How to Read Kabbalistic Text
Hebrew Terms in the Lessons
We would like to point out that it is not necessary to translate Hebrew terms used in Kabbalah into another language, since each one of them designates a spiritual entity (partzuf) or one of its parts.
We have provided some parallel translation to assist the English-speaking student. However, it should be emphasized that translations may lead to the association with images of our world. This is strictly forbidden because one should not attempt to lower the spiritual to the level of our world.
Terms such as Head (Rosh), Mouth (Peh), Coupling (Zivug), etc., could induce associations that have nothing to do with Kabbalah.
Therefore, it is recommended to stick to the Hebrew denominations. Students, who do not understand Hebrew actually have an advantage over Hebrew speakers, as these terms will not bear reference to representations from our world.
How to Read The Lessons
The difficulty of explaining and teaching Kabbalah lies in the fact that the spiritual world has no counterpart in our world. Even if the objective of study becomes clear, understanding of it is only temporary. It is grasped by the spiritual component of our cognizance, which is constantly renewed from Above. Thus, a subject once understood by an individual may again appear unclear at a later date. Depending on the mood and the spiritual state of the reader, the text can appear as either full of deep meaning, or entirely meaningless.
Do not despair if what was so clear yesterday becomes very confusing the next day. Do not give up if the text appears to be vague, strange, or illogical. Kabbalah is not studied for the sake of acquiring theoretical knowledge, but in order to see and to perceive. When a person begins to see and perceive, then, through his own contemplation and after acquiring spiritual strength, his consequent reception of the resulting spiritual lights and levels will bestow upon him a sure knowledge.
Until a person has a comprehension of the Upper Light, and a perception of spiritual objects, he will not understand in what way the universe is built and works, since there are no analogies in our own world to the subject being learned.
These lessons can help in facilitating the first steps toward perceiving the spiritual forces. At later stages, progress can be made only with the help of a teacher.