Zohar Vayikra - a-d-a-m

![[Torah Studio logo.png]] <h1 style="text-align:center;">Zohar on the Holy Story - At the Torah Studio</h1> ![[Shaar Hazohar.png |center]] This course is a chapter in the Torah Studio's ongoing program **How to Read the Zohar**. For background readings and additional materials, see the [[Coursebook]] for the Fall. # Table of Contents - [[#1 About the Course|1 About the Course]] - [[#1 About the Course#1.1 Course Description and Links|1.1 Course Description and Links]] - [[#1 About the Course#1.2 Course Objectives:|1.2 Course Objectives:]] - [[#1 About the Course#1.3 Why Study Zohar? Ethical and Spiritual Considerations:|1.3 Why Study Zohar? Ethical and Spiritual Considerations:]] - [[#1 About the Course#1.4 Preparing for Class|1.4 Preparing for Class]] - [[#1 About the Course#1.5 *Hevruta* Learning|1.5 *Hevruta* Learning]] - [[#1.5 *Hevruta* Learning#1.5.1 **What Is Hevruta?**|1.5.1 **What Is Hevruta?**]] - [[#1.5 *Hevruta* Learning#1.5.2 Hevruta During Our Class|1.5.2 Hevruta During Our Class]] - [[#2 Seder Limmud (Order of Study)|2 Seder Limmud (Order of Study)]] - [[#2 Seder Limmud (Order of Study)#2.1 Meeting 1 (March 15th) - Ask for a Sign|2.1 Meeting 1 (March 15th) - Ask for a Sign]] - [[#2.1 Meeting 1 (March 15th) - Ask for a Sign#2.1.1 Introduction: Zohar and the Holy Story|2.1.1 Introduction: Zohar and the Holy Story]] - [[#2.1 Meeting 1 (March 15th) - Ask for a Sign#2.1.2 Vayikra (Leviticus) and the Zohar on Vayikra|2.1.2 Vayikra (Leviticus) and the Zohar on Vayikra]] - [[#2.1 Meeting 1 (March 15th) - Ask for a Sign#2.1.3 Hevruta and Texts for Today|2.1.3 Hevruta and Texts for Today]] - [[#2 Seder Limmud (Order of Study)#2.2 Meeting 2 (March 22): The Zohar in Five Concentric Stories|2.2 Meeting 2 (March 22): The Zohar in Five Concentric Stories]] - [[#2.2 Meeting 2 (March 22): The Zohar in Five Concentric Stories#2.2.1 Five Concentric Stories|2.2.1 Five Concentric Stories]] - [[#2 Seder Limmud (Order of Study)#2.3 Meeting 3 (April 12): The Zohar on Metsorah|2.3 Meeting 3 (April 12): The Zohar on Metsorah]] - [[#2.3 Meeting 3 (April 12): The Zohar on Metsorah#2.3.1 Zohar on *Metsorah* (Zohar III 53a)|2.3.1 Zohar on *Metsorah* (Zohar III 53a)]] - [[#2.3 Meeting 3 (April 12): The Zohar on Metsorah#2.3.2 Commentary (SR)|2.3.2 Commentary (SR)]] - [[#2.3 Meeting 3 (April 12): The Zohar on Metsorah#2.3.3 Background from Jewish Study Bible on *tzara'at* (Baruch J. Schwartz)|2.3.3 Background from Jewish Study Bible on *tzara'at* (Baruch J. Schwartz)]] - [[#2 Seder Limmud (Order of Study)#2.4 Meeting 4 (April 19): Zohar on Kedoshim|2.4 Meeting 4 (April 19): Zohar on Kedoshim]] - [[#2.4 Meeting 4 (April 19): Zohar on Kedoshim#2.4.1 Kedoshim|2.4.1 Kedoshim]] - [[#2.4 Meeting 4 (April 19): Zohar on Kedoshim#2.4.2 Full Text of Zohar|2.4.2 Full Text of Zohar]] - [[#2.4 Meeting 4 (April 19): Zohar on Kedoshim#2.4.3 Annotated Zohar|2.4.3 Annotated Zohar]] - [[#2 Seder Limmud (Order of Study)#2.5 Meeting 5 (April 26): Zohar on Parashat Emor|2.5 Meeting 5 (April 26): Zohar on Parashat Emor]] - [[#2.5 Meeting 5 (April 26): Zohar on Parashat Emor#2.5.1 Tanakh|2.5.1 Tanakh]] - [[#2.5 Meeting 5 (April 26): Zohar on Parashat Emor#2.5.2 Zohar - Full Text|2.5.2 Zohar - Full Text]] - [[#2.5 Meeting 5 (April 26): Zohar on Parashat Emor#2.5.3 Commentary|2.5.3 Commentary]] - [[#2 Seder Limmud (Order of Study)#2.6 Meeting 6 (May 3): Parashat BeHar|2.6 Meeting 6 (May 3): Parashat BeHar]] - [[#2.6 Meeting 6 (May 3): Parashat BeHar#2.6.1 The Opening of the Parasha|2.6.1 The Opening of the Parasha]] - [[#2.6 Meeting 6 (May 3): Parashat BeHar#2.6.2 Zohar Behar|2.6.2 Zohar Behar]] - [[#2.6 Meeting 6 (May 3): Parashat BeHar#2.6.3 Zohar Behar Annotated|2.6.3 Zohar Behar Annotated]] - [[#2 Seder Limmud (Order of Study)#2.7 Meeting 7: Special Class: Ein Sof and the Sefirot|2.7 Meeting 7: Special Class: Ein Sof and the Sefirot]] - [[#2.7 Meeting 7: Special Class: Ein Sof and the Sefirot#2.7.1 Overview of Sefirot and Symbolism|2.7.1 Overview of Sefirot and Symbolism]] - [[#2.7 Meeting 7: Special Class: Ein Sof and the Sefirot#2.7.2 Interpreting the Sefirot: Layers of Kabbalistic Symbolism|2.7.2 Interpreting the Sefirot: Layers of Kabbalistic Symbolism]] - [[#2.7 Meeting 7: Special Class: Ein Sof and the Sefirot#2.7.3 Interpretive Exercise|2.7.3 Interpretive Exercise]] - [[#2 Seder Limmud (Order of Study)#2.8 Meeting 8: Zohar Bemidbar|2.8 Meeting 8: Zohar Bemidbar]] - [[#2.8 Meeting 8: Zohar Bemidbar#2.8.1 Text of Zohar|2.8.1 Text of Zohar]] - [[#2 Seder Limmud (Order of Study)#2.9 Annotated Text of Zohar|2.9 Annotated Text of Zohar]] - [[#3 Appendix: Full Text (from All classes) of Zohar on the Letters (III 2a)|3 Appendix: Full Text (from All classes) of Zohar on the Letters (III 2a)]] - [[#3 Appendix: Full Text (from All classes) of Zohar on the Letters (III 2a)#3.1 Full Text Unedited|3.1 Full Text Unedited]] ## 1 About the Course ### 1.1 Course Description and Links The Zohar is a Jewish *grimoire*, a spell book. Its pages contain strings of letter combinations imbued with powers. Depending on how you parse and activate the combinations, the letters will evoke images, tell stories, teach theology, unlock the divine energies in biblical verses, reveal the inner workings of your soul or become mind-altering physical vibrations in your body as you chant them. But like any *grimoire*, the powers are only unlocked if you know how to use it. In this course, we will learn how to access the Zohar. We will create an anchor of understanding for ourselves in the text by engaging in a close reading of the very beginning of the Zohar. There, we will carefully explore the Zohar's raw materials: biblical verses and kabbalistic symbols. We will taste them with our minds and mouths, until we can get inside the process the Zohar uses to fashion the verses and symbols into vehicles for connection with the divine. The course is open to students of all levels. We will study all texts in the original and in English translation. An important goal of the course is to enable you to explore the Zohar on your own using the English translation and commentary of the Pritzker Edition of the Zohar by Daniel Matt. All materials, including the Zohar translations, will be provided to you during the course. For those interested in making a significant investment in your Zohar practice, Shaiya recommends picking up a copy of the Pritzker Zohar Volume 1 in a digital or printed format. We know the Pritzker Zohar is prohibitively expensive, so we do not require or expect anyone to get their own copy. If you'd like to get your own copy anyway but the price looks steep, reach out to Shaiya; he may be able to help you get a cheaper option. - Feel free to contact me with comments or questions at [email protected] ### 1.2 Course Objectives: 1. Learning to connect with *elohut* (divinity) through the power of the Zohar. 2. Learning to understand the Zohar: How to read the text, how to understand its symbolism and how it fits into Jewish intertextuality. 3. Learning to approach the texts from which the Zohar is woven as themselves constituting connecting points to the divine. 4. Learning spiritual practices to access the Zohar and the texts from which it is woven, such as chanting, meditating on letters (including their sounds, shapes and numerical values), breath work, guided imagination and various methods originating in Rabbi Avraham Abulafia's school of prophetic Kabbalah. ### 1.3 Why Study Zohar? Ethical and Spiritual Considerations: - The Zohar is the foundational text of Kabbalah (Jewish mysticism). It is a powerful tool for connecting to the divine through Jewish tradition. - Understanding the Zohar involves entering alternative states of consciousness in connection with ancient and potent materials such as texts, sounds and the breath. - Judaism through the prism of the Zohar is a radical personal and spiritual endeavor. It is about transforming the self and the world. - The Zohar, like almost all traditional Jewish texts (as well as those of other religious traditions), contains elements which are racist, chauvinistic, homophobic and religiously intolerant. In order to make sure that the power of the Zohar is wielded for good, and not for evil, we as its students and devotees must take full moral responsibility for how we navigate these elements. ### 1.4 Preparing for Class Start by locating the material for the next class. The classes are listed by date in the section below entitled *Seder Limmud* (Order of Study). If you like, you can learn the materials before class, but its not necessary. If you weren't in the classes before the one you're joining, it is a good idea to familiarize yourself with the materials from the previous classes. Each class will consist of *hevruta* learning, discussion and spiritual practices involving the texts. You'll decide when you want to participate and when you just want to observe. ### 1.5 *Hevruta* Learning #### 1.5.1 **What Is Hevruta?** > *by Liana Wertman* > *based on The Hevruta Triangle in A Philosophy of Havruta by Elie Holzer and Orit Kent* > > **Hevruta (khev-ROOT-ah) \- חברותא** > From the Hebrew root hever, חבר (khev-err) which means friend/partner/pal. Traditional form of text study where you learn as a team of two rather than on your own. > > ![[Pasted image 20250926103909.png]] > > There are always **3 partners** in any hevruta pair\! And you have a responsibility to each. > > 1. **The Text** \- read it carefully, make sure you and your partner understand, let it have it’s own voice, use text to ground your points. > 2. **Your Partner \-** listen carefully, make sure you understand what they’re saying, support their ideas, challenge kindly, help them develop their ideas. > 3. **Yourself** \- challenge yourself, believe in your ideas, think through new ideas, learn from your partner, be open to the text, take risks. > #### 1.5.2 Hevruta During Our Class In our meetings, we will break for *hevruta* study. Each time, I will specify which elements of the coursebook are meant for study in *hevruta*. Its great to begin your *hevruta* with a bit of schmoozing (free-form personal chatting). Getting to know each other, to share your different perspectives with each other, is what has made Jewish *hevruta* learning such a powerful traditional practice. Once you're introduced and relaxed, make sure you know what texts you're meant to study. There will always be instructions and guiding questions for *hevruta*. If you're not sure at any stage what's going on exactly, ask me! ## 2 Seder Limmud (Order of Study) Each meeting will involve class and discussion, text learning in *hevruta* and spiritual practices. You will find all there materials for each class in the *Seder Limmud* - Order of Study. Because we will often be working on a part of a longer text, you'll find the whole texts (not broken up according to week) down below under "full texts". It is easiest to navigate the coursebook on a PC, because an outline appears on the right. It is also possible to use a phone or tablet using the [[#Table of Contents]] that appears at the head of the document. ### 2.1 Meeting 1 (March 15th) - Ask for a Sign #### 2.1.1 Introduction: Zohar and the Holy Story In this quarter, we will approach the Zohar as a prism onto the the Holy Story told in the Five Books of Moses. Since this week's Torah portion is Vayikra, we will begin there. Let's begin with a thought experiment to get into the right mood. Imagine you were to climb up a tall mysterious mountain to find wise woman who lived as a hermit in a cave and who, according to the legend that sent you up the mountain, knows the meaning of life. Finally, after a long and arduous journey, you meet her at the mouth of her cave. And there, she tells you. The meaning of life. What form do you think the secret would take? Would it be a philosophical treatise? A mathematical equation? Following the logic of Jewish tradition, I imagine that she would tell me a story. Perhaps she would tell us the holy story, the story recorded in the Five Books of Moses. Let's say she did. You made it all the way up there to the top of the mountain and she began, "In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth." So it seems she thinks that this story contains the secret of the meaning of life. *Pause here for a moment. Let's say she's right. Review the story of the Five Books of Moses for a minute. Just the general outline, as you remember it. The logic of Jewish tradition is that this story somehow contains the meaning of life. That's why we read it again and again. What are the key elements of the story in your eyes? How does it inform your way of being in the world? What does it mean about what life is about, to what you aspire?* If I engage in this exercise, I think maybe the story is about the long-ago creation of beings endowed with consciousness and life and with the potential to create a world filled with flourishing, love, creativity, justice, relationality and beauty. But those beings were also flawed - by jealousy, violence, oppression - and so they exiled themselves from their higher potential and found themselves in a world not devoid of higher things - our world has a lot going for it - but it is also marred by violence, neglect and oppression. After a series of unfortunate events (exile from the garden, the first murder, the filling up of the world with violent crime and then the flood - perhaps the ultimate act of pointless genocidal rage), the author (God) tries a new strategy: She chooses one particular person, Abraham, to set up a particular tribe dedicated to getting humanity back on the right track. As I imagine the story, Abraham and the Children of Israel were just one of many particularistic new identities that emerged, all of them chosen to try to get humanity back on track. But each one is different, and we Jews - if you choose to identify in this way - are the ones that inherited the particular "Children of Israel" identity. So we seek to realize humanity's higher potential through the unique materials of our version of the story. Interpreting ourselves through this particular story - The *chumash* or Five Books of Moses, is one of our most important technologies. #### 2.1.2 Vayikra (Leviticus) and the Zohar on Vayikra One of the strangest and most interesting elements of the holy story is the focus on the *mishkan* and, later, Temple. In this week's parasha, Vayikra ("S/he called"), we encounter an detailed exposition of sacred spaces, and sacred acts that are meant to occur in those spaces, which establish a certain kind of relationship between YHVH and humanity. The call of *vayikra* - "S/he called" emerges out of the Tent of Meeting. The voice from the Tent tells Moshe about what sacrifices are to be done and how. *Pause for a moment: What is your experience of holy space? Do you engage in sacred acts in such places? How do you read/feel/experience the descriptions of the sacrifices in Parashat Vayikra?* The opening section of the Zohar on Vayikra goes into a very detailed and fascinating explanation of where this *vayikra*, this *calling* from the *Tent of Meeting* comes from, and what it consists of. Let's get into it, and see how it impacts on our understanding of the Holy Story in general, and the significance of the *mishkan* in particular. The text we will study feels to me like a series of images and short films that are parts of interlocking but distinct narratives, and these are combined with cosmic geometric structures, letter permutations and mystical readings of scripture; The Zohar weaves all these elements together into something like a vision of God, the universe and everything. I find it powerful and captivating but I'm not able to put my finger on characterizing exactly what it is and does. We will explore that together. #### 2.1.3 Hevruta and Texts for Today > [!NOTE] The Call from the Tent of Meeting > > Our Zohar is focused on the first line of Vayikra. Let us familiarize ourselves with it: | **Vayikra 1:1** | ויקרא א:א | | ------------------------------------------------------------------------ | ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | | [GOD] called to Moses and spoke to him from the Tent of Meeting, saying: | **וַיִּקְרָ֖א אֶל־מֹשֶׁ֑ה וַיְדַבֵּ֤ר יְהֹוָ-ה֙ אֵלָ֔יו מֵאֹ֥הֶל מוֹעֵ֖ד לֵאמֹֽר׃** | ![[zohar Vayikra 1-6]] ### 2.2 Meeting 2 (March 22): The Zohar in Five Concentric Stories Greetings! Since we met last week, I've been totally lost in the Zohar we're studying. I wrote out an interpretation of it in the form of five concentric stories. In today's class, I'd like you to read the stories and review the text of the Zohar we saw last week. We'll then come together to discuss what's happening in our piece of Zohar :) #### 2.2.1 Five Concentric Stories ![[Zohar Vayikra Stories V1.1]] ### 2.3 Meeting 3 (April 12): The Zohar on Metsorah This week we will dive into scaly red blotches and blood soaked birds! Who said Judaism is not uplifting? What do all these strange rituals mean? The Zohar knows 🔮. We will begin with familiarizing ourselves with the biblical narrative: | | | | --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | | **Yayikra (Leviticus) 14: 1-8 (JPS 2023)** GOD spoke to Moses, saying: This shall be the ritual for a leper at the time of being purified. When it has been reported to the priest, the priest shall go outside the camp. If the priest sees that the leper has been healed of the scaly affection, the priest shall order two live pure birds, cedar wood, crimson stuff, and hyssop to be brought for the one to be purified. The priest shall order one of the birds slaughtered over fresh water in an earthen vessel; and he shall take the live bird, along with the cedar wood, the crimson stuff, and the hyssop, and dip them together with the live bird in the blood of the bird that was slaughtered over the fresh water. He shall then sprinkle it seven times on the one to be purified of the eruption and effect the purification; and he shall set the live bird free in the open country. | **וַיְדַבֵּ֥ר יְהֹוָ֖-ה אֶל־מֹשֶׁ֥ה לֵּאמֹֽר׃ זֹ֤את תִּֽהְיֶה֙ תּוֹרַ֣ת הַמְּצֹרָ֔ע בְּי֖וֹם טׇהֳרָת֑וֹ וְהוּבָ֖א אֶל־הַכֹּהֵֽן׃ וְיָצָא֙ הַכֹּהֵ֔ן אֶל־מִח֖וּץ לַֽמַּחֲנֶ֑ה וְרָאָה֙ הַכֹּהֵ֔ן וְהִנֵּ֛ה נִרְפָּ֥א נֶֽגַע־הַצָּרַ֖עַת מִן־הַצָּרֽוּעַ׃ וְצִוָּה֙ הַכֹּהֵ֔ן וְלָקַ֧ח לַמִּטַּהֵ֛ר שְׁתֵּֽי־צִפֳּרִ֥ים חַיּ֖וֹת טְהֹר֑וֹת וְעֵ֣ץ אֶ֔רֶז וּשְׁנִ֥י תוֹלַ֖עַת וְאֵזֹֽב׃ וְצִוָּה֙ הַכֹּהֵ֔ן וְשָׁחַ֖ט אֶת־הַצִּפּ֣וֹר הָאֶחָ֑ת אֶל־כְּלִי־חֶ֖רֶשׂ עַל־מַ֥יִם חַיִּֽים׃ אֶת־הַצִּפֹּ֤ר הַֽחַיָּה֙ יִקַּ֣ח אֹתָ֔הּ וְאֶת־עֵ֥ץ הָאֶ֛רֶז וְאֶת־שְׁנִ֥י הַתּוֹלַ֖עַת וְאֶת־הָאֵזֹ֑ב וְטָבַ֨ל אוֹתָ֜ם וְאֵ֣ת ׀ הַצִּפֹּ֣ר הַֽחַיָּ֗ה בְּדַם֙ הַצִּפֹּ֣ר הַשְּׁחֻטָ֔ה עַ֖ל הַמַּ֥יִם הַֽחַיִּֽים׃ וְהִזָּ֗ה עַ֧ל הַמִּטַּהֵ֛ר מִן־הַצָּרַ֖עַת שֶׁ֣בַע פְּעָמִ֑ים וְטִ֣הֲר֔וֹ וְשִׁלַּ֛ח אֶת־הַצִּפֹּ֥ר הַֽחַיָּ֖ה עַל־פְּנֵ֥י הַשָּׂדֶֽה׃** | #### 2.3.1 Zohar on *Metsorah* (Zohar III 53a) *English translation by Daniel Matt* | | | | ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ | | Leviticus 14:4 - *the priest shall order two live pure birds, cedar wood, crimson stuff, and hyssop to be brought for the one to be purified.