Baal HaSulam's Preface to Zohar Reader

The depths of wisdom in the holy Book of the Zohar are completely enclosed behind a thousand locks, and our human language is far too lowly to formulate for us sufficiently accurate expressions in order to interpret even a single idea in this book to its fullest extent. The commentary I have composed is merely a ladder to help the reader ascend to the heights of each matter, where he can see and examine the words of the book itself. Therefore, I have found it necessary to prepare the reader and provide him with a path, a passageway, by means of reliable definitions, to enable him to discover how one should contemplate and study the book.

First of all, it is important to understand that everything discussed in the Book of the Zohar, including even its Aggadot (parables), are forms of the ten sefirot, which are called Keter, Ḥokhma, Bina, Ḥesed, Gevura, Tiferet, Netzaḥ, Hod, Yesod, and Malkhut, as well as combinations of their forms. Like the twenty-two letters of the spoken Hebrew language, whose combinations are sufficient for us to uncover every object and every wisdom, so too the concepts and combinations of forms in the ten sefirot are enough to reveal all the wisdom in the book of the heavens.

However, there are three principles here, which we must be extremely careful not to venture beyond while studying the words of the book. I will first present them in brief, after which I will explain them at length.

The first principle: There are four aspects in the modes of perception, which are known as substance, form in substance, abstract form, and essence. The same applies to the ten sefirot, as I will explain below. Understand that the Zohar does not deal at all with the essence or the abstract form in the ten sefirot, but only with the substance in them, or the form that is in them, while it is still enclothed in the substance.

The second principle: The entirety of the Divine reality, in relation to the creation of the souls and their modes of existence, are discerned by us on the following three levels: a) Ein Sof, blessed be He; b) the world of Atzilut; c) the three worlds that are called Beria, Yetzira, and Asiya. Understand that the Zohar deals only with the worlds of Beria, Yetzira, and Asiya, and also with Ein Sof, blessed be He, and the world of Atzilut to the extent that Beria, Yetzira, and Asiya receive from them, but as for Ein Sof, blessed be He, and the world of Atzilut as they are in themselves, the Zohar does not engage with them at all.

The third principle: There are three categories in each of the worlds of Beria, Yetzira, and Asiya:

a. The ten sefirot, which are the aspects of the Divine that shine in that world;

b. The neshamot, ruḥot, and nefashot of people;1These terms refer to different levels of life force found within people. Each of these terms is often simply translated as "soul." The concept of "soul" itself refers to the consciousness found within us, and these varying terms allude to the variability within human consciousness.

c. The rest of reality it contains, which are called angels, clothing, and chambers, along with their innumerable details.

It is important to understand and grasp that although the Zohar explains all the details of each world at length, the statements of the Zohar are always focused on the souls of the people in that world. When mention is made, and explanations are given of other categories, this is only in order to understand the measure that the souls receive from them. As for those matters which do not relate to the receiving of the souls, the Zohar does not utter even a single word about them. Consequently, you should understand everything presented in the Book of the Zohar only in relation to the receiving of the soul.2Much of the Zohar discusses the divine system allowing for the created beings (souls) to receive supernal light and life-force from the Creator.

Since these three principles are very fundamental, if the reader does not know how to be careful with them, but takes the ideas beyond their proper principles, he will immediately become confused. I have therefore found it necessary to go to the trouble of elaborating on the meaning of these three principles as much as I can, in such a way that they will be comprehensible to everyone.

As you already know, there are ten sefirot, which are called Ḥokhma, Bina, Tiferet, and Malkhut, and their root, which is called Keter (they are ten because the sefira of Tiferet itself incorporates six sefirot: Ḥesed, Gevura, Tiferet, Netzaḥ, Hod, and Yesod; keep this in mind whenever we state the standard formula “ten sefirot that are Ḥokhma, Bina, Tiferet, and Malkhut”). Generally, they include all four worlds of Atzilut, Beria, Yetzira, and Asiya, as the world of Atzilut is the sefira of Ḥokhma, the world of Beria is the sefira of Bina, the world of Yetzira is the sefira of Tiferet, and the world of Asiya is the sefira of Malkhut.3According to the Zohar, all of reality is formed from the basic ingredients known as the sefirot. These ingredients operate at macro and micro levels of reality. The four (and the first, higher world of Adam Kadmon not mentioned here, for a total of five) worlds referenced here represent the macrostructures of existence, each correlating to one of the five main sefirot. Additionally, every individual sefira is formed of the same five (or ten) sefirot, ad infinitum. In particular, not only does each and every world contain the ten sefirot: Ḥokhma, Bina, Tiferet, and Malkhut, but even the smallest detail in each world also contains the ten sefirot: Ḥokhma, Bina, Tiferet, and Malkhut, as I wrote earlier (in my Introduction to the Book of the Zohar,4Hakdama LeSefer HaZohar. This refers to the author’s own introduction to the Zohar, not the first volume of the Zohar entitled “Introduction to the Zohar” (Hakdamat Sefer HaZohar). 43, 50, and 56. Consequently, no explanation will be given here).

