Customer Reviews

The Zohar: Volumes 1-23

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Hello Seeker.

The Zohar is a magickal work of history. Some confuse the Kabbalah Center and this work as "creating a religion", the truth is - all western religions are rooted in the wisdom of this knowledge - most of which has been hidden from the common people, but used extensively by those in command and control.

I dismissed "all" religious systems 3 years ago and concluded "If the Divine is real, I should be able to find it in the present and connect with it in the present, without having to go to the past for any written or oral tradition" why? Because I found all if it filled will command and control "less than" fear based doctrines that I knew could not of come from a loving, all powerful creator. Too much contradition, too much war, too much abuse, too much racism and elitism embedded within the "faiths" that require "belief".

In fact, if a "religon" requires "belief" it's a clue to run away, because - "GOD" has always revealed itself through demonstration of power - so that people have "knowing" rather than "belief".

When I came across the Zohar - I was blown away because - it's authors apprantly had similar thoughts to mine, 2000+ years ago, in fact Rule #1 - "Don't believe anything you read or hear" is the first "Rule" of the Kabbalah Center - demand "proof", if it "doesn't work", why bother? I founded a spoof "church" called "TheChurchOfWhatWorks" and a 5 part Divinity and truth filter to sort out fact from religious fiction.

I have found that within the Zohar itself - is imbedded secrets, in fact when you read it - (scan/or what ever) it does trigger thoughts that come to you - (i.e. you receive) - and those thoughts and insights may have nothing to do with the text of the Zohar you are reading. Nobody can teach you a short cut - they can give you some contexts but I was stunned to find magickal principles embedded within the text that even the Rabbi's of the time - probably could not talk about other than in secret. Most will probably miss it. The concept of opposits is in play in the language and I suspect the origional author had an interesting sense of humor.

Will it bring miracles into your life? The truth is, you will bring miracles into your life, but the Zohar will be able to help you realize that and release the barriers that have turned you into nothing more than a slave on planet earth. It is a dangrous work of knowledge to be sure - because it gets to the roots of your freedom and most of us have no idea how we have become slaves to fear, ideologies, doctrines and religions. If you are locked into a "belief" or "religion" don't worry, the Zohar won't make much sense to you and you'll want to argue with it - really, who wants to admit that all they have known and have been taught about "God" and the world for the most part was a manipulative lie - those in power and rule want you to be afraid, they want you dis-empowered, they want you to be "sheep" so they - the good shepards can lead you.

It even reveals the truth about "God's Chosen People" - right in volume 1 - as if, the Creator of all that is would play favorites? Nope - folks there is historic truth here that dispells fear, empowers the individual and wakes sheep up to the lie that no sheep can ever become a shepard. Even those of Pagan paths will find their tradidtions - secretly embedded within the Zohar - no conflict - only confirmation and acknowlegement of things they already know.

Kabbalah - wisdom - pre-dates Ancient Egypt - so it should not be a surprise to discover knowledge and secret wisdom can be found here - and many secret rites and knowledge can trace it's roots here...now listen up - it is not that the secrets are necessarily embedded within the Zohar or Kabbalah traditions - remember Kabbalah is "to receive" - the Zohar - and it's scanning/reading and the study or even introduction into Kabbalah is not about learning a new "tradition" or a "new belief" or a "new religion" - it is about "RECEIVING", and I have concluded it is about receiving directly from "source", energy, insights, wisdom, healing of mind, body and spirit. This is the stuff the Magi and Astrologers of old "received" their power and insights - these became "scientists" over time and as it is proven - the Zohar has inspired modern medicine, philosophy and science - in it's "day", these were the "magical" approaches - FORBIDDEN - by all RELIGION - unless performed within the secret places of those RELIGIONS.

Literacy - and freedom of speech combined with the Kabbalah center's decision to STOP THE CENSORSHIP of knowledge has made this knowlege, this magick, this gateway...or a tool to open the 50th Gateway (volume 1, you'll know it whan you come across it), or should I say 5th Element? There are many secrets embedded, masterfully. There really is nothing for you to be "taught" from the Zohar - but there are new dimensions of being available for you to "receive" and discover through the tool, the key that is called "Zohar".