* | **ויקרא יד:ד** **וְצִוָּה֙ הַכֹּהֵ֔ן וְלָקַ֧ח לַמִּטַּהֵ֛ר שְׁתֵּֽי־צִפֳּרִ֥ים חַיּ֖וֹת טְהֹר֑וֹת וְעֵ֣ץ אֶ֔רֶז וּשְׁנִ֥י תוֹלַ֖עַת וְאֵזֹֽב׃** | | 1. Rabbi Yitsḥak and Rabbi Yose were in the presence of Rabbi Shim’on. One day they said to him, “*Cedar wood* is well known, as is said: *from the cedar in Lebanon* (1 Kings 5:13), for the cedar tree strikes roots only in Lebanon. But why *hyssop*, and what is it for? | **א. (ויקרא י״ד:ד׳) וְצִוָּה הַכֹּהֵן וְלָקַח לַמִּטַּהֵר שְׁתֵּי צִפֳּרִים חַיּוֹת. רִבִּי יִצְחָק וְרִבִּי יוֹסֵי הֲווֹ שְׁכִיחֵי קַמֵּיהּ דְּרַבִּי שִׁמְעוֹן. יוֹמָא חַד אָמַר לֵיהּ, עֵץ אֶרֶז הָא יְדִיעַ, כְּמָה דְאַתְּ אָמֵר, מִן הָאֶרֶז אֲשֶׁר בַּלְּבָנוֹן, דְּהָא הַהוּא עֵץ אֶרֶז, לָא אִשְׁתָּרְשָׁן נְטִיעוֹי אֶלָּא בַּלְּבָנוֹן, וְהָא אִתְּמַר. אֵזוֹב לָמָּה, וּמַאי הוּא.** | | 2. He opened, saying, “\[*The priest shall command*\] *that there be taken for him who is being purified two live pure birds and cedar wood and crimson yarn* \[53b\] *and hyssop*. Come and see: If a person strives to serve his Lord and engages in Torah, the blessed Holy One settles upon him and *Shekhinah* associates with him. Once a person comes to defile himself, *Shekhinah* departs from him, the blessed Holy One moves far away from him, all aspects of his Lord’s holiness distance themselves from him, and an impure spirit settles upon him along with all aspects of impurity. If he comes to purify himself, they assist him. Once he is purified and engages in *teshuvah*, that which departed from him returns and settles upon him. | **ב. פָּתַח וְאָמַר, וְלָקַח לַמִּטַּהֵר שְׁתֵּי צִפֳּרִים חַיּוֹת טְהוֹרוֹת וְעֵץ אֶרֶז וּשְׁנִי תּוֹלַעַת וְאֵזוֹב. תָּא חֲזֵי, בַּר נָשׁ דְּמִשְׁתַּדֵּל בְּפוּלְחָנָא דְּמָארֵיהּ, וְאִשְׁתְּדַּל בְּאוֹרַיְיתָא, קוּדְשָׁא בְּרִיךְ הוּא שָׁארֵי עֲלוֹי וּשְׁכִינְתָּא אִשְׁתַּתְּפָא בַּהֲדֵיהּ. כֵּיוָן דְּבַּר נָשׁ אָתֵי לְאִסְתַּאֲבָא, שְׁכִינְתָּא אִסְתָּלָקַת מִנֵּיהּ, קוּדְשָׁא בְּרִיךְ הוּא אִתְרְחִיק מִנֵּיהּ, וְכָל סִטְרָא דִּקְדוּשָּׁה דְּמָארֵיהּ מְרַחֲקִין מִנֵיהּ, וְשָׁארִי עָלֵיהּ רוּחַ מִסְאֲבָא וְכָל סִטְרָא דִּמְסָאֲבָא, אָתֵי לְאִתְדַכְּאָה מְסַיְּיעִין לֵיהּ. בָּתַר דְּאִתְדָכֵּי וְאַהְדָּר בִּתְשׁוּבָה, הַהוּא דְּאִסְתַּלָּק מִנֵּיהּ אַהְדָּר, וְשָׁארִי עֲלוֹי.** | | 3. “Come and see: \[*The priest shall command*\] *that there be taken for him who is being purified two live pure birds*. Since it says *two birds*, don’t we know that they are *live*? Well, this has been established; but חיות (*ḥayyot*), *live*—*ḥayyot, living beings*, really, as is said: *I saw the living beings* (Ezekiel 1:15), corresponding to the place from which faithful prophets imbibe. “*And cedar wood*—as has been said “*And crimson yarn*—red side of *Gevurah*, who associated with him at first. “*And hyssop*—small ו (*vav*), who suckles Assembly of Israel. Therefore *cedar wood and hyssop* go together, so וו (*vav*) exists as one—one high and one small, and we call them upper ו (*vav*), lower ו (*vav*). All return to settle upon him, for he is purified. Corresponding to these, below them: *cedar wood and hyssop and crimson yarn*, appearing by these names and depending on these supernal ones.” | **ג. תָּא חֲזֵי, כְּתִיב וְלָקַח לַמִּטַּהֵר שְׁתֵּי צִפֳּרִים חַיּוֹת טְהוֹרוֹת. כֵּיוָן דְּאָמַר, שְׁתֵּי צִפֳּרִים, לָא יְדַעְנָא דְּאִינּוּן חַיוֹת, אֶלָּא, הָא אוּקְמוּהָ, אֲבָל חַיּוֹת, חַיּוֹת מַמָּשׁ. כְּמָה דְאַתְּ אָמֵר וָאֵרֶא הַחַיּוֹת, לָקֳבֵל אֲתַר דְּיַנְקֵי מִנַּיְיהוּ נְבִיאֵי מְהֵימְנֵי,** **וְעֵץ אֶרֶז הָא אִתְּמַר,** **וּשְׁנִי תּוֹלַעַת, סְטָר סוּמָקָא דִּגְבוּרָה דְּאִשְׁתַּתֵּף בַּהֲדֵיהּ בְּקַדְמִיתָא.** **וְאֵזוֹב, דָּא ו' זְעֵירָא, דְּיָנִיק לֵיהּ לִכְּנֶסֶת יִשְׂרָאֵל, וּבְגִין כָּךְ, עֵץ אֶרֶז וְאֵזוֹב, אַזְלָן כַּחֲדָא, וְעַל דָּא ו' ו' כַּחֲדָא אִשְׁתְּכָחוּ, חַד עִלָּאָה, וְחַד זְעֵירָא, וְקַרְיָין לוֹן, ו' עִלָּאָה, ו' תַּתָּאָה. וְכֻלְּהוּ אָהַדְרוּ לְשַׁרְיָא עֲלוֹי בְּגִין דְּהָא אִתְדָּכֵי, לָקֳבֵל אִלֵּין, לְתַתָּא עֵץ אֶרֶז וְאֵזוֹב וּשְׁנִי תּוֹלַעַת אִשְׁתְּכָחוּ בְּדַכְיוּתָא דָּא, וְתַּלְיָין מֵאִלֵּין עִלָּאִין.**** | #### 2.3.2 Commentary (SR) ###### § 1 Notice the narrative frame: The Zohar opens with a verse, and then portrays the companions as they hang together with Rabbi Shim'on. For context about the meaning of the Bible in historical context (and a summary of its interpretation in Jewish tradition), see the Jewish Study Bible commentary below (but leave time for the Zohar, too!) > Daniel Matt: > ***Cedar wood*** **is well known…** This material symbolizes *Tif’eret*, which is rooted in *Ḥokhmah* (symbolized by *Lebanon*). But Rabbi Shim’on’s two disciples wonder about the significance of *hyssop*. § 2 > [!note] Come and see: If a person strives to serve his Lord and engages in Torah, the blessed Holy One settles upon him and Shekhinah associates with him > In this line, the Zohar characterizes what happens to a person who engages in Torah: The Holy One (the sefirot of love-ḥesed , din-justice/differentiation, tiferet-beauty/compassion, netsach, hod-prophetic inspiration/individuality and yesod-creativity, relationality, sexuality) and the Shekhinah (embodiment, life, sensuality) come to rest upon them. > > This is a way of thinking about what happens to us when we ground our lives in spiritual-ethical practice. The powers/entities/vessels which are the sefirot dwell upon us. How you experience these powers/entities? When you are spiritually aligned, grounded and centered, what do the "Holy Blessed One" and the "Shechinah" feel like? (SR) > [!NOTE] Once a person comes to defile himself, *Shekhinah* departs from him, the blessed Holy One moves far away from him, all aspects of his Lord’s holiness distance themselves from him, and an impure spirit settles upon him along with all aspects of impurity. > Here we see the opposite side of the coin: When we lose our spiritual equilibrium, we lose the powers and tools symbolized by the sefirot (forming the Holy Blessed One and the Shechinah). Do you know what that feels like also? (SR) > [!NOTE] If he comes to purify himself, they assist him. Once he is purified and engages in *teshuvah*, that which departed from him returns and settles upon him > Here we see the cure: Each element of the ritual of purification repairs and returns one of the different sefirotic elements to its appropriate place. (SR) In this section, we need to map out the Zohar's symbolism using the sefirotic system. For background, see below [[#3 Appendix 1 Ein Sof and the Sefirot]]. > Daniel Matt: > ***two live pure birds…*** Obviously they are alive, so why would the verse bother to say so? In BT *Ḥullin* 140a, it is established that *live* implies here that the birds are not missing an entire limb. But Rabbi Shim’on offers a deeper meaning: חיות (*ḥayyot*), *live*, alludes to the angelic *ḥayyot, living beings*, who carried the divine chariot-throne, as seen by Ezekiel. Two of these *ḥayyot* symbolize *Netsaḥ* and *Hod*, the source of prophecy. > > ***And cedar wood*** **…** Alluding to *Tif’eret*, as explained above. > > ***And crimson yarn*** **…** Alluding to *Gevurah* (symbolized by the color red) and to *Shekhinah*, who derives from *Gevurah* and was associated with this person before he sinned and became afflicted. > > ***And hyssop*** **—small ו (*vav*)…** This ingredient alludes to *Yesod*, symbolized by a small ו (*vav*), in contrast to a large ו (*vav*), which represents *Tif’eret*. *Yesod* suckles *Shekhinah* (known as Assembly of Israel). *Tif’eret* (symbolized by *cedar* and the large *vav*) is closely linked with *Yesod* (symbolized by *hyssop* and the small *vav*), since together they constitute the male partner of *Shekhinah*. Consequently, “וו (*vav*) exists as one,” meaning that the pronunciation of this letter’s name combines the sound of two *vavs* into one: *vav*. > > When the afflicted person is purified, “all return to settle upon him,” including *Tif’eret, Yesod*, and *Shekhinah*. The final sentence means that the physical ingredients of *cedar wood and hyssop and crimson yarn* symbolize their sefirotic paradigms. > [!NOTE] The Bible itself juxtaposes cedar and hyssop: 1 Kings 5:13 > > וַיְדַבֵּר֮ עַל־הָעֵצִים֒ מִן־הָאֶ֙רֶז֙ אֲשֶׁ֣ר בַּלְּבָנ֔וֹן וְעַד֙ הָאֵז֔וֹב אֲשֶׁ֥ר יֹצֵ֖א בַּקִּ֑יר וַיְדַבֵּר֙ עַל־הַבְּהֵמָ֣ה וְעַל־הָע֔וֹף וְעַל־הָרֶ֖מֶשׂ וְעַל־הַדָּגִֽים׃ > > He discoursed about trees, from the cedar in Lebanon to the hyssop that grows out of the wall; and he discoursed about beasts, birds, creeping things, and fishes. > [!NOTE] > In Daniel Matt's commentary above, he explains the sefirotic symbolism referred to in this selection from the Zohar. Each sacred object used in the purification ritual symbolizes a sefirah. The sefirot are channels through which divine sustenance overflows into us, filling our lives with motivational power and meaning. > > We can think of the sefirot as symbolizing types of energies that sustain us, or also types of value that give our lives meaning. The sefirot are often understood as together constituting a tree or person, so that the different sefirot (energies, values) form an organic and interconnected whole. (SR) ![[Zohar Metsorah Symbols Map.excalidraw.png]] Impressionistic interpretation of Sefirot: We receive existence, life and consciousness through the sefirot and we mirror its structure: ![[ADAM Y-H-V-H Graphic.png]] #### 2.3.3 Background from Jewish Study Bible on *tzara'at* (Baruch J. Schwartz) Impurity caused by “tzaraʿat.” These two chs are a unit (see summary at 14.54–57), prescribing the elimination of the impurity caused by “tzaraʿat.” This has sometimes been translated as “leprosy” (or “leprous affection”), but the disease today called leprosy (Hansen’s disease) was not known in biblical times and the description given in the Bible is not consistent with it. Further, since “tzaraʿat” afflicts not only humans but also fabrics (13.47–59) and building materials (14.33–47), it cannot be identified with a single pathology. The distinctive symptom of “tzaraʿat” in humans is scale-like eruptions of the skin. […] For the steps necessary to dispose of the impurity lest it spread to the sanctuary, the priest, in his sacred role of distinguishing the pure from the impure (see 10.10; cf. 11.47) is given the task of “diagnosing” “tzaraʿat” in humans, fabrics, and buildings. But the priest is not a physician, and has no role in the healing process;… In the Bible, the onset and progress of disease, its persistence or eventual disappearance, are essentially outside of human control. In other biblical books “tzaraʿat” is seen as a divine penalty (e.g., Num. 12.10; 2 Kings 15.5). Rabbinic thought agreed, suggesting that the person afflicted with “tzaraʿat” (the “metzoraʿ”) was being punished thereby for the sin of slander (the same consonants in Heb: “motzi raʿ”). But none of this is expressed here. P seems to view “tzaraʿat” quite matter-of-factly as a feature of the natural world created by God, like unclean animals, gonorrhea, and menstruation. (14.1–32): Resuming 13.46, these vv. prescribe the steps required of the person cured to dispose of the impurity he has created. Anthropologically and sociologically these rituals have been seen as rites of passage, marking the return of the outcast to normal life in human society and in God’s presence. Rabbinic interpretation, which tended to view the person afflicted as under divine sanction for wrongdoing, generally explained these rituals as acts of contrition, penance, and thanksgiving. In fact, however, they are for ridding the person and the environment of the impurity that has been generated, and the afflicted person is under no disapprobation unless he or she fails to carry them out. **2–3**)**:** The process begins when the priest has examined the afflicted person and declared him cured. The cure itself is God’s affair; the priest’s task begins where God’s ends. **2**)**:** *This shall be the ritual for,* better, “these are the instructions concerning”; see 6.2. A *leper* (Heb “metzoraʿ,” i.e., a person afflicted with “tzaraʿat”); see 13.3 and 13.1–14.57 n. **3–20**)**:** The purification of the “metzoraʿ” and the expiation, in three stages. **3–7**)**:** Stage one takes place outside the camp as soon as the priest pronounces the afflicted person cured. Its purpose is to rid the person of the impurity that has enveloped the physical body during the ailment. The purging agent is the blood of the first of two birds. This is the only instance in which purifying blood is applied to a human. The sprinkling of the reconstituted blood of the red heifer on the person contaminated by contact with a corpse (Num. ch 19\) is the closest parallel and further indicates the close connection between “tzaraʿat” and death. The second bird is kept alive and set free to carry off the impurity, like the scapegoat on the annual Day of “Atonement” (or Purification); see ch 16\. **4**)**:** *Live,* i.e., wild birds, that live in the open country. *Clean birds,* See 11.13–19. *Cedar wood, crimson stuff,* agents of purification throughout biblical and ancient Near Eastern tradition. *Hyssop,* used for dipping and sprinkling, and therefore associated with purification (Ps. 51.9). **5**)**:** *Over fresh water in an earthen vessel,* to dilute the substance, so that there is a sufficient quantity that may easily be sprinkled. **7**)**:** The two birds are considered one entity. Thus the impurity, after being removed by the blood of the slaughtered bird, is believed to be transferred to the second, live bird which is then dispatched, thereby permanently disposing of it. **8–9**)**:** Stage two, on the seventh day, consists of the cleansing of the individual. That cleansing is not sufficient in itself, but must be preceded by the removal and disposal rituals and the lapse of a seven-day period, indicates the severity of this impurity. ### 2.4 Meeting 4 (April 19): Zohar on Kedoshim #### 2.4.1 Kedoshim | *Vayikra* 19:1-2 | ויקרא יט:א-ב | | ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | | GOD spoke to Moses, saying: Speak to the whole Israelite community and say to them: You shall be holy, for I, Y-H-V-H your God, am holy. | **וַיְדַבֵּ֥ר יְהֹוָ֖-ה אֶל־מֹשֶׁ֥ה לֵּאמֹֽר׃ דַּבֵּ֞ר אֶל־כׇּל־עֲדַ֧ת בְּנֵי־יִשְׂרָאֵ֛ל וְאָמַרְתָּ֥ אֲלֵהֶ֖ם קְדֹשִׁ֣ים תִּהְי֑וּ כִּ֣י קָד֔וֹשׁ אֲנִ֖י יְהֹוָ֥-ה אֱלֹהֵיכֶֽם׃** | #### 2.4.2 Full Text of Zohar | Zohar on Kedoshim (Zohar III 80b-81a. Trans. by Daniel Matt) | זוהר על קדושים (זוהר ג:פ ע"א) | | ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | | 1. Rabbi Yose was walking on the way and he encountered Rabbi Ḥiyya, who said to him, "As you know, the Companions have established what is written of Eli: *Therefore I have sworn against the house of Eli, that the sin of the house of Eli will not be purged by sacrifice and offering forever* (1 Samuel 3:14)—*by sacrifice and offering* it cannot be purged, but by words of Torah it can. Why? Because words of Torah transcend all offerings of the world, as we have established, for it is written *This is the Torah for the ascent offering, for the grain offering*, [*for the purification offering, for the guilt offering, for the ordination offering, and for the sacrifice of well-being*] (Leviticus 7:37)—Torah is equivalent to all offerings of the world." […] | **א. רִבִּי יוֹסֵי הֲוָה אָזִיל בְּאוֹרְחָא, פָּגַע בֵּיהּ רִבִּי חִיָּיא, אָמַר לֵיהּ הַאי דְּאוּקְמוּהָ חַבְרַיָּיא, דִּכְתִּיב בְּעֵלִי, (שמואל א ג׳:י״ד) וְלָכֵן נִשְׁבַּעְתִּי לְבֵית עֵלִי אִם יִתְכַּפֵּר עֲוֹן בֵּית עֵלִי בְּזֶבַח וּמִנְחָה עַד עוֹלָם. בְּזֶבַח וּמִנְחָה אֵינוֹ מִתְכַּפֵּר, אֲבָל מִתְכַּפֵּר הוּא בְּדִבְרֵי תּוֹרָה. אֲמַאי. בְּגִין דְּדִבְרֵי תּוֹרָה, סַלְּקִין עַל כָּל קָרְבְּנִין דְּעָלְמָא. כְּמָה דְּאוּקְמוּהָ דִּכְתִּיב, (ויקרא ז׳:ל״ז) זֹאת הַתּוֹרָה לָעוֹלָה לַמִּנְחָה וְלַחַטָּאת וְלָאָשָׁם וְלַמִּלּוּאִים, שָׁקִיל אוֹרַיְיתָא לָקֳבֵיל כָּל קָרְבְּנִין דְּעָלְמָא.** […] | | 2. "Come and see: A person is never purified except by words of Torah. Consequently, words of Torah are not susceptible to impurity, since she is capable of purifying the impure. Healing inheres in Torah, as is written: *It will be healing for your flesh* (Proverbs 3:8). Purity, as is written: *The awe of YHVH is pure, enduring forever* (Psalms 19:10). What is meant by *enduring forever*? Enduring always in that purity, never departing." […] | **ב. וְתָּא חֲזֵי, לָא אִתְדָּכֵי בַּר נָשׁ לְעָלְמִין, אֶלָּא בְּמִלִּין דְּאוֹרַיְיתָא. בְּגִינֵי כַּךְ מִלִּין דְּאוֹרַיְיתָא לָא מְקַבְּלִין טוּמְאָה, בְּגִין דְּאִיהִי קַיְּימָא לְדַכְּאָה לְאִלֵּין מִסְאֲבֵי, וְאַסְוּותָא בְּאוֹרַיְיתָא אִשְׁתְּכַח דִּכְתִּיב (משלי ג), רִפְאוּת תְּהִי לְשָׁרֶךָ וְשִׁקּוּי לְעַצְמוֹתֶיךָ. וְדַכְיוּתָא אִשְׁתְּכַח בְּאוֹרַיְיתָא, דִּכְתִּיב, (תהילים י״ט:י׳) יִרְאַת יהו-ה טְהוֹרָה עוֹמֶדֶת לָעַד. מַאי עוֹמֶדֶת לָעַד. דְּקַיְּימָא תְּדִירָא בְּהַהוּא דַּכְיוּתָא, וְלָא אִתְעָדֵי מִנֵּיהּ לְעָלְמִין.