The Zohar analogizes these ten sefirot: Ḥokhma, Bina, Tiferet, and Malkhut, to four colors, which are: White for the sefira of Ḥokhma; red for the sefira of Bina; green for the sefira of Tiferet; and black for the sefira of Malkhut (as stated below, Bereshit II, page 14, section 27).5The Sulam generally refers to the sefirot as the "ten sefirot," even when only referencing some of them, as he does here.

The meaning is as follows: An analogy for this concept is a window with four panes colored in these four colors, such that although the light passing through is one color, when the light passes through the panes it becomes colored and turns into four kinds of light: White light, red light, yellow light, and black light. Likewise, the light in all the sefirot is simple Divinity and unity, from the beginning of Atzilut until the end of Asiya.

The reason for the division into ten sefirot: Ḥokhma, Bina, Tiferet, and Malkhut, is due to the vessels that are called Ḥokhma, Bina, Tiferet, and Malkhut. For each vessel is like a refined partition, through which the Divine light passes to the recipients, and therefore each vessel is considered as turning the light into a different color. Thus, the vessel of Ḥokhma in the world of Atzilut transports white (meaning colorless) light, since the vessel of Atzilut is like the light itself, and the Divine light does not undergo any change on account of Atzilut when it passes through it.

This is the mystical meaning of the statement in the Zohar (Tikkunei Zohar, Introduction 3b) concerning the world of Atzilut, that “He, His life-force, and His attributes are one” (as explained below).6As the divine light descends to lower levels of existence, it remains intrinsically unchanged. However, the vessels that contain it at each level make it appear to change, relative to the created beings.

The point here is that since Atzilut is a very lofty level, to us it is indistinguishable from the divine essence of the Creator. At this level, the concept of separation does not really exist in a meaningful way, so this level is viewed as "one" with the Creator. Accordingly, the light of Atzilut is considered white light. This is not the case for the vessels of the worlds of Beria, Yetzira, and Asiya, where the light already receives on their account a certain change and dullness, when it passes through them to the recipients.

That is, the red light represents Bina, which is Beria; the yellow light, which is like the light of the sun, is for Tiferet, which is the world of Yetzira; and the black light is for the sefira of Malkhut, which is the world of Asiya.

The Difference between the Light of Atzilut, Alluded to by “White,” and the Worlds of Beria, Yetzira, and Asiya

In addition to the above, this metaphor of the four colors includes a particularly important allusion. For the supernal lights are called sefer, book, as it is written (Sefer Yetzira, Chapter 1, Mishna 1): “He created His world with three books: With a book, an author, and a story.”7The Hebrew word for “book” is sefer. The literary structure of this line quoted from Sefer Yetzira is that God created His world with three elements (book, author, story) that are different permutations of the word sefer in Hebrew.

In addition to sefer (book), an author is a sofer, and a story is a sippur (the letters “p” and “f” are different sounds of the same letter, “peh” in the Hebrew language, so sippur is also a permutation of the word sefer). Thus, using different vowelizations, the same root "sefer" refers to these three elements. It is also written: “The heavens shall be rolled together as a book” (Isaiah 34:4).8“Rolled together as a book” here refers to the kinds of books used at the time of the prophecy, namely scrolls, which are rolled up.

Now, the manifestation of the wisdom in each book is not in the white background of the pages it contains, but only in the colors, i.e., the ink, from which the letters in the book, through the combinations of letters according to the wisdom, come to the reader. In general, there are three kinds of ink in a book: Red, green, and black.

