The Code – A Drop in the Ocean of Understanding the World

At the time of the revelation of the Zohar, around the year 1295, some claimed that Rabbi Moshe de Leon, who published it, was the author. In a later period, many articles were written against the Zohar by the leaders of the Haskalah movement in Europe, who searched for ways to uproot the foundations of Jewish faith generally. Needless to say, the Torah scholars throughout the generations firmly rejected any such claims.

In the book 'The Antiquity of the Book of the Zohar,' Rabbi David Luria (born in 1758, the year the Vilna Gaon passed away; due to his greatness in all fields of Torah, and his ways of holiness and asceticism, the sages of his generation said about him: "Before the sun of the Gra set, the sun of the Radal rose") compiled all the arguments against the Zohar and refuted them one by one. Firstly, he gathered dozens of places from the writings of Rabbi Moshe de Leon where he wrote things that contradict the Zohar's views. It's unlikely that an author would contradict himself in another book. Additionally, he pointed out instances where Rabbi Moshe misunderstood the Zohar. Moreover, Rabbi David Luria quotes Jewish sages who preceded Rabbi Moshe, whose statements originate from the Zohar, proving that the Zohar predates Rabbi Moshe de Leon, and he merely made it public. A whole chapter is dedicated by the Radal to the responses of the Geonim, where many Kabbalistic sayings, attributed to the Jerusalem Talmud, originate from the Zohar. The Radal suggests that the Geonim used to refer to these Kabbalistic words as "Jerusalem," as they were transmitted by the Kabbalists in the land of Israel. On the claim that the Zohar is written in Aramaic while the common language during the Tannaim period was Hebrew, the Radal responds that it was precisely the desire to conceal the secrets of Kabbalah from the masses that led the arranger of the Zohar, Rabbi Abba, a disciple of Rabbi Shimon bar Yochai, who was originally from Babylon, to write the Zohar in a less known and more obscure language in the land of Israel. In response to the claims about how the Zohar includes names of sages from the Talmudic period who lived after Rabbi Shimon bar Yochai, the Radal explains that the main components of the book are the sayings of Rashbi as recorded by his disciple, but additional articles were included by the Amoraim from the generation following Rashbi, with the author's name always indicated to differentiate them from Rashbi's sayings. (From the head of the Kabbalists' Yeshiva "The Peace," Rabbi David Batzri, I heard an opinion suggesting that through divine inspiration, these things were written in anticipation of the future, a concept clarified in the Jerusalem Talmud, where Moses saw at Sinai the innovations in Torah that even a student would eventually say before his teacher in future generations.) 'Babylonian Talmud.' 'Book of the Image.' 'Treasure of Life' by Rabbi Yitzchak of Acco. 'Magen David,' by Rabbi David ben Zimra. 'Pardes Rimonim,' by Rabbi Moshe Cordovero. 'Gates of Eden,' by Rabbi Yaakov Kapil. 'Voice of the Hint' by Rabbi Moshe Zuchot. 'Tale of Talpiot,' by Rabbi Eliyahu from Izmir. And more from the authors of our time.

However, it must be emphasized that it is clear to the author without the slightest doubt that all that is brought in this book is only a drop in the ocean compared to the vast secret of the letters. For all that is brought here is only a minuscule amount, both in quantity and quality, of what is written in the books we have on this profound and broad subject (indeed, I often refrained from writing complex and wonderful secrets despite their beauty and power, for fear that not every mind is yet ready to contain them, the lights will shine and the vessels will break, and the study in the book will be abandoned, our gain becoming our loss), and all the books we have are only a tiny portion of the secrets that were known to our ancestors. As "Rabbi Akiva expounded on every tittle" [of letters and their crowns] and "since Rabbi Akiva died, the glory of Torah has ceased." Moreover, the sages testified that "when Israel was on their land, they studied three hundred laws in the floating tower in the air" – that is the letter Lamed (the tallest in form of all letters, and the only one articulated by raising the tongue tip), called so because of its mysteries.

And even in exile, our forefathers maintained the secrets of the letter arrangements, as evidenced by the Talmud when "Rava created a man" – that is, the Amora Rava, created a man according to the secret of the letters in the Sefer Yetzirah, being adept at combining the letters according to what is hidden in each of them, and the intentions of the names made from their combinations. And Rabbi Hanina and Rabbi Hoshaiah would engage daily in the Sefer Yetzirah, creating a calf for Shabbat meals. If they mastered such wisdom even after the exile began, when precious time was dedicated to coping with the suffering of many troubles, and the hardships of the journeys and livelihood in the exile, such that due to lack of time and settled mind, the transmission of all Torah secrets and letter wisdom to the next generation diminished, and many forms of wisdom were forgotten from us. Only remnants remain, the essential parts conserved through efforts to maintain and transmit the Torah's core to future generations, primarily the practical laws to prevent the Torah and its commandments from being forgotten from Israel. How much more so when our ancestors were on their land before the exile, each under his vine and fig tree, having the opportunity to engage in Torah with peace of mind, learning and receiving its secrets from the cedar giants of Torah and holy ministers who lived in those days. Certainly, even as we attempt to imagine the breadth and depth of the loss, we cannot comprehend anything in our minds, and cannot grasp any idea of the extent and depth known to them. As Rabbi Todros HaLevi wrote: "Doeg and Ahitofel, and those like them from the sages of old, and all the more so the prophets, knew and could expound with letters and numerous arrays of laws. These matters are clear and straightforward, and much more so for us, submerged in the depths of exile, what have we heard of them, closely related to prophets and scholars, how much more so." On this, those who mourn will lament.

However, our teachers have already instructed that "not upon you is the task to complete, nor are you free to withdraw from it." In our time, a new generation has arisen, unaware of the wonderful treasures of the Torah in our possession, and many of our people searching for spirituality to quench the intense thirst of their pure souls longing for spiritual sustenance, are seeking in foreign fields whose wisdom is as distant as the east is from the west from the beauty and depth of the divine wisdom we hold.

And since my life's aspiration is to show my beloved brothers the beauty of our Torah and the depth of its layers, thus this book was composed, to show every seeker and searcher for truth that engaging with the Torah of Israel, even at the basic level of the Hebrew letters, already teaches one the code of existence that encompasses all the secrets of creation and the sciences of life:

The manner of universe formation and the secret of its perpetual existence; the foundations of physics and the hidden spirituality moving atomic particles; the secret of a person's name and its impact on life; the foundations of the esoteric wisdom, and ways of the higher influences; the rules of proper conduct in human relations, and the path to moral refinement and personality shaping; the essence of opposites in creation whose combination creates perfect harmony, and the path to happiness in life; the secret of livelihood and health, and the right balance of life's pleasures; the ways of purification from sin and closeness to Hashem, and the merit of joy, melody, and dance; the meaning of the inclination toward marriage and childbirth, and the key to a happy family life; what is hidden in the priestly blessing, and the secrets of prayer. And many more details all embedded in the regular letters, the final letters, and the crowned letters of the Creator's Torah.

The author's strong hope is that the study of this book will become a gateway for many into the various layers of our holy Torah, through the study of Mishnah and Talmud, halacha, ethics, and the secrets of the Torah. For one who delves into the secret of its letters cannot help but be moved and inspired by their beauty, delighted endlessly by their sweetness, hugging them with love at the magical worlds unfolding before him. Then he longs for his Creator, aspiring to know all parts of His Torah, and uniting with longing love and joy to His commandments – with modest charm before Him, understanding how poor our wisdom is compared to the divine wisdom revealed in His Torah.

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