The Torah, seen as a liv- ing document, invited a multiplicity of individual readings. These were based on four modes of interpretation: the literal (peshat); the allegorical (remez); the hermeneutical or homiletical (derash); and the mystical (sod). These properties were given the acronym pardes ("garden") by Moses de Leon.

This "garden of Torah" was perceived in the following manner: the peshat or literal meaning embraced not only the historical and factual content of the Torah but also the authoritative Oral Law of rabbinic tradition. The remez or allegorical meaning covered the body of philosophical truths contained in the Torah. The derash or homiletical meaning represented the path of ethical and aggadic commentary.The sod or mystical meaning encompassed all the possible kabbalistic commentaries that interpreted the words of the Torah as references to events in the world of the Sefirot ("emanations").

Only the study of the sod revealed the Torah’s inner mystical symbols and the hidden workings of the Godhead. So involved in these secret processes were the authors of the Zohar that they expressed the outrageous opinion that had the Torah simply been intended as a series of literal narratives, they would have been able to compose a better book! Indeed, there is a deliberate attempt in the Zohar to derive symbolic meanings from the most insignificant verses, such as the commentary on the list of the kings of Edom.

If the Torah was composed of letters that were manifestations of the divine light, and if the Torah assumed different textual forms in the celestial and terrestrial worlds, the question was legitimately raised: What was Torah’s destiny? The response pointed to a Torah whose letters would receive new spiritual meanings. In messianic times, God will reveal new combinations of letters that would produce a different narrative. This new Torah is heralded in the midrashic commentary on Isaiah 51:4, "For Torah shall go forth from Me."

A startling view of Israel’s pre-history prefigures Israel’s post-history. That is, prior to the creation of the world the Torah was written in black fire on white fire. In the thirteenth-century, the idea was expressed that the white fire made up the true text of the Torah, whereas the text that appeared in black fire was the mystical Oral Law. What is deduced is that the true Written Law has become invisible to human perception because it is concealed within the white parchment of the Torah scroll. The black letters on that scroll are merely a commentary on the hidden text. In messianic times this "white Torah" will be revealed!