THE ZOHAR LAIT M A N KA BBA LAH P UBLISHERS Rav Michael Laitman, PhD THE ZOHAR Copyright © 2007 by MICHAEL LAITMAN All rights reserved Published by Laitman Kabbalah Publishers www.kabbalah.info
[email protected] 1057 Steeles Avenue West, Suite 532, Toronto, ON, M2R 3X1, Canada 194 Quentin Rd, 2nd floor, Brooklyn, New York, 11223, USA Printed in Israel No part of this book may be used or reproduced in any manner without written permission of the publisher, except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles or reviews. Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Laitman, Michael. The Zohar: annotations to the Ashlag commentary / Michael Laitman. -1st ed. p. cm. ISBN 978-1-897448-09-0 1. Ashlag, Yehudah. Perush ha-sulam. 2. Zohar. 3. Cabala. I. Title. BM525.A59A7755 2009 296.1>62--dc22 2008015080 Translation: David Brushin, Keren Applebaum Copy Editors: Michael R. Kellogg, Mark Berelekhis Editorial Assistance: Leah Goldberg Proofreading: Lily Solopov, Natasha Sigmund, Sarah Talal Layout: Luba Visotzki Diagrams: Baruch Khovov, Luba Visotzki Cover Design: Bat Sheva Brosh Printing: Doron Goldin Post Production: Uri Laitman Executive Editor: Chaim Ratz FIRST EDITION: FEBRUARY 2009 First printing TABLE OF CONTENTS Prologue .............................................................................................................7 About Rabbi Shimon Bar-Yochai ..................................................................7 Studying with Rabbi Akiva .....................................................................8 The Cave at Peqi’in ................................................................................8 The Idra Raba (Great Assembly) and The Book of Zohar .......................9 The Reincarnation of a Unique Soul ................................................... 10 Rashbi’s Departure............................................................................... 10 About The Book of Zohar .......................................................................... 11 Removing the Covers ...........................................................................12 Accelerating the Spread of the Wisdom ...............................................13 Introduction ....................................................................................................15 List of Abbreviations and Explanations .......................................................... 21 Original Names and Their Equivalents Accepted in the English Translation .......................................................................... 27 Original Titles and Their Equivalents Accepted in the English Translation ..........................................................................28 An Example of the Original Text of The Zohar ..............................................29 Literal Translation of the Aforecited Text from Aramaic into English .........36 The Rose .......................................................................................................... 41 The Goal of Creation .................................................................................45 Sefirot .........................................................................................................46 Screen.....................