Zohar on the Torah

Parshat Toldot – Zohar, Page 134b

Translated and adapted by Mr. Simcha Treister

“And these are the generations of Isaac”[1]. Rabbi Chiya opened his discourse with the verse “Who can describe through words the mighty acts of Hashem, who can declare all His praise?”[2] Come and see. When the desire to create the world arose before the Holy One Blessed be He, He looked into the Torah and created it from there. [This means that He looked at the 22 letters and 10 vowels that make up the 10 sayings by which He created the world, and saw all the generations of all life within the “blueprint” of the Torah.] He looked into the Torah and from it created each and every particular. [These 22 letters and 10 vowels became the 32 paths down which flowed Wisdom to create the world by the 32 times that the name Elokim appears in the account of creation.]

This is the explanation of the verse “Then I was as a little child with Him, and I was His delight each day.”[3] Don’t read “amun”, a little child; rather read “oman” a craftsman. [The Torah says: “I was the craftsman’s tool by which He created the world, each and every day that was created, He delighted in me.”]

When He came to create man, the Torah said before Him; “If You create man and he then sins – since he will eat of the tree of knowledge of good and evil – then You will judge him as worthless. Man certainly can’t withstand Your judgement so why should Your handiwork be for no purpose?” The Holy One Blessed be He answered; “Before I created the world, I created repentance.” Furthermore at the time when He created man, Hashem said; “Universe, O universe! You and your order exist only because of the Torah [since you were created through her letters]; therefor I have created man to dwell within you in order to occupy himself with learning it. If he doesn’t do so, then I will return you to chaos and the black hole.” This is why everything was created for the benefit of mankind, which is stated in the verse; “I created the earth, and created man upon it.”[4]  And every day the Torah stands and announces before mankind calling them to devote themselves to her study, but no one inclines their ear to listen.

Try to grasp this point, whoever strives to learn Torah, causes the continued existence of the universe, and enables each part to properly perform its function. Furthermore there is a direct correlation between each and every one of the 248 limbs of man and the different created beings in the world. Exactly as a person is an organic whole, divided into different limbs, so is the world an organic whole, divided into different entities. When the world is rectified, it functions precisely as one unity.

[From this we see that the conscious life force of man, learning the Torah which consists of 22 letters and 10 vowels, causes Divine abundance to infuse creation. The very enunciation of the letters and vowels in a person’s throat, causes these letters to move and shine in the spiritual worlds, and they in turn release Divine energy to enlighten and vivify the world.]