Introduction to the Book of Zohar (PDF) - Kabbalah Media Archive

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P R E FAC E T O T H E B O O K O F Z O H A R and calls upon the person to remain within the limits of matter and its form. 14. We also comprehend the form in matter that is described in the second restriction in an absolutely clear and satisfactory way, for we do so based on the experience of concrete actions that we derive from matter’s response. Thus, we acquire all of the sublime knowledge that one can indeed rely on. That is, matter is what our senses perceive, whereas the form in matter is something we attain as a result of penetrating matter itself. Baal HaSulam says that we attain the form in matter absolutely, and that all the Upper knowledge we acquire at the higher levels is true and clear to us. If we advance along this path of attainment to ever higher forms of matter without abstracting the form from matter, then we unfailingly move in the right direction, towards the right goal. If we move anywhere in this world, there always exist an “I” located at some point, some path, and some goal. While seeing the goal before me, I direct myself toward it. That is, “I” represents one of my qualities, whereas I have no idea about the quality of the goal. I do not direct myself with the help of my senses; they are of no help to me at this stage. I do not imagine how I can see this goal, how I can depict it to myself. The goal possesses a certain quality that is very different from “I”. This concerns the distinction between just two levels, whereas, overall, there are 125 of them. 38
P R E FAC E T O T H E B O O K O F Z O H A R So how can I imagine it, how can I elevate myself, break through this barrier? What should my first step be and toward what goal? I cannot imagine what I want to be. In our world I may, for example, aspire to become a professor; I create this image in myself, see it, and clearly know what it is like. In Kabbalah, however, there is no way to imagine all that. So if, instead of matter and the form it assumes, I imagine only the abstract form, I will immediately fall into delusion and my subsequent advancement will increasingly deviate from the goal. Hence “The Zohar” instructs the person seeking spirituality to be extremely careful with forms that are detached from matter, and are unperceived by our sensations. I cannot say that I feel something spiritual until I acquire a minimal screen. Only having done that will I be able to perceive spiritual objects and properties within it. They will be considered the acquired form of this matter because the form will be determined by the screen. The screen displays for us various properties and their combinations out of matter, which assumes a certain form. Therefore, he says: “Thus, only from the form of this matter do we acquire all of the sublime knowledge that one can indeed rely on.” In the process of studying “The Book of Zohar” we will be repeatedly emphasizing this problem. 15. The third restriction is abstract form. This means that, after the form reveals itself to us in matter, the power of our imagination allows us to detach it completely from matter. Here Baal HaSulam does not speak about absolute abstractions that we have never seen before (e.g. angels and supernatural forces). He asserts that even when we watch something and then divert our attention from the observed object or phenomenon, we imagine it in an abstract 39
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for suffering and pleasure, for tho
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and takes control over one’s life
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