Similarly, the world of Atzilut, which is the mystical meaning of Ḥokhma, which is entirely Divinity, is comparable to the white in a book. That is, we have no grasp of it whatsoever; rather, the entire manifestation in the book of the heavens is in the sefirot of Bina, Tiferet, and Malkhut, which are the three worlds of Beria, Yetzira, and Asiya. For they are considered the ink in the book of the heavens, whose letters and combinations are manifested through the three aforementioned types of ink, and it is only through them that the Divine light is revealed to the recipients.

At the same time, it must be noted that just as the white in a book is the primary medium9The intention here is that the white page is the majority of the physical content of the book, and as such it "carries" (noseh literally means to "carry," which is the function of a given kind of medium) the other content upon it. [noseh] of the book, while the letters are all “borne” [nesu’ot] upon the white in the book – and were it not for the white, there would be no possible existence for the letters and all the manifestations of wisdom they contain – so too, the world of Atzilut, which is the sefira of Ḥokhma, is the primary bearer of the revelation of Ḥokhma, which is revealed through the worlds of Beria, Yetzira, and Asiya. This is the meaning of the verse: “In wisdom [Ḥokhma] You have made them all” (Psalms 104:24).

This, then, is the meaning of the statement above, regarding the second principle; that the Zohar does not speak of the world of Atzilut itself.10See section 4, above. This is because Atzilut is like the white in a book. Rather, the Zohar refers to Atzilut in accordance with its illumination into the three worlds of Beria, Yetzira, and Asiya, since they are considered the ink, the letters, and their combinations in the book.

This is so in one of two ways: One way is that the three worlds of Beria, Yetzira, and Asiya receive the illumination of the world of Atzilut in their own place. In this case the light is greatly diminished for them as it passes through the diaphragm that is below the world of Atzilut, until the light is considered merely illumination from the vessels of Atzilut. Alternatively, it occurs through the ascent of the worlds of Beria, Yetzira, and Asiya above the diaphragm, to the place of the sefirot of Bina, Tiferet, and Malkhut of Atzilut, and Beria, Yetzira, and Asiya are found to enclothe the world of Atzilut.

In this case, the lower worlds receive the light in the place of its illumination (as stated in Petiḥa LeḤokhmat HaKabbala (Introduction to the Wisdom of the Kabbala), from section 155 and onward).11This second method for the lower worlds to receive the light of Atzilut is from the process called the second constriction. As a result of this process, the vessels of different levels are able to descend to lower levels and then subsequently pull lower-level vessels back up to higher levels with them.

This process allows for the lower worlds of Beria, Yetzira and Asiya to receive the illumination of Atzilut directly, as opposed to through the diaphragm.

However, the metaphor does not correspond precisely to the issue at hand, since in the book of wisdom that is in this world, both the white and the ink in its letters are lifeless. The manifestation of wisdom on their account does not occur in their essence itself but outside them, i.e., in the mind of the reader. This is not the case for the four worlds Atzilut, Beria, Yetzira, and Asiya, which are the book of the heavens, as all the brains in the spiritual and corporeal realities are present in them and are drawn from them.

Thus, you should understand that the white background it contains, which is the medium12See section #8# above. of the book, is itself the intelligible matter in the book, while the three colors of the ink serve to elucidate this intelligible matter.13Unlike physical books, in which the pages and letters are "lifeless," and the concepts take shape outside the pages and within our minds, in the system of the higher levels of reality, the "pages" and "inked letters" are themselves dynamic and spiritually animate.

Thus, both the ink and the white background bearing the ink are integral components of the "book." In fact, the white background, representing the level of Atzilut, is more central and significant than the ink forming the letters. This is because the ink is simply the enclothing of the divine truths of Atzilut, represented by the white, in lower-level forms.

Four Modes of Perception, and the Two Modes Addressed by the Zohar

At this point in the discussion, it is necessary to understand the four modes of perceiving entities, which were mentioned earlier in connection to the first principle. They are: a) substance; b) form enclothed in substance; c) abstract form; d) and essence. I shall first explain them by means of tangible illustrations from this world. For example, when you say that someone is strong, truthful, or deceitful, and the like, you have the following aspects before you: a) His substance, i.e., his body; b) his form enclothed in substance, that is, whether he is strong, truthful, or deceitful; c) the abstract form; that is, one can remove the form of a strong, truthful, or deceitful person from the substance of the man, and perceive these three forms in and of themselves, unclothed in any substance or body, which means perceiving the attributes of strength, truthfulness and deceitfulness, and detecting merit or shortcomings in them when they are denuded of all substance;14This refers to the generalizing of an attribute in isolation from a particular person or example.

