Zohar 2:258b-59b

Jewish Mysticism
The seventh chamber. This chamber is the innermost of all chambers. This chamber is concealed, having no image within it, really [mammash], and there is no body at all. Here is the concealed within the mystery of mysteries. This is the mystery that is the place to enter into, within the supernal passageways, spirit of all spirits, desire of all desires, to connect everything as one, the spirit of life in this one, so that everything will be one adornment. This chamber is called the House of the Holy of Holies, a place corresponding to the supernal soul, which is called that to arouse the world to come toward it. This world [alma] is called world [olam]. World, the ascension that ascends the lower world up to the upper world, and secrets it within it, and it is concealed within it, the revealed within the paradox [stirah]. World, ascending with all those who are drawn near to it, and they are concealed within the upper concealment [stiru]. The upper world ascends and is concealed within the upper will, within the concealed of all concealed, which is not known at all, and is not revealed, and there is no one who knows it… Within the curtain there is a concealed, secret and hidden place, to gather within itself the flow of the upper greatness, the spirit of life, by way of the river that flows and goes forth, and that river is called the Spring of the Well that never ceases. And when this enters and flows, all of that upper greatness from above, from the place of the Holy of Holies, the flow descends and comes into those passageways. This is filled from there, like a female that is impregnated and filled from a male. So too here, this chamber is always adorned to receive it, like a female that receives from a male, a reception that receives all of those holy spirits and souls, and they descend to the world and they are impregnated there. They are withheld as long as necessary, until the King Messiah comes and satiates all of those souls, and they come and cause the world to rejoice the world as in the beginning. Thus, the Holy One, blessed be He, rejoices as in the beginning, as it is said “The Lord will rejoice in his works” (Psalms 104-31). In this chamber there are delights and pleasures of the spirits, and the musings that the Holy One, blessed be He, muses in the Garden of Eden. Here He is the desire of all and the pleasure of all, to connect everything as one, so that everything will be one, the connection of everything, in one union, here it exists. When all of the limbs are connected with the upper limbs, each one as is appropriate for it, they have no pleasure and they have no delight other than in the unification of this chamber upon which everything depends. When this connection is united in one unification, then all the light of the limbs and all the light of the countenances and all pleasures shine and rejoice. Meritorious is the lot of the one who knows how to set things in order, and to adorn the adornments of completion as is appropriate. The mercy of the Holy One, blessed be He, is in this world and the world to come, and thus all judgments and all harsh decrees are annulled and removed from the world. This chamber is the chamber of delight, the chamber that amuses itself with the upper entities and lower entities as one, and receives all, the light of the supernal flame that shines to all, to unite all as is appropriate in a complete unification. And concerning this, this chamber exists in concealment of all, hidden from all. Even though they are all concealed, this is more concealed and hidden, in order that the covenant will sustain all as one, male and female, in order that it should be complete. This chamber is called the Ark of the Covenant, which is the Lord of all the Earth, because it is the place from which went forth all of the souls of the world, to unite a unification below, and to draw forth the unification of the Holy One, blessed be He, from above to below to give to the Righteous One, since they come forth from the Righteous One and enter into the Righteous One, and afterwards they go forth from the Righteous One and enter into the place from which they went forth… Come and See. The spring of the well is never separated from the well, and because of this, this place is the encompassment of all, the sustenance of all bodies, in order to be completed in all, as is appropriate. Here is the union and connection like one, in order that above and below should be one, in one connection, so that the limbs will not be separated from one another, in order that everything will be found face to face… Meritorious is the lot of one who knows how to connect connections and unite unification in prayer with the desire of the heart as is appropriate, in order to adhere limb to limb, spirit to spirit, all in one comprehension, so that everything will be one as is appropriate. Come and see. This chamber, when those holy spirits and all of those chambers and chariots are all united as one and found in one connection, then, this upper spirit of everything, which is one point, is sealed within it and is not revealed, then a sealed spirit is made above. It is comparable to a nut, united in the connection of all, as we have said, to connect this with that so that everything will be complete in completion, male and female as one. And thus we have established regarding this that the sacrifice ascends to unite each and every thing as is appropriate for it, from that offering that ascends. The priest, which is the right in the connection of the unification of desire. And the Levite, with song encompasses this within that, chamber within chamber, spirit in spirit, until limb with limb is connected in its place, so that everything will be encompassed as one as is appropriate, and thus we have established that when everything is completed as one, the upper limbs with the lower ones, thus the Supernal Soul of all is aroused and enters into everything and shines to all, and everything is blessed, above and below, as well as that one who is not known, and does not fall within the counting, the desire that is never grasped, in this way everything ascends to ein sof, and everything is connected with one connection, and that desire is scented, within, within, in secret. The light of the Supernal Soul shines and ascends within, within, and shines to all, within this light. It ascends into the Concealment of Thought, which encompasses all, and within, within, in that desire of thought, it shines and gives scent and grasps and does not grasp and ascends within the desire of thought to comprehend it. And when it ascends, the lower light grasps it. And thus everything is connected and filled and blessed all as one, as is appropriate. And thus everything is connected this with that, as we have rightly said, chambers within chambers, the lower entities in the upper entities, the mystery of male and female as one, the upper brightness and the light that is even more concealed and hidden within it, and that which is hidden is encompassed within that which is more hidden within it, until one finds that everything is as it should be, in a single unification.

Translated by Hartley Lachter