The Book of Splendor

Main Text (Zohar)

These are above and those are below, and these are higher than all, and the "Higher Day" is above every day and is unique.
The inhabitants of the South saw in the ancient books, and in the Section of Adam The First Man, how He divided all those lands of theirs.
They are found below in the same manner as those firmaments above, one upon the other and one upon the other. Between every
land and land is a firmament that separates one from the other. Because of this, all the lands are distinguished by their names, and between them
are Paradise and Hell. There are creatures there that differ from one another, just like the pattern above; some have two faces
and some have only one. And look, these are not like those, and it is a wonder! All the inhabitants of the world arose and went out from the myrtle-trees likely a reference to a specific mystical vision or location.
If so, this is the life-force of the Merciful One in their lands, and they beget children, and many times they had...
Adam is not found except in this world which is higher than all, which is called Tebel The inhabited world; the Earth, as we have said, for it is written: "And He is for the Tebel of His earth." And this Tebel is attached to the firmament above and is bound to the Supernal Name. It returns and in that
simple Tebel it goes out in a crack and exists. Because of this, human beings are found in this highest land
called Tebel, and they are superior to all of them, just like the pattern above. What is the reason? Just as above, among all
the firmaments, there is a Firmament Rakia higher than them all, and above it is found the Throne of the Holy One, Blessed be He original: "Kudsha Brich Hu", as it is said: "Like the appearance of a sapphire stone
was the likeness of a throne, and upon the likeness of the throne was a likeness like the appearance of a man upon it from above." So too here in this Tebel is found
the King of all, and he is the vision of Man, which is not found in all the lower ones. And those lower ones, some of them come
only from the side of the earth and the assistance of the firmament above. Different creatures emerge from one another: some
in garments, some like husks, like the types of worms found in the earth; some in deep husks, and black,
white, and some of all colors. Thus are all creatures in this manner, and they do not remain in existence as the many crowns
do. And in the book of Rav Hamnuna the Elder A prominent sage mentioned frequently in the Zohar it is explained further: that the entire inhabited world rolls like a circle
as a globe. These are below and those are above. And all those creatures differ in their appearance due to the difference in the air according to
each and every place, yet they stand in their existence like other human beings. Because of this, there is a place in the inhabited world where, when it is light
for these, it is dark for those; for these it is day, and for those it is night. And there is a place where it is all day, and night is not found there
except for one small hour. And that which is said in the ancient books and in the Book of Adam the First is thus,
for so it is written:

I will praise You, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made; wonderful are Your works. Psalms 139:14
And it is written:
How manifold are Your works, O Lord! Psalms 104:24
And because of this, all is well. And this secret was handed over to the masters of wisdom, and not to those who divide boundaries, because
it is a deep secret of the Torah. In this same manner, there are in the sea many creatures that differ one
from another, as it is written:
This is the sea, great and wide, where there are creeping things without number, living creatures small and great. There the ships go. Psalms 104:25-26
And everything depends on one another and is tied to one another, and everything is according to the pattern above. And in all the
worlds, none rule except for Man, and the Holy One, Blessed be He, is over him. Rabbi Nehorai the Elder A sage of the Mishnaic period embarked
upon the great sea, and the sea was stirred up, and all those who were in the boat were hidden lost/submerged. A miracle happened for him and he descended
through known trials into the heart of the sea, and he went out beneath the sea to a certain inhabited land. He saw creatures there, all of them
small, and they were praying a prayer, but he did not know what they were saying. A miracle happened for him and he ascended. He said: Happy
are the righteous who toil in the Torah and know the hidden things of the supernal secrets! Woe to those who disagree with
their words and do not believe! From that day on, whenever he heard in the study house a word of Torah being said, he
would weep. They said to him: Why do you weep? He said to them: Because I transgressed by not believing the words of the Sages,
and the dwellings of that world were found to be true. "And God said, Let there be a firmament in the midst of the waters." Rabbi Yehuda
said: Were it not for that firmament which separates the upper waters from the lower waters, the division would be like a pool from its base, and all...