.

The first stage of correction is called "don’t do to another what you hate." This is the level of Hafetz Hesed (not wanting anything for yourself), the "return from fear (trepidation)." The second stage of correction is even higher; it is the level of "love your neighbor as yourself," the "return from love," receiving for the sake of bestowal. We have yet to perform these two corrections, and they both are realized in the relationships between people.

Then the Creator is revealed in our corrected relationships to the extent that we love and bestow to the neighbor, as it is written: "From love for the neighbor to love for the Creator." Not a single correction can be carried out in any other way except by realizing it in a group of Kabbalists (i.e., those who desire to reach the level of a human being).

In the relationship between them, they build a system of Malchut of Infinity as they wish to feel the Light of Infinity, the Creator, in it. The Zohar needs to provide us with the strength for this, this desire and the inner attainments. Therefore, while we read The Zohar we need to try to be in the intention that we are all one whole that our points in the heart, the desires for the spiritual, unite as one. From these common desires, we build our spiritual vessel, the Shechina, Malchut of Infinity, in which we will feel the Creator.

We need to feel that we are together, like the authors of The Zohar, the group of Rabbi Shimon, and within this system of connection between us, we should try to imagine what this Book is telling us about. After all, the only thing written about in The Zohar is the connection between us. Although this is described in various forms and images that seem to be from this world, it is only the forces of our soul that are described in The Zohar.

From the 3rd part of the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 5/21/10, The Zohar

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The Zohar, Chapter “VaYikra (The Lord Called),” Item 108: Hence, since the sins of the lower ones blemish above, they offer a sacrifice. That offering is as it is written, “And for your transgressions was your mother put away,” where the sin causes separation between ZA and Malchut for his flaw, since Malchut was sent away due to the sin. And the offering that they sacrifice brings the upper world, ZA, closer to the lower world, Malchut, and everything becomes one.

Man never willingly commits a sin. If he knows for certain that he would be committing a sin, he would not be able to do so. He sins only if he doesn’t know or doesn’t consider the act a sin. It is impossible to sin before the Creator, but can only do so if He is concealed, which no longer makes it a sin.

All the sins mentioned by the science of Kabbalah have taken place from above downward by the Upper Force. When ascending from below upward, we never sin. We merely reveal the sins that exist in us from Him in the first place.

The Creator created the evil inclination; no greater or other evil could have been done. He turned Himself into a polar opposites, placed this oppositeness into us, and is gradually revealing it to us. All the evil that we are presently revealing within is but the smallest measure of oppositeness to the Creator that exists within us.

As we ascend the spiritual ladder to the World of Infinity, we will continue to reveal evil within in increasingly greater degrees of oppositeness to Him, until the Creator becomes revealed within us on the level of Infinity as a polar opposite of Himself. The evil within us will be infinitely great, but at the same time we will have the strength to oppose it.

From the 1st part of the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 5/20/10, The Zohar

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A Question I Received: When I read The Zohar, my mind keeps seeing superficial images. How can I remember that all these things are happening inside me as the text speaks about connections between us?

My Answer: To tell you the truth, it doesn’t matter. "Time does what the mind does not." The time is for studying and growing closer with the friends. When, during the lesson, a person isn’t able to think (with his head) about the goal (with his heart), let him listen to his heart.

Most important is to constantly hold on to the thought of what you want from the study. Torah does not have an affect without this. The Torah influences according to one’s intention. As it is written, "I created the evil inclination and gave the Torah as a spice." Do you have an evil inclination? Bring it and then you’ll receive the Torah as a spice to it (the means for its correction).

However, how does having this spice help you if you lack the evil inclination? Kabbalists give us simple examples. Do you have soup? Would you like to add pepper, salt, and all kinds of seasoning? Go ahead, but how will you benefit from having salt and pepper if you don’t have the soup? By themselves, salt and pepper taste disgusting.

In our case we first need to prepare the "soup." Without it, there’s no need to ask for seasoning; we wouldn’t even be able to ask for it. It’s during the process of making the soup (in the group) that the need for seasoning arises (for the Light to unite us). Only those who need Torah have (discovered) the evil inclination.

This is why we need to approach the reading of The Zohar and all our lessons with the proper intention, with  knowing exactly what we desire, or, in other words, with a prepared evil nature. With the evil revealed in you, you have something to correct; you will receive correction for it. If you haven’t discovered the evil within, you first need to look for it. If you feel righteous, the Torah is not for you; it is for the sinners for their correction. This is why the one who is greater than the others is the one who discovers a bigger egoism within, a greater evil, and he has something to correct.