You'll never know or understand until you pick up, Volume 1 and begin reading and scanning it.

Though I do not agree with all of it's perspectives - then again - I do agree with much - if I am open to realizing when I am reading code or when I am reading text - I can simply say I know a magickal text when I encounter one. The Kabbalah Center has a video link that gives an amazing history of the Zohar that will blow you away.

It is what it is. It cannot be denied. It works, has worked and continues to work. My own ego does not want you to have this knowledge because if the majority of people stay in the darkness that has prevailed over the last 4000-6000 years, those who are "awake" have a powerful advantage over those who are stuck in the dark and dead teachings of "religion". But there is a world, a better world that we can create and I would rather we transform our world together with love and light, than to sheer the sheep further. May the sheep wake up and realize they are not sheep, but men and women - children of a Divine Creator (which is beyond gender, but evidenced all through creation as male AND female) <what you think some guy created all of what is by himself? - wake up friend, all life comes from female, or haven't you noticed, any "pagan" can tell you the truth of that <laugh>. May the sons and daughters of the Creator - wake up - and more importantly Grow up into what they were designed and destined to be from...the beginning!

Run from this work and knowlege unless you want Life Transformation. The first reviewer of this work is a "Catholic", I've been there - and let me simply say, if it can work for a "Catholic" - it can work for anyone - because that Religion - has been the root source of "command and control" for 2000 years, and introduced the context of sheep.

See if you want change - you may have to die and be "reborn" in your knowledge and spirituality. "Think" about it <laugh>.

Namaste'

If you are so anal as I am and choose to read this monumental work along side the free online Kabbalah Centre edition, you will notice very early on that there are irritating inconsistencies. For example; the printed version uses "congregation of Israel/Yisrael" (which implies universality) which is consistent with the Tanach / Old Testament i.e Kings I & II, but the online version uses "Community of Israel / Yisrael" (implying local, closed, exclusivity). Personally, I find this offensive as both versions are from the Kabbalah Centre. On these matters the Kabbalah Centre chooses not to reply to any inquiry.
One will also find that upon closer examination of the numbering system that in many cases it does not line up with the King James, for example. If you are intending on researching as deeply as I, you will find the Stone Edition Tanach an essential companion to this version of the Zohar and save you many hours, days and weeks of distress.
The reader must also be aware that some Stone affiliates distance themselves from this Zohar edition and have another 5 vol. Zohar which is not on amazon.
Once these have been recognised, the reader will enjoy this multi-level complicated work that I believe needs to be accompanied with the Babylonian Talmud. Read the Zohar, and the world will never look the same. Read both, and you will discover that you know nothing at all. Those who have done so will understand this in an instant. Those who have not, it would be easier to describe the taste of a mango to someone who has never tasted one.
Generally, the text is as beautiful as it's covers.

In writing a paper on the Qabbalah before the issuance of "The Zohar: Pritzker Edition" by Stanford University Press, I used this edition for my research. This edition is put out by "The Kabbalah Center", which is a fine organization for those who mind neither loose scholasticism in their learning about the Qabbalah nor the blending of New Age concepts therein, but for those who wish to learn of Sepher HaZohar through the purity of itself without the invasion of New Age ideas having nothing to do with traditional Qabbalah, then avoid the Kabbalah Center and this translation of The Zohar like the plague.
Aside from this, I did not like how this translation inserted interpretations into the main body of the text, rather than in foot-notes, as does the Pritzker Edition.