** […] | | 3. "It is called holiness: *For I, YHVH, am holy* (Leviticus 19:2)—and this is Torah, which is the supernal holy Name. Therefore, [81a] one who engages in her is purified and then sanctified, as is written: *You will be holy* (ibid.)—it is not written *Be holy*, but rather *You will be*, surely!" […] | **ג. וְאוֹרַיְיתָא קְדוּשָּׁה אִתְקְרֵי, דִּכְתִּיב כִּי קָדוֹשׁ אֲנִי יהו-ה, וְדָא אוֹרַיְיתָא, דְּהִיא שְׁמָא קַדִּישָׁא עִלָּאָה. וְעַל דָּא, מַאן דְּאִשְׁתְּדַּל בָּהּ אִתְדָּכֵי, וּלְבָתַר אִתְקַדָּשׁ, דִּכְתִּיב קְדוֹשִׁים תִּהְיוּ, קְדוֹשִׁים הֱיוּ לָא כְּתִיב, אֶלָּא תִּהְיוּ. תִּהְיוּ וַדַּאי.** […] | | 4. He said to him, "There is no Torah without Wisdom, and no Wisdom without Torah; all occupies a single rung, and all is one. Yet Torah inheres in supernal Wisdom, subsisting there, her roots implanted on all sides." | **ד. אָמַר לֵיהּ לָאו אוֹרַיְיתָא בְּלָא חָכְמְתָא, וְלָאו חָכְמְתָא בְּלָא אוֹרַיְיתָא, וְכֹלָּא בְּחַד דַּרְגָּא הוּא, וְכֹלָּא חַד, אֶלָּא אוֹרַיְיתָא בְּחָכְמָה עִלָּאָה אִשְׁתְּכַחַת, וּבָה קַיְּימָא, וּבָה אִתְנְטָעוּ שָׁרְשָׁהָא מִכָּל סִּטְרִין.** | | 5. As they were going along, they found a man in a remote village dump, riding on a horse, and he released his hand toward the branch of a tree. | **ה. עַד דַּהֲווֹ אַזְלֵי, אַשְׁכָּחוּ חַד בַּר נָשׁ, בִּלְקִינְטָא דְּקוּסְטָא, (ס"א בלקיטנא דקיסחא) רָכִיב עַל סוּסְיָא, אַשְׁמִיט יְדוֹי לְחָד עַנְפָּא דְּאִילָנָא.** | | 6. Rabbi Yose said, "This accords with what is written: *You shall hallow yourselves and become holy* (Leviticus 11:44)—if a person sanctifies himself below, s/he is sanctified from above, as is written: *You shall be holy, for I, YHVH, am holy*… (Leviticus 19:2)." | **ו. אָמַר רִבִּי יוֹסֵי, הַאי הוּא דִּכְתִּיב וְהִתְקַדִּשְׁתֶּם וִהְיִיתֶם קְדוֹשִׁים. אָדָם מְקַדֵּשׁ עַצְמוֹ מִלְּמַטָּה, מְקַדְּשִׁין אוֹתוֹ מִלְּמַעְלָה. הֲדָא הוּא דִכְתִיב, קְדוֹשִׁים תִּהְיוּ כִּי קָדוֹשׁ אֲנִי יהו-ה.** | #### 2.4.3 Annotated Zohar ###### §1 > [!NOTE] Introduction (SR) > In our Zohar for this week, we encounter Rabbi Yose walking along the way, where he encounters Rabbi Ḥiyya. The Zohar's placing of the companions "one the way", and its situating them as meeting by chance, is not incidental to its message. The Torah that the Zohar is teaching is *on the way*, in the world. It's not sequestered away in a *beit midrash*. > > Torah means teaching. But for the Zohar Torah is also a *a way* of being, a life path. As they walk along, the two companions will consider what Torah is and how it works through the prism of the first verse of Parashat Kedoshim (quoted above). | | | | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | | 1. Rabbi Yose was walking on the way and he encountered Rabbi Ḥiyya, who said to him, "As you know, the Companions have established what is written of Eli: *Therefore I have sworn against the house of Eli, that the sin of the house of Eli will not be purged by sacrifice and offering forever* (1 Samuel 3:14)—*by sacrifice and offering* it cannot be purged, but by words of Torah it can. Why? Because words of Torah transcend all offerings of the world, as we have established, for it is written *This is the Torah for the ascent offering, for the grain offering*, [*for the purification offering, for the guilt offering, for the ordination offering, and for the sacrifice of well-being*] (Leviticus 7:37)—Torah is equivalent to all offerings of the world." | **א. רִבִּי יוֹסֵי הֲוָה אָזִיל בְּאוֹרְחָא, פָּגַע בֵּיהּ רִבִּי חִיָּיא, אָמַר לֵיהּ הַאי דְּאוּקְמוּהָ חַבְרַיָּיא, דִּכְתִּיב בְּעֵלִי, (שמואל א ג׳:י״ד) וְלָכֵן נִשְׁבַּעְתִּי לְבֵית עֵלִי אִם יִתְכַּפֵּר עֲוֹן בֵּית עֵלִי בְּזֶבַח וּמִנְחָה עַד עוֹלָם. בְּזֶבַח וּמִנְחָה אֵינוֹ מִתְכַּפֵּר, אֲבָל מִתְכַּפֵּר הוּא בְּדִבְרֵי תּוֹרָה. אֲמַאי. בְּגִין דְּדִבְרֵי תּוֹרָה, סַלְּקִין עַל כָּל קָרְבְּנִין דְּעָלְמָא. כְּמָה דְּאוּקְמוּהָ דִּכְתִּיב, (ויקרא ז׳:ל״ז) זֹאת הַתּוֹרָה לָעוֹלָה לַמִּנְחָה וְלַחַטָּאת וְלָאָשָׁם וְלַמִּלּוּאִים, שָׁקִיל אוֹרַיְיתָא לָקֳבֵיל כָּל קָרְבְּנִין דְּעָלְמָא.** | > [!NOTE] Daniel Matt Comments: > ***Therefore I have sworn against the house of Eli*** **…** According to the biblical account, the sons of Eli the priest *were worthless fellows* who *scorned YHVH’s offering* by snatching it gluttonously, demanding raw meat from the worshipers before the fat could be offered up to God (1 Samuel 2:12–18). Furthermore, *they lay with the women who ministered at the Tent of Meeting* (ibid., 22). Because of their contemptuous behavior and because their father, Eli, did not restrain them, God doomed the house of Eli. > > According to BT *Yevamot* 105a (in the name of Rabbah), the divine oath *that the sin of the house of Eli will not be purged by sacrifice and offering* implies that “*by sacrifice and offering* it cannot be purged, but by words of Torah it can.” See BT *Rosh ha-Shanah* 18a. > > On Torah being equivalent to (or outweighing) sacrifices, see BT *Menaḥot* 110a, in the name of Resh Lakish: “What is the meaning of the verse *This is the Torah for the ascent offering, for the grain offering, for the purification offering, and for the guilt offering* (Leviticus 7:37)? Whoever engages in Torah is considered to have offered an ascent offering, a grain offering, a purification offering, and a guilt offering.”> > > [!NOTE] > In the middle of Leviticus' many sacrifices, the Zohar chooses to focus our attention on the idea that engaging in Torah is greater than the sacrifices. It serves the functions of the sacrificial system - purifying us of spiritual obstacles and connecting us to God - but is more powerful. (SR) > [!NOTE] Rabbi Avraham Azulai in **Ohr Hahamah** (***The Light of the Sun***) comments: > דברי תורה סלקאן הכוונה עולים על כל הקרבנות והטעם כי הקרבן ייחוד קב"ה ושכינתיה אבל לא שייחד אותם החוטא בעצמו אלא ע"י הכהן המקריב הקרבן ליהו"ד ואין כן דברי תורה אלא הוא בעצמו בהבל פיו הוא מייחד קב"ה ושכינתיה והוא מקריב עצמו לאש התורה והבל פיו ריח עשן המערכה שע"י מתייחדים קב"ה ושכינתיה והוא קרבן נבחר במקום החלב והדם הבהמה הנעשה ע"י הכהן הוא מקריב האדם עצמו ע"י עצמו ורוחו ונפשו והבל פיו > >Translation: *Divrei Torah salkan* — "words of Torah ascend" — the meaning is that they rise above all the offerings. The reason is that a sacrifice [effects] the union of the Holy One, blessed be s/he, with hir Shekhinah; but it is not that the sinner hirself unites them — rather, it is through the priest who offers the sacrifice to YHV-H. Not so with words of Torah: rather, the person hirself, through the breath of hir mouth (*hevel piv*), unites the Holy One, blessed be s/he, with hir Shekhinah. S/he offers hirself to the fire of Torah, and the breath of hir mouth is the fragrance of the smoke of the altar-pyre (*ma'arakha*), by means of which the Holy One, blessed be s/he, and hir Shekhinah are united. This is a chosen offering: in place of the fat and blood of the animal — which are offered by way of the priest — here the person offers hirself, by way of hirself: hir spirit (*ruach*), hir soul (*nefesh*), and the breath of hir mouth. ###### §2 | | | | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ | | 2. "Come and see: A person is never purified except by words of Torah. Consequently, words of Torah are not susceptible to impurity, since she is capable of purifying the impure. Healing inheres in Torah, as is written: *It will be healing for your flesh* (Proverbs 3:8). Purity, as is written: *The awe of YHVH is pure, enduring forever* (Psalms 19:10). What is meant by *enduring forever*? Enduring always in that purity, never departing." […] | **ב. וְתָּא חֲזֵי, לָא אִתְדָּכֵי בַּר נָשׁ לְעָלְמִין, אֶלָּא בְּמִלִּין דְּאוֹרַיְיתָא. בְּגִינֵי כַּךְ מִלִּין דְּאוֹרַיְיתָא לָא מְקַבְּלִין טוּמְאָה, בְּגִין דְּאִיהִי קַיְּימָא לְדַכְּאָה לְאִלֵּין מִסְאֲבֵי, וְאַסְוּותָא בְּאוֹרַיְיתָא אִשְׁתְּכַח דִּכְתִּיב (משלי ג), רִפְאוּת תְּהִי לְשָׁרֶךָ וְשִׁקּוּי לְעַצְמוֹתֶיךָ. וְדַכְיוּתָא אִשְׁתְּכַח בְּאוֹרַיְיתָא, דִּכְתִּיב, (תהילים י״ט:י׳) יִרְאַת יהו-ה טְהוֹרָה עוֹמֶדֶת לָעַד. מַאי עוֹמֶדֶת לָעַד. דְּקַיְּימָא תְּדִירָא בְּהַהוּא דַּכְיוּתָא, וְלָא אִתְעָדֵי מִנֵּיהּ לְעָלְמִין.** […] | > [!NOTE] **Words of Torah are not susceptible to impurity…** > Meaning that even one who is impure is allowed to engage in Torah or read it publicly (Daniel Matt) > [!NOTE] What is *Oraita* (Torah)? (SR) > The simple meanings of the verses quoted in this section are about "wisdom" (Proverbs 3:8) and "awe of God" (Psalms 19:10). Rabbi Yose identifies both of these with *oraita*, Aramaic for "torah", and applies what it says in the verses to the Torah: It is so *pure* it purifies all who touch it, and it is also *healing*. > > What does the Zohar mean by "torah"? First of all, it means its own kabbalistic teaching. The life-giving, healing purifying Torah we're talking about is the Zohar itself, which we are now learning. On another level, the "torah" is the *ḥumash*, the Five Books of Moses, the story we forever inhabit through the weekly Torah portion. But the Torah that the Zohar has in mind is also the companions walking on the way, that is, it is a way of life, and kind of life-giving spirit-enhancing life-rythm, exemplified by the companions wandering the land while quoting and interpreting verses and then applying them to what they see (as we will see below). > > The Torah is the life-rythm that opens up the divine flow, and thus it heals and purifies. As such, *oraita* is symbolized by Tiferet, at the center of the sefirotic system, the backbone of the structure as a whole, through which the divine sustenance flows down and in the world. The life of Torah aimed at by the Zohar is the life patterned on the values/powers of the sefirot: consciousness (daat), love (*ḥesed*), justice (din), beauty and compassion (*tiferet*/rachamim), sexuality/relationality (yesod-*malkhut*) etc. Torah is the life-way that establishes *adam:* > ![[ADAM Y-H-V-H Graphic.png|400]] > >What rhythm of life opens up the flow in your actual experience? The Zohar's *oraita* can only be understood as part of the path that actually functions in your life in the way it describes. ###### §3 | 3. "It is called holiness: *For I, YHVH, am holy* (Leviticus 19:2)—and this is Torah, which is the supernal holy Name. Therefore, [81a] one who engages in her is purified and then sanctified, as is written: *You will be holy* (ibid.)—it is not written *Be holy*, but rather *You will be*, surely!" […] | **ג. וְאוֹרַיְיתָא קְדוּשָּׁה אִתְקְרֵי, דִּכְתִּיב כִּי קָדוֹשׁ אֲנִי יהו-ה, וְדָא אוֹרַיְיתָא, דְּהִיא שְׁמָא קַדִּישָׁא עִלָּאָה. וְעַל דָּא, מַאן דְּאִשְׁתְּדַּל בָּהּ אִתְדָּכֵי, וּלְבָתַר אִתְקַדָּשׁ, דִּכְתִּיב קְדוֹשִׁים תִּהְיוּ, קְדוֹשִׁים הֱיוּ לָא כְּתִיב, אֶלָּא תִּהְיוּ. תִּהְיוּ וַדַּאי.** […] | | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | > [!NOTE] Torah is the Name of God. (SR) > > First, understand how the Zohar is reading the verse exactly :Since יהו-ה (YHV-H) = "Torah", the Zohar reads the verse "For I, Torah, am holy"! > > Then, see how the Torah is the Name of God in the chart below. יהו-ה (YHV-H) is both the central *sefirah* of Tiferet, and also the entire sefirotic structure (you can also see it in the chart appearing above): > > ![[Chart of Sefirot with YHVH - Matt.png|400]] > > The name of God, יהו-ה (YHV-H), is the sefirotic system, is the Torah, is the way-of-life or life-rythm that opens up the flow of divine abundance. We know that flow through its manifestation as consciousness, love, justice, beauty, relationality etc. in our experience. > [!NOTE] It is called holiness > Daniel Matt: On the progression from purity to holiness, see M *Sotah* 9:15, in the name of Rabbi Pinḥas son of Ya’ir: “Zeal leads to cleanliness, cleanliness to purity, purity to holiness \[per Kaufmann MS\], holiness to humility, humility to fear of sin, fear of sin to devotion, devotion to the Holy Spirit, the Holy Spirit to the revival of the dead, and the revival of the dead comes through Elijah, remembered for good.” ###### §4 | | | | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | | 4. He said to him, "There is no Torah without Wisdom, and no Wisdom without Torah; all occupies a single rung, and all is one. Yet Torah inheres in supernal Wisdom, subsisting there, her roots implanted on all sides." | **ד. אָמַר לֵיהּ לָאו אוֹרַיְיתָא בְּלָא חָכְמְתָא, וְלָאו חָכְמְתָא בְּלָא אוֹרַיְיתָא, וְכֹלָּא בְּחַד דַּרְגָּא הוּא, וְכֹלָּא חַד, אֶלָּא אוֹרַיְיתָא בְּחָכְמָה עִלָּאָה אִשְׁתְּכַחַת, וּבָה קַיְּימָא, וּבָה אִתְנְטָעוּ שָׁרְשָׁהָא מִכָּל סִּטְרִין.** | > [!NOTE] **There is no Torah without Wisdom…** > > Torah emanates from *Ḥokhmah* (which is known as Primordial Torah) and conveys it below. (Daniel Matt) > > For the Zohar, "Torah" as we know it - as a book, as a way of life - is an extension of the intelligence of creation itself, and of God's mind. In order for Torah to function as the extension and conduit of divine wisdom, we have to interpret it / live it in the correct way - the way that opens up the divine flow. (SR) ###### § 5-6 | | | | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ | | 5. As they were going along, they found a man in a remote village dump, riding on a horse, and he released his hand toward the branch of a tree. | **ה. עַד דַּהֲווֹ אַזְלֵי, אַשְׁכָּחוּ חַד בַּר נָשׁ, בִּלְקִינְטָא דְּקוּסְטָא, (ס"א בלקיטנא דקיסחא) רָכִיב עַל סוּסְיָא, אַשְׁמִיט יְדוֹי לְחָד עַנְפָּא דְּאִילָנָא.** | | 6. Rabbi Yose said, "This accords with what is written: *You shall hallow yourselves and become holy* (Leviticus 11:44)—if a person sanctifies himself below, s/he is sanctified from above, as is written: *You shall be holy, for I, YHVH, am holy*… (Leviticus 19:2)." | **ו. אָמַר רִבִּי יוֹסֵי, הַאי הוּא דִּכְתִּיב וְהִתְקַדִּשְׁתֶּם וִהְיִיתֶם קְדוֹשִׁים. אָדָם מְקַדֵּשׁ עַצְמוֹ מִלְּמַטָּה, מְקַדְּשִׁין אוֹתוֹ מִלְּמַעְלָה. הֲדָא הוּא דִכְתִיב, קְדוֹשִׁים תִּהְיוּ כִּי קָדוֹשׁ אֲנִי יהו-ה.** | > [!NOTE] As they were going along… > > In this two sections, the Zohar emphasizes the lived *on the way* character of its Torah. The man they see on the way exemplifies the principle in the verse. How exactly he exemplifies it, however, is something of a mystery, as you can see below in the commentaries. (SR) > [!NOTE] **they found a man in a remote village dump…** > > Who apparently wiped his hand on the branch of a tree to remove some filth he may have touched… For various interpretations of this phrase and the man’s behavior, see *Or Yaqar*; *Haggahot Maharḥu*; *Derekh Emet*; *Miqdash Melekh*; *Nitsotsei Orot*; *Nefesh David*; *Nitsotsei Zohar*; Soncino; *Sullam*; *Matoq mi-Devash*. (Daniel Matt) > > **Mikdash Melech**: **"And this is what is written, *You shall sanctify yourselves*, etc."** This seems to mean that after he sinned by trampling in his fellow's garden, he sinned further by breaking the branches of the tree, for he transgressed *bal tashḥit* ("do not destroy") — since "one transgression drags another along" (*averah goreret averah*) — the opposite of *You shall sanctify yourselves and become holy*. > > **Nefesh David:** It is more likely to explain that he was engaged in grafting forbidden mixtures of trees (*kil'ei ilan*). > > **Sulam**: **"As they were going along, etc."**: While they were walking, they found a certain man in the place of refuse and filth of the city, riding on a horse. When he came out from there, he released his hands to a branch of a tree in order to clean his hands on it. And even though he had no concern of having touched filth — since he was riding on a horse — nevertheless he acted stringently with himself, to purify his hands, because he had been in a filthy place. Rabbi Yose said: this is what is written, *You shall sanctify yourselves and become holy* — a person sanctifies hirself below, and they sanctify hir from above. > [!NOTE] Conclusion > Whatever he was doing, we learned something important from it :) ### 2.5 Meeting 5 (April 26): Zohar on Parashat Emor #### 2.5.1 Tanakh | *Vayikra* 23: 15-16 | ויקרא כג: טו-יז | | ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ | | And from the day on which you bring the sheaf of elevation offering—the day after the sabbath—you shall count off seven weeks. They must be complete: you must count until the day after the seventh week—fifty days; then you shall bring an offering of new grain to GOD. | **וּסְפַרְתֶּ֤ם לָכֶם֙ מִמׇּחֳרַ֣ת הַשַּׁבָּ֔ת מִיּוֹם֙ הֲבִ֣יאֲכֶ֔ם אֶת־עֹ֖מֶר הַתְּנוּפָ֑ה שֶׁ֥בַע שַׁבָּת֖וֹת תְּמִימֹ֥ת תִּהְיֶֽינָה׃ עַ֣ד מִֽמׇּחֳרַ֤ת הַשַּׁבָּת֙ הַשְּׁבִיעִ֔ת תִּסְפְּר֖וּ חֲמִשִּׁ֣ים י֑וֹם וְהִקְרַבְתֶּ֛ם מִנְחָ֥ה חֲדָשָׁ֖ה לַיהֹוָֽ-ה׃** | #### 2.5.2 Zohar - Full Text | Zohar Emor (Vayikra) III 97a (Trans. by Daniel Matt) | זוהר אמור (ויקרא) ג' צז ע"א ואילך | | ---------------------------------------------------- | --------------------------------- | | ![[zohar on sefirat haomer]] | ![[זוהר על ספירת העומר]] | #### 2.5.3 Commentary ###### Rabbi Abba and Rabbi Hiyya Were Walking along the Way ![[Walking on the Way - Kurt Hoffman.png|300]] Illustration: Kurt Hoffman 1: Daniel Matt: **When the people of Israel were in Egypt…** Their enslavement represented demonic control, and they were in a state of impurity similar to that of a menstruant. Once they were circumcised (before leaving Egypt), they entered the realm of holiness, specifically the domain of Covenant (here apparently symbolizing *Shekhinah*, who sometimes shares this designation with *Yesod*). Just as a menstruant counts seven days after her menstrual blood disappears, so Israel counted seven weeks from the Exodus on *Pesaḥ* to *Shavu’ot*—which became instituted as the Counting of the Omer. According to various rabbinic sources, the Israelites circumcised themselves before the Exodus 2: Daniel Matt: ***for yourselves*, precisely…** Rabbi Abba takes this to mean “for your own benefit.” Just as the menstruant’s counting benefits her (by enabling her to be purified and then reunite with her husband), so Israel’s Counting of the Omer enables them to be purified by the stream of emanation and then join King *Tif’eret* and receive the Torah on *Shavu’ot*. 