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In the Shadow of the Ladder

Nehora Press

Contents

Preface...............................................................................................ixAcknowledgements......................................................................................xiIntroduction Mark and Yedidah Cohen..................................................................1Chapter 1 Kabbalah in Context Mark and Yedidah Cohen.................................................9Chapter 2 Rabbi Ashlag and his Predecessors Mark and Yedidah Cohen...................................17Chapter 3 Introduction to the Zohar Rabbi Yehudah Lev Ashlag.........................................29Chapter 4 Introduction to the Study of the Ten Sephirot Rabbi Yehudah Lev Ashlag.....................97Chapter 5 Keywords, Definitions and Concepts Mark and Yedidah Cohen..................................203Chapter 6 One Person's Journey in Kabbalah Mark and Yedidah Cohen....................................231Notes.................................................................................................237Glossary..............................................................................................248Bibliography, Sources and Resources...................................................................250Index.................................................................................................252

Chapter One

In this Introduction I would like to clarify some seemingly simple matters. These are issues with which everyone is, to some extent, involved and much ink has been spilt in the effort to clarify them. Despite this, we have not arrived at a sufficiently clear understanding of them.

The first question we would like to ask is, "What is our essence?"

Our second question is, "What is our role as part of the long chain of reality of which we are such little links?"

The third question concerns the paradox that when we look at ourselves, we feel that we are defective or fallen to the extent that there can be none as despicable as ourselves. But when we look at the Creator who made us, then we find that we must really be creations of such high degree that there are none more praiseworthy than ourselves, since it has to be the case that from a perfect Creator only perfect works can issue.

Our fourth question is, "According to our intellect, God must be Good and do good, there being no higher good than that which He does. How, then, could He create so many creatures who, right from the start, suffer and feel pain throughout all the days of their lives? Surely it is in the nature of the Good to do good or, at any rate, not to do so much harm!"

Our fifth question is, "How is it possible that an eternal Being, without a beginning or an end, could bring into existence creatures which are finite, die and have an end?"

2. In order to completely clarify all these matters, we first have to make some preliminary inquiries. We cannot investigate the essence of God as He is in Himself, because thought cannot conceive of Him in any way at all. We have no notion of God as He is in Himself. However, we can and should investigate God in a way that is positive and fruitful, namely by looking at His acts. As the Torah recommends, "Know the God of your father and worship Him" (1 Chron. 28:9). It is also written in the Song of Unity, "From Your works, we know You."

So our first inquiry is, "How can we conceive of creation as being an innovation; something entirely new that was not included in God before He created it?" After all, it must be clear, if one thinks about it, that there cannot be anything that is not included within God. Likewise, common-sense tells us that one cannot give something if one does not have it within himself or herself to give.

Second inquiry: You may argue that since God is omnipotent, He must be able to create something that is entirely new and which He does not have within Himself. Then the question may be asked, "What may this reality be, concerning which one may determine that it does not exist within God but is a completely new reality?"

Third inquiry: The Kabbalists have said that the soul of Man is part of God in the sense that there is no difference between God and the soul, except that God consists of the whole and the soul consists of a part. The Kabbalists compare this to a stone quarried from a mountain. There is no difference between the stone and the mountain except that the mountain is the whole and the stone is a part. If we look at this example, we can see that the stone is split off from the mountain by a blade which is specific for this purpose and which separates the part from the whole. But how can we conceive this as appertaining to God; that He could separate off a part of His essence to the extent that it would leave His essence and become a part which is separated from Him? How can we conceive of the soul as being only a part of God's essence?

3. Fourth inquiry: The framework of evil in the world (called "the other side" or "the shells") is so entirely estranged from God's holiness that one cannot even imagine such an extreme divergence. How is it possible for evil to issue forth and emerge from the Holy One? Not only that, but it is God, who is Holy, who sustains the framework of evil.

Fifth inquiry: This investigation concerns the revival of the dead. The body is so abject that from the moment it is born it is destined for death and burial. Not only this, but the Zohar tells us that until the body is completely decomposed the soul cannot ascend to its place in the Garden of Eden as long as any measure of the body still remains. If this is so, why do the dead need to be revived? Couldn't God have just given delight to the souls without the body? What is even more surprising is the statement of the sages that when the revival of the dead will take place, the bodies will be resurrected together with their blemishes, so that no one can say that this is someone else! Only subsequently will God heal their blemishes. We need to understand why it would matter to God that people might say, "This is someone else," to the extent that He would re-create these blemishes which would then require healing?

The sixth inquiry: This concerns the statement of the sages that Man is at the center of reality. All the higher worlds, together with this physical world and all that is in them, were only created for Man's sake. They also required that a person should believe that the whole world was created just for him or for her. It seems difficult to understand that God troubled to create all these worlds just for the sake of this little person who, compared with the reality of this world, has only the value of a hair-and even much less if one compares him or her with the reality of the higher worlds which are without number or limit. Furthermore, why would Man need all of this?

4. In order to understand all these questions and investigations, one strategy is to look at creation as a process and to examine its end state, which is the ultimate aim of creation. After all, it is not possible to understand any process by examining it whilst it is still developing. Only by looking at its final outcome can one understand it. It is clear...