B"H

Hi, welcome to Daily Zohar. Today we are learning from Parashat Pekudei.

The Zohar begins with the words “Ta chazi” — come and see.
It teaches that when a soul leaves this world and ascends to the higher realms, it cannot immediately appear before the Divine Presence. First, it must be clothed in a supernal garment, a spiritual clothing that allows it to enter those higher worlds.

In the same way, when the soul is sent down into this world, it also receives a garment — the clothing of this world. That garment is the body and form through which the soul lives its life here.

Everything corresponds to the realm in which the soul is found. In every world there is an appropriate garment that allows the soul to function there.

The Zohar teaches that when the soul eventually returns to its Creator, it returns wearing garments of light — garments that were formed through its actions in this world.

Come and see another example: Adam HaRishon in the Garden of Eden. Even though the Garden existed within this physical world, Adam was clothed in a higher spiritual garment. The sages explain that his entire body shone with a radiant light, even compared to the glow of fingernails. This is one reason why, during Havdalah, we look at our fingernails — to remind us of that original state of illumination that humanity once possessed.

But after Adam was expelled from the Garden of Eden and had to contend with the physical world, the Torah tells us that God made for Adam and Eve “kotnot or” — garments of skin.

The Zohar explains a deeper secret here. Originally the garments were “or” with an aleph, meaning light. After the fall, they became “or” with an ayin, meaning skin or physical covering. Adam descended from garments of pure light to garments of physical matter.

This teaching leads us to an important spiritual principle: our actions create our garments.

The Baal Shem Tov teaches that every single day brings a unique opportunity for a mitzvah that belongs specifically to that day. When we perform that mitzvah, we create a spiritual garment. These garments accompany the soul when it returns to the higher worlds and allow it to enter the realms of divine light.

This idea also connects directly to Parashat Pekudei, which describes the Mishkan and the garments of the Kohanim.

The priests could not serve in the Mishkan without wearing their sacred garments. Those garments were not merely uniforms — they were spiritual vessels that allowed them to enter a higher state of holiness.

The Kohen Gadol, especially on Yom Kippur, wore specific garments that enabled him to enter the Holy of Holies. Without those garments, he could not enter that sacred space.

In the same way, our good deeds, mitzvot, and acts of kindness create the garments of the soul.

A person might possess great wealth and closets full of beautiful clothing in this world, but those are not the garments that accompany the soul to the next world. The true garments of the soul are the mitzvot and good deeds we perform during our lifetime.

The Zohar explains that in this world the divine light is somewhat concealed — like a dimmed channel of light. But in the higher worlds that light is fully revealed as pure love and illumination. In order to experience that realm, we must prepare ourselves — through our actions — to receive that light.

As it says in Psalms: “To behold the pleasantness of the Creator and to visit His chamber.”

The Zohar concludes with a beautiful idea: the soul is clothed in both worlds simultaneously. We wear physical clothing in this world, but at the same time we are weaving our spiritual garments for the next world.

And that is the deeper lesson from the garments of the Kohanim. Just as they needed proper clothing to enter the sanctuary, we also prepare spiritual garments through our mitzvot so that our soul can enter higher realms of light.

As it says:
“Surely the righteous will give thanks to Your name; the upright will dwell in Your presence.”

So while we live in this world and wear its physical garments, we are also preparing the garments of the soul — the clothing of light that accompanies us beyond this life.

Wishing you blessings and a wonderful day. ✨