A person can possess the "form" or attribute of honesty. One can also discuss the concept of honesty in isolation, in a general sense. d) the essence of the person.

Understand that we have no grasp at all of the fourth mode, which is the essence of the person himself, without the substance. For the five senses, and our imaginations, will suggest to us only manifestations of the essence, but nothing of the essence itself.15An example of the essence, the fourth mode, is the intangible, ineffable self that we each manifest through our bodies. In simple terms, this can be thought of as your soul, your self, the irreplaceable "you" that shines out and can be perceived by others through your actions and self-expression.

This core essence of our being is beyond words and can never be grasped or directly contemplated. This core essence exists within all things and can be thought of as the divine life-force powering each creation. These essences cannot be perceived directly with our senses. Instead, we can only perceive their physical impact and manifestation within the measurable material world.

Thus, for example, the sense of sight merely presents us with traces of a visible essence which are visible because of the light. Similarly, the sense of hearing is merely the ability to perceive sounds from air (sound) waves striking an entity. The air that is pushed away by its force strikes our eardrums, and thus we hear that there is some entity in our vicinity. The sense of smell is only air (odorant molecules) that emerges from an entity, which strikes our olfactory receptors, and so we can smell.

Likewise, taste is nothing more than the result of the contact of some entity with our taste buds. Consequently, all of these four senses present us only with manifestations of the activities that are caused by some entity, but nothing of the entity itself.

Even the sense of touch, which is the most powerful of the senses – as it distinguishes hot from cold and the solid from the liquid – all these are merely manifestations of activities taking place within the essence of the entity. They are merely incidents of the essence of the entity. For the hot can be chilled, the cold can be heated, the solid can be transformed into liquid through chemical processes, and the liquid into air, i.e., mere vapor, at which point it entirely escapes any discernment with our five senses.

And yet the essence still exists within it, since the air can be turned into liquid once again, and the liquid into solid. It should now be clear to your own eyes that the five senses cannot reveal to us any essence whatsoever, but only incidents and manifestations of activities taking place within the essence of the entity.

It is also well-known that anything that we cannot grasp with our senses, we cannot imagine either. And something that we cannot imagine will never appear in our thoughts and we have no way of perceiving it.

Thus, human thought has no way of perceiving an essence. Moreover, we do not even know our own essences. I feel and know that I take up space in the world, that I am solid, warm, and that I think, and other such manifestations of the operations of my essence. But if you ask me what my own essence is, from which all these manifestations stem, I would not know what reply to give you. You can thus see that Providence has prevented us from perceiving any essence. We perceive only manifestations and images of activities that arise from the essences.

We do have a full grasp of the first mode, which is the substance, i.e., the manifestations of the activities that arise from every essence. These manifest to us the essence that lies within the substance in a comprehensive manner, such that we do not suffer at all from the lack of perception of the essence itself. We do not miss it at all, just as we do not miss a sixth finger on our hands. The perception of the substance, that is, the manifestations of the activities of the essence, is completely sufficient for all our needs and perceptions, both for the perception of our own beings and for the perception of all of existence outside of us.

The second mode, which is form enclothed in substance, is also perceived clearly and comprehensively. For we perceive it through actual, practical experiences, as we find them in the conduct of every substance. It is through this mode that all our higher perceptions, upon which we can rely on unconditionally, come to us.

The third mode is abstract form. That is, after the form has once been revealed to us, while enclothed in some substance, our imagination has the power to abstract it entirely from the substance and perceive it divested of any substance. This is like the virtues and good attributes that are described in works of ethics, in which we speak about attributes of truth, falsehood, anger, and strength, and the like, abstracted of any substance. We ascribe merits or shortcomings to them even when they are abstract.

Understand that this third mode is unacceptable to careful thinkers, as it is impossible for it to be one hundred percent reliable. For since the perceptions formed are ascertained by abstraction from a substance, one might err regarding them. For example, someone with idealistic moral values – by which I mean an irreligious individual – on account of his intensive focus on the quality of truth in its abstract form, even when he could save people from death by telling them a lie, he might decide that were the whole world to perish, he still will not let a deliberate lie escape his lips.