Thus, it doesn’t matter how much one understands during the lesson. "It’s not the wise who studies" (Lo ha-Hacham Lomed). What matters is feeling that one has something to correct in the connection with his friends.

We need to unite into one desire, the soul of Adam, and we must become brothers in our goal. Even though we now hate one another, don’t want the others, and disdain them, we understand that unity is the goal. This is why we wait for the Light to come and bring us back to the source where we will become one complete desire, and the Creator will become revealed among us.

From the 1st part of the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 5/17/10, The Zohar

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As we analyze our desires we need to penetrate deeply into them in order to understand that they, along with their egoistic intention, come from the Creator. We need to reach the uttermost depth of the recognition of the desire and from its root attain where this desire comes from.

When we reveal that the desire itself and its egoistic intention are sent to us by the Creator, we’ll understand that there’s no choice. We have no one else to turn to with a plea to correct it except the Creator. Otherwise, a person doesn’t need the Torah as he doesn’t scream out or appeal to the Creator. He doesn’t yet perceive himself as a creature governed by the Upper Force to which he may appeal.

Our egoistic origin is the same angel that brings us closer to the Creator. We receive blows, and consequently, we understand that they have a purpose and that they are sent by someone higher than us. We can reach this conclusion through suffering, and we can also reach it through the studies, the environment, and spiritual development.

“A sage sees the future”; he sees the arousal of a state before it is reached and he has the ability to change it. Physical suffering of this world turns into the suffering of love when I draw a little bit of the Upper Light and feel my state in relation to it. Then I begin to suffer from the fact that I have no love for the neighbor or love for the Creator. Herein lies the point of our free choice.

It is essential to get to the root of the suffering and understand that it is purposely sent to us from Above. If we understand that there is no choice and begin to scream out to the Creator, it signifies that we have reached the greatest depth. However, if we still attribute our suffering to various reasons in this world and to ourselves, we haven’t reached the very bottom.

I delve deeper and deeper into the suffering by its degrees of Aleph, Bet, and Gimel (inanimate, vegetative, and animate) and I think that I’m receiving a blow from nature. However, when I reach its last stage, Behina Dalet, I reveal there that its source is above nature, that it’s in the Creator, and is as if the Creator’s pointing a finger. Then, I scream out to Him.

Is it possible to speed up this process? Yes, it is. For this reason, we’re given the Torah in order to advance by a quick and simple path according to our own will rather than by the path of suffering. I can organize a group around myself and draw the Light from Above through the studies (for example, by studying The Zohar) and I quickly reach the same result. This is called the path of the Torah. The difference between the two paths consists of thousands of years of suffering.

From the 3rd part of the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 5/17/10, “What is the Preparation for Receiving the Torah?”

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The Zohar, Chapter “VaYikra (The Lord Called),” Item 80: When he reached her, he saw that she was lying in the dust. Who saw the glory of the queen at that time, and the king’s requests of her? Finally, the king held her in his arms, raised her, and brought her to his palace. And he swore to her that he would never part from her again and will never be far from her.

Every time the breaking is greater and the exiles are more real. The last exile can not even be compared to the one before. This is because the difference between them is in the revelation of evil in the thickness of the egoistic desire (Aviut) on the level of Aleph (Ego-1), Bet (Ego-2), Gimel (Ego-3), and Dalet (Ego-4).

Ego-4 was revealed during the last exile while all the previous exiles were merely preparation for this one. After all, it is Ego-4 that needs to be corrected. All the other exiles (as well as all the other levels of the ego) do not exist on their own, just like the still, vegetative, and animate levels have to exist for the sole purpose of engendering the human kind, Ego-4.

Similarly, the fourth level of the development of desire, Malchut, cannot become revealed without the levels 0, 1, 2, and 3. But it is specifically Malchut on level 4 which is the goal; all the corrections happen in it.

This is why this last exile is special, it corresponds to the “human” level within the desire to receive pleasure. It is precisely in it that the needs, aspirations, desires, and the Creator’s goals regarding all the creatures (including levels 0,1,2 and 3), what He desires of them, become revealed.

Likewise, this fourth and last exile in its turn is divided into subcategories: still, vegetative, animate, and human. It began almost 2,000 years ago, but it is only now that we are entering the fourth, human level of the fourth exile. Now is when we reveal the lack of fulfillment on the human level. We witness depression, breakdown of the family unit, crisis in education, and all that relates to the “human” level. Hunger (animate level) is no longer the main problem. Now the main issue is the inner problems of the human level which did not exist in previous states.

This is why the King sent the queen into a long exile somewhere far away. On the other hand, He needs to give her the opportunity to come out of this descent, to ensure that this exit is towards a connection with Him, on a human level. Thus, He must gradually unveil this broken state and reveal Himself in it. The queen lies in dust, while the King must reveal Himself to her in this precise state.

From the 1st part of the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 5/16/10, The Zohar

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A question I received: In Kabbalah, advancement depends on the intention and desire to learn the material. Is it possible to study a new language by building the right intention? Suppose I want to learn Spanish. I don’t understand it, but I want a textbook to influence me. I apply effort and maintain my desire to gain knowledge of it. Will I learn Spanish this way? Or does this method apply solely to Kabbalistic books, such as The Zohar?

My Answer: The Zohar doesn’t need your understanding, meaning that you don’t have to comprehend it to become a Kabbalist. You won’t really understand anything until you actually become a Kabbalist; whatever The Zohar describes will be concealed from you.

You read The Zohar only to attract the Upper Light. When the Upper Light begins influencing you and raises you to a new level, then you will obtain a vision of what you read. Only then will you understand it. Until the Upper Light elevates you, The Zohar will remain a mystery for you.

Question cont’d: So I won’t learn Spanish without understanding it? In other words, I can’t put a Spanish textbook in front of me and wait until it influences me. It won’t happen.

My Answer: No, a Spanish textbook won’t influence you, but The Zohar will. When it comes to The Zohar, it doesn’t depend on knowledge, but solely on the impact of the Upper Light on you.

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The Zohar, Chapter “VaYikra (The Lord Called),” Item 87: Since the Torah came out of Bina, the first tables were written from Bina, when it writes, “Harut [Engraved] on the tables,” do not read it, Harut [engraved], with a Kamatz, but rather Herut [freedom], with a Tzereh. It is actual freedom since it is the place upon which all the freedom depends, for there is no freedom from all the Klipot unless through the lights of Bina. Also, there is nothing in the Torah that is divided or that does not go into one place, Malchut, or does not gather into one wellspring, which is Yesod.

We are the matter of creation, the will to enjoy, the will to fulfill ourselves. This desire is only able to receive. If the intention over this desire is “to receive for one’s own sake,” then we call this intention (but not the desire) “evil.”

Desire is matter which does not change. It cannot be deemed good or bad. Only the intention determines whether the desire is good or bad. And therein lies our freedom of choice.

We don’t have freedom of choice about our desires on the still, vegetative, and animate levels. We cannot change anything about those desires. This fact is also confirmed by all the scientific research. The only change we can possibly make is on the human level; we can change the intention above the desire.

The desire itself was created by the Creator and was given to us in an unchanging form. The intention above the desire that we were initially given is egoistic, “for our own sake.” We have to realize that this intention is evil because it is aimed against unity, against bestowal to one’s neighbor, and against bestowal to the Creator.

However, our intention can be made opposite, “for the sake of others,” for the sake of bestowal. Then it is called, “the good inclination.” Thus, the good inclination and the evil inclination, or good and evil, are defined according to one’s intention. However, the “inclination” itself, the desire, is unchangeable. Everything is defined by the intention on the human level. The intention to become similar to the Creator is called good, and the opposite intention is called evil. The expression of the intention takes place through unity or through separation from others.

Therefore, out of all my intentions, I have to choose only the ones that give me freedom of choice: the freedom to unite with others through a shared intention for mutual bestowal. And we thereby become equal to the Creator.

This is our only chance to choose good or evil, whether in relation to our egoism or in relation to what the Creator places before us. Therefore, if we wish to correct ourselves, it can only be done by Bina, the upper quality of bestowal. When Bina comes to the will to enjoy, it transforms its evil quality into a good quality. That is to say, it changes the intention of reception to the intention of bestowal.

From the 1st part of the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 5/17/10, The Zohar

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The Zohar seemingly tells us a simple story. It describes the same things over and again, but from different levels and degrees, and in various terms and situations. We can’t help but wonder: “Why does it come back to the same thing all the time? How much can we read about the same thing?”

However, we should understand that if a person goes through these states while reading The Zohar, then it is not the same thing at all. He experiences a new adventure each time. It may be described in the same words, but that is because there is nothing in reality except ten Sefirot and three lines, meaning the four letters of HaVaYaH, multiplied by the three lines, which equal twelve parts.

If the desire and the screen change in us, then new qualities are constantly revealed, such as sounds, smells, and tastes. From beginning to end, the picture changes every time, and we experience new impressions and sensations every day.

Therefore, although we may wonder how many times it can be repeated (and the text of The Zohar is merely five percent of what originally existed), every page and every word is a completely unique experience for those with spiritual attainment. Let’s hope each of us will be able to feel The Zohar in this manner.

From the Evening Zohar Lesson 5/13/10

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