I an a Catholic, but I can recognize the real stuff when I see one. The Zohar represent a real miracle in my life. As they say: you do not need to know Hebrew to "read" the Zohar, all that is sufficient is just "to scan" the Hebrew sentences with your eyes. I was very poor and unemployed, I purchased this version of the Zohar (with an English translation and notes beside the Hebrew text). I started scanning with all my faith. The collision with my Catholic faith was huge, I started challenging many of the explanations given in the English text (because I could understand them). At the end I could not scan any longer because I was challenging everything. Nothing seemed to fit into my previous mindset and I was extremely upset about that. But a little voice was telling me: "There is TRUTH in those volumes, do not give up." So I purchased the Hebrew Zohar, no English text whatsoever, I finally could not challenge a single word. I started scanning, again faithful 100%. I scanned the Zohar for a year and a half, nothing happened. They say that the Zohar provides miracles, I believed that, but I was not seeing a single miracle in my life, despite all my scanning. I spent many nights awake, just to scan the Zohar. Now, FINALLY, I saw a miracle, and what a miracle! I am talking about real stuff here, not those intellectually justified explanations that want to show you that you had a miracle when indeed you had none. I received an offer from a company, they want to pay me huge money, just to work from home, and it is in a field I like very much (actually it is in the field of my .....hobbies), I also put into practice many of the principles that the Kabbalah Centre teaches, like tithing your money, like using the energy of Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur, using the energy of Chanucka to manifest miracles.
What can I say? This is not a review about the editing of the chapters of this Magnus Opus, it is not a review on the writing style of Rabbi Shimon Bar Yochai, nothing of the sort. It is a review of what YOU CAN DO thanks to the Zohar. I am a Catholic and I have a fool-proof intuition, I KNEW I WAS IN FRONT OF THE SOLUTION TO ALL OUR PROBLEMS, when I was holding the Zohar in my hands. Now, I see all sorts of malignat remarks about Rav Berg and his family. Do not believe a single word! These are people that are indeed bringing the Light to our society that is choking in darkness. I did not believe in the miracles that the Zohar can bring: I am a Capricorn and Capricorns DO NOT believe, they want proof. I had my proof, and I am at peace now. DO THE SAME.

