If the man is pure
and his conduct is pleasing in the sight of God, he is united with that
female part of the soul which was his component part prior to his birth"
(_Zohar_, i. 91). The soul's destiny upon earth is to develop those
perfections the germs of which are eternally implanted in it, and it
ultimately must return to the infinite source from which it emanated.
Hence, if, after assuming a body and sojourning upon earth, it becomes
polluted by sin and fails to acquire the experience for which it
descends from heaven, it must three times reinhabit a body, till it is
able to ascend in a purified state through repeated trials. If, after
its third residence in a human body, it is still too weak to withstand
the contamination of sin, it is united with another soul, in order that
by their combined efforts it may resist the pollution which by itself it
was unable to conquer. When the whole pleroma of pre-existent souls in
the world of the Sephiroth shall have descended and occupied human
bodies and have passed their period of probation and have returned
purified to the bosom of the infinite Source, then the soul of Messiah
will descend from the region of souls; then the great Jubilee will
commence. There shall be no more sin, no more temptation, no more
suffering. Universal restoration will take place. Satan himself, "the
venomous Beast," will be restored to his angelic nature. Life will be an
everlasting feast, a Sabbath without end. All souls will be united with
the Highest Soul, and will supplement each other in the Holy of Holies
of the Seven Halls (_Zohar_, i. 45, 168; ii. 97).
Antiquity and Influence of Kabbalah.
According to the Kabbalah all these esoteric doctrines are contained in
the Hebrew Scriptures. The uninitiated cannot perceive them; but they
are plainly revealed to the spiritually minded, who discern the profound
import of this theosophy beneath the surface of the letters and words of
Holy Writ. "If the law simply consists of ordinary expressions and
narratives, such as the words of Esau, Hagar, Laban, the ass of Balaam
or Balaam himself, why should it be called the law of truth, the perfect
law, the true witness of God? Each word contains a sublime source, each
narrative points not only to the single instance in question, but also
to generals" (_Zohar_, iii. 149, cf. 152).
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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