Zohar
Said R. Simeon: "Alas for the man who regards the Torah as a book
of mere tales and everyday matters! If that were so, we, even we could compose
a torah dealing with everyday affairs, and of even greater excellence. Nay,
even the princes of the world possess books of greater worth which we could
use as a model for composing some such torah. The Torah, however, contains
in all its words supernal truths and sublime mysteries. Observe the perfect
balancing of the upper and the lower worlds. Israel here below is balanced
by the angels on high, of whom it says: "who makest thy angels into
winds" (Ps. CIV, 4). For the angels in descending on earth put on themselves
earthly garments, as otherwise they could not stay in this world, nor could
the world endure them. Now, if thus it is with the angels, how much more
so must it be with the Torah-the Torah that created them, that created all
the worlds and is the means by which these are sustained. Thus had the Torah
not clothed herself in garments of this world the world could not endure
it. The stories of the Torah are thus only her outer garments, and whoever
looks upon that garment as being the Torah itself, woe to that man-such
a one will have no portion in the next world. David thus said: "Open
thou mine eyes, that I may behold wondrous things out of thy law" (Ps.
CXIX, 18), to wit, the things that are beneath the garment. Observe this.
The garments worn by a man are the most visible part of him, and senseless
people looking at the man do not seem to see more in him than the garments.
But in truth the pride of the garments is the body of the man, and the pride
of the body is the soul. Similarly the Torah has a body made up of the precepts
of the Torah, called gufe torah (bodies, main principles of the Torah),
and that body is enveloped in garments made up of worldly narrations. The
senseless people only see the garment, the mere narrations; those who are
somewhat wiser penetrate as far as the body. But the really wise, the servants
of the most high King, those who stood on Mount Sinai, penetrate right through
to the soul, the root principle of all, namely, to the real Torah. In the
future the same are destined to penetrate even to the super-soul (soul of
the soul) of the Torah. Observe that in a similar way in the supernal world
there is garment, body, soul and super-soul. The heavens and their hosts
are the outer garment, the Community of Israel is the body which receives
the soul, to wit, the "Glory of Israel"; and the super-soul is
the Ancient Holy One. All these are interlocked within each other. Woe to
the sinners who consider the Torah as mere worldly tales, who only see its
outer garment; happy are the righteous who fix their gaze on the Torah proper.
Wine cannot be kept save in a jar; so the Torah needs an outer garment.
These are the stories and narratives, but it behoves us to penetrate beneath
them."
-Zohar III, Page 152a
