A question I received: You said that when we study The Book of Zohar, it is necessary to follow two conditions:

1. I have to think about wishing to unite with other souls,
2. I should desire to see myself participating in all the actions described in this book.

How does Malchut of the World of Atzilut establish a connection with Zeir Anpin of the World of Atzilut? Do these two conditions also apply to it?

My Answer: Malchut does not exist unless we tune into it under the above conditions. Nothing exists except Infinity; there are no degrees and no worlds. But as soon as I perform an action that has equivalence of form with the Creator, or stated differently, as soon as I become similar to the Creator in the slightest measure, matching Him with the smallest ten Sefirot, this action immediately builds a ladder of degrees. This ladder is a relationship between me – the point comprised of ten Sefirot, and the Creator – the World of Infinity. [Read more →]

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A question I received: How can I find the inner qualities that The Zohar describes if I don’t understand any of it and can’t connect to it?

My Answer: We are like babies who don’t know what kind of world they exist in, but are in the loving hands of their mother and relatives who provide them with everything necessary for their growth. A baby just has to desire to grow up, and nature helps by providing him with this desire.

In our world, meaning on the animate level, this desire exists in babies naturally. Even on the still and vegetative levels, as well as the animate level, which includes a person’s physical development in this world, there is a natural desire to grow. However, if we want to grow on the human level – in spirituality, then the desire has to come from us.

Development happens naturally on the still, vegetative and animate levels of nature. Thus far, we – the people in this world – have developed on all these levels, and our desire has also developed on the same levels throughout all of history. But now we have to ascend to the “speaking” or “human” level. The human level means that we have to develop and attain the goal on our own. Based on all our bodily desires (for food, sex and family) and our social desires (for wealth, fame, power and knowledge), we have to develop our own aspiration to spirituality. We start with a point in the heart, but then we have to continuously push it to develop using the help of our environment.

To do this, we need the group because only it can give us the desire to develop the point in the heart. Armed with this desire, we begin to read The Book of Zohar together with the group. While we read, we have to desire to develop, where “development” means finding our future state or sensation in The Book of Zohar. This is the only thing we are looking for now.

Besides this, all we have to do is wait. Therefore, just desire to grow, like a baby who naturally wants to become an adult. See if you can calm him down, convince him not to grow, or not to desire and demand it. You’ll find that it is impossible to stop him because nature pushes him to develop with an insurmountable force. That is how tirelessly we must work in spirituality. We must always be searching within ourselves, and we must never calm down and never stop changing. Then we will indeed grow up. This is the only condition and the only thing required of us.

The system exists, but we have to set it in motion with our desire, our inner aspiration. Without this inner pressure coming from us, that system will not influence us. That is to say, it will influence us through suffering, in order to awaken us, but we won’t advance an inch this way, by means of suffering sent to us from Above. We can only advance by means of our own desire, which comes from below, from us.

We may be receiving perpetual difficulties and problems, yet be stuck in the same place because these problems are insufficient for us to desire to unite with the correct group and to acquire a desire to develop. Despite the difficulties, we will be standing in the same place. By themselves, the difficulties are not a sign of development, but on the contrary, a sign that we have not made a single step forward yet.

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The world we perceive was not given to us by accident. It follows from nature, which includes two opposite forms: the Creator and the creation. When we begin to ascend, we are given this world in order to help us become similar to the Creator and eliminate the difference between the point of creation, “existence from nothingness” and the Creator, or the difference between the Kli and the Light. This world is a state perceived by the point of creation, which is separated from the Creator and opposite to Him.

In order to lead us to “the other side of the screen,” to take us from one picture to another, we were given a means called The Book of Zohar. It is a means that takes us from a state of disunity to a state of unity. This is why we are given the state we now perceive and the state we have to reach, as well as all the levels and stages that we have to go through on this path, and the means – The Book of Zohar, which tells us about the connection between the two worlds, about how one world clothes into the other. None of these things are accidental.

We have to make efforts in order to use this means, The Book of Zohar, to change ourselves. The more this book will become revealed to us, the more it will change us. Thus, we will continuously move forward, advancing from our current sensation of a black point that reveals its own nature and attains its opposition to the Light.

All of reality exists inside this point of creation, or rather, reality exists relative to this point’s perception. This point contains all the worlds and all the changes; everything is inside it. In addition, this point does not change in relation to the Creator that created it; in relation to Him it is always in the corrected, best possible state. It is the only existing point of creation, which He created from nothing (Yesh Mi Ein).

When we read The Zohar, we have to realize that we are not looking at a book, but a special mechanism that bridges our two states – the current state where we are separated from the Creator, can only feel ourselves, and are locked in a black point, and the future, higher state where we are united with Him. Using a special language or program, The Zohar shows us what actions and inner changes we can make in order to restructure ourselves within and be able to receive the Light that is outside of us for now.

