1. Zohar for All, BeShalach [When Pharaoh Sent], "The Lord Is My Strength and Song", Item 245
Man should love the Creator because there is no other work before the Creator but love. Anyone who loves Him and works with love, the Creator calls him, “Lover.”
2. Zohar for All, Aharei Mot [After the Death], “Nefesh and Ruach [Soul and Spirit]”, Item 216
The complete work that a person needs to worship the Creator is as it is written, “And you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your might.” He should love the Creator truly with his soul.
This is complete love, love of his soul and spirit. As the soul and the spirit clung in a body, and the body loves them, so should one love the Creator and cleave to Him, as the love of his soul and spirit.
3. Zohar for All, Introduction of the Book of Zohar, "The Second Commandment", Item 200-201
The love for the Creator is interpreted on both sides: There is one who loves Him so as to have wealth, long life, sons around him, rule over his enemies, his ways are firm, and thus, he loves Him. And if it were to the contrary, and the Creator would reverse the fortune upon him with harsh judgment, he would hate Him and not love Him at all. For this reason, this love is not love that has a foundation, for because the root of his love is based on something, if that something is revoked, the love will be revoked.
Complete love is love on both sides, whether in Din, or in Hesed and successful ways. He will love the Creator even if He takes His soul away from Him. This love is complete, for it is on both sides, in Hesed and in Din.
4. Zohar for All, Ruth, New Zohar, “And They Took for Themselves Moabite Women,” item 152
And you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart,” with both your inclinations: the good inclination and the evil inclination. Everything is needed as one.
5. Zohar for All, Aharei Mot [After the Death], "Behold, How Good and How Pleasant", Items 65-66
“Behold, how good and how pleasant it is for brothers to also sit together.” These are the friends as they sit together, and are not separated from each other. At first, they seem like people at war, wishing to kill one another. Then they return to being in brotherly love.
The Creator says about them, “Behold, how good and how pleasant it is for brothers to also sit together” The word, “also,” comes to include the Shechina with them. Moreover, the Creator listens to their words and He has contentment and delights with them, as it is written, “Then those who feared the Lord spoke to one another, and the Lord listened and heard it, and a book of remembrance was written before Him.”
And you, the friends who are here, as you were in fondness and love before, henceforth you will also not part until the Creator rejoices with you and summons peace upon you. And by your merit there will be peace in the world, as it is written, “For the sake of my brothers and my friends let me say, ‘Let peace be in you.’”
6. Zohar for All, Ki Tissa [When You Take], "Now Let Me Alone", Item 54
All those friends who do not love each other depart the world before their time. All the friends in Rashbi’s time had love of soul and love of spirit among them. This is why in his generation, the secrets of Torah were revealed. Rabbi Shimon would say, “All the friends who do not love each other cause themselves to stray from the right path.” Moreover, they put a blemish in the Torah, since there is love, brotherhood, and truth in the Torah. Abraham loved Isaac; Isaac loved Abraham; and they were embraced. And they were both gripped Jacob with love and brotherhood and were giving their spirits in one another. The friends should be like them and not blemish them, for if love is lacking in them they will blemish their value above, that is, Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.
7. Zohar for All, Kedoshim, “You May Surely Reprove Your Neighbor”, Item 100
“You shall not hate your brother in your heart; you may surely admonish your neighbor, and shall not incur sin because of him.” This commandment is to admonish him for sinning and to show him great love, that he loves him, so the admonisher will not be punished. It is written about the Creator, “He whom the Lord loves, He admonishes.” As the Creator does, admonishing those whom He loves, man, too, will learn from His way and admonish his neighbor, whom he loves. The Creator admonishes a person with love, in hiding. If one accepts His admonishment, very well; if not, He admonishes him among those who love him. If he accepts it, very well; if not, He admonishes him openly, before everyone’s eyes. If he accepts it, very well; if not, He leaves him and no longer admonishes him, since He leaves him to go and do as he pleases.
8. Zohar for All, Ki Tavo, New Zohar, “Promises and Comforts in the Curses in Mishneh Torah, item 10
Come out and see, a king who loved his son, even though he cursed him and beat him, he loved him in his guts. When he shows strong anger, his mercy are on him. So is the Creator: Although He cursed, His words are in love. On the surface, they seem like curses, but they are great good, since those curses were in love.
9. Zohar for All, Kedoshim, Aharei Mot [After the Death], “Nefesh and Ruach [Soul and Spirit]”, Item 217
“Even my spirit within me seeks You,” that I may cling to You with great love in the night. One should rise each night out of love of the Creator to engage in His work until the morning rises and draws upon him a thread of grace [Hesed]. Happy is one who loves the Creator with this love. Those true righteous who love the Creator so, the world exists because of them and they govern all the harsh decrees above and below.