The Zohar--Book of Splendor is the true inner teachings of Mystic Judaism. Just as the Rubiayat contains also
the inner esoteric teachings, Sufis, The Interior Castle of St. Theresa of Avila, The Revelation of St. John,
The Bhagavad Gita interpretation by Paramahansa Yogananda as well as his "Second Coming of Christ and the teachings
of Self Realization Fellowship. Mahatma Ghandi knew, he took discipleship from Yogananda in 1935. I reviewed many of these Mystical Paths on my non-profit radio show "East Meets West" I'm Daniel Steffens and this is Mystical Insights" from 1968-1972" on KUSC radio station. I spent my early years from the age of 8 years old with many texts on my bed in my room
in Los Angeles, (The City Yogananda referred to as the Benares of the West)---who normally would believe this? But its true. So a Kabbalah Center is there and in NYC. Of Course! The world is going through a dark cloud now
but we will emerge by 2015 and maybe 2014. 2012, Dec. 21st is just an inflection point moving into a higher age.
We are now on an upswing for another 10,500 years. Get used to it. The reason strict Hasidics and followers
of Judaism assert that you must be a student of the Talmud first has truth from the ancient Jewish tradition.
Patanjali Yoga Asphorisms state there are eight definitive steps and the first have to do with the dos and don'ts
(what? we are back to the 10 Commandments---They can also be called the 10 Rules of Eternal Happiness. You can go into the inner teachings first without fully following the dos and don'ts but you will have to fill in the gaps
ultimately. In the old Testament the word fear is used frequently just substitute Love and it takes on a deeper meaning for us. That was a brutal Age. We are in a Higher Age now and Our Divine Nature is Infinitely Loving
and wants us to make as much progress as we can in one life. Seek ye first and everything else shall be added. But God watches the heart---it takes a long time to purify. But what is the fatest way to purify? Through our own Kabbalah Living Tree of Life and Light,
The Kingdom of heaven is within you. What? How can that be? Yes, within and ultimately you see God is in everything and is everything. First you tolerate others, then you love them and then you realize we are all in this together. The teachings of Yogananda also do this through the Science of Kriya Yoga, and other meditation techniques. If you want to change your life, change your thoughts, if you want to change your thoughts,
change your center of consciousness, if you want to change your center of consciousness practice Kriya Yoga to your last day of your life. Then you will see your body as only a shell and you are the Living Tree of Light,
and you feel this all the time. Then you go beyond being just a limited body and experience the Omnipresence
Omniscience and Omnipotence of your Being--your natural state of existence Eternally. Perseverance is the whole magic of any success. But material success has a very short
lifespan and everything must be left behind. Not so with the transformation of your life into the inner
Spiritual Source of Light, Joy, and Love. This is eternal. Truth will always be discovered. Why has Steven Jobs
read the Autobiography of a Yogi? Because it is one of the great ambassadors of Light to the world. And he shares with others now as manifested in the attitudes of his employees--Life Must be Chiefly Service---so Apple provides that tremendous service to others and continually uses creativity to innovate---making it one of the great examples of World Class Companies. But we have to practice just like any other endeavor of a great violinist, pianist, artist, scientist. So, The Zohar's greatest contribution is not the current miracles you need and get but the grand miracle of all. We are all
Avatars in the Making, Krishnas, Buddhas, Christs, Mohammeds, Zoroasters, and all other Great Masters in the Making. There are no Big Souls and Little Souls. We are all created equal at the highest level. It is in the
differentiation that apparent higher and lower seems to appear. We must repeat daily: God loves me his child
as much as he loves Jesus, Buddha, Krishna, Rama, Mohammed. If you love God enough he wipes out all your Karma.
But this is not just something you say for a little while. We must work very hard for Divine Realization.
But doesn't everyone want freedom from limitations. Of course we do! It is our innate nature. We don't have to attain anything. We have to remember: The Brahma Sutra says: Now memory gives the power of Reproduction. Feeling always follows thought if we hold onto the thought long enough. So I am glad that Madonna is studying
the Zohar. I have never met her but in 6 degrees of separation I have through my wife's relative Shep Pettibone.
I have seen the transformations taking place in her life. People want to criticize others but we should work on ourselves. After all Mahatma Ghandi said the only devils he knew of were in his own heart. This means that
he had still more work to do to perfect himself. Life is a battle and we should die trying to win. Time does not matter. Time ultimately does not even exist. I have met many saints and realized beings in my life. The teachings of the prophets of Israel were from Enlightened Sages of inner realization, God Realization...Yogananda
predicted the planet would warm up as we entered into the higher ages to make it easier to live--of course there
is adaptation that must occur. This is how we reach out to others and express Love and Selflessness expanding into more of our Omnipresent nature in the outer way. We must follow two simultaneous parallel processing paths
in life the outer manifestation as just mentioned and the inner transformation Tree of Life and awaken the inner
centers of Divine Light and Consciousness. Yogananda also predicted that Boston would have a warm climate in 100 years from the time of the 1920s when he arrived in the U.S. He also predicted half of the people in America
would be Vegetarians in 100 years from the 1940s. The health problems will be greatly reduced and there will not be enough steak and pork for people to survive on the planet. I have been a vegetarian since 1967. Madonna is a vegetarian and look at her health! Steve Jobs is a vegetarian. It is not, I repeat not the perfect end all that guarntees perfect health. None of any of us in limited consciousness can even begin to know of our infinite
complexities of Karma from thousands of past incarnations. But these things will help us progress faster to the Light of the Living Tree. This is Rocket Fuel for a demanding stressful life. Yogananda predicted that Yoga
will become the theme of the entire world. I do not mean just physical postures. This is much more than that!
Go on to the college course and graduate course and/or running your own business level of advanced yoga of
Kriya Yoga and techniques of meditation and inner and outer love for God. In the end its the loving kindnesses
that we give to others when we judge ourselves (after leaving this world) and feel what it was like what we did to them. The outer accomplishments mean almost nothing. If you are wealthy share with others not for praise and acclaim but to truly serve and (selfishly feel the love and joy). We are all seeking the Ever New Joy of Life and The Living Tree of Life within us accelerates the possibilities for us by many orders of magnitude. We must be still and know that we are with and in God (paraphrase from Psalms) The outer world is constant intense motion.
We must have an inner sanctuary in our hearts that is awakened of peace, love, and joy and portable paradise
that we feel constantly and renew its strength in meditation by ourselves and with the magnified meditation with others in groups. This is the True Second Coming of Christ within ourselves. It costs nothing. It is not endlessly reading books. Books are good but we must see and feel and realize it is all within. That is why
Yogananda created an All Day Christmas Meditation before---the social outward Christmas to bring back the inner experience and predicted that it would spread throughout the world. By changing our consciouness and transforming
it we will help ourselves tremendously and mitigate world disasters and help all those in our circle of friends and family.

In The Divine Light,
d.