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

I N T RO D U C T I O N T O T H E B O O K O F Z O H A R
Why should it all be done this way? Why were we created inferior?
Why should we comprehend perfection from our inferior state?
Fifth question:
How could insignificant, temporary, and impure forms come from
the Infinite, something without beginning or end (our “final state”,
as conceived by Baal HaSulam)?
How can this be? The fifth question appears similar to the third
one. He states that, "When we look at ourselves, we feel that we are so spoiled
and low that no one is more despicable than we are. If we look at the One who
created us, we would think that we were supposed to have become the crown
of everything, higher than everything, because an excellent Creator should only
perform excellent actions."
Here he says something similar: When we look at ourselves, we feel that
we are so spoiled and low that no one is more despicable than we are.
The five questions that he addresses here concern our state with
regard to the Creator’s. These questions can only be raised and cleared
up by someone at His level as compared to ours. Baal HaSulam tells us
about the discrepancies between these two levels. He wishes to explain
to us why it is necessary to have this difference and how we may reach
perfection. This is our challenge, to conceive where we are, where the
Creator is, and how to overcome this chasm between us.
Why does he raise these questions? In this Introduction, he partially
explains it, but actually, he raises these questions in order to comprehend
them. During these lessons, we will discover that not only
must we understand these questions while studying this Introduction,
but also actualize them within ourselves and subsequently use them to
climb to the level where we need to be. That is why we need to study
the book of Zohar. Hence, he uses this explanation in his Introduction
to this book.
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