10. Zohar for All, Mishpatim [Ordinances], “The Grandfather”, Items 367-369
“Place me as a seal over your heart, as a seal on your arm, for love is as strong as death, jealousy is as harsh as Sheol.” “Place me as a seal.” When the Assembly of Israel, Malchut, clung to her husband, ZA, she said, “Place me as a seal.” Since I have clung unto you, my whole form will be engraved in you. And though I may roam to or fro, you will find my form engraved in you and you will remember me.
“As a seal on your arm,” as it is written, “His left under my head and his right shall embrace me,” so my form will be engraved there. By that I will forever be clung to you and will never be forgotten by you. “For love is as strong as death,” with a strong Gevura such as that place in which there is death. Love is the place called “Eternal love.”
“Jealousy is as harsh as Sheol,” as it is with love, since the names, “Love” and “jealousy” come from the left side. “Its flashes are flashes of fire.” “Flashes” are precious stones and gems that were born out of that fire, which are high degrees, from the flame that comes out from the upper world, from the left line of Bina, clinging to the Assembly of Israel, so all will be one unification. But the love and the flashes of the fire of the heart follow you, may our form be engraved in your heart as your form is engraved in ours.
11. Zohar for All, VaYechi [Jacob Lived], “Put Me like a Seal Over Your Heart“, item 733
“Jealousy is as harsh as the netherworld.” Any person who loves, and jealousy is not tied to it, his love is not love, since jealousy completes the love. From this we learn that a man must be envious for his wife, so he will connect with her in complete love, since as a result, he does not look at another woman. “Jealousy is as harsh as the netherworld.” As the netherworld is harsh in the eyes of the wicked—to go down it, jealousy is harsh in the eyes of the envious lover—to part from the love.
12. Zohar for All, VaEtchanan, “Hall of Love,” Items 145-147
The righteous in that world have several sections over sections. The highest of all the sections is for those whose love of their Master is tied in them, since their section has become tied to the hall that rises above all since the Creator is crowned in it with love.
That hall, the highest one, is called “love,” and everything stands on love, as it is written, “Much water will not be able to quench the love.” Everything stands in love since the holy name HaVaYaH is so. Yod of HaVaYaH, Hochma, her tip above, the Keter, never parts from her since in love, the Keter is on her and never parts from her.
Hey of HaVaYaH, which is Bina, Yod, which is Hochma, never parts from her and they are together, in love, and do not part from one another. It is likewise with the Hey of HaVaYaH, which is as it is written, “And a river comes out from Eden.” The river, Bina, comes out from Eden, Hochma, and Bina always comes out from Hochma and they always adhere in love.
When Vav-Hey, ZA and Malchut, adhere to one another, they adhere in love, together, the groom in the bride, whose conduct is always in love. It follows that Yod is in the first Hey, first Hey with Vav, Vav with the bottom Hey connect to one another in love, and everything is called “love.” For this reason, one who loves the King becomes tied in that love. This is why it is written, “And you will love the Lord your God.”
13. Zohar for All, VaYera [The Lord Appeared], “And the Men Rose Up from There”, Items 166-167
See how the Creator leads all the people with His quality of kindness, and especially for those who follow in His ways. Even when He seeks to judge the world, He arranges those who love Him to be rewarded with something before that judgment comes to the world.
When the Creator loves a person, He sends him a gift. And what is the gift? Poor, so as to be rewarded by it. And when he is rewarded by it, the Creator draws upon him a string of grace that extends from the right side, spreads over his head, and registers him so that when the Din [judgment] comes to the world, that saboteur will be careful not to harm him. He looks in that list and then retreats from him and is careful with him. For this reason, the Creator first gives him something to be rewarded with.
14. Zohar for All, VaYeshev [And Jacob Sat], “For He Pays a Man According To His Work”, Items 26-28
And should you say that the Creator judges a man without trial, we learned that when there is judgment over man, and he is righteous, it is because of the Creator’s love for him. It is as we have learned, that when the Creator is merciful to man with love, to bring him closer to Him, He breaks the body so as to ordain the soul. And then man comes closer to Him with love, as it should be—the soul governs man and the body weakens.
Man needs a weak body and a strong soul, one that prevails with strength. And then the Creator loves him. The Creator gives sorrow to the righteous in this world in order to purify him for the next world.
And when the soul is weak and the body is strong, he is an enemy of the Creator, for He does not desire him and does not give him sorrow in this world. Instead, his path is straight and he is in complete wholeness. This is because if he acts justly or his deeds are good, the Creator pays his reward in this world, and he will have no share in the next world. For this reason, the righteous who is always broken is loved by the Creator. These words apply only if one has tested and has not found within him a sin for which to be punished.
