Baal HaSulam · Jerusalem, 1940s20 steps
הקדמה לספר הזהרThe Introduction to the Zohar.
Five plain questions, answered from one premise:
creation exists to delight, so its whole substance is a will to receive that must learn to give.
The Questions
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The Thought of Creation
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Two Systems
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Three States
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- VIIג׳ מצבי הנשמותThree States of the SoulsWhat will be already shines where it began.
- VIIIבעתה אחישנהTorah or SufferingThe destination is fixed; only the road is ours.
- IXהגוף האמיתיThe True BodyThe shell must pass so that what it holds can last.
- Xהשכל הוא קנייןDesire, Not IntellectThe mind is what we gather; the wanting is who we are.
- XIלהחיות במומםRising With Their BlemishesThe same wide hollow returns, and this time it gives.
The Work of Correction
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- XIIיש לו מנה רוצה מאתיםOur Part in Seventy YearsEach filling widens the hunger, until the hunger turns.
- XIIIתוך הצנוןThe Worm in the RadishInside the radish the world is bitter; outside it, light.
- XIVדומם צומח חי מדברStill, Growing, Living, SpeakingDesire grows until it can feel what another feels.
- XVקוצו של יודFive Worlds, Five LightsOne light, veiled five times, so that it can be received.
- XVIהנקודה שבלבThe Point in the HeartEvery finished level hides the first spark of the next.
- XVIIשלא ישוב לכסלו עודPurity That HoldsWhat is held for good becomes the step to climb higher.