Reality consists of two elements: Creator and creature. We feel this in our senses in various ways, but it is unchanging in and of itself. The creature at which feels the Creator, and the sensation of the Creator is what we call the “world,” and “creation.” The creature can sometimes sense that the Creator is being partially or fully revealed to him; at other times He is altogether concealed. The creature may even lack awareness of the Creator altogether. The extent of awareness of the Creator depends solely on the creature himself, because the Creator, like the sun, never stops shining.
The Creator has the attributes of bestowal and benevolence.
When the creature acquires Creator-like attributes, this state is called Equivalence of Form with the Creator. The individual then senses the Creator as fully revealed. He senses the Creator in the exact amount that his attributes resemble those of the Creator. When the attributes of a person are incompatible with those of the Creator, he feels the Creator is concealed. When these attributes oppose those of the Creator’s, the individual feels the Creator does not even exist.
The creature feels the Creator as pleasure, as wisdom and peace and wholeness. Therefore, the intensity of those sensations depends on the intensity of the sensation of the Creator. The Creator formed a creature who wants to feel him, or, in other words, the light of the Creator created a “vessel,” which we call “the desire to receive,” or egoism. The Creator is perceived by the creature as pleasure in all its manifestations. Pleasure means the sensation of the Creator, or the light of the Creator, which are actually one and the same.
A creature is a desire to delight in the Creator. The closer I feel to the Creator, the more I enjoy. The further he is from me, the less I enjoy, until my sensations are turned to pain. Man himself determines the extent to which he feels close to the Creator. He does that by changing his attributes. The closer our attributes become to those of the Creator, to the Creator’s attribute of benevolence, the closer we become to Him. This is when we feel at our best. Thus, in fact, an individual changes his own destiny and becomes a partner in the leadership of the world. The “world” is the sum total of all the conditions that define the measure of man’s equivalence with the Creator, this is called the measure of his adhesion with the Creator. This measure of attachment is determined by us. It is we who set the conditions for equivalence through our own will, through our intent, our prayers, which comes from our desire. This process of directing our desires is called raising MAN. This is the one factor by which the creature can influence his relationship with the Creator, influence what he will receive from above, from the Creator.
When a person is born into this world, the sense that is intended for perceiving the Creator is covered with a ‘screen’, which completely hides the Creator. Because of this we cannot feel the presence of the Creator. What one does feel is called the “world,” what one does not feel is virtually non-existent. The Creator is not concealed from me, but I, with my senses, do not feel Him. Perhaps I even conceal Him, because what I feel is not Him, but the screens that conceal Him. I can, however, influence my relationship with Him, breaking through these screens.
When the first Jewish farmers began to populate the Negev desert in the south of Israel, Rabbi Yehuda Ashlag (author of the Sulam commentary on the Zohar) was asked, wherever will they get water? He answered that the water would come through the prayer of the settlers. He was then told that they were secular, and even opposed to religion, how then would they pray? To that he replied: “That is of no importance, any man’s desire for life is sensed by the Creator, who is the source of all life, and therefore, the Creator will grant them their wish, even if they are unaware of it.” This means that in any event, man’s desire rises up to the Creator and always has an effect, even though man may not know of the existence of the Creator or feel Him - and even if he denies Him, doesn’t understand His actions, or fails to justify Him altogether.