15. Zohar for All, Introduction of the Book of Zohar, “The Vision of Rabbi Hiya”, Item 56
When a corporeal person fills with compassion and love over one’s friend, he sheds tears, for it extends from the above-mentioned root of the spiritual tears, since anything spiritual that occurs in the upper ones strikes and finds a branch in the corporeal creations. This is so because the upper light kicks and strikes the Masach to breach its boundary, since the upper light always extends only from Ein Sof, above the world of Tzimtzum, where no boundary is discerned.
Also, the upper light craves and longs to expand in the lower one, as it is written, “The Creator craved to dwell in the lower ones.” We also learn, “Divinity in the lower ones—a high need.” Hence, He kicks and strikes the boundary in the Masach, to be drawn below its boundary, and the Masach repels it as Ohr Hozer, and in the meantime, tears fell outside.
These tears come out of compassion and love for the lower one. Hence, in the corporeal branch, too, the tears are always emitted when one’s heart is moved with love and compassion for one’s friend. Yet, spiritual tears do not vanish, as do corporeal ones.
16. Zohar for All, Balak, “The Child,” items 114-116
The child said, “It is written, ‘I am black and beautiful, daughters of Jerusalem, like the tents of Kedar, like the curtains of Solomon. Do not see me as dark.’” When Malchut is in great love for her loved one, ZA, out of the pressure of her love, that she cannot tolerate the separation, she greatly diminished herself until all that was seen of her was one dot, the letter Yod.
At that time, she is covered by all her hosts and camps and says, “I am black,” that there is no whiteness inside this letter Yod, as with the rest of the letters. I am black and I have no place in which to let you in under my wings, like the tents of Kedar, which are Yod without white in it. “Like the curtains of Solomon” are Vav.
For this reason, “Do not see me,” you will not see me at all for I am a tiny dot. What do her hosts do, the brave heroes? They roar as mighty lions, as it is written, “The young lions roar after prey.” Through the sounds and roars that they roar as strong and mighty lions, the one who loves her above hears and knows that his loved one is in love with him, as he is, and she diminished herself out of his love until nothing of her form and beauty was seen.
At that time, out of the sounds and roars of those mighty ones of hers, her beloved one, ZA, comes out of his hall with several gifts and presents, with fragrances and perfumes. He comes to her and finds her black and small, without any form and beauty.
He approaches her, embraces her, and kisses her until she gradually awakens because of the fragrances and perfumes, and through the joy that her beloved, ZA, is with her, she is built and becomes corrected in her form and beauty, and becomes the Hey of HaVaYaH, as in the beginning.
17. Zohar for All, Kedoshim, “Turn Your Eyes away from Me,” item 74
The beauty of this beloved one shines for all the worlds. His head is a skull of gold that is woven with seven ornaments from seven kinds of gold. The love of the Creator is before him, and for all his love for Him, he says to the Creator to turn His eyes toward him and look at him. He said, “Turn to me and pardon me.” Because they are beautiful in everything, as it is written, “Turn your eyes away from me, for they enflame me.” When these eyes of Malchut look at the Creator, arrows of love from slings awaken in His heart with upper love, and because of the great flame of upper love toward him, he says, “Turn your eyes away from me,” move your eyes from me to another side for they are burning me with the flame of love. This is why it is written about David, “And he was red, with pretty eyes and handsome.” And because of the upper loved one, the beautiful, that the love and passion of the Creator are to adhere to him, David said, “Turn to me and pardon me.”
18. Zohar for All, Balak, “Who Are Those People with You,” item 290
The one who loves the king is calling at the door. The king said, “Who is it?” They said, “So and so who loves you.” He said, “My beloved whom my soul cherishes, no other voice shall call him but I.” The king shouted and said, “So and so, come in, my soul’s dear one, my loved one.” They established the halls to speak with him.
19. Zohar for All, Beresheet Bet [Genesis 2], “Reconciliation and Receiving Permission”, Item 217
217) “And the man said, ‘This is now a bone of my bones, and flesh of my flesh.’” These are words of sweetness, to extend love with her and draw her to his will, to evoke love in her. See how pleasant are these words, how they evoke love. These words—“A bone of my bones, and flesh of my flesh”—to show her they are one and there is no separation whatsoever between them.
20. Zohar for All, Introduction of the Book of Zohar, “On the Night of the Bride”, item 126
In the end, when the great Zivug of Atik Yomin, Rav Pe’alim uMekabtze’el, appears, a great light will appear in all the worlds. By that, every flesh shall completely repent out of love.