3: Daniel Matt: **Why *seven weeks*?…** Because these symbolize the seven *sefirot* from *Ḥesed* to *Shekhinah*, which issue from the gushing river of *Binah*. **Just as a woman’s purity takes effect at night…** After her count is completed, she immerses herself in a *miqveh* that evening and can then resume sexual relations with her husband. ###### Flowing, Gushing River Called "living waters" ![[Sefirot Symbols Map Emor - Sefirat HaOmer.png]] 4:Daniel Matt: **the Torah that is required on this night…** On the night of *Shavu’ot*, Rabbi Abba recommends studying Oral Torah (which includes Mishnah, Talmud, and Midrash). This aspect of Torah symbolizes *Shekhinah*, and its devotional learning ensures that Israel will be purified along with *Shekhinah* by the flow of emanation issuing from *Binah* above. During the ensuing day, *Tif’eret* (symbolized by Written Torah) unites with *Shekhinah*. 5: Daniel Matt: **Let us come and array the jewels of the Bride…** The various elements of Torah become jewels adorning *Shekhinah*, preparing Her for union with *Tif’eret*. 6: Daniel Matt: **But who prepares the King…** Who prepares and adorns *Tif’eret* for His wedding with *Shekhinah* (known as *Matronita*) on the next day? This role is played by the Divine Mother, *Binah*. 7: Daniel Matt: **So it is with the Holy King…** The Companions adorn *Shekhinah* by studying Torah through the night of *Shavu’ot*, while *Binah* prepares Her royal son, *Tif’eret*. 8: Daniel Matt: *Shekhinah* is known as צדק (*tsedeq*), *righteousness*, and each person who arrays Her by engaging in Torah becomes צדק‎ פועל (*po’el tsedeq*), *one who activates righteousness*—enabling *Shekhinah* to unite with Her Beloved. ### 2.6 Meeting 6 (May 3): Parashat BeHar #### 2.6.1 The Opening of the Parasha | Leviticus 25:1-24 | ויקרא כה: א-כד | | 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| | (1) GOD spoke to Moses on Mount Sinai: (2) Speak to the Israelite people and say to them: When you enter the land that I assign to you, the land shall observe a sabbath of GOD. (3) Six years you may sow your field and six years you may prune your vineyard and gather in the yield. (4) But in the seventh year the land shall have a sabbath of complete rest, a sabbath of GOD: you shall not sow your field or prune your vineyard. (5) You shall not reap the aftergrowth of your harvest or gather the grapes of your untrimmed vines; it shall be a year of complete rest for the land. (6) But you may eat whatever the land during its sabbath will produce—you, your male and female slaves, the hired and bound laborers who live with you, (7) and your cattle and the beasts in your land may eat all its yield. (8) You shall count off seven weeks of years—seven times seven years—so that the period of seven weeks of years gives you a total of forty-nine years. (9) Then you shall sound the horn loud; in the seventh month, on the tenth day of the month—the Day of Atonement—you shall have the horn sounded throughout your land (10) and you shall hallow the fiftieth year. You shall proclaim release throughout the land for all its inhabitants. It shall be a jubilee for you: each of you shall return to your holding and each of you shall return to your family. (11) That fiftieth year shall be a jubilee for you: you shall not sow, neither shall you reap the aftergrowth or harvest the untrimmed vines, (12) for it is a jubilee. It shall be holy to you: you may only eat the growth direct from the field. (13) In this year of jubilee, each of you shall return to your holding. (14) When you sell property to your neighbor, or buy any from your neighbor, you shall not wrong one another. (15) In buying from your neighbor, you shall deduct only for the number of years since the jubilee; and in selling to you, you shall be charged only for the remaining crop years: (16) the more such years, the higher the price you pay; the fewer such years, the lower the price; for what is being sold to you is a number of harvests. (17) Do not wrong one another, but fear your God; for I the ETERNAL am your God. (18) You shall observe My laws and faithfully keep My rules, that you may live upon the land in security; (19) the land shall yield its fruit and you shall eat your fill, and you shall live upon it in security. (20) And should you ask, “What are we to eat in the seventh year, if we may neither sow nor gather in our crops?” (21) I will ordain My blessing for you in the sixth year, so that it shall yield a crop sufficient for three years. (22) When you sow in the eighth year, you will still be eating old grain of that crop; you will be eating the old until the ninth year, until its crops come in. (23) But the land must not be sold beyond reclaim, for the land is Mine; you are but strangers resident with Me. (24) Throughout the land that you hold, you must provide for the redemption of the land. | **1. וַיְדַבֵּ֤ר יהו-ה אֶל־מֹשֶׁ֔ה בְּהַ֥ר סִינַ֖י לֵאמֹֽר׃ 2. דַּבֵּ֞ר אֶל־בְּנֵ֤י יִשְׂרָאֵל֙ וְאָמַרְתָּ֣ אֲלֵהֶ֔ם כִּ֤י תָבֹ֙אוּ֙ אֶל־הָאָ֔רֶץ אֲשֶׁ֥ר אֲנִ֖י נֹתֵ֣ן לָכֶ֑ם וְשָׁבְתָ֣ה הָאָ֔רֶץ שַׁבָּ֖ת לַיהֹוָֽ-ה׃ 3. שֵׁ֤שׁ שָׁנִים֙ תִּזְרַ֣ע שָׂדֶ֔ךָ וְשֵׁ֥שׁ שָׁנִ֖ים תִּזְמֹ֣ר כַּרְמֶ֑ךָ וְאָסַפְתָּ֖ אֶת־תְּבוּאָתָֽהּ׃ 4. וּבַשָּׁנָ֣ה הַשְּׁבִיעִ֗ת שַׁבַּ֤ת שַׁבָּתוֹן֙ יִהְיֶ֣ה לָאָ֔רֶץ שַׁבָּ֖ת לַיהֹוָ֑-ה שָֽׂדְךָ֙ לֹ֣א תִזְרָ֔ע וְכַרְמְךָ֖ לֹ֥א תִזְמֹֽר׃ 5. אֵ֣ת סְפִ֤יחַ קְצִֽירְךָ֙ לֹ֣א תִקְצ֔וֹר וְאֶת־עִנְּבֵ֥י נְזִירֶ֖ךָ לֹ֣א תִבְצֹ֑ר שְׁנַ֥ת שַׁבָּת֖וֹן יִהְיֶ֥ה לָאָֽרֶץ׃ 6. וְ֠הָיְתָ֠ה שַׁבַּ֨ת הָאָ֤רֶץ לָכֶם֙ לְאׇכְלָ֔ה לְךָ֖ וּלְעַבְדְּךָ֣ וְלַאֲמָתֶ֑ךָ וְלִשְׂכִֽירְךָ֙ וּלְתוֹשָׁ֣בְךָ֔ הַגָּרִ֖ים עִמָּֽךְ׃ 7. וְלִ֨בְהֶמְתְּךָ֔ וְלַֽחַיָּ֖ה אֲשֶׁ֣ר בְּאַרְצֶ֑ךָ תִּהְיֶ֥ה כׇל־תְּבוּאָתָ֖הּ לֶאֱכֹֽל׃ {ס} 8. וְסָפַרְתָּ֣ לְךָ֗ שֶׁ֚בַע שַׁבְּתֹ֣ת שָׁנִ֔ים שֶׁ֥בַע שָׁנִ֖ים שֶׁ֣בַע פְּעָמִ֑ים וְהָי֣וּ לְךָ֗ יְמֵי֙ שֶׁ֚בַע שַׁבְּתֹ֣ת הַשָּׁנִ֔ים תֵּ֥שַׁע וְאַרְבָּעִ֖ים שָׁנָֽה׃ 9. וְהַֽעֲבַרְתָּ֞ שׁוֹפַ֤ר תְּרוּעָה֙ בַּחֹ֣דֶשׁ הַשְּׁבִעִ֔י בֶּעָשׂ֖וֹר לַחֹ֑דֶשׁ בְּיוֹם֙ הַכִּפֻּרִ֔ים תַּעֲבִ֥ירוּ שׁוֹפָ֖ר בְּכׇל־אַרְצְכֶֽם׃ 10. וְקִדַּשְׁתֶּ֗ם אֵ֣ת שְׁנַ֤ת הַחֲמִשִּׁים֙ שָׁנָ֔ה וּקְרָאתֶ֥ם דְּר֛וֹר בָּאָ֖רֶץ לְכׇל־יֹשְׁבֶ֑יהָ יוֹבֵ֥ל הִוא֙ תִּהְיֶ֣ה לָכֶ֔ם וְשַׁבְתֶּ֗ם אִ֚ישׁ אֶל־אֲחֻזָּת֔וֹ וְאִ֥ישׁ אֶל־מִשְׁפַּחְתּ֖וֹ תָּשֻֽׁבוּ׃ 11. יוֹבֵ֣ל הִ֗וא שְׁנַ֛ת הַחֲמִשִּׁ֥ים שָׁנָ֖ה תִּהְיֶ֣ה לָכֶ֑ם לֹ֣א תִזְרָ֔עוּ וְלֹ֤א תִקְצְרוּ֙ אֶת־סְפִיחֶ֔יהָ וְלֹ֥א תִבְצְר֖וּ אֶת־נְזִרֶֽיהָ׃ 12. כִּ֚י יוֹבֵ֣ל הִ֔וא קֹ֖דֶשׁ תִּהְיֶ֣ה לָכֶ֑ם מִ֨ן־הַשָּׂדֶ֔ה תֹּאכְל֖וּ אֶת־תְּבוּאָתָֽהּ׃** **13. בִּשְׁנַ֥ת הַיּוֹבֵ֖ל הַזֹּ֑את תָּשֻׁ֕בוּ אִ֖ישׁ אֶל־אֲחֻזָּתֽוֹ׃ 14. וְכִֽי־תִמְכְּר֤וּ מִמְכָּר֙ לַעֲמִיתֶ֔ךָ א֥וֹ קָנֹ֖ה מִיַּ֣ד עֲמִיתֶ֑ךָ אַל־תּוֹנ֖וּ אִ֥ישׁ אֶת־אָחִֽיו׃ 15. בְּמִסְפַּ֤ר שָׁנִים֙ אַחַ֣ר הַיּוֹבֵ֔ל תִּקְנֶ֖ה מֵאֵ֣ת עֲמִיתֶ֑ךָ בְּמִסְפַּ֥ר שְׁנֵֽי־תְבוּאֹ֖ת יִמְכׇּר־לָֽךְ׃ 16. לְפִ֣י ׀ רֹ֣ב הַשָּׁנִ֗ים תַּרְבֶּה֙ מִקְנָת֔וֹ וּלְפִי֙ מְעֹ֣ט הַשָּׁנִ֔ים תַּמְעִ֖יט מִקְנָת֑וֹ כִּ֚י מִסְפַּ֣ר תְּבוּאֹ֔ת ה֥וּא מֹכֵ֖ר לָֽךְ׃ 17. וְלֹ֤א תוֹנוּ֙ אִ֣ישׁ אֶת־עֲמִית֔וֹ וְיָרֵ֖אתָ מֵֽאֱלֹהֶ֑יךָ כִּ֛י אֲנִ֥י יְהֹוָ֖ה אֱלֹהֵיכֶֽם׃ 18. וַעֲשִׂיתֶם֙ אֶת־חֻקֹּתַ֔י וְאֶת־מִשְׁפָּטַ֥י תִּשְׁמְר֖וּ וַעֲשִׂיתֶ֣ם אֹתָ֑ם וִֽישַׁבְתֶּ֥ם עַל־הָאָ֖רֶץ לָבֶֽטַח׃ 19. וְנָתְנָ֤ה הָאָ֙רֶץ֙ פִּרְיָ֔הּ וַאֲכַלְתֶּ֖ם לָשֹׂ֑בַע וִֽישַׁבְתֶּ֥ם לָבֶ֖טַח עָלֶֽיהָ׃ 20. וְכִ֣י תֹאמְר֔וּ מַה־נֹּאכַ֖ל בַּשָּׁנָ֣ה הַשְּׁבִיעִ֑ת הֵ֚ן לֹ֣א נִזְרָ֔ע וְלֹ֥א נֶאֱסֹ֖ף אֶת־תְּבוּאָתֵֽנוּ׃ 21. וְצִוִּ֤יתִי אֶת־בִּרְכָתִי֙ לָכֶ֔ם בַּשָּׁנָ֖ה הַשִּׁשִּׁ֑ית וְעָשָׂת֙ אֶת־הַתְּבוּאָ֔ה לִשְׁלֹ֖שׁ הַשָּׁנִֽים׃ 22. וּזְרַעְתֶּ֗ם אֵ֚ת הַשָּׁנָ֣ה הַשְּׁמִינִ֔ת וַאֲכַלְתֶּ֖ם מִן־הַתְּבוּאָ֣ה יָשָׁ֑ן עַ֣ד ׀ הַשָּׁנָ֣ה הַתְּשִׁיעִ֗ת עַד־בּוֹא֙ תְּב֣וּאָתָ֔הּ תֹּאכְל֖וּ יָשָֽׁן׃ 23. וְהָאָ֗רֶץ לֹ֤א תִמָּכֵר֙ לִצְמִתֻ֔ת כִּי־לִ֖י הָאָ֑רֶץ כִּֽי־גֵרִ֧ים וְתוֹשָׁבִ֛ים אַתֶּ֖ם עִמָּדִֽי׃ 24. וּבְכֹ֖ל אֶ֣רֶץ אֲחֻזַּתְכֶ֑ם גְּאֻלָּ֖ה תִּתְּנ֥וּ לָאָֽרֶץ׃ {ס}** | #### 2.6.2 Zohar Behar | Zohar Behar (III:110b) *Translation by Daniel Matt* (with some changes) | זוהר בהר (ג:קי ע"ב) | | --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ | | (1) Lev. 25: 20 And should you ask, “What are we to eat in the seventh year, if we may neither sow nor gather in our crops?” Rabbi Yehudah opened, “*Trust in YHVH and do good. Dwell in the land and shepherd faith* (Psalms 37:3). A person should always be aware of his Lord and unite his heart with supernal faith, so as to be complete with his Lord. For when he is complete with Him, no inhabitant of the world can harm him. | **(א) (ויקרא כ״ה:כ׳) וְכִי תֹאמְרוּ מַה נֹאכַל וְגוֹ', רִבִּי יְהוּדָה פָּתַח, (תהילים ל״ז:ג׳) בְּטַח בַּיְיָ' וַעֲשֵׂה טוֹב שְׁכָן אֶרֶץ וּרְעֵה אֱמוּנָה. לְעוֹלָם בַּר נָשׁ יְהֵא זָהִיר בְּמָארֵיהּ, וִידַבֵּק לִבֵּיהּ בִּמְהֵימְנוּתָא עִלָּאָה, בְּגִין דִּיהֱוִי שְׁלִים בְּמָארֵיהּ. דְּכַד יֶהֱוִי שְׁלִים בֵּיהּ, לָא יַכְלִין לְאַבְאָשָׁא לֵיהּ כָּל בְּנֵי עָלְמָא.** | | (2) “Come and see: *Trust in YHVH and do good*. What is meant by טוב‎ ועשה (*va-aseh tov*), *and do good*? Well, we have learned as follows: By an action below is aroused an action above. As has been established: אותם‎ ועשיתם (*va-asitem otam*), *and you do them* (Leviticus 26:3)—it is as if *you make them*, for that arousal of yours that you enact below arouses above. Thus is it written *va-aseh tov, and* *make good*—and *good* is none other than Righteous One, as is written: *Say of the righteous one that he is good* (Isaiah 3:10). Once you do this, surely *good* is aroused; then, *dwell in the land and shepherd faith*, and all is one. | **(ב) תָּא חֲזֵי, בְּטַח בַּיְיָ' וַעֲשֵׂה טוֹב, מַאי וַעֲשֵׂה טוֹב. אֶלָּא הָכִי תַּנִינָן, בְּעוֹבְדָא דִּלְתַתָּא, יִתְעַר עוֹבְדָא דִּלְעֵילָא. וְהָא אוּקְמוּהָ, וַעֲשִׂיתֶם אוֹתָם, כִּבְיָכוֹל, אַתּוּן תַּעַבְדוּן לְהוֹן, בְּגִין דִּבְהַהוּא אַתְעֲרוּתָא דִּלְכוֹן דְּאַתּוּן עַבְדִּין לְתַתָּא, אִתְעַר לְעֵילָּא וְעַל דָּא וַעֲשֵׂה טוֹב כְּתִיב, וְאֵין טוֹב, אֶלָא צַדִיק, דִּכְתִיב (ישעיהו ג׳:י׳) אִמְרוּ צַדִּיק כִּי טוֹב. כֵּיוָן דְּאַתּוּן עַבְדִּין הַאי, ודַאי הַאי טוֹב יִתְעַר, כְּדֵין שְׁכָן אֶרֶץ וּרְעֵה אֱמוּנָה, וְכֹלָּא חַד.** | | (3) “*Dwell in the land*—Supernal Land, for no one in the world can dwell with Her before arousing this *good* toward Her. Once he arouses Him, it is as if he ‘makes’ Him. Then, *dwell in the land*—dwell within Her, eat Her fruit, delight in Her. “*And shepherd faith—the land*, and all is one, as is said: *and Your faithfulness in the nights* (Psalms 92:3). *And shepherd faith*—conduct Her however you wish. | **(ג) שְׁכָן אֶרֶץ, אֶרֶץ עִלָּאָה. דְּהָא לֵית לָךְ בְּעָלְמָא, דְּיָכוֹל לְמִשְׁרֵי בַּהֲדָהּ, עַד דְּיִתְעַר הַאי טוֹב לְגַבָּהּ, כֵּיוָן דְּיִתְעַר לֵיהּ, כִּבְיָכוֹל הוּא עֲבִיד לֵיהּ, וּכְדֵין שְׁכָן אֶרֶץ, שְׁרֵי בְּגַוָּוה, אֵיכוּל אֵיבָה, אִשְׁתַּעְשַׁע בַּהַדָּה. וּרְעֵה אֱמוּנָה, דָּא אֶרֶץ וְכֹלָא חַד כְּמָה דְּאַתְּ אָמֵר (תהילים צ״ב:ג׳) וְאֱמוּנָתְךָ בַּלֵּילוֹת. וּרְעֵה אֱמוּנָה - הֲוִי דָּבַּר לָהּ בְּכָל רְעוּתָךְ.** | | (4) “If you do not arouse this *good* toward Her, keep your distance from Her and do not approach Her: do not venture into a blazing fiery furnace. And if you do approach Her—in fear, like one who fears death; for then fire rages, consuming the world with its flames. But once this *good* is aroused toward Her, then dwell within Her, do not fear Her. Then, *You will decree and it will be fulfilled, and light will gleam on your ways* (Job 22:28).23 | **(ד) וְאִי לָא תִּתְּעַר לָקֳבְלָהּ, הַאי טוֹב אִתְרְחַק מִנָּהּ, וְלָא תִּקְרַב בַּהֲדָהּ, לָא תִּקְרַב לְגוֹ אַתּוּן נוּרָא יָקִידְתָּא, וְאִי תִּקְרַב בַּהֲדָהּ, בִּדְחִילוּ, כְּמָאן דְּדָחִיל מִן מוֹתָא. דְּהָא כְּדֵין נוּרָא דָּלִיק, וְאוֹקִיד עָלְמָא בְשַׁלְהוֹבוֹי. וְכֵיוָן דְּאִתְעַר לָקֳבְלָהּ הַאי טוֹב, כְּדֵין, שָׁארֵי בְּגַוָּוהּ, וְלָא תִּדְחַל מִנָּהּ אַנְתְּ, כְּדֵין, (איוב כ״ב:כ״ח) וְתִגְזַר אֹמֶר וְיָקָם לָךְ וְעַל דְּרָכֶיךָ נָגַּה אוֹר.** | | (5) “Come and see: Scions of Faith conduct this one as they wish every day. Who are Scions of Faith? Those who arouse this *good* toward Her, without sparing what they own, knowing that the blessed Holy One will give them more, as is said: *There is one who scatters yet gains more* (Proverbs 11:24). Why? Because this one stimulates blessings toward him. A person should not say, ‘If I give this now, how will I manage tomorrow?’ Because the blessed Holy One will bestow blessings upon him overwhelmingly, as has been established. | **(ה) תָּא חֲזֵי, בְּנֵי מְהֵימְנוּתָא מַדְבְּרֵי לְהַאי לִרְעוּתְהוֹן בְּכָל יוֹמָא. מַאן אִינּוּן בְּנֵי מְהֵימְנוּתָא. אִינּוּן דְּמִתְעָרֵי הַאי טוֹב לָקֳבְלֵיהּ, וְלָא חָס עַל דִּילֵיהּ, וְיַדְעֵי דְּהָא קוּדְשָׁא בְּרִיךְ הוּא יָהִיב לֵיהּ יַתִיר. כְּמָה דְאַתְּ אָמֵר, (משלי י״א:כ״ד) יֵשׁ מְפַזֵּר וְנוֹסָף עוֹד. מַאי טַעֲמָא. בְּגִין דְּהַאי אִתְעַר בִּרְכָאן לָקֳבְלֵיהּ, וְלָא יֵימָּא אִי אֶתֵּן הַאי הַשְׁתָּא, מַאי אַעְבִּיד לְמָחָר. אֶלָּא קוּדְשָׁא בְּרִיךְ הוּא יָהִיב לֵיהּ בִּרְכָאָן עַד בְּלִי דַּי, כְּמָה דְּאוּקְמוּהָ.** | | (6) “Therefore, *And should you say, ‘What will we eat in the seventh year…?”* (Leviticus 25:20). What is written? *I will ordain My blessing for you in the sixth year, and it will yield enough produce for three years* (ibid., 21). ועשת (*Ve-asat*), *And it will yield*—the verse should read ועשתה (*ve-asetah*); why *ve-asat*? Well, to exclude ה (*he*), who has release and rest, and performs no work. It is written: *See that YHVH has given you the Sabbath. Therefore He gives you on the sixth day bread for two days*… (Exodus 16:29). Similarly, *I will ordain My blessing for you in the sixth year*….” | **(ו) וּבְגִין כַּךְ, וְכִי תֹּאמְרוּ מַה נֹּאכַל בַּשָּׁנָה הַשְּׁבִיעִית וְגוֹ', מַה כְּתִיב. וְצִוִּיתִי אֶת בִּרְכָתִי לָכֶם בַּשָּׁנָה הַשִּׁשִּׁית וְעָשָׂת אֶת הַתְּבוּאָה לִשְׁלֹשׁ הַשָּׁנִים. וְעָשָׂת, וְעָשְׂתָה מִבָּעֵי לֵיהּ, מַאי וְעָשָׂת. אֶלָּא לְאַפָּקָא ה', דְּאִית לָהּ שְׁמִטָּה וְנַיְיחָא, וְלָא עָבִיד עֲבִידְתָּא. כְּתִיב (שמות ט״ז:כ״ט) רְאוּ כִּי יְיָ' וְגוֹ' נוֹתֵן לָכֶם בַּיּוֹם הַשִּׁשִּׁי לֶחֶם יוֹמָיִם וְגוֹ', כְּגַוְונָא דָּא וְצִוִּיתִי אֶת בִּרְכָתִי לָכֶם בַּשָּׁנָה הַשִּׁשִּׁית וְגוֹ'.** | #### 2.6.3 Zohar Behar Annotated | Zohar Behar (III:110b) *Translation by Daniel Matt* (with some changes) | זוהר בהר (ג:קי ע"ב) | | --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | | Lev. 25: 20 And should you ask, “What are we to eat in the seventh year, if we may neither sow nor gather in our crops?” Rabbi Yehudah opened, “*Trust in YHVH and do good. Dwell in the land and shepherd faith* (Psalms 37:3). A person should always be aware of his Lord and unite his heart with supernal faith, so as to be complete with his Lord. For when he is complete with Him, no inhabitant of the world can harm him. | **ויקרא כה: כ : וְכִ֣י תֹאמְר֔וּ מַה־נֹּאכַ֖ל בַּשָּׁנָ֣ה הַשְּׁבִיעִ֑ת הֵ֚ן לֹ֣א נִזְרָ֔ע וְלֹ֥א נֶאֱסֹ֖ף אֶת־תְּבוּאָתֵֽנוּ׃** **(א) (ויקרא כ״ה:כ׳) וְכִי תֹאמְרוּ מַה נֹאכַל וְגוֹ', רִבִּי יְהוּדָה פָּתַח, (תהילים ל״ז:ג׳) בְּטַח בַּיְיָ' וַעֲשֵׂה טוֹב שְׁכָן אֶרֶץ וּרְעֵה אֱמוּנָה. לְעוֹלָם בַּר נָשׁ יְהֵא זָהִיר בְּמָארֵיהּ, וִידַבֵּק לִבֵּיהּ בִּמְהֵימְנוּתָא עִלָּאָה, בְּגִין דִּיהֱוִי שְׁלִים בְּמָארֵיהּ. דְּכַד יֶהֱוִי שְׁלִים בֵּיהּ, לָא יַכְלִין לְאַבְאָשָׁא לֵיהּ כָּל בְּנֵי עָלְמָא.** | > [!NOTE] Psalms 37:3-4 > > בְּטַ֣ח בַּ֭יהֹוָ-ה וַעֲשֵׂה־ט֑וֹב שְׁכׇן־אֶ֝֗רֶץ וּרְעֵ֥ה אֱמוּנָֽה׃ וְהִתְעַנַּ֥ג עַל־יְהֹוָ֑-ה וְיִֽתֶּן־לְ֝ךָ֗ מִשְׁאֲלֹ֥ת לִבֶּֽךָ׃ > > Trust in GOD and do good, abide in the land and remain loyal. Seek GOD’s favor, and you will be granted the desires of your heart. > > Rabbi Yehudah will interpret all the parts of the these two verses through the prism of the parasha. This includes the end of the second verse "and you will be granted the desires of your heart", even though in the text of the Zohar itself only the first verse is quoted. (SR) | | | | --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ | | (2) “Come and see: *Trust in YHVH and do good*. What is meant by טוב‎ ועשה (*va-aseh tov*), *and do good*? Well, we have learned as follows: By an action below is aroused an action above. As has been established: אותם‎ ועשיתם (*va-asitem otam*), *and you do them* (Leviticus 26:3)—it is as if *you make them*, for that arousal of yours that you enact below arouses above. Thus is it written *va-aseh tov, and* *make good*—and *good* is none other than Righteous One, as is written: *Say of the righteous one that he is good* (Isaiah 3:10). Once you do this, surely *good* is aroused; then, *dwell in the land and shepherd faith*, and all is one. | **(ב) תָּא חֲזֵי, בְּטַח בַּיְיָ' וַעֲשֵׂה טוֹב, מַאי וַעֲשֵׂה טוֹב. אֶלָּא הָכִי תַּנִינָן, בְּעוֹבְדָא דִּלְתַתָּא, יִתְעַר עוֹבְדָא דִּלְעֵילָא. וְהָא אוּקְמוּהָ, וַעֲשִׂיתֶם אוֹתָם, כִּבְיָכוֹל, אַתּוּן תַּעַבְדוּן לְהוֹן, בְּגִין דִּבְהַהוּא אַתְעֲרוּתָא דִּלְכוֹן דְּאַתּוּן עַבְדִּין לְתַתָּא, אִתְעַר לְעֵילָּא וְעַל דָּא וַעֲשֵׂה טוֹב כְּתִיב, וְאֵין טוֹב, אֶלָא צַדִיק, דִּכְתִיב (ישעיהו ג׳:י׳) אִמְרוּ צַדִּיק כִּי טוֹב. כֵּיוָן דְּאַתּוּן עַבְדִּין הַאי, ודַאי הַאי טוֹב יִתְעַר, כְּדֵין שְׁכָן אֶרֶץ וּרְעֵה אֱמוּנָה, וְכֹלָּא חַד.** | > **Daniel Matt comments:** > > **And do good טוב‎ ועשה (*va-aseh tov*),…** By doing good, a person is able to *do good*—that is, to actualize *Yesod* (who is known both as Righteous One and as *good*) and to stimulate His union with *Shekhinah*. > > The full verse in Leviticus reads: *If by My statutes you walk, and My commands you keep* אֹתָם‎ ועשיתם (*va-asitem otam*), *and you do them*. Here Rabbi Yehudah borrows a midrashic interpretation, which is based on the “defective” spelling of אֹתָם (*otam*), *them*, without the letter ו (*vav*). See *Vayiqra Rabbah* 35:7: “אֹתָם‎ ועשיתם (*Va-asitem otam*), *and you do them*. Rabbi Ḥama son of Rabbi Ḥanina said, ‘\[God\] said to them, “If you keep the Torah, I consider it as though you made \[the commandments\], as is written: אַתֶּם‎ ועשיתם (*va-asitem attem*), *and you yourselves make* \[*them*\].”’” > > Rabbi Yehudah indicates that by doing good a person is able to *make them*—that is, to stimulate the sefirotic roots of the *mitsvot* and actualize divine union. > > The concluding clause “and all is one” means that both *the land* and *faith* allude to *Shekhinah*… > [!NOTE] Commentary (SR) > > Rabbi Yehudah's teaching here is one of the most ancient and profound ideas of Judaism and many other religions. Perhaps it is part of the religious instinct itself. It is the idea that when we invest in the good, in things we judge to be valuable, we create a dynamic for goodness. It is as if we activate something which is bigger than our individual action, and in some sense persists and echoes around existence and pushes for the good even if our individual efforts fail. A kind of divine or cosmic synchronicity. Do you think it exists? > > He goes on to anchor that teaching in the sefirotic system. The force that gets activated when we invest in the good by directing our attention, time and efforts to good projects is Yesod, the divine / cosmic principle of creativity and overflow. Our actions activate Yesod who then draws close to the Shekhinah/world and awakens life and joy in Hir. | (3) “*Dwell in the land*—Supernal Land, for no one in the world can dwell with Her before arousing this *good* toward Her. Once he arouses Him, it is as if he ‘makes’ Him. Then, *dwell in the land*—dwell within Her, eat Her fruit, delight in Her. “*And shepherd faith—the land*, and all is one, as is said: *and Your faithfulness in the nights* (Psalms 92:3). *And shepherd faith*—conduct Her however you wish. | **(ג) שְׁכָן אֶרֶץ, אֶרֶץ עִלָּאָה. דְּהָא לֵית לָךְ בְּעָלְמָא, דְּיָכוֹל לְמִשְׁרֵי בַּהֲדָהּ, עַד דְּיִתְעַר הַאי טוֹב לְגַבָּהּ, כֵּיוָן דְּיִתְעַר לֵיהּ, כִּבְיָכוֹל הוּא עֲבִיד לֵיהּ, וּכְדֵין שְׁכָן אֶרֶץ, שְׁרֵי בְּגַוָּוה, אֵיכוּל אֵיבָה, אִשְׁתַּעְשַׁע בַּהַדָּה. וּרְעֵה אֱמוּנָה, דָּא אֶרֶץ וְכֹלָא חַד כְּמָה דְּאַתְּ אָמֵר (תהילים צ״ב:ג׳) וְאֱמוּנָתְךָ בַּלֵּילוֹת. וּרְעֵה אֱמוּנָה - הֲוִי דָּבַּר לָהּ בְּכָל רְעוּתָךְ.** | | --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | > Daniel Matt comments: > > ***Dwell in the land—Supernal Land…*** *Shekhinah*, in whom no one can dwell until he stimulates *Yesod* (known as *good*) to unite with Her. Thereby, he actualizes—or, as it were, “makes”—*Yesod*, and is then able to participate in the divine union. > > ***And shepherd faith—the land*** **…** As indicated above, both *faith* and *land* allude to *Shekhinah*. The verse in Psalms links *faithfulness* (or *faith*) with *nights*, symbolizing *Shekhinah*. > > One who participates in the divine union assumes the role of *Yesod* and is able to conduct *Shekhinah*. > [!NOTE] Commentary (SR) > > Here Rabbi Yehudah teaches that when we work for the good, and thus activate The Good (Yesod) above, we enter into a different kind of relationship with the world / embodied divinity / Shekhinah. We dwell within Her, and she is called Faith, and we are shepherds of Faith. > > In the end of this passage, and in the next one, it feels to me as if the Zohar is thinking of the Shekhinah more as creation and embodiment in which we live, and less as a personalized Goddess. > > **Then, *dwell in the land*—dwell within Her, eat Her fruit, delight in Her.** > This echoes the verses above: Lev. 25: (18) You shall observe My laws and faithfully keep My rules, that you may live upon the land in security; (19) **the land shall yield its fruit and you shall eat your fill, and you shall live upon it in security.** > > ***And shepherd faith*—conduct Her however you wish.** > The Zohar reads "and shepherd faith" as "shepherd the Shekhinah", that is, conduct Her however you wish. This follows the verse from Psalms 37:3-4: בְּטַ֣ח בַּ֭יהֹוָ-ה וַעֲשֵׂה־ט֑וֹב שְׁכׇן־אֶ֝֗רֶץ וּרְעֵ֥ה אֱמוּנָֽה׃ וְהִתְעַנַּ֥ג עַל־יְהֹוָ֑-ה **וְיִֽתֶּן־לְ֝ךָ֗ מִשְׁאֲלֹ֥ת לִבֶּֽךָ**׃ Trust in GOD and do good, abide in the land and remain loyal. Seek GOD’s favor, **and you will be granted the desires of your heart.** | (4) “If you do not arouse this *good* toward Her, keep your distance from Her and do not approach Her: do not venture into a blazing fiery furnace. And if you do approach Her—in fear, like one who fears death; for then fire rages, consuming the world with its flames. But once this *good* is aroused toward Her, then dwell within Her, do not fear Her. Then, *You will decree and it will be fulfilled, and light will gleam on your ways* (Job 22:28).23 | **(ד) וְאִי לָא תִּתְּעַר לָקֳבְלָהּ, הַאי טוֹב אִתְרְחַק מִנָּהּ, וְלָא תִּקְרַב בַּהֲדָהּ, לָא תִּקְרַב לְגוֹ אַתּוּן נוּרָא יָקִידְתָּא, וְאִי תִּקְרַב בַּהֲדָהּ, בִּדְחִילוּ, כְּמָאן דְּדָחִיל מִן מוֹתָא. דְּהָא כְּדֵין נוּרָא דָּלִיק, וְאוֹקִיד עָלְמָא בְשַׁלְהוֹבוֹי. וְכֵיוָן דְּאִתְעַר לָקֳבְלָהּ הַאי טוֹב, כְּדֵין, שָׁארֵי בְּגַוָּוהּ, וְלָא תִּדְחַל מִנָּהּ אַנְתְּ, כְּדֵין, (איוב כ״ב:כ״ח) וְתִגְזַר אֹמֶר וְיָקָם לָךְ וְעַל דְּרָכֶיךָ נָגַּה אוֹר.** | | ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ | > **Daniel Matt:** > > **If you do not arouse this *good*…** Then *Yesod* cannot unite with *Shekhinah* and assuage Her harsh quality of Judgment. > > Rabbinic sources often apply the verse in Job to virtuous or righteous individuals, including such biblical heroes as Jacob and Moses. See, e.g., BT *Ta’anit* 23a, where it is reported that the Sanhedrin sent a message to Ḥoni the Circle-Drawer \[the miracle-worker\] : “*You will decree and it will be fulfilled, and light will gleam on your ways* (Job 22:28). *You will decree*—you have decreed below, and the blessed Holy One fulfills your word above.” > > Cf. BT *Mo’ed Qatan* 16b, where Rabbi Abbahu quotes God as saying: “I rule over humanity. Who rules over Me? The righteous one. For I issue a decree and he abolishes it.” See Vol. 7, pp. 90–91, n. 275\. The phrase “into a blazing fiery furnace” derives from Daniel 3:6. > [!NOTE] Commentary (SR) > > Here Rabbi Yehudah characterizes the different states of being - in the good and activating the good or disconnected - in terms of the response of the world to our presence. When we have activated Yesod / the good, the world comes to us, abundant in opportunities and resources, and we plunge into our investment in the good / yesod. But we we are cut off, the Good is not activated, the world is a fiery furnace, and obstacles abound. In both cases, when we invest in the good and when we don't, its like the shechinah/world pushes back in the same way with equal force. > | | | | --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | | (5) “Come and see: Scions of Faith conduct this one as they wish every day. Who are Scions of Faith? Those who arouse this *good* toward Her, without sparing what they own, knowing that the blessed Holy One will give them more, as is said: *There is one who scatters yet gains more* (Proverbs 11:24). Why? Because this one stimulates blessings toward him. A person should not say, ‘If I give this now, how will I manage tomorrow?’ Because the blessed Holy One will bestow blessings upon him overwhelmingly, as has been established. | **(ה) תָּא חֲזֵי, בְּנֵי מְהֵימְנוּתָא מַדְבְּרֵי לְהַאי לִרְעוּתְהוֹן בְּכָל יוֹמָא. מַאן אִינּוּן בְּנֵי מְהֵימְנוּתָא. אִינּוּן דְּמִתְעָרֵי הַאי טוֹב לָקֳבְלֵיהּ, וְלָא חָס עַל דִּילֵיהּ, וְיַדְעֵי דְּהָא קוּדְשָׁא בְּרִיךְ הוּא יָהִיב לֵיהּ יַתִיר. כְּמָה דְאַתְּ אָמֵר, (משלי י״א:כ״ד) יֵשׁ מְפַזֵּר וְנוֹסָף עוֹד. מַאי טַעֲמָא. בְּגִין דְּהַאי אִתְעַר בִּרְכָאן לָקֳבְלֵיהּ, וְלָא יֵימָּא אִי אֶתֵּן הַאי הַשְׁתָּא, מַאי אַעְבִּיד לְמָחָר. אֶלָּא קוּדְשָׁא בְּרִיךְ הוּא יָהִיב לֵיהּ בִּרְכָאָן עַד בְּלִי דַּי, כְּמָה דְּאוּקְמוּהָ.** | > Daniel Matt: > > **Scions of Faith conduct this one…** *Shekhinah* fulfills whatever the truly faithful wish. They stimulate *Yesod* (known as *good*) by giving generously to the needy, not sparing their money. > > The subject of the clause “this one stimulates blessings toward him” is likely *Yesod*, or else *Shekhinah*. In the concluding sentence, the word “overwhelmingly” renders די‎ בלי‎ עד (*ad beli dai*), which derives from Malachi 3:10: *I will pour out blessings for you ad beli dai, until there is not enough* \[*room to contain them*\]. Possibly, *ad beli dai* means simply *until there is not enough*—that is, “until My abundance has been exhausted,” or—since this can never be—“forever.” See BT *Shabbat* 32b (and parallels): “What is meant by די‎ בלי‎ עד (*ad beli dai*), *until there is not enough?* … Rav said, ‘*Until* your lips wear out from saying די (*dai*), *Enough*\!’” > > The full verse in Proverbs reads: *There is one who scatters yet gains more, and another saves honestly but ends up needy.* > [!NOTE] Commentary (SR) > > In this passage, Rabbi Yehudah returns to another basic religious intuition: If we give freely of ourselves to others, God will give us back even more than we gave. There's something somewhat trite about this teaching, and perhaps it arouses a cynical response. But on many levels its also quite profound. Certainly, there is the pleasure and sense of goodness in giving that we experience socially and psychologically. But additionally, this idea is an extension of the previous idea, that when we do the good, it activates the Good. > > The next section brings the discussion back to the verse with which we started. But I think it is this paragraph which brings home the center of Rabbi Yehudah's teaching and his interpretation of the verse. The substantial answer to the question to the question "What will we eat?" if we observe the sabbatical year, is that we will rely on the teachings we've seen so far: 1) When we do the good, it activates the good and 2) When we give of ourselves, we receive more than we gave in return. Both of these are reflected in the sefirotic structure: We arouse Yesod, and thus we become inundated in the divine flow of abundance. > > Interestingly, Rabbi Yehudah doesn't explicitly explain the verse in this way. In the next paragraph below, he quotes the verse and interprets it, but doesn't make explicit how the drash on Psalms comes back to make sense of the verse. As stated above, I think this paragraph (5) contains his substantial teaching on the verse. | | | | ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ | | (6) “Therefore, *And should you say, ‘What will we eat in the seventh year…?”* (Leviticus 25:20). What is written? *I will ordain My blessing for you in the sixth year, and it will yield enough produce for three years* (ibid., 21). ועשת (*Ve-asat*), *And it will yield*—the verse should read ועשתה (*ve-asetah*); why *ve-asat*? Well, to exclude ה (*he*), who has release and rest, and performs no work. It is written: *See that YHVH has given you the Sabbath. Therefore He gives you on the sixth day bread for two days*… (Exodus 16:29). Similarly, *I will ordain My blessing for you in the sixth year*….” | **(ו) וּבְגִין כַּךְ, וְכִי תֹּאמְרוּ מַה נֹּאכַל בַּשָּׁנָה הַשְּׁבִיעִית וְגוֹ', מַה כְּתִיב. וְצִוִּיתִי אֶת בִּרְכָתִי לָכֶם בַּשָּׁנָה הַשִּׁשִּׁית וְעָשָׂת אֶת הַתְּבוּאָה לִשְׁלֹשׁ הַשָּׁנִים. וְעָשָׂת, וְעָשְׂתָה מִבָּעֵי לֵיהּ, מַאי וְעָשָׂת. אֶלָּא לְאַפָּקָא ה', דְּאִית לָהּ שְׁמִטָּה וְנַיְיחָא, וְלָא עָבִיד עֲבִידְתָּא. כְּתִיב (שמות ט״ז:כ״ט) רְאוּ כִּי יְיָ' וְגוֹ' נוֹתֵן לָכֶם בַּיּוֹם הַשִּׁשִּׁי לֶחֶם יוֹמָיִם וְגוֹ', כְּגַוְונָא דָּא וְצִוִּיתִי אֶת בִּרְכָתִי לָכֶם בַּשָּׁנָה הַשִּׁשִּׁית וְגוֹ'.** | > Daniel Matt: > > ***and it will yield*** **…** Rabbi Yehudah wonders about the apocopated spelling ועשת (*ve-asat*), *and it will yield*, without the concluding ה (*he*): ועשתה (*ve-asetah*). He implies that the letter *he*—a feminine marker—alludes to *Shekhinah*. Being the seventh of the lower *sefirot*, She is symbolized by the Sabbatical year, and the absence of the *he* signifies that She is inactive in Her Sabbatical. Instead, *Yesod* (the sixth of the lower *sefirot*, symbolized by *the sixth year*) yields enough emanation and blessing to nourish both *Shekhinah* and the world. > > As explained above, the simple sense of Leviticus 25:21 is that the crop of the sixth year will be so abundant that it will provide food for that year, the following year (the Sabbatical year), and the eighth year, until the eighth year’s crop can be harvested. > > The verse in Exodus refers to the manna, a double portion of which appeared on *the sixth day*, enough for both that day and Sabbath. Here, this implies that *Yesod* (*the sixth day*) provides enough to sustain *Shekhinah* (symbolized by *the Sabbath*) and the world. The full verse reads: *See that YHVH has given you the Sabbath. Therefore He gives you on the sixth day bread for two days. Stay, each where he is; let no one go out from his place on the seventh day*. ### 2.7 Meeting 7: Special Class: Ein Sof and the Sefirot In today's class, we will focus on the symbolism of the sefirot (based on the request from last week :) #### 2.7.1 Overview of Sefirot and Symbolism ![[Chart of Sefirot with YHVH - Matt.png]] ![[Overview of Ein Sof and the Sefirot]] Back to Table of Contents: [[Zohar Vayikra|Table of Contents]] ![[ADAM Y-H-V-H Graphic.png]] #### 2.7.2 Interpreting the Sefirot: Layers of Kabbalistic Symbolism ###### All Layers ![[Pasted image 20260510155840.png]] ![[Pasted image 20260510155931.png]] ###### Four Layers ![[Pasted image 20260510160009.png|500]] ![[Pasted image 20260510160507.png|500]] ![[Pasted image 20260510160550.png|500]] ![[Pasted image 20260510160618.png|500]] #### 2.7.3 Interpretive Exercise ###### Exercise in Interpretation through the Sefirot: Introduction to Exercise Below are two sections from Parashat Vayera. The first section is Abraham's discussion/argument with God about destroying Sodom, and the second is the binding of Isaac. The purpose of this exercise is to interpret one or both of these stories (start with the one that seems easier) in light of the Sefirot. At this stage, limit yourself to three sefirot: Hesed, Din and Rachamim. First, identify some central names or words in these texts that correspond to one or more of these sefirot. For instance, Abraham is associated with Hesed and Isaac with Din. Then re-read the text, replacing those names or words with the Sefirot that they're associated with. For instance, instead of "Abraham", read "Hesed", and instead of Isaac read "Din". Now that the text is 'about' these Sefirot, see what it says. In order to do this, you'll need to have a sense of what these Sefirot mean. If it's helpful, recall the way we separated the sefirot out into layers. Below are some notes about the Sefirot that might help you do this. ###### Hesed Hesed or loving-kindness is a free-flowing shapeless love, overflowing from God towards the world. Hesed doesn't distinguish between appropriate and inappropriate objects for its love, it just loves. That's why it needs to be balanced by Din, or strict-justice. When 'separating the layers' of the Sefirot, we considered Hesed in a psychological context. Here we thought about Hesed as that part of our relationship with a spouse or boy/girlfriend which is spontaneous love and affection. Of course, a relationship can't be only based on such Hesed, because human relationships also require structure and ongoing commitment, qualities associated not with Hesed but with Din. For instance, it's not enough to be spontaneously filled with positive feeling for your partner; you also have to remember to fulfill the prescription for the medicine at the pharmacy on your way home, like you promised. A different psychological context in which we considered Hesed was the courtroom. We want the judge to feel loving-kindness towards the human beings standing in judgment. But a judge who was all about Hesed would never want to punish anybody, he or she would always want to send everybody home, happy and in good cheer. But justice demands that sometimes people who commit crimes be punished. In the texts below, Abraham is identified with Hesed (notice how he tries to get the residents of Sodom off the hook). ###### Din Din or strict-justice is the kind of structure and limitation needed to give free-flowing Hesed some concrete shape. It is Din that structures the spontaneous love you feel for a partner into the shape of a functioning relationship. Din calls on you to 'make space' for that partner, even when you're feeling lonely and want their presence. And it's Din that demands that you provide love and support when they need it, even at a time when your Hesed 'is off', and what you really want is space and time alone. In a courtroom context, Din demands strict adherence to the law. Hesed is likely to argue myriad defenses for the accused: 'the circumstances were difficult', 'the defendants were confused', 'if you punish the defendants you also punish their innocent children…let them off the hook'!' Din steers back to the basic structure of the rules: the law was broken, the prescribed punishment must be meted out. In the texts below, the name "Elokim" (translated below as "God") is identified with Din (notice how Elokim destroys Sodom at the end of the first story, and commands Abraham to sacrifice Isaac at the beginning of the second). Also identified with Din is the character Isaac (consider how he felt lying on the alter and looking up at the sacrificial knife and remember that "fear" is one of the names for Din). Other symbols of Din might be the fire and brimstone (not explicitly mentioned) used to destroy Sodom and Gomorrah, or the fire and the knife mentioned in the story of the binding of Isaac. ###### Rachamim No relationship, and no just court decision, can exist without a balance of Hesed and Din. This balance is called Rachamim, or compassion. Compassion here is understood as the loving-kindness of Hesed balanced and mediated by the strict-justice of Din. Rachamim is what characterizes the relationship when it works, and the courtroom when it serves justice. In the texts below a healthy balance between Abraham and Elokim (Hesed and Din) or between Abraham and Isaac (again Hesed and Din) would be states of Rachmamim. ###### Back to the Texts When interpreted through the sefirot, the below stories are as much about the Sefirot Hesed, Din and Rachamim as they are about the characters explicitly mentioned in them. In that sense, these stories may be understood as telling the story of the successes and failures in the great saga of trying to get Hesed and Din in balance. Of course, deciding when the story reflects a healthy balance (success) and when it reflects a dangerous imbalance (failure) is a matter of interpretation…yours. Last notes: keep in mind that there may be more than one instance of Hesed or Din in one story, and that sometimes flexibility with the symbols is useful (hint: some Kabbalists say that since the LORD or Y-H-V-H in the first story is sort of holding court as He judges Sodom, He is close to Din, and thus Abraham/Hesed may be understood to be facing an aspect of Y-H-V-H which is close to Elokim/Din). פרשת וירא (בראשית יח-יט) (יז) וַיקֹוָק אָמָר הַמְכַסֶּה אֲנִי מֵאַבְרָהָם אֲשֶׁר אֲנִי עֹשֶׂה: (יח) וְאַבְרָהָם הָיוֹ יִהְיֶה לְגוֹי גָּדוֹל וְעָצוּם וְנִבְרְכוּ בוֹ כֹּל גּוֹיֵי הָאָרֶץ: (יט) כִּי יְדַעְתִּיו לְמַעַן אֲשֶׁר יְצַוֶּה אֶת בָּנָיו וְאֶת בֵּיתוֹ אַחֲרָיו וְשָׁמְרוּ דֶּרֶךְ יְקֹוָק לַעֲשׂוֹת צְדָקָה וּמִשְׁפָּט לְמַעַן הָבִיא יְקֹוָק עַל אַבְרָהָם אֵת אֲשֶׁר דִּבֶּר עָלָיו: (כ) וַיֹּאמֶר יְקֹוָק זַעֲקַת סְדֹם וַעֲמֹרָה כִּי רָבָּה וְחַטָּאתָם כִּי כָבְדָה מְאֹד: (כא) אֵרֲדָה נָּא וְאֶרְאֶה הַכְּצַעֲקָתָהּ הַבָּאָה אֵלַי עָשׂוּ כָּלָה וְאִם לֹא אֵדָעָה: (כב) וַיִּפְנוּ מִשָּׁם הָאֲנָשִׁים וַיֵּלְכוּ סְדֹמָה וְאַבְרָהָם עוֹדֶנּוּ עֹמֵד לִפְנֵי יְקֹוָק: (כג) וַיִּגַּשׁ אַבְרָהָם וַיֹּאמַר הַאַף תִּסְפֶּה צַדִּיק עִם רָשָׁע: (כד) אוּלַי יֵשׁ חֲמִשִּׁים צַדִּיקִם בְּתוֹךְ הָעִיר הַאַף תִּסְפֶּה וְלֹא תִשָּׂא לַמָּקוֹם לְמַעַן חֲמִשִּׁים הַצַּדִּיקִם אֲשֶׁר בְּקִרְבָּהּ: (כה) חָלִלָה לְּךָ מֵעֲשֹׂת כַּדָּבָר הַזֶּה לְהָמִית צַדִּיק עִם רָשָׁע וְהָיָה כַצַּדִּיק כָּרָשָׁע חָלִלָה לָּךְ הֲשֹׁפֵט כָּל הָאָרֶץ לֹא יַעֲשֶׂה מִשְׁפָּט: (כו) וַיֹּאמֶר יְקֹוָק אִם אֶמְצָא בִסְדֹם חֲמִשִּׁים צַדִּיקִם בְּתוֹךְ הָעִיר וְנָשָׂאתִי לְכָל הַמָּקוֹם בַּעֲבוּרָם: (כז) וַיַּעַן אַבְרָהָם וַיֹּאמַר הִנֵּה נָא הוֹאַלְתִּי לְדַבֵּר אֶל אֲדֹנָי וְאָנֹכִי עָפָר וָאֵפֶר: (כח) אוּלַי יַחְסְרוּן חֲמִשִּׁים הַצַּדִּיקִם חֲמִשָּׁה הֲתַשְׁחִית בַּחֲמִשָּׁה אֶת כָּל הָעִיר וַיֹּאמֶר לֹא אַשְׁחִית אִם אֶמְצָא שָׁם אַרְבָּעִים וַחֲמִשָּׁה: (כט) וַיֹּסֶף עוֹד לְדַבֵּר אֵלָיו וַיֹּאמַר אוּלַי יִמָּצְאוּן שָׁם אַרְבָּעִים וַיֹּאמֶר לֹא אֶעֱשֶׂה בַּעֲבוּר הָאַרְבָּעִים: (ל) וַיֹּאמֶר אַל נָא יִחַר לַאדֹנָי וַאֲדַבֵּרָה אוּלַי יִמָּצְאוּן שָׁם שְׁלֹשִׁים וַיֹּאמֶר לֹא אֶעֱשֶׂה אִם אֶמְצָא שָׁם שְׁלֹשִׁים: (לא) וַיֹּאמֶר הִנֵּה נָא הוֹאַלְתִּי לְדַבֵּר אֶל אֲדֹנָי אוּלַי יִמָּצְאוּן שָׁם עֶשְׂרִים וַיֹּאמֶר לֹא אַשְׁחִית בַּעֲבוּר הָעֶשְׂרִים: (לב) וַיֹּאמֶר אַל נָא יִחַר לַאדֹנָי וַאֲדַבְּרָה אַךְ הַפַּעַם אוּלַי יִמָּצְאוּן שָׁם עֲשָׂרָה וַיֹּאמֶר לֹא אַשְׁחִית בַּעֲבוּר הָעֲשָׂרָה: (לג) וַיֵּלֶךְ יְקֹוָק כַּאֲשֶׁר כִּלָּה לְדַבֵּר אֶל אַבְרָהָם וְאַבְרָהָם שָׁב לִמְקֹמוֹ: [...] יט (כט) וַיְהִי בְּשַׁחֵת אֱלֹהִים אֶת עָרֵי הַכִּכָּר וַיִּזְכֹּר אֱלֹהִים אֶת אַבְרָהָם וַיְשַׁלַּח אֶת לוֹט מִתּוֹךְ הַהֲפֵכָה בַּהֲפֹךְ אֶת הֶעָרִים אֲשֶׁר יָשַׁב בָּהֵן לוֹט: [JPS] Breshit 18-19: 17 And the LORD [here, and in the rest of the section, "LORD" in the Hebrew is Y-H-V-H] said, Shall I hide from Abraham that thing which I do; 18 Seeing that Abraham shall surely become a great and mighty nation, and all the nations of the earth shall be blessed in him? 19 For I know him, that he will command his children and his household after him, and they shall keep the way of the LORD, to do justice and judgment; that the LORD may bring upon Abraham that which he hath spoken of him. 20 And the LORD said, Because the cry of Sodom and Gomorrah is great, and because their sin is very grievous; 21 I will go down now, and see whether they have done altogether according to the cry of it, which is come unto me; and if not, I will know. 22 And the men turned their faces from thence, and went toward Sodom: but Abraham stood yet before the LORD. 23 ¶ And Abraham drew near, and said, Wilt thou also destroy the righteous with the wicked? 24 Peradventure there be fifty righteous within the city: wilt thou also destroy and not spare the place for the fifty righteous that are therein? 25 That be far from thee to do after this manner, to slay the righteous with the wicked: and that the righteous should be as the wicked, that be far from thee: Shall not the Judge of all the earth do right? 26 And the LORD said, If I find in Sodom fifty righteous within the city, then I will spare all the place for their sakes. 27 And Abraham answered and said, Behold now, I have taken upon me to speak unto the Lord, which am but dust and ashes: 28 Peradventure there shall lack five of the fifty righteous: wilt thou destroy all the city for lack of five? And he said, If I find there forty and five, I will not destroy it. 29 And he spake unto him yet again, and said, Peradventure there shall be forty found there. And he said, I will not do it for forty’s sake. 30 And he said unto him, Oh let not the Lord be angry, and I will speak: Peradventure there shall thirty be found there. And he said, I will not do it, if I find thirty there. 31 And he said, Behold now, I have taken upon me to speak unto the Lord: Peradventure there shall be twenty found there. And he said, I will not destroy it for twenty’s sake. 32 And he said, Oh let not the Lord be angry, and I will speak yet but this once: Peradventure ten shall be found there. And he said, I will not destroy it for ten’s sake. 33 And the LORD went his way, as soon as he had left communing with Abraham: and Abraham returned unto his place. […] 19 9 And it came to pass, when God [Elokim] destroyed the cities of the Plain, that God [Elokim] remembered Abraham, and sent Lot out of the midst of the overthrow, when He overthrew the cities in which Lot dwelt. פרשת וירא (בראשית כב) (א) וַיְהִי אַחַר הַדְּבָרִים הָאֵלֶּה וְהָאֱלֹהִים נִסָּה אֶת אַבְרָהָם וַיֹּאמֶר אֵלָיו אַבְרָהָם וַיֹּאמֶר הִנֵּנִי: (ב) וַיֹּאמֶר קַח נָא אֶת בִּנְךָ אֶת יְחִידְךָ אֲשֶׁר אָהַבְתָּ אֶת יִצְחָק וְלֶךְ לְךָ אֶל אֶרֶץ הַמֹּרִיָּה וְהַעֲלֵהוּ שָׁם לְעֹלָה עַל אַחַד הֶהָרִים אֲשֶׁר אֹמַר אֵלֶיךָ: (ג) וַיַּשְׁכֵּם אַבְרָהָם בַּבֹּקֶר וַיַּחֲבֹשׁ אֶת חֲמֹרוֹ וַיִּקַּח אֶת שְׁנֵי נְעָרָיו אִתּוֹ וְאֵת יִצְחָק בְּנוֹ וַיְבַקַּע עֲצֵי עֹלָה וַיָּקָם וַיֵּלֶךְ אֶל הַמָּקוֹם אֲשֶׁר אָמַר לוֹ הָאֱלֹהִים: (ד) בַּיּוֹם הַשְּׁלִישִׁי וַיִּשָּׂא אַבְרָהָם אֶת עֵינָיו וַיַּרְא אֶת הַמָּקוֹם מֵרָחֹק: (ה) וַיֹּאמֶר אַבְרָהָם אֶל נְעָרָיו שְׁבוּ לָכֶם פֹּה עִם הַחֲמוֹר וַאֲנִי וְהַנַּעַר נֵלְכָה עַד כֹּה וְנִשְׁתַּחֲוֶה וְנָשׁוּבָה אֲלֵיכֶם: (ו) וַיִּקַּח אַבְרָהָם אֶת עֲצֵי הָעֹלָה וַיָּשֶׂם עַל יִצְחָק בְּנוֹ וַיִּקַּח בְּיָדוֹ אֶת הָאֵשׁ וְאֶת הַמַּאֲכֶלֶת וַיֵּלְכוּ שְׁנֵיהֶם יַחְדָּו: (ז) וַיֹּאמֶר יִצְחָק אֶל אַבְרָהָם אָבִיו וַיֹּאמֶר אָבִי וַיֹּאמֶר הִנֶּנִּי בְנִי וַיֹּאמֶר הִנֵּה הָאֵשׁ וְהָעֵצִים וְאַיֵּה הַשֶּׂה לְעֹלָה: (ח) וַיֹּאמֶר אַבְרָהָם אֱלֹהִים יִרְאֶה לּוֹ הַשֶּׂה לְעֹלָה בְּנִי וַיֵּלְכוּ שְׁנֵיהֶם יַחְדָּו: (ט) וַיָּבֹאוּ אֶל הַמָּקוֹם אֲשֶׁר אָמַר לוֹ הָאֱלֹהִים וַיִּבֶן שָׁם אַבְרָהָם אֶת הַמִּזְבֵּחַ וַיַּעֲרֹךְ אֶת הָעֵצִים וַיַּעֲקֹד אֶת יִצְחָק בְּנוֹ וַיָּשֶׂם אֹתוֹ עַל הַמִּזְבֵּחַ מִמַּעַל לָעֵצִים: (י) וַיִּשְׁלַח אַבְרָהָם אֶת יָדוֹ וַיִּקַּח אֶת הַמַּאֲכֶלֶת לִשְׁחֹט אֶת בְּנוֹ: (יא) וַיִּקְרָא אֵלָיו מַלְאַךְ יְקֹוָק מִן הַשָּׁמַיִם וַיֹּאמֶר אַבְרָהָם אַבְרָהָם וַיֹּאמֶר הִנֵּנִי: (יב) וַיֹּאמֶר אַל תִּשְׁלַח יָדְךָ אֶל הַנַּעַר וְאַל תַּעַשׂ לוֹ מְאוּמָה כִּי עַתָּה יָדַעְתִּי כִּי יְרֵא אֱלֹהִים אַתָּה וְלֹא חָשַׂכְתָּ אֶת בִּנְךָ אֶת יְחִידְךָ מִמֶּנִּי: (יג) וַיִּשָּׂא אַבְרָהָם אֶת עֵינָיו וַיַּרְא וְהִנֵּה אַיִל אַחַר נֶאֱחַז בַּסְּבַךְ בְּקַרְנָיו וַיֵּלֶךְ אַבְרָהָם וַיִּקַּח אֶת הָאַיִל וַיַּעֲלֵהוּ לְעֹלָה תַּחַת בְּנוֹ: (יד) וַיִּקְרָא אַבְרָהָם שֵׁם הַמָּקוֹם הַהוּא יְקֹוָק יִרְאֶה אֲשֶׁר יֵאָמֵר הַיּוֹם בְּהַר יְקֹוָק יֵרָאֶה: (טו) וַיִּקְרָא מַלְאַךְ יְקֹוָק אֶל אַבְרָהָם שֵׁנִית מִן הַשָּׁמָיִם: (טז) וַיֹּאמֶר בִּי נִשְׁבַּעְתִּי נְאֻם יְקֹוָק כִּי יַעַן אֲשֶׁר עָשִׂיתָ אֶת הַדָּבָר הַזֶּה וְלֹא חָשַׂכְתָּ אֶת בִּנְךָ אֶת יְחִידֶךָ: (יז) כִּי בָרֵךְ אֲבָרֶכְךָ וְהַרְבָּה אַרְבֶּה אֶת זַרְעֲךָ כְּכוֹכְבֵי הַשָּׁמַיִם וְכַחוֹל אֲשֶׁר עַל שְׂפַת הַיָּם וְיִרַשׁ זַרְעֲךָ אֵת שַׁעַר אֹיְבָיו: (יח) וְהִתְבָּרֲכוּ בְזַרְעֲךָ כֹּל גּוֹיֵי הָאָרֶץ עֵקֶב אֲשֶׁר שָׁמַעְתָּ בְּקֹלִי: (יט) וַיָּשָׁב אַבְרָהָם אֶל נְעָרָיו וַיָּקֻמוּ וַיֵּלְכוּ יַחְדָּו אֶל בְּאֵר שָׁבַע וַיֵּשֶׁב אַבְרָהָם בִּבְאֵר שָׁבַע: פ [JPS] Breshit 22 1 ¶ And it came to pass after these things, that God [Elokim] did prove Abraham, and said unto him: ‘Abraham’; and he said: ‘Here am I.’ 2 And He said: ‘Take now thy son, thine only son, whom thou lovest, even Isaac, and get thee into the land of Moriah; and offer him there for a burnt-offering upon one of the mountains which I will tell thee of.’ 3 ¶ And Abraham rose early in the morning, and saddled his ass, and took two of his young men with him, and Isaac his son; and he cleaved the wood for the burnt-offering, and rose up, and went unto the place of which God had told him. 4 On the third day Abraham lifted up his eyes, and saw the place afar off. 5 And Abraham said unto his young men: ‘Abide ye here with the ass, and I and the lad will go yonder; and we will worship, and come back to you.’ 6 And Abraham took the wood of the burnt-offering, and laid it upon Isaac his son; and he took in his hand the fire and the knife; and they went both of them together. 7 And Isaac spoke unto Abraham his father, and said: ‘My father.’ And he said: ‘Here am I, my son.’ And he said: ‘Behold the fire and the wood; but where is the lamb for a burnt-offering?’ 8 And Abraham said: ‘God will provide {Heb. jireh; that is, see for Himself.} Himself the lamb for a burnt-offering, my son.’ So they went both of them together. 9 And they came to the place which God had told him of; and Abraham built the altar there, and laid the wood in order, and bound Isaac his son, and laid him on the altar, upon the wood. 10 And Abraham stretched forth his hand, and took the knife to slay his son. 11 ¶ And the angel of the LORD [Y-H-V-H] called unto him out of heaven, and said: ‘Abraham, Abraham.’ And he said: ‘Here am I.’ 12 And he said: ‘Lay not thy hand upon the lad, neither do thou any thing unto him; for now I know that thou art a God-fearing man, seeing thou hast not withheld thy son, thine only son, from Me.’ 13 And Abraham lifted up his eyes, and looked, and behold behind him a ram caught in the thicket by his horns. And Abraham went and took the ram, and offered him up for a burnt-offering in the stead of his son. 14 And Abraham called the name of that place Adonai-jireh; {That is, The LORD seeth.} as it is said to this day: ‘In the mount where the LORD is seen.’ 15 ¶ And the angel of the LORD called unto Abraham a second time out of heaven, 16 and said: ‘By Myself have I sworn, saith the LORD, because thou hast done this thing, and hast not withheld thy son, thine only son, 17 that in blessing I will bless thee, and in multiplying I will multiply thy seed as the stars of the heaven, and as the sand which is upon the seashore; and thy seed shall possess the gate of his enemies; 18 and in thy seed shall all the nations of the earth be blessed; because thou hast hearkened to My voice.’ 19 So Abraham returned unto his young men, and they rose up and went together to Beer-sheba; and Abraham dwelt at Beer-sheba. ### 2.8 Meeting 8: Zohar Bemidbar #### 2.8.1 Text of Zohar IN THE DESERT" (Numbers 1:1–4:20) — Zohar Bemidbar 117a–b | *Translation by Daniel Matt* | | | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | | 1. *YHVH spoke to Moses in the Desert of Sinai in the Tent of Meeting on the first of the second month*… (Numbers 1:1). [1] | **א. (במדבר א׳:א׳) וַיְדַבֵּר יהו-ה אֶל מֹשֶׁה בְּמִדְבַּר סִינַי בְּאֹהֶל מוֹעֵד וְגוֹ',** | | 2. Rabbi Abba opened, "*God created the human in His image; in the image of God He created him* (Genesis 1:27). This verse has been discussed. Come and see: When the blessed Holy One created the human being, He made him in the image of those above and below: he was composed of all, and his light shone from one end of the world to the other, and all feared him. [2] | **ב. רִבִּי אַבָּא פָּתַח, (בראשית א׳:כ״ז) וַיִּבְרָא אֱלֹהִים אֶת הָאָדָם בְּצַלְמוֹ וְגוֹ', הַאי קְרָא אִתְּמַר. תָּא חֲזֵי, בְּשַׁעֲתָא דְּבָרָא קוּדְשָׁא בְּרִיךְ הוּא לְאָדָם עָבֵד לֵיהּ בְּדִיּוּקְנָא דְּעִלָּאֵי וְתַתָּאֵי, וַהֲוָה כָּלִיל מִכֹּלָּא, וַהֲוָה נְהוֹרֵיהּ נָהִיר, מִסַּיְיפֵי עָלְמָא עַד סַיְיפֵי עָלְמָא. וַהֲווּ דַּחֲלִין קַמֵּיהּ כֹּלָּא.** | | 3. "Although it has been established, this verse should be examined further. *God created the human in His image; in the image of God* [*He created him*]. Since it says *God created the human in His image*, why *in the image of God* [*He created him*]? Well, surely two rungs, comprising male and female—one for male and one for female. | **ג. וְאַף עַל גַּב דְּהָא אוּקְמוּהָ, אִית לְאִסְתַּכְּלָא בֵּיהּ בְּהַאי קְרָא, וַיִּבְרָא אֱלֹהִים אֶת הָאָדָם בְּצַלְמוֹ בְּצֶלֶם אֱלֹהִים בָּרָא אוֹתוֹ, כֵּיוָן דְּאָמַר בְּצַלְמוֹ, מַאי בְּצֶלֶם אֱלֹהִים בָּרָא אוֹתוֹ. אֶלָּא וַדַּאי תְּרֵין דַּרְגִּין דִּכְלִילָן דְּכַר וְנוּקְבָּא, חַד לִדְכַר, וְחַד לְנוּקְבָּא.** | | 4. "Consequently, they were פרצופין דו (*du partsufin*), with two faces, as demonstrated by the end of the verse: *male and female He created them* (Genesis 1:27). He was complete on all sides. Even though the female was adjoined to his side, she too was composed of two sides—to be totally complete. [3] | **ד. וּבְגִין כַּךְ דּוּ פַּרְצוּפִין הֲווֹ ודַּאי, וְסֵיפָא דִּקְרָא אוֹכַח, דִּכְתִּיב זָכָר וּנְקֵבָה בָּרָא אוֹתָם. וְכָלִיל הֲוָה מִכָּל סִטְרִין (נ"א מתרין סטרין) וְאַף עַל גַּב דְּנוּקְבָּא אֲחִידַת בְּסִטְרוֹי. הָא הִיא נָמֵי כְּלִילָא מִתְּרֵין סִטְרִין, לְמֶהֱוִי שְׁלִים בְּכֹלָּא.** | | 5. "He contemplated wisdom, above and below. Once he degenerated, faces diminished, wisdom departed from him, and he considered only matters relating to his body. [4] | **ה. וַהֲוָה מִסְתָּכַּל בְּחָכְמְתָא, לְעֵילָּא וְתַתָּא. כֵּיוָן דְּסָּרַח, אִתְמַעֲטוּ פַּרְצוּפִין, וְחָכְמְּתָא אִסְתָּלָקַת מִנֵּיהּ, וְלָא הֲוָה מִסְתָּכַל אֶלָּא בְּמִלֵי דְּגוּפֵיהּ.** | | 6. "Afterward, he engendered sons from above and below, but they did not settle with one another in the world. Finally, he engendered a son by whom the world אשתיל (*ishetil*), was sown, and he was called שת (*Shet*), Seth, as has been demonstrated. [5] | **ו. לְבָתַר אוֹלִיד בְּנִין מֵעִלָּאֵי וְתַתָּאֵי, וְלָא אִתְיָשָׁבוּ דָּא וְדָא בְּעָלְמָא, עַד דְּאוֹלִיד בַּר, וּמִנֵּיהּ אִשְׁתְּלִים (ס"א אשתיל) עָלְמָא, דְּאִקְרֵי שֵׁת, וְהָא אוּקְמוּהָ.** | | 7. "Even so, the lower world was neither perfected nor complete nor fulfilled until Abraham came, when it became established. The world was incomplete until Abraham appeared, grasping it with the right hand—as one grasps with the right hand someone who is falling. Isaac came and grasped the world with the left hand, and it was more firmly established. When Jacob came, the world stood firm and did not totter. [6] | **ז. וְעִם כָּל דָּא, עָלְמָא תַּתָּאָה לָא אִשְׁתְּלִים, וְלָא הֲוָה שְׁלִים, וְלָא אִשְׁתְּכַח בְּקִיּוּמֵיהּ, עַד דְּאָתָא אַבְרָהָם, וְאִתְקַיָּים עָלְמָא. אֲבָל לָא אִשְׁתְּלִים, עַד דְּאַבְרָהָם אִשְׁתְּכַח בֵּיהּ בְּעָלְמָא וְאָחִיד בֵּיהּ בִּימִינָא, כְּמַאן דְּאָחִיד בִּימִינֵיהּ, לְמַאן דְּנָפִיל. אָתָא יִצְחָק, וְאָחִיד בִּידֵיהּ דְּעָלְמָא בִּשְׂמָאלָא, וְאִתְקָיָּים יַתִּיר. כֵּיוָן דְּאָתָא יַעֲקֹב, אָחִיד בְּאֶמְצָעִיתָא בְּגוּפָא, וְאִתְכְּלִיל בִּתְרֵין סִטְרִין, אִתְקַיָּים עָלְמָא וְלָא הֲוָה מִתְמוֹטֵט.** | | 8. "Even so, it did not take root until [Jacob] engendered twelve tribes and seventy souls, and the world was firmly planted. Even so, it was not perfected until the blessed Holy One gave the Torah at Mount Sinai and the Dwelling was erected. Then worlds were established, and those above and below became fragrantly firm. [7] | **ח. וְעִם כָּל דָּא לָא אַשְׁתִּיל (ס"א אשתלים) בְּשָׁרְשׁוֹי, עַד דְּאוֹלִיד תְּרֵיסָר שְׁבָטִין, וְשִׁבְעִין נַפְשָׁאן, וְאַשְׁתִּיל (ס"א ואשתלים) עָלְמָא. וְעִם כָּל דָּא לָא אִשְׁתְּלִים, עַד דְּקַבִּילוּ יִשְׂרָאֵל אוֹרַיְיתָא בְּטוּרָא דְּסִינַי, וְאִתְּקַם מַשְׁכְּנָא. כְּדֵין אִתְקָיָּימוּ עָלְמִין וְאִשְׁתְּלִימוּ, וְאִתְבְּסָמוּ עִלָּאִין וְתַתָּאִין.** | | 9. "Once Torah and the Dwelling were established, the blessed Holy One wished to count [117b] the forces of Torah—how many troops of Torah there were, and how many troops of the Dwelling. [8] | **ט. כֵּיוָן דְּאוֹרַיְיתָא וּמַשְׁכְּנָא אִתּוֹקָמוּ, בָּעָא קוּדְשָׁא בְּרִיךְ הוּא לְמִפְקַד חֵילוֹי דְּאוֹרַיְיתָא, כַּמָה חַיָּילִין אִינּוּן דְּאוֹרַיְיתָא, כַּמָה חַיָּילִין אִינּוּן דְּמַשְׁכְּנָא.** | | 10. "Come and see: Every entity that needs to be settled in its place does not settle until it is mentioned by mouth and enumerated. Here, too, the blessed Holy One wished to count the forces of Torah and the forces of the Dwelling, and all were as one, inseparable from each other, all corresponding to the pattern above; for Torah and Dwelling do not separate from one another and proceed as one. [9] | **י. תָּא חֲזֵי, כָּל מִלָּה דְּבָעֵי לְאִתְיַישְּׁבָא בְּדוּכְתֵּיהּ, לָא מִתְיַישְּׁבָא עַד דְּאִדְכַּר בְּפוּמָא, וְאִתְמְנֵי עָלָהּ. אוּף הָכָא, בָּעָא קוּדְשָׁא בְּרִיךְ הוּא לְמִפְקַד חַיָּילִין דְּאוֹרַיְיתָא, וְחַיָּילִין דְּמַשְׁכְּנָא, וְכֻלְּהוּ הֲווֹ כְּחַד וְלָא מִתְפָּרְשֵׁי דָּא מִן דָּא, כֹּלָּא כְּגַוְונָא דִּלְעֵילָּא, דְּהָא אוֹרַיְיתָא וּמַשְׁכְּנָא לָא מִתְפָּרְשֵׁי דָּא מִן דָּא, וְאָזְלִין כַּחֲדָא.** | | 11. "Therefore their forces are enumerated, to be recognized by them—except for those others who are not counted. Thus it is written *YHVH spoke to Moses in the Desert of Sinai in the Tent of Meeting* (Numbers 1:1). For if *in the Tent of Meeting*, why *in the Desert of Sinai*? Well, one for Torah and one for the Dwelling; *in* this and *in* that. [10] | **יא. וּבְגִין כַּךְ, חַיָּילֵיהוֹן עָאלִין בְּחוּשְׁבָּנָא לְאִשְׁתְּמוֹדְעָא גַּבַּיְיהוּ, בַּר אִינּוּן אַחֲרָנִין דְּלֵית לוֹן חוּשְׁבָּנָא. וּבְגִין כַּךְ כְּתִיב, וַיְדַבֵּר יהו-ה אֶל מֹשֶׁה בְּמִדְבַּר סִינַי בְּאֹהֶל מוֹעֵד. אִי בְּאֹהֶל מוֹעֵד, אֲמַאי בְּמִדְבַּר סִינַי. אֶלָּא חַד לְאוֹרַיְיתָא וְחַד לְמַשְׁכְּנָא.** | | 12. "*On the first of the second month in the second year* (Numbers 1:1)—all is one. This is called *the month of* זיו (*Ziv*), Glow (1 Kings 6:1), alluding to the month that illumines the moon, for then all worlds were in perfection. [11] | **יב. וְהַאי וְהַאי, בְּאֶחָד לַחֹדֶשׁ הַשֵּׁנִי בַּשָּׁנָה הַשֵּׁנִית, וְכֹלָּא חַד, וְהַאי אִקְרֵי (מלכים א ו׳:א׳) חֹדֶשׁ זִיו רֶמֶז לְהַהוּא יַרְחָא וְשַׁתָּא דְּנָהִיר לְסִיהֲרָא, דְּהָא כְּדֵין עָלְמִין כֻּלְּהוּ אִשְׁתְּכָחוּ בִּשְׁלִימוּ.** | | 13. "*After their going out from the land of Egypt* (Numbers 1:1)—to reveal that when Israel went out of Egypt, it was in the first month." [12] | **יג. לְצֵאתָם מֵאֶרֶץ מִצְרַיִם, לְאִשְׁתְּמוֹדְעָא דְּהָא כַּד נַפְקוּ יִשְׂרָאֵל מִמִּצְרַיִם, בַּחֹדֶשׁ הָרִאשׁוֹן הֲוָה.** | ### 2.9 Annotated Text of Zohar | | | | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ | ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | | 1. *YHVH spoke to Moses in the Desert of Sinai in the Tent of Meeting on the first of the second month*… (Numbers 1:1). [1] | **א. (במדבר א׳:א׳) וַיְדַבֵּר יהו-ה אֶל מֹשֶׁה בְּמִדְבַּר סִינַי בְּאֹהֶל מוֹעֵד וְגוֹ',** | | 2. Rabbi Abba opened, "*God created the human in His image; in the image of God He created him* (Genesis 1:27). This verse has been discussed. Come and see: When the blessed Holy One created the human being, He made him in the image of those above and below: he was composed of all, and his light shone from one end of the world to the other, and all feared him. [2] | **ב. רִבִּי אַבָּא פָּתַח, (בראשית א׳:כ״ז) וַיִּבְרָא אֱלֹהִים אֶת הָאָדָם בְּצַלְמוֹ וְגוֹ', הַאי קְרָא אִתְּמַר. תָּא חֲזֵי, בְּשַׁעֲתָא דְּבָרָא קוּדְשָׁא בְּרִיךְ הוּא לְאָדָם עָבֵד לֵיהּ בְּדִיּוּקְנָא דְּעִלָּאֵי וְתַתָּאֵי, וַהֲוָה כָּלִיל מִכֹּלָּא, וַהֲוָה נְהוֹרֵיהּ נָהִיר, מִסַּיְיפֵי עָלְמָא עַד סַיְיפֵי עָלְמָא. וַהֲווּ דַּחֲלִין קַמֵּיהּ כֹּלָּא.** | | | | > **Commentary marked by the purple line are selections from Daniel Matt's commentary:** > > [1] ***YHVH spoke to Moses…*** The context (Numbers 1:1–2) reads: *YHVH spoke to Moses in the Desert* [or: *Wilderness*] *of Sinai in the Tent of Meeting on the first of the second month in the second year after their going out from the land of Egypt, saying, "Count the heads of all the community of the Children of Israel…"* > > [2] ***God created the human in His image…*** Adam reflected the splendor of the *sefirot* and of the lower worlds, and all creatures feared him. > > The image of Adam's light extending "from one end of the world to the other" recalls two midrashic motifs. The first one appears in *Vayiqra Rabbah* 14:1, in the name of Rabbi Yishma'el (or Shemu'el) son of Naḥman: "When the blessed Holy One created Adam, He created him as an unformed mass, and he extended from one end of the world to the other." > > The second motif appears in *Vayiqra Rabbah* 11:7 (in the name of Rabbi Yehudah son of Rabbi Simon): "With the light created by the blessed Holy One on the first day, a person could gaze and see from one end of the world to the other." > > The full verse in Genesis reads: *God created the human in His image; in the image of God He created him, male and female He created them.* > [!NOTE] Commentary (SR) > > In sections 1-2 we encounter one of the Zohar's central themes: A human being is a microcosm of the reality as a whole and the structure of divinity is manifest in the structure of a human being. We are meant to mirror the divine being and light, but flaws in our nature lead us to channel destructive energies instead. Torah is the blueprint for fixing what is broken and realizing humanity's divine potential. | | | | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ | | 3. "Although it has been established, this verse should be examined further. *God created the human in His image; in the image of God* [*He created him*]. Since it says *God created the human in His image*, why *in the image of God* [*He created him*]? Well, surely two rungs, comprising male and female—one for male and one for female. | **ג. וְאַף עַל גַּב דְּהָא אוּקְמוּהָ, אִית לְאִסְתַּכְּלָא בֵּיהּ בְּהַאי קְרָא, וַיִּבְרָא אֱלֹהִים אֶת הָאָדָם בְּצַלְמוֹ בְּצֶלֶם אֱלֹהִים בָּרָא אוֹתוֹ, כֵּיוָן דְּאָמַר בְּצַלְמוֹ, מַאי בְּצֶלֶם אֱלֹהִים בָּרָא אוֹתוֹ. אֶלָּא וַדַּאי תְּרֵין דַּרְגִּין דִּכְלִילָן דְּכַר וְנוּקְבָּא, חַד לִדְכַר, וְחַד לְנוּקְבָּא.** | | 4. "Consequently, they were פרצופין דו (*du partsufin*), with two faces, as demonstrated by the end of the verse: *male and female He created them* (Genesis 1:27). He was complete on all sides. Even though the female was adjoined to his side, she too was composed of two sides—to be totally complete. [3] | **ד. וּבְגִין כַּךְ דּוּ פַּרְצוּפִין הֲווֹ ודַּאי, וְסֵיפָא דִּקְרָא אוֹכַח, דִּכְתִּיב זָכָר וּנְקֵבָה בָּרָא אוֹתָם. וְכָלִיל הֲוָה מִכָּל סִטְרִין (נ"א מתרין סטרין) וְאַף עַל גַּב דְּנוּקְבָּא אֲחִידַת בְּסִטְרוֹי. הָא הִיא נָמֵי כְּלִילָא מִתְּרֵין סִטְרִין, לְמֶהֱוִי שְׁלִים בְּכֹלָּא.** | > [3] **Since it says *God created the human in His image*…** The continuation seems redundant: *in the image of God He created him.* But Rabbi Abba explains that the two clauses allude respectively to the male and female aspects of the original androgynous human, which reflect the sefirotic parents, *Tif'eret* and *Shekhinah*. The male aspect included the female potency, and vice versa. > > On the androgynous nature of the original human, see *Vayiqra Rabbah* 14:1: "Rabbi Yishma'el son of Naḥman said, 'When the blessed Holy One created Adam, He created him androgynous; and He sawed him and gave him two backs, one on this side and one on that.' Rabbi Shim'on son of Lakish said, 'When the blessed Holy One created Adam, He created him פרצופין דו (*du partsufin*), with two faces; and He sawed him and gave him two backs, a back for the male and a back for the female.'" > [!NOTE] Commentary (SR) > > Another central theme of the Zohar is the division of humanity into male and female. This idea involves a million problems and can be understood in a great variety of ways. The core intuition seems to be that human beings are composite beings, and the different elements of which we are composed stand in relation to each other: back and back or face to face (to name two extremes). In order for us to be whole, we must recognize our disparate parts, and arrange them in a life-giving manner. There is something very modern (or perhaps post-modern) about this dialogical nature of human beings. > > "Male" and "female" stand in some relation to what we mean by "men" and "women", but they are not simply equivalent. Both men and women are male and female according to the Zohar. Male might be renamed "flowing forth" and female might be renamed "receiving and structuring". Do you think we are male and female in some sense? What does it mean to you? > | | | | ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | | 5. "He contemplated wisdom, above and below. Once he degenerated, faces diminished, wisdom departed from him, and he considered only matters relating to his body. [4] | **ה. וַהֲוָה מִסְתָּכַּל בְּחָכְמְתָא, לְעֵילָּא וְתַתָּא. כֵּיוָן דְּסָּרַח, אִתְמַעֲטוּ פַּרְצוּפִין, וְחָכְמְּתָא אִסְתָּלָקַת מִנֵּיהּ, וְלָא הֲוָה מִסְתָּכַל אֶלָּא בְּמִלֵי דְּגוּפֵיהּ.** | > [4] **He contemplated wisdom…** In his pristine state, Adam pondered supernal wisdom. But when he sinned by eating the fruit of the Tree of Knowledge, the human and divine faces (or configurations) diminished, wisdom abandoned him, and he focused merely on mundane, physical matters. > > Cf. BT *Ḥagigah* 12a: "Rabbi El'azar said, 'Adam extended from earth to heaven…. As soon as he sinned, the blessed Holy One placed His hand upon him and diminished him, as is said: *Behind and in front You formed me, and You set Your palm upon me* (Psalms 139:5).' Rabbi Yehudah said in the name of Rav, 'Adam extended from one end of the world to the other…. As soon as he sinned, the blessed Holy One placed His hand upon him and diminished him, as is said: *You set Your palm upon me*.'" > [!NOTE] Commentary (SR) > > What exactly was the sin of eating from the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil? One relevant take on this is that of the Rambam. He argues that before we ate from the tree, we focused only on transpersonal truth - universal divine intellect/consciousness. The sin of eating from the tree was giving that up and instead focusing all our attention on what we want and do want: The Tree of Obsessive Thoughts about our Fears and Desires. That was the sin and that was the punishment. The Zohar doesn't talk in these terms, but notice that the result of eating from the tree was that we only considered matters relating to our bodies. This may be a metaphor for something like the Rambam's interpretation. | | | | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | | 6. "Afterward, he engendered sons from above and below, but they did not settle with one another in the world. Finally, he engendered a son by whom the world אשתיל (*ishetil*), was sown, and he was called שת (*Shet*), Seth, as has been demonstrated. [5] | **ו. לְבָתַר אוֹלִיד בְּנִין מֵעִלָּאֵי וְתַתָּאֵי, וְלָא אִתְיָשָׁבוּ דָּא וְדָא בְּעָלְמָא, עַד דְּאוֹלִיד בַּר, וּמִנֵּיהּ אִשְׁתְּלִים (ס"א אשתיל) עָלְמָא, דְּאִקְרֵי שֵׁת, וְהָא אוּקְמוּהָ.** | > [5] **he engendered sons…** Namely, Cain and Abel. After Cain killed Abel, he was condemned to wander the world, and his descendants were eventually destroyed in the Flood. With the birth of Adam and Eve's third son, Seth, the world was more firmly established; from him descended generations of the righteous. > > Seth's birth is described in Genesis 5:3: *Adam lived a hundred and thirty years and he engendered in his likeness, according to his image, and called his name Seth*. According to a midrashic interpretation, Seth alone was in Adam's likeness, unlike both Cain and Abel. See BT *Eruvin* 18b; *Pirqei de-Rabbi Eli'ezer* 22; Maimonides, *Guide of the Perplexed* 1:7; *Zohar* 1:55a; 2:167b–168a, 231b; *ZḤ* 8c–9b.> | | | | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | | 7. "Even so, the lower world was neither perfected nor complete nor fulfilled until Abraham came, when it became established. The world was incomplete until Abraham appeared, grasping it with the right hand—as one grasps with the right hand someone who is falling. Isaac came and grasped the world with the left hand, and it was more firmly established. When Jacob came, the world stood firm and did not totter. [6] | **ז. וְעִם כָּל דָּא, עָלְמָא תַּתָּאָה לָא אִשְׁתְּלִים, וְלָא הֲוָה שְׁלִים, וְלָא אִשְׁתְּכַח בְּקִיּוּמֵיהּ, עַד דְּאָתָא אַבְרָהָם, וְאִתְקַיָּים עָלְמָא. אֲבָל לָא אִשְׁתְּלִים, עַד דְּאַבְרָהָם אִשְׁתְּכַח בֵּיהּ בְּעָלְמָא וְאָחִיד בֵּיהּ בִּימִינָא, כְּמַאן דְּאָחִיד בִּימִינֵיהּ, לְמַאן דְּנָפִיל. אָתָא יִצְחָק, וְאָחִיד בִּידֵיהּ דְּעָלְמָא בִּשְׂמָאלָא, וְאִתְקָיָּים יַתִּיר. כֵּיוָן דְּאָתָא יַעֲקֹב, אָחִיד בְּאֶמְצָעִיתָא בְּגוּפָא, וְאִתְכְּלִיל בִּתְרֵין סִטְרִין, אִתְקַיָּים עָלְמָא וְלָא הֲוָה מִתְמוֹטֵט.** | > [6] **until Abraham came…** The three virtuous patriarchs—Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob—symbolize the sefirotic triad of *Ḥesed, Gevurah*, and *Tif'eret*, representing respectively the right and left divine arms and the trunk of the sefirotic body. Abraham, as it were, grasped the tottering world with his right hand; then Isaac, with his left hand; and finally Jacob supported the world completely. See *Zohar* 1:86b; *ZḤ* 19b (*MhN*). | | | | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ | | 8. "Even so, it did not take root until [Jacob] engendered twelve tribes and seventy souls, and the world was firmly planted. Even so, it was not perfected until the blessed Holy One gave the Torah at Mount Sinai and the Dwelling was erected. Then worlds were established, and those above and below became fragrantly firm. [7] | **ח. וְעִם כָּל דָּא לָא אַשְׁתִּיל (ס"א אשתלים) בְּשָׁרְשׁוֹי, עַד דְּאוֹלִיד תְּרֵיסָר שְׁבָטִין, וְשִׁבְעִין נַפְשָׁאן, וְאַשְׁתִּיל (ס"א ואשתלים) עָלְמָא. וְעִם כָּל דָּא לָא אִשְׁתְּלִים, עַד דְּקַבִּילוּ יִשְׂרָאֵל אוֹרַיְיתָא בְּטוּרָא דְּסִינַי, וְאִתְּקַם מַשְׁכְּנָא. כְּדֵין אִתְקָיָּימוּ עָלְמִין וְאִשְׁתְּלִימוּ, וְאִתְבְּסָמוּ עִלָּאִין וְתַתָּאִין.** | > [7] **it did not take root…** Until Jacob engendered twelve tribes and the seventy souls who descended to Egypt. Finally, when God gave the Torah to Israel at Mount Sinai and the Dwelling (or Tabernacle) was erected, the world attained perfection. > > On the number of Jacob's descendants who went down to Egypt, see Genesis 46:26–27; Exodus 1:5; Deuteronomy 10:22; Sarna, *Exodus*, on 1:5. > > On Torah as being vital to the continued existence of the world, see BT *Shabbat* 88a, in the name of Resh Lakish: "The blessed Holy One stipulated a condition with the works of Creation, saying to them: 'If Israel accepts the Torah, you will endure. If not, I will return you to *chaos and void* (Genesis 1:2).'" See *Tanḥuma, Bereshit* 1. Cf. M *Avot* 1:2; BT *Shabbat* 119b. > > Cf. BT *Pesaḥim* 68b, in the name of Rabbi El'azar: "Were it not for Torah [which must be studied day and night], heaven and earth would not endure, as is said: *Were it not for My covenant with day and night, I would not have established the laws of heaven and earth* (Jeremiah 33:25)." | | | | ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | | 9. "Once Torah and the Dwelling were established, the blessed Holy One wished to count [117b] the forces of Torah—how many troops of Torah there were, and how many troops of the Dwelling. [8] | **ט. כֵּיוָן דְּאוֹרַיְיתָא וּמַשְׁכְּנָא אִתּוֹקָמוּ, בָּעָא קוּדְשָׁא בְּרִיךְ הוּא לְמִפְקַד חֵילוֹי דְּאוֹרַיְיתָא, כַּמָה חַיָּילִין אִינּוּן דְּאוֹרַיְיתָא, כַּמָה חַיָּילִין אִינּוּן דְּמַשְׁכְּנָא.** | > [8] **Once Torah and the Dwelling were established…** Once the Torah was given at Mount Sinai and the Dwelling was erected, God instructed Moses to conduct a census (as initially described in Numbers 1:2–4). The census determined the precise number of adult male Israelites, who would fulfill the commands of Torah. The phrase "troops of the Dwelling" probably refers to the Levites, who maintained the Dwelling; they were counted separately (as described in Numbers 3–4). | | | | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | | 10. "Come and see: Every entity that needs to be settled in its place does not settle until it is mentioned by mouth and enumerated. Here, too, the blessed Holy One wished to count the forces of Torah and the forces of the Dwelling, and all were as one, inseparable from each other, all corresponding to the pattern above; for Torah and Dwelling do not separate from one another and proceed as one. [9] | **י. תָּא חֲזֵי, כָּל מִלָּה דְּבָעֵי לְאִתְיַישְּׁבָא בְּדוּכְתֵּיהּ, לָא מִתְיַישְּׁבָא עַד דְּאִדְכַּר בְּפוּמָא, וְאִתְמְנֵי עָלָהּ. אוּף הָכָא, בָּעָא קוּדְשָׁא בְּרִיךְ הוּא לְמִפְקַד חַיָּילִין דְּאוֹרַיְיתָא, וְחַיָּילִין דְּמַשְׁכְּנָא, וְכֻלְּהוּ הֲווֹ כְּחַד וְלָא מִתְפָּרְשֵׁי דָּא מִן דָּא, כֹּלָּא כְּגַוְונָא דִּלְעֵילָּא, דְּהָא אוֹרַיְיתָא וּמַשְׁכְּנָא לָא מִתְפָּרְשֵׁי דָּא מִן דָּא, וְאָזְלִין כַּחֲדָא.** | > [9] **Every entity that needs to be settled…** Nothing is firmly established until it is mentioned and counted. > > The clause "Torah and Dwelling do not separate from one another" may refer to the placement of the two stone tablets in the Ark. (See Deuteronomy 10:1–5; 1 Kings 8:9. Cf. Deuteronomy 31:26.) Torah symbolizes *Tif'eret*, while the משכן (*mishkan*), "Dwelling," symbolizes *Tif'eret*'s intimate partner, *Shekhinah*. | | | | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ | ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | | 11. "Therefore their forces are enumerated, to be recognized by them—except for those others who are not counted. Thus it is written *YHVH spoke to Moses in the Desert of Sinai in the Tent of Meeting* (Numbers 1:1). For if *in the Tent of Meeting*, why *in the Desert of Sinai*? Well, one for Torah and one for the Dwelling; *in* this and *in* that. [10] | **יא. וּבְגִין כַּךְ, חַיָּילֵיהוֹן עָאלִין בְּחוּשְׁבָּנָא לְאִשְׁתְּמוֹדְעָא גַּבַּיְיהוּ, בַּר אִינּוּן אַחֲרָנִין דְּלֵית לוֹן חוּשְׁבָּנָא. וּבְגִין כַּךְ כְּתִיב, וַיְדַבֵּר יהו-ה אֶל מֹשֶׁה בְּמִדְבַּר סִינַי בְּאֹהֶל מוֹעֵד. אִי בְּאֹהֶל מוֹעֵד, אֲמַאי בְּמִדְבַּר סִינַי. אֶלָּא חַד לְאוֹרַיְיתָא וְחַד לְמַשְׁכְּנָא.** | > [10] **Therefore their forces are enumerated…** The Israelites and Levites were counted, so as to be recognized by *Tif'eret* and *Shekhinah*. "Those others who are not counted" includes females, any Israelite male under the age of twenty, and any Levite male under the age of one month. See Numbers 1:2–3; 3:15, 39. Cf. 4:46–48; 8:24–26. > > Rabbi Abba wonders why the opening verse of Numbers specifies *in the Desert of Sinai*, since *the Tent of Meeting* is obviously located there. He explains that *the Desert of Sinai* alludes to Torah, which was given there (and which symbolizes *Tif'eret*), while *the Tent of Meeting* refers to the Dwelling (symbolizing *Shekhinah*). | | | | ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | | 12. "*On the first of the second month in the second year* (Numbers 1:1)—all is one. This is called *the month of* זיו (*Ziv*), Glow (1 Kings 6:1), alluding to the month that illumines the moon, for then all worlds were in perfection. [11] | **יב. וְהַאי וְהַאי, בְּאֶחָד לַחֹדֶשׁ הַשֵּׁנִי בַּשָּׁנָה הַשֵּׁנִית, וְכֹלָּא חַד, וְהַאי אִקְרֵי (מלכים א ו׳:א׳) חֹדֶשׁ זִיו רֶמֶז לְהַהוּא יַרְחָא וְשַׁתָּא דְּנָהִיר לְסִיהֲרָא, דְּהָא כְּדֵין עָלְמִין כֻּלְּהוּ אִשְׁתְּכָחוּ בִּשְׁלִימוּ.** | | 13. "*After their going out from the land of Egypt* (Numbers 1:1)—to reveal that when Israel went out of Egypt, it was in the first month." [12] | **יג. לְצֵאתָם מֵאֶרֶץ מִצְרַיִם, לְאִשְׁתְּמוֹדְעָא דְּהָא כַּד נַפְקוּ יִשְׂרָאֵל מִמִּצְרַיִם, בַּחֹדֶשׁ הָרִאשׁוֹן הֲוָה.** | > [11] ***On the first of the second month in the second year…*** Both *the second month* and *the second year* allude to the same entity—*Yesod*, who is the second *sefirah*, counting from below—so "all is one." *Yesod* illumines *Shekhinah* (who is symbolized by the moon), so He is appropriately called *the month of* זיו (*Ziv*), "Glow." Once the Torah had been given and the Dwelling had been erected, the divine couple united and "all worlds were in perfection." > > The verse in Kings describes the beginning of the construction of Solomon's Temple, which parallels the erection of the Dwelling. On the significance of the name *Ziv*, see BT *Rosh ha-Shanah* 11a. > [12] ***After their going out from the land of Egypt…*** Referring back to the first month, which symbolizes *Shekhinah*, the first *sefirah*, counting from below. Israel was redeemed from Egypt "in (or by) the first month," that is, through the power of *Shekhinah*. ## 3 Appendix: Full Text (from All classes) of Zohar on the Letters (III 2a) *Note: This is the full text of the Zohar as we are studying it, not broken up in to separate classes. This version is also annotated and abbreviated. For the full text itself without changes, see :* [[#3.1 Full Text Unedited]] ![[zohar Vayikra 1-6]] | | | | ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ | | (7) Come and see: when the cloud ascended upon the Tabernacle and rested upon it, all the celestial chariots and all the vessels of the upper Tabernacle were within the cloud. What is written? *"And Moses was unable to enter the Tent of Meeting, because the cloud rested upon it"* (Exodus 40:35). Yet it is also written: *"Moses entered into the midst of the cloud"* (Exodus 24:18), and he was on the mountain forty days and forty nights. If Moses was unable to enter the Tabernacle — why did he sit on the mountain all those forty days? | **(ז) תָּא חֲזִי: כַּד סָלִיק עֲנָנָא עַל מַשְׁכְּנָא וְשָׁרָא עֲלוֹי, כָּל אִינּוּן רְתִיכִין וְכָל אִינּוּן מָאנֵי מַשְׁכְּנָא דִּלְעֵיל — כֻּלְּהוּ הֲווֹ גּוֹ עֲנָנָא. מַה כְּתִיב: ״וְלֹא יָכוֹל מֹשֶׁה לָבֹא אֶל אֹהֶל מוֹעֵד כִּי שָׁכַן עָלָיו הֶעָנָן״ (שמות מ:לה). וּכְתִיב: ״וַיָּבֹא מֹשֶׁה בְּתוֹךְ הֶעָנָן״ (שמות כד:יח) — ״וַיְהִי מֹשֶׁה בָּהָר אַרְבָּעִים יוֹם וְאַרְבָּעִים לָיְלָה״. אִי מֹשֶׁה לָא הֲוָה יָכִיל לְאַעֲלָא לְמַשְׁכְּנָא — אֲמַאי הֲוָה יָתִיב בְּטוּרָא כָּל אִינּוּן אַרְבְּעִין יוֹמִין?** | | (8) Rather: there were two clouds — one into which Moses entered, and one that rested upon the Tabernacle. Come and see what is written: *"And the glory of the Lord filled (מָלֵא) the Tabernacle"* (Exodus 40:35) — it does not say *מִלָּא* (filled it up) but *מָלֵא* (complete/full), for it was complete above and below, together with the lower Tabernacle. The hidden *tikun* descended below, and the Shekhinah was established. | **(ח) אֶלָּא: תְּרֵי עֲנָנִי הֲווֹ — חַד דְּעָאל בֵּיהּ מֹשֶׁה, וְחַד דְּשָׁארִי עַל מַשְׁכְּנָא. תָּא חֲזִי מַה כְּתִיב: ״וּכְבוֹד יְהוּ-ה מָלֵא אֶת הַמִּשְׁכָּן״ (שמות מ:לה) — מִלָּא לָא כְּתִיב, אֶלָּא מָלֵא — דְּהֲוָה שְׁלִים לְעֵילָּא וְתַתָּא, עִם מַשְׁכְּנָא דִּלְתַתָּא. תִּקּוּנָא טְמִירָא דְּנָחַת לְתַתָּא, וְאִתְתַּקְּנַת שְׁכִינְתָּא.** | | (9) The four sides of the [heavenly] camps were concealed. The first formation of one watch, from those four camps — all [was arranged] until it was established. The head of the right side: Tzadkiel, chief officer, captain of the host, who stands under the dominion of Michael. And with him were arrayed all those hosts under his hand. | **(ט) אַרְבַּע סִטְרִין דְּמַשִׁרְיָין אִתְגְּנִיזוּ. תִּקּוּנָא קַדְמָאָה דְּחַד מִשְׁמָרָה מֵאִינּוּן ד׳ מַשִׁרְיָין — כֹּלָּא עַד דְּאִתְתַּקָּנוּ. רֵישָׁא לִסְטַר יְמִינָא: צַדְקִיאֵ״ל, רַב מְמָנָא, רַב מַשִׁרְיָין, דְּאִיהוּ תְּחוֹת שׁוּלְטָנָא דְּמִיכָאֵ״ל. וְעִמֵּיהּ הֲווֹ מִתְתַּקְּנָן כָּל אִינּוּן מַשִׁרְיָין תְּחוֹת יְדֵיהּ.** | | (10) An overseer was set over four [groups of] three — four below — for all those supernal hosts, when they descend below, change their names to other names; when they are above they never change. This supernal chief officer Tzadkiel stands over them within. One letter flashes upon their heads — the small **א**. When that letter flashes, all of them move toward the place where that spark [shines]. | **(י) וְחַד מְמָנָא אִתְּקַם עַל אַרְבַּע תְּלַת, אַרְבַּע לְתַתָּא — בְּגִין דְּכָל אִינּוּן מַשִׁרְיָין עִלָּאִין כַּד נַחְתִּין לְתַתָּא מְשַׁנְיָין שְׁמָא דִּלְהוֹן בִּשְׁמָהָן אָחֳרָנִין, כַּד אִינּוּן עִלָּאִין לָא מִשְׁתַּנִּין לְעָלְמִין. וְהַאי מְמָנָא עִלָּאָה צַדְקִיאֵ״ל קָאִים עָלַיְיהוּ לְגוֹ. אָת חַד נָצִיץ עַל רֵישַׁיְיהוּ — וְאִיהִי א׳ זְעֵירָא. כַּד הַאי אָת נָצִיץ, כֻּלְּהוּ נַטְלִין לְהַהוּא אֲתַר דְּנָצִיץ הַאי נְצִיצוּ.** | | (11) Within them: Raziel, chief officer, captain of the host, who stands within under the dominion of Michael. With him are all the hosts under his hand. One officer stands over them at the gate, called Rumiel; twelve officers surround him, three at each of the four sides. Raziel the chief officer stands over all of them and his name never changes. One letter flashes upon the heads of all those hosts — the letter **ר**. When it flashes, all of them move in the direction of that spark. This letter governs the punishment of one who reveals secrets, as the sign: *"Poverty and shame"* (Proverbs 13:18) — *reish* (ר) and shame. | **(יא) לְגוֹ מִנַּיְיהוּ: רָזִיאֵ״ל, רַב מְמָנָא, רַב מַשִׁרְיָין, דְּקַיְּימָא לְגוֹ תְּחוֹת שׁוּלְטָנוּתָא דְּמִיכָאֵ״ל. וְעִמֵּיהּ כָּל אִינּוּן מַשִׁרְיָין דִּתְחוֹת יְדֵיהּ. וְחַד מְמָנָא קָאִים עָלַיְיהוּ בְּתַרְעָא דְּאִתְקְרֵי רוּמִיאֵ״ל, וְסַחֲרִין לֵיהּ י״ב מְמָנָן תְּלַת תְּלַת ד׳ זִמְנִין. וְרָזִיאֵ״ל רַב מְמָנָא קַיְּימָא עַל כֻּלְּהוּ — דְּלָא אִשְׁתָּנִי שְׁמֵיהּ. אָת חַד נָצִיץ עַל רֵישַׁיְיהוּ דְּכָל אִינּוּן מַשִׁרְיָין — וְאִיהִי אָת ר׳. כַּד הַאי נָצִיץ נַטְלִין כֻּלְּהוּ לְהַהוּא סִטְרָא דְּהַהוּא נְצִיצוּ. הַאי אָת קַיָּימָא עַל עוֹנְשָׁא דִּמְגַּלֶּה רָזִין — וְסִימָנִיךְ: ״רֵישׁ וְקָלוֹן״ (משלי יג:יח).** | | (12) Within them: Yofiel, chief officer, captain of the host, under the dominion of Michael, and with him were all the hosts under his hand. They are not revealed here in [full] count, for they were not completed here until they came to the everlasting Temple — there all of them were completed, and the hosts multiplied in wholeness. One officer stands over them, named Ḥakhamiel, and twelve officers surround him on every side, three by three, as said. Yofiel the chief officer stands over all of them and his name never changes. | **(יב) לְגוֹ מִנַּיְיהוּ: יוֹפִיאֵ״ל, רַב מְמָנָא, רַב מַשִׁרְיָין, תְּחוֹת שׁוּלְטָנוּתָא דְּמִיכָאֵ״ל. וְעִמֵּיהּ הֲווֹ מִתְתַּקְּנָן כָּל אִינּוּן מַשִׁרְיָין דִּתְחוֹת יְדֵיהּ. וְלָא אִתְגַּלְּיָין הָכָא בְּחֻשְׁבָּנָא — בְּגִין דְּלָא אִשְׁתְּלִימוּ הָכָא עַד דְּאָתוּ לְבֵית עוֹלָמִים. דְּתַמָן אִשְׁתְּלִימוּ כֻּלְּהוּ וְאַסְגּוּ מַשִׁרְיָין בִּשְׁלִימוּ. וְחַד מְמָנָא קַיְּימָא עָלַיְיהוּ — וְחָכָמִיאֵ״ל שְׁמֵיהּ — וְי״ב מְמָנָן סָחֲרִין לֵיהּ לְכָל עִיבָר תְּלַת תְּלַת כְּמָה דְּאַמָרָן. וְיוֹפִיאֵ״ל רַב מְמָנָא קַיְּימָא עַל כֻּלְּהוּ — דְּלָא אִשְׁתַּנֵּי שְׁמֵיהּ.** | | (13) One letter flashes upon the heads of all these hosts — the letter **ק**. When it flashes, all of them move in the direction of that spark. This letter ק floats in the air and bends three times a day, rising and falling. These two letters, **קר**, stand in the middle: one covers the letter א, and one covers the letter י, which comes after. | **(יג) אָת חַד נָצִיץ עַל רֵישַׁיְיהוּ דְּכָל אִלֵּין מַשִׁרְיָין — וְאִיהִי אָת ק׳. כַּד נָצִיץ דָּא נַטְלִין כֻּלְּהוּ לְהַהוּא סִטְרָא דְּהַהוּא נְצִיצוּ. הַאי אָת ק׳ תַּלְיָיא בַּאֲוִירָא, וְאַכְפְּיָא תְּלַת זִמְנִין בְּיוֹמָא — וְסַלְּקָא וְנַחְתָּא. תְּרֵין אַתְוָון אִלֵּין קר — אִינּוּן אַתְוָון דְּקַיְּימִין בְּאֶמְצָעִיתָא — חַד דְּחָפֵי לְאָת א׳, וְחַד דְּחַפְּיָא עַל י׳, דְּאִיהִי לְבָתַר.** | | (14) Within them: Kedumiel, chief officer, captain of the host, under the dominion of Michael. With him were arranged all those hosts under his hand. One officer stands over them at the gate, called Ariel, and twelve officers surround him, three by three on every side. Kedumiel stands over them and his name never changes. One letter flashes upon their heads — the letter **י**. When it flashes, all of them move toward that spark. The letter ק covers this letter י; the letter ר covers the letter א. | **(יד) לְגוֹ מִנַּיְיהוּ: קְדוּמִיאֵ״ל, רַב מְמָנָא, רַב מַשִׁרְיָין, תְּחוֹת שׁוּלְטָנוּתָא דְּמִיכָאֵ״ל. עִמֵּיהּ הֲווֹ מִתְתַּקְּנָן כָּל אִינּוּן מַשִׁרְיָין דִּתְחוֹת יְדֵיהּ. וְחַד מְמָנָא קַיְּימָא עָלַיְיהוּ בְּתַרְעָא דְּאִתְקְרֵי אֲרִיאֵ״ל, וְי״ב מְמָנָן סָחֲרִין לֵיהּ תְּלַת תְּלַת לְכָל סְטָר. וְהַאי מְמָנָא קְדוּמִיאֵ״ל קַיְּימָא עָלַיְיהוּ — דְּלָא אִשְׁתַּנֵּי שְׁמֵיהּ לְעָלְמִין. חַד אָת קַיָּימָא נָצִיץ עַל רֵישַׁיְיהוּ — וְהוּא אָת י׳. כַּד הַאי נָצִיץ נַטְלִין כֻּלְּהוּ לְהַהוּא נְצִיצוּ דְּנָצִיץ. אוֹת ק׳ דְּקַאמְרָן חַפְּיָא עַל הַאי אָת י׳; ר׳ חַפְּיָא עַל א׳.** | | (15) Further within, in the place called *Kodesh* (Holy), one letter flashes in hiddenness and concealment — the letter **ו**. This letter ו flashes its spark upon all the other letters. A voice goes out from between those letters; then the spark of ו strikes the spark of י, and that spark issues from the place of *Kodesh* and strikes within the spark of י. | **(טו) לְגוֹ לְגוֹ, בַּאֲתַר דְּאִקְרֵי קֹדֶשׁ, נָצִיץ חַד אָת בִּטְמִירוּ וּבִגְנִיזוּ — וְאִיהִי אָת ו׳. וְהַאי אָת ו׳ נָצִיץ בִּנְצִיצוּ עַל כֻּלְּהוּ אַתְוָון. וְקָלָא נָפִיק מִבֵּינַיְיהוּ דְּאִלֵּין אַתְוָון — כְּדֵין בָּטַשׁ נְצִיצוּ דְּאָת ו׳ לִנְצִיצוּ דְּאָת י׳. וְנָפַק הַהוּא נְצִיצוּ מִגּוֹ אֲתַר דְּקֹדֶשׁ וּבָטַשׁ לְגוֹ נְצִיצוּ דְּאָת י׳.** | | (16) Then the spark of י strikes within the spark of ק, and the spark of ק goes out and strikes within the spark of ר, and all the sparks emerge and join within the spark of the letter **א**, which stands [ready]. A voice goes out and strikes all those letter-sparks together: spark of ו into י, spark of י into ק, spark of ק into ר, spark of ר into א. The engravings of sparks combine and emerge. And after they combine in their sparks, a voice goes out from between them, and they combine in the mystery of **וַיִּקְרָא אֶל מֹשֶׁה** — "And He called to Moses." And Moses was gazing all those days, unable to enter. | **(טז) וּכְדֵין נְצִיצוּ דְּאָת י׳ בָּטַשׁ לְגוֹ נְצִיצוּ דְּאָת ק׳, וְנָפְקָא נְצִיצוּ דְּאָת ק׳ וּבָטַשׁ לְגוֹ נְצִיצוּ דְּאָת ר׳. וְנַפְקֵי נִצוֹצִין כֻּלְּהוּ וּמִתְחַבְּרִין לְגוֹ נְצִיצוּ דְּאָת א׳ דְּקַיְּימָא. וְקָלָא הֲוָא נָפִיק וּבָטַשׁ בְּכָל אִינּוּן נְצִיצִין דְּאַתְוָון כַּחֲדָא: נְצִיצוּ דְּאָת ו׳ בְּי׳, נְצִיצוּ דְּי׳ בְּק׳, נְצִיצוּ דְּק׳ בְּר׳, נְצִיצוּ דְּר׳ בְּא׳. וּמִתְחַבְּרָן גְּלִיפִין דִּנְצִיצִין וְנַפְקֵי לְבָתַר. וּבָתַר דְּמִתְחַבְּרִין בְּנִיצוֹצֵיהוֹן, נָפִיק קָלָא מִבֵּינֵיהוֹן — וּמִתְחַבְּרָן בְּרָזָא דָּא וַיִּקְרָא אֶל מֹשֶׁה. וּמֹשֶׁה הֲוָה מִסְתָּכַּל כָּל אִינּוּן יוֹמִין דְּלָא עָאל.** | | (17) Afterward the letters turned back and rolled in their [new] combinations — the combinations of letters that were transmitted to Adam in the Garden of Eden. The letter א entered deep into hiddenness, into the place called *Kodesh*; ו emerged and gave place to א; א joined within ו; and behind it: **קר**. Then י entered between ק and ר, and there emerged: **קִיר**. They were engraved and sparked as before, a voice went out from between them, the sparks combined and emerged outward — revealed to all those hosts who were bearing those letters. When the sparks combined, a voice struck between them — they appeared in their engravings to all those chariots: **אוֹקִיר**. And a voice returned from between them and proclaimed among those chariots: *"I will make humankind more precious than fine gold, and a person [more precious] than the gold of Ophir"* (Isaiah 13:12). | **(יז) לְבָתַר אִתְהֲדָרוּ אַתְוָון, וַהֲווּ מִתְגַּלְגְּלִין בְּקוּלְפוֹי — בְּצֵרוּפִין דְּאַתְוָון דְּאִתְמְסָרוּ לְאָדָם בְּגִנְתָּא דְּעֵדֶן. אָת א׳ לְאַעֲלָא בְּגוֹ טְמִירָא, לַאֲתַר דְּאִקְרֵי קֹדֶשׁ. וְנָפַק ו׳ וְיָהִיב דּוּכְתָּא לְאָת א׳, וְאִתְחַבַּר א׳ לְגוֹ ו׳. דְּבַתְרֵיהּ קר — וְי׳ עָאל בֵּין ק׳ וְר׳ — וְאִשְׁתְּכַח קִיר. וְאִתְגְּלִיפוּ וְאִתְנְצִיצוּ כְּמִלְּקַדְּמִין, וְקָלָא נָפַק מִבֵּינַיְיהוּ, וּמִתְחַבְּרָן נְצִיצִין דְּאַתְוָון, וְנָפִיק לְבַר וְאִתְגַּלְיָין לְגַבֵּי כָּל אִינּוּן מַשִׁרְיָין דַּהֲווֹ נַטְלִין אִינּוּן אַתְוָון. וְכַד מִתְחַבְּרָן נְצִיצִין דְּאַתְוָון, קָלָא בָּטַשׁ בֵּינַיְיהוּ — אִתְחָזוּן בְּגִלּוּפַיְיהוּ לְכָל אִינּוּן רְתִיכִין: אוֹקִיר. וְקָלָא אַהְדַּר מִבֵּינַיְיהוּ וְקָרֵי בֵּין אִינּוּן רְתִיכִין: ״אוֹקִיר אֱנוֹשׁ מִפָּז וְאָדָם מִכֶּתֶם אוֹפִיר״ (ישעיהו יג:יב).** | | (18) Happy is the portion of Moses who saw all this! But this second combination was not shown to the eyes of Moses — only the first combination, which is **וַיִּקְרָא**, was what Moses saw, as it is written: *"And He called to Moses."* The other combination was not revealed to him — for a person's praises are not told before him. And the sign of this: *"Go out, all three of you"* (Numbers 12:4), then *"And He called Aaron and Miriam,"* then *"Mouth to mouth I speak with him,"* and *"Not so is My servant Moses"* — for a person's praises are not told before him. | **(יח) זַכָּאָה חוּלָקֵיהּ דְּמֹשֶׁה דְּחָמֵי כָּל דָּא! אֲבָל צֵרוּפָא דָּא לָא אִתְחֲמֵי לְעֵינוֹי דְּמֹשֶׁה — אֶלָּא צֵרוּפָא קַדְמָאָה דְּאִיהוּ וַיִּקְרָא, דָּא הֲוָה חָמֵי מֹשֶׁה. הֲדָא הוּא דִכְתִיב: ״וַיִּקְרָא אֶל מֹשֶׁה״. וְצֵרוּפָא דָּא אָחֳרָא לָא גַּלְיָין לֵיהּ — בְּגִין דִּשְׁבָחָא דְּבַּר נָשׁ לָא מוֹדִעִין לְקַמֵּיהּ. וְסִימָנִיךְ: ״צְּאוּ שְׁלָשְׁתְּכֶם״ (במדבר יב:ד), וּכְתִיב ״וַיִּקְרָא אַהֲרֹן וּמִרְיָם״, וּכְתִיב ״פֶּה אֶל פֶּה אֲדַבֵּר בּוֹ״, וּכְתִיב ״לֹא כֵן עַבְדִּי מֹשֶׁה״ — בְּגִין דְּלָא מוֹדִעִין שְׁבָחֵיהּ דְּבַּר נָשׁ לְקַמֵּיהּ.** | | (19) The letters ascend and pass through all those hosts in this same manner, in this combination: **אוֹקִיר**. And a voice goes out and proclaims, saying: *"I will make humankind more precious than fine gold…"* (Isaiah 13:12). Afterward the letters drew back and were [as] sparks upon the heads of all those chariots, and were stilled until they were re-established in their places. | **(יט) סַלְּקִין אַתְוָון, וְאִתְהַדְּרוּ בְּכָל אִינּוּן מַשִׁרְיָין כְּגַוְונָא דָּא — בְּצֵרוּפָא דָּא אוֹקִיר. וְקָלָא נָפַק וְאַכְרִיז וְאָמַר: ״אוֹקִיר אֱנוֹשׁ מִפָּז״ וְגוֹ׳ (ישעיהו יג:יב). לְבָתַר אִתְמְשָׁכוּ אַתְוָון, וַהֲווּ נְצִיצִין עַל רֵישַׁיְיהוּ דְּכָל אִינּוּן רְתִיכִין — וְאִשְׁתְּכָכוּ עַד דְּאִתְתְּקָנוּ לְדוּכְתַּיְיהוּ.** | | 20. The head on the left side: Hizkiel (חִזְקִיאֵל), chief commander, captain of hosts for all those who stand at the gate of the Tabernacle, under the dominion of Gabriel (גַּבְרִיאֵל). With him were arranged at that gate all the hosts under his hand. One commander was appointed over the gate on the outside — Gazriel (גַּזְרִיאֵל) by name — and with him twelve commanders surrounding him, three-three on each of the four sides. | **20. רֵישָׁא לִסְטַר שְׂמָאלָא חִזְקִיאֵ"ל רַב מְמָנָא, רַב מַשִׁרְיָין לְכָל אִינּוּן דְּקַיְימֵי לְתַרְעָא דְּמַשְׁכְּנָא, תְּחוֹת שׁוּלְטָנוּתָא דְּגַבְרִיאֵ"ל. וְעִמֵּיהּ מִתְתַּקְּנָן בְּהַהוּא תַּרְעָא, כָּל אִינּוּן מַשִׁרְיָין דִּתְחוֹת יְדֵיהּ. וְחַד מְמָנָא אִתָּקַם עַל תַּרְעָא לְבַר, וְגַזְרִיאֵ"ל שְׁמֵיהּ. וְעִמֵּיהּ י"ב מְמָנָן דְּסָחֲרִין לֵיהּ תְּלַת תְּלַת לְכָל סְטָר, לְד' סִטְרִין.** | | 21. These hold the flaming blade of the turning sword in their hands. The commander Hizkiel stands over them, highest of all, innermost. One letter flashes upon their heads — the letter *alef* (א). For these neither stand nor move except through the mystery of *alef*, which belongs to the right. For the left only moves by means of the right; the right always draws the left. The *alef* flashes and goes forth from the right. Then all of them move toward the place toward which that spark flashes. | 21. וְאִלֵּין שִׁנָּנָא דְּלָהֲטָא דְּחַרְבָּא דְּמִתְהַפְּכָא בִּידַיְיהוּ. וְהַאי מְמָנָא חִזְקִיאֵ"ל, קָאִים עָלַיְיהוּ לְעֵילָּא לְעֵילָּא לְגוֹ. אָת חַד נָצִיץ עַל רֵישַׁיְיהוּ, וְאִיהִי אָת א'. דְּהָא לָא קַיְימֵי אִלֵּין, וְלָא שַׁיְילֵי, אֶלָּא בְּרָזָא דְּא', דְּאִיהִי יְמִינָא. בְּגִין דִּשְׂמָאלָא לָא נָטִיל אֶלָּא בִּימִינָא. יְמִינָא נָטִיל תָּדִיר לִשְׂמָאלָא, דְּא' אָת נָצִיץ וְנָפִיק מִן יְמִינָא. כְּדֵין נַטְלִין לְהַהוּא אֲתַר דְּנָצִיץ הַהוּא נְצִיצוּ. | | 22. Within that: Rahatiel (רַהֲטִיאֵל), captain of hosts, who stands within under the dominion of Gabriel. With him all the hosts under his hand. One commander stands over them at the gate — Kadshiel (קַדְשִׁיאֵל) by name — and twelve commanders surround him, three-three, four times. The commander Rahatiel stands over all of them; his name does not change. One letter flashes upon the heads of all those hosts — this letter is *zayin* (ז). It exchanges, within the arrangement of the Tabernacle, for the letter *lamed* (ל). This exchange is by the mystery of *"water shall flow from his buckets"* (*yizzal mayim middalyav*, Num. 24:7). And it exchanges in the engravings of the letters and is called the exchange-letter *lamed* (ל). When this flashes upon the heads of all those hosts, all of them move toward the side toward which that spark flashes. | **22. לְגוֹ מִנֵיהּ רַהֲטִיאֵ"ל רַב מַשִׁרְיָין, דְּקַיְּימָא לְגוֹ