This is not the Torah’s stance, as nothing takes precedence over saving lives (Yoma 82a).16As the author of the Sulam proceeds to explain, these generalizations operate in a vacuum, lacking a substance through which their forms can be expressed. As a result, a person can be misled in his valuing of such abstracted attributes and conceptions, believing them to be inherently good or evil yet failing to realize that such value judgements depend on specific situations and contexts.

In fact, had he perceived the forms of truth and falsehood when enclothed in substance, he would have comprehended them only with respect to their benefit or harm to the specific substance. In other words, after the many trials the world has endured with these attributes of truth and falsehood, people observed the tremendous ruin and harm that deceitful people have caused with their lies, and the great benefit that truthful people have brought about by confining themselves to speaking only true words, and they arrived at the conclusion that no attribute is more important than truth, and nothing is more despicable than the attribute of falsehood.

Had the idealist understood that, he would certainly have agreed to the stance of the Torah and would have realized that falsehood which saves even one person from death is inestimably more important than however great and praiseworthy the abstract attribute of truth may be.

Thus, there is no certainty at all with regard to those perceptions of the third mode, i.e., abstract forms, and even less when it comes to abstract forms that have not yet been enclothed in any substance.17This refers to abstract concepts that have no connection to manifest existence and are thus detached from the “real world.” The point here is that attempting to abstract such things is largely useless, since they do not intersect with our grasp of reality. Such perceptions are simply a waste of time.

Now you have been thoroughly acquainted with these four modes – substance; form enclothed in substance; abstract form; and essence – with regard to tangible items. It has been explained that we have no grasp of any kind of the fourth mode, i.e., the essence, while the third mode is potentially misleading. Only the first mode, substance, and the second mode, form enclothed in substance, have been granted to us with a clear and sufficient perception by Supreme Providence. Through them, it will also be possible to comprehend the existence of spiritual entities, which are in the upper worlds of Atzilut, Beria, Yetzira, and Asiya, since there is not the smallest detail in them that cannot be divided into these four modes.

For example, if you take a certain detail in the world of Beria, there are vessels there, which have a red color, through which the light of Beria passes to the inhabitants of Beria, as stated above. The vessel in Beria, which has a red color, is considered a substance, or an entity, i.e., the first mode. Although it is merely a color, which is the notion of the incidence and manifestation of an activity in the entity, we have already said that we have no perception of the essence itself, but only the manifestation of an activity of the essence.

We refer to that manifestation as an entity, or a substance, or body, or vessel, as stated above (section #13#). The Divine light, which is enclothed and passes through the red color, is the form enclothed in the entity, i.e., the second mode. This is why the light itself appears red, indicative of its enclothing and illumination via the entity, which is considered the body and the substance, as stated above, i.e., the color red.

If you wish to dissociate the Divine light from the entity (the red color), and analyze it on its own, without the enclothing in the entity, this is already part of the third mode, i.e., form abstracted from substance, which is subject to errors, as stated above. For this reason, such an approach is strictly forbidden when studying the upper worlds, and no true Kabbalist would engage in it, and certainly not the authors of the Zohar. This is even more the case with regard to the “essence” of a detail in Beria, as we have no fundamental grasp even of the essences of corporeal entities,18That is, essences of corporeal entities of the levels, below Beria. much less the spiritual ones.

You thus have four modes before you: a) the vessel of Beria, which is the mystical meaning of the red color, and which is considered the entity, or substance of Beria; b) the enclothing of the Divine light in the vessel of Beria, which is the form in the entity; c) the Divine light, abstracted from the entity in Beria; d) the essence of the individual detail.

The first principle has thus been thoroughly explained – that not a single word in the entire Zohar refers to the third and fourth modes; it deals solely with the first and second modes.

The second principle will become clear with the above in mind. Understand that, as we explained, the four modes in a single detail within the world of Beria alone, are in general typically the same in the four worlds of Atzilut, Beria, Yetzira, and Asiya: The three colors red, green, and black, in the three worlds Beria, Yetzira, and Asiya, are considered substance, or the entity. The white hue,19As explained previously, in section 7, this white light is “colorless” light, as the light does not undergo any change and is the light of Atzilut. which expresses the world of Atzilut, is the form enclothed in substance, i.e., in the three hues called Beria, Yetzira, and Asiya.