Then our inner structure will be similar to the Light, the Creator. At the same time, we will always remain comprised of the matter called “the will to receive,” or “existence from nothingness.”

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A question I received: How can I tell if I have the right sensations while reading The Zohar?

My Answer: It doesn’t matter. The most important thing is to hold on to the text and flow with it; eventually the stream will bring you to the right place. While reading The Zohar a person goes through very difficult states, sometimes he is completely confused, and sometimes he has no idea what is happening to him.

We have to be prepared for this ahead of time, because when we acquire the next level, we erase everything that we had on the previous level. It’s like pressing the “Delete” button on the computer – everything disappears. That is how we advance to the next level.

These sensations don’t exist in our world. We still haven’t experienced transitions that are this intense, real, and serious. We only feel a sudden confusion, where we stop understanding the words and find ourselves in a fog. This will happen to every person, both those studying live and those studying over the internet. That is how our growth takes place. We no longer have to die and be reborn again, and then again and again, because we are going through these reincarnations during this life. A new reincarnation is always a new Kli – a new earth and a new sky; a new everything.

Therefore, you cannot know anything ahead of time. You should only accept the conditions that The Zohar sets for you, and if you are flowing together with this book, the stream will lead you forward and take you out of all of these difficult states. Then new sources of confusion will come, along with new epiphanies, while the old ones will be forgotten and gone. You will change so much that you won’t even remember that you used to be different.

Therefore, for the time being we should look at ourselves critically and simply keep going. The advice Kabbalists give to a person who is confused is to delve even deeper into the studies, to keep breaking through even further. That is how you will advance and break through the foggy state. You just have to make more efforts, and this will make the state shift to a different one quicker.

If, on the other hand, a person gives up and tries to leave the studies and to take a break, then he is thrown backwards. Later on he will have to take the same steps forward all over again, but under much more difficult conditions. Therefore, as soon as you feel that you are confused and in a fog, you should realize that this is a wonderful state. It’s a sign of a new level, and now all you have to do is “step on the gas”!

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I don’t exist by myself; I only exist if I funnel myself through a mechanism called the unity of all the souls. That is why I want to open myself up through The Book of Zohar, since its force comes in order to implement this connection between all my parts, which now seem alien to me.

This is exactly what The Book of Zohar is intended for; otherwise I won’t be under its ray of Light. This ray is very thin, like the beam of a laser, and if I veer even one millimeter away from it, I will no longer see it. I have to be exactly in this ray in order for it to influence me.

Kabbalists explain this condition to us, saying that if we connect to all the souls in the right way, then we will place ourselves inside this ray. As soon as the unity is broken, everyone falls apart and scatters in every possible direction. This ray is the only thing capable of holding us together.

This happens on every level of the spiritual ladder – we can only climb it along this ray. As soon as we let go of one another, everything immediately falls apart and the ray of Light is unable to hold us together. This is the only force that preserves our unity. Therefore, it is for the sake of this unity that we desire to attract the Light. We need the Creator to connect us together, and that means we have to attract the Light that Reforms.

How can we feel this unity? We have to demand it while reading The Zohar; it has to give it to us. This was the reason why Kabbalists wrote this book, and we have the right to ask, “Where is the unity that’s due to us, why isn’t it affecting us?” If we all think about this together, it will become a great concern that we won’t be able to forget for a moment. And then it will work. But alone, none of us will be able to accomplish anything.

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With respect to the spiritual world, we are not divided into smart and dumb. If you were to bring Einstein to Kabbalah, he’d be just as confused as everyone else. Until you acquire the qualities of the next spiritual degree, it is impossible to know it or sense it because it must first become revealed in you. Only then will you begin to sense, and then to understand what it’s all about. Indeed, it is comprised of a new set of ten Sefirot, which constitute all new material.

That is why there are no smart or dumb students in Kabbalah. We are all in the same boat, and with respect to the next spiritual degree we are all equal: an intellectual or an ignoramus, a nerd or a dolt, a professor or a student – there is no difference between them. All that’s needed is a desire to attain the goal, steady nerves, and patience. Therefore, you should exercise, stay in good physical shape, and focus the rest of your energies on your inner work together with the group.

We’ve been reading The Zohar for two months now, and it’s beginning to affect us already. However, right now each of us is fluctuating in his own direction, as though on random, chaotic waves. Unity has not yet been attained; we don’t feel that we are parts of one collective movement where a sequence of strong waves washes over us after every lesson, shaking us like a tsunami.

The Zohar must affect everybody in the same way, regardless of how long a person has been studying, in what language, what is his place of origin, sex or age. The very source that we study must affect every one of us.

For instance, when it’s light outside, then everybody knows it’s day and not night, regardless of whether you are a baby, a man or a woman, a senior, and even a cat and a mouse. Similarly, we must come to a state of unity where everybody reacts to reading The Zohar in the same way, in unison.

Our present goal is to work on our unity, so that The Zohar will begin to influence all of us at once, like a single whole. And in so doing we are working to reveal it, for it will only be revealed in a united desire, in the union of the points in the heart.

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A question I received: What is the Light that Reforms, which is supposed to lift us up?

My Answer: It is a force that comes to you as a result of your study and your desire. There is a very thin ray of Light that begins to influence you if you “walk” into it. You and your desires take up the whole sphere, but you must find this narrow ray by moving toward the spiritual goal. Then this Light will begin to influence you, returning you to its Source.

The Light comes out of that very goal, and if you attune yourself precisely to this Light, you will come under its influence. It will begin to shine on you and draw you toward the goal along its ray.

What does this have to do with reading The Zohar and thinking of the unity of souls? This ray takes root precisely in the source of unity – in the collective soul before its breaking, where all the souls are united into one, in Malchut of the World of Infinity. That is why it is so important for you to desire to come under the influence of this Light that Reforms and to feel that you depend on it completely.

In addition, you have to find this ray on your own. It is aimed sharply down from Above, from the World of Infinity, the root of your soul. It spans across all the worlds and reaches all the way into this world, “touching” you. However, it shines from Above only at a specific point in this world, and you have to come to that point by having the right intentions. Only when you find this point will you see that narrow ray of Light shining from Above, and then your soul will ascend along the ray up to its root.

You have to change in order detect this point. In the meantime, the Light is all around you, but you cannot see it. You will only see it if you find a way inside it; therein lies the challenge.

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A question I received: When I read The Book of Zohar I cannot connect to it. What should I do? We have looked forward for so long to this cherished moment when we would open The Book of Zohar, but now we feel disappointed.

My Answer: Baal HaSulam wrote that there is no better moment in a person’s life than when he senses complete disappointment in everything he has done up to this point. He sees that nothing has helped him, that there is no source of salvation, and no hope of spiritual ascent if everything continues as is.

Once he reaches this realization, he then reveals a new feeling of hope. However, he does not know who he should rely on. Eventually he realizes that only the Creator can help him, and that’s when he cries out: “Save me!” That is when he receives help.

Studying The Zohar is not like regular study where you receive knowledge immediately, by the principle, “You apply effort and receive.” In this case, another principle comes into force, “You apply effort and find.”

You probably hoped that as soon as you opened The Book of Zohar, miracles would start happening. But nothing can happen in the very beginning. My teacher Rabash gave an example of a man who bought a little gosling and wanted to turn it into a big, fat goose. So he started incessantly stuffing food down its throat. He would stuff the gosling and then immediately check whether it got fatter, which it didn’t. He kept stuffing more food into it, but the gosling still didn’t gain weight. Smart people told him: “You should wait a month or two to begin to see the difference.” The same applies to a child – the parents have to invest a lot of effort before the child can get up, walk, and become strong.

If we observe our soul we’ll see that it grows in the same way. When I want my point in the heart to grow into a soul, I have to treat it as a newborn baby within me that has just started to develop. It will take time for a soul to grow out of this point.

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Our perception of the world and sensation of life are found inside our desire since in truth, our desire is the only thing that was created. Therefore, we live and perceive everything within the self. However, there are two pictures (or formats) of our perception. We perceive one part of the picture as “us,” and the other part as the “world around us.” This perception within our desire is split in two – inner and outer, “us” and “our environment.”

Likewise, our picture of reality divides into circles that expand from inside out. These circles are comprised of the soul, the body, our immediate surroundings, and our distant surroundings. In reality, however, this whole perception exists within us, within our desire. Therefore, if we want to change the world, we have to change our desire. It’s because our perception of the world depends on our desire, and moreover, the whole world is perceived within it.

Our perception that the world exists outside of us is an illusion. The world exists entirely in our desire, but we currently don’t feel it. We relate to nature and to humanity, which are actually parts of ourselves, as something alien, and as a result of this attitude, we suffer. If only we realized the harm we cause ourselves with this imaginative view of the outside world.

It is a mistake, an optical illusion! It only appears that there are people around us whom we can disregard. We simply don’t realize that in so doing we bring miseries and problems to ourselves. Our entire lives are filled with problems and suffering only because we have this terrible and twisted perception of reality.

The science of Kabbalah teaches us how to unite our disconnected parts. Alone we are incapable of it, but we can make a request for the Light to correct our perception. Then we will see one reality, one desire, and inside it – one soul and one Light.

As we move toward this goal, we should try to aim ourselves toward unity. When reading The Book of Zohar we must continually bring ourselves back to the sensation of “the entire world is inside me.” Whatever the text may speak of, all of it is describing forces, qualities, and desires that are inside us.

All the spiritual worlds are within, while outside there is nothing. The world must not be divided into inner and outer, because it is one common soul.

By remembering this we draw upon ourselves the influence of the Light which unites together the separate parts of our perception.

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The Book of Zohar – Selections, Chapter “VaYeshev (And Jacob Sat),” Item 37
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