The Ein Sof, when considered in isolation, is the mystical meaning of essence. This is what we said with regard to the first principle, that we have no grasp of the essence – which is the fourth mode that is hidden in all entities, even the entities of this world (as stated above in section #12#). The white hue by itself, when it is not enclothed in the three hues of Beria, Yetzira, and Asiya, that is, the light of Ḥokhma20As discussed in earlier sections, each of the "worlds," Adam Kadmon, Atzilut, Beria, Yetzira and Asiya correspond to each of the five main sefirot, Keter, Ḥokhma, Bina, Tiferet, and Malkhut. when it is not enclothed in Bina, Tiferet, and Malkhut, is form stripped of substance, with which we have no dealings.

The Zohar says nothing about this mode, but only the first mode, which is the three hues of Beria, Yetzira, and Asiya, considered as substance – and these are the three sefirot Bina, Tiferet, and Malkhut. It likewise speaks of the second mode, which is the illumination of Atzilut enclothed in the three hues of Beria, Yetzira, and Asiya, i.e., the light of Ḥokhma enclothed in Bina, Tiferet, and Malkhut, which parallels the form when it is enclothed in the substance.

The Book of the Zohar deals with these two modes in all places. Consequently, if the reader is not careful to focus his thoughts and understanding in order to comprehend the words of the Zohar in all places as staying only within the principles of these two modes, the entire matter will immediately become confusing to him, as he will completely misunderstand the meaning of these ideas.

Just as the four modes were explained with regard to the generality of Atzilut, Beria, Yetzira, and Asiya, the same applies to each and every world, even a small detail in some world, from the beginning of the world of Atzilut until the end of the world of Asiya. For, as stated, every detail contains Ḥokhma, Bina, Tiferet, and Malkhut, and thus the sefira of Ḥokhma is considered a form, while Bina, Tiferet and Malkhut are regarded as the substance in which the form is enclothed – and these are the first and second modes, which are the subjects of the Zohar.

However, the Zohar does not deal with the sefira of Ḥokhma when it is divested of Bina, Tiferet and Malkhut, as it is a form without a substance, and all the more so it does not speak of the essence, which is the aspect of Ein Sof, blessed be He, in that detail. Accordingly, we engage with the Bina, Tiferet, and Malkhut that are in all the details, even in Atzilut, as stated, whereas we do not engage with the Keter and Ḥokhma of all the details – even in Malkhut at the end of Asiya – in and of themselves, when they have been abstracted, but only to the extent that they are enclothed in Bina, Tiferet and Malkhut.

Thus, the first two principles have been thoroughly explained: The whole focus of the authors of the Zohar is only on the substance, or the form in the substance, which is the first principle, and likewise they focus on Beria, Yetzira, and Asiya, or the illumination of Atzilut in Beria, Yetzira, and Asiya, which is the second principle.

The Aspects of Mineral, Vegetable, Animal, and Speaking Being, Which Are in All the Worlds, and That the Speaking Being Is at Their Center

We will now explain the third principle. Although the Zohar deals with each and every world with respect to the sefirot which are the Divinity that illuminates into that world, and similarly with all details – mineral, vegetable, animal, and speaking creature (human) – which are the created beings in that world, the focus of the Zohar is only on the speaking beings of that world.

I will share a parable with you involving entities from this world. It was explained earlier (in the Sulam 's Hakdama LeSefer HaZohar, section 42) that the four aspects, mineral, vegetable, animal, and speaking, which are in each and every world, even in this world, are four parts of the will to receive, and each of them also contains within itself these four aspects, mineral, vegetable, animal, and speaking. Thus, a person in this world must receive nourishment and grow from the four aspects of mineral, vegetable, animal, and speaking that are in this world. For a person’s food also contains these four aspects, which are drawn from the four aspects of mineral, vegetable, animal, and speaking that are in a person’s body. These are: a) He wants to receive the indispensable means needed for his subsistence, in order to exist; b) he wants more than the indispensable means needed for his subsistence and yearns for luxuries; only this is limited to merely animal lusts; c) he yearns after human lusts, such as honor and power; d) he yearns for knowledge.

These are drawn for him through the four parts of the will to receive within him. His wanting his indispensable subsistence is the mineral aspect of the will to receive; his wanting animal lusts is the vegetable aspect of the will to receive, as their function is only to provide growth and pleasure for his vessel, which is the flesh of the body; his wanting human lusts is the animal aspect of the will to receive, as they cause his spirit to expand; and finally, his wanting knowledge is the speaking aspect of the will to receive.

You will find that with regard to the first aspect, which is the indispensable means necessary for his subsistence, and the second aspect, which is the means connected to animal lusts that go beyond the measure for his subsistence, he receives and is nourished by things that are lower than him, which are the mineral, vegetable, and animal. However, the third aspect, which is human desire such as power and honor, he receives and is nourished from his own kind, who are equal to him. And the fourth aspect of nourishment, which is knowledge, he receives and is nourished from a loftier aspect than his own kind, that is, from wisdom and intellect themselves, which are spiritual.

The qualities of the lofty, spiritual worlds can be understood in a similar way. For the worlds are imprinted one from another, from above to below. All the aspects of mineral, vegetable, animal, and speaking that are in the world of Beria leave their imprint on the world of Yetzira, and the mineral, vegetable, animal, and speaking of Asiya are imprinted from the mineral, vegetable, animal, and speaking of Yetzira, and the mineral, vegetable, animal, and speaking of this world21"This world," referring to our world, lies at the "bottom" of the level of existence called Asiya. are imprinted from the mineral, vegetable, animal, and speaking of Asiya.

As explained earlier, in the Sulam 's Hakdama LeSefer HaZohar, section 42, the mineral in the spiritual worlds is referred to as “palaces,” the vegetable is called “clothing,” the animal “angels,” while the speaking is the souls of the people in that world, and the ten sefirot in each world, are the Divinity. The souls of man are at the center of every world, and they are nourished from the whole spiritual reality of that world, just as the physical speaking being is nourished from the entire physical reality in this world.

Thus, the first aspect, which is the will to receive the indispensable amount needed for one’s subsistence, he receives from the illumination of the palaces and clothing that are there. The second aspect, which are the animal indulgences that make his body grow, he receives from the angels that are there,22See Tikkunei Zohar, 69, page 105b line 32. which are the spiritual illuminations that go beyond the amount needed for his subsistence, in order to enhance the spiritual vessels in which his soul is enclothed.

Thus, one receives the first and second aspects from things that are lower than him, which are the palaces, clothing, and angels that are there, as these are lower than the souls of man. The third aspect, human lusts, which enhance a person’s spirit, and which he receives in this world from his own kind, he also receives there from his own kind, i.e., from all the souls that are found in that world, as it is through them that the illumination of the spirit of his soul is enhanced.

The fourth aspect of the will, which is knowledge, he receives there from the sefirot that are in that world, as from them he receives Ḥokhma, Bina, and Da'at for his soul.23Da'at refers to a pseudo-sefira that is formed as a result of the involvement of man's free will in the divine system of existence. While the subject of Da'at is too lengthy to explain here, for the purposes of this section it should be thought of as the personal understandings and perspectives a person develops as a result of absorbing the divine wisdom and understanding of Ḥokhma and Bina.

Accordingly, the soul of man, which is found in each and every world, must grow and complete itself from all the aspects found in that world. This is the third principle mentioned above: One must know regarding all the statements of the Zohar, every single detail from the lofty worlds it deals with, whether the sefirot, the souls, the angels, the clothing, or the palaces, even if it is discussing them on their own terms, the reader must nevertheless understand that they are stated mainly in reference to the measure that the soul of man that is there receives from them and is nourished by them. Thus, all its statements are focused on the requirements of the soul. If you comprehend everything along these lines, then you will understand and succeed in your undertakings.

The Changes Stated with Regard to the Sefirot, Which Exist Only in Relation to Beria, Yetzira, and Asiya

After all of the above, it remains for us to explain all of the physical descriptions that the Book of the Zohar provides for the ten sefirot, such as above and below, ascent and descent, diminishing and expansion, smallness and largeness, separation and fusing, as well as numbers and the like, which the lower creations, through their good deeds or their bad deeds, cause to occur in the ten sefirot. These notions are surprising. How is it possible for the Divinity to act upon itself and be subject to changes of this kind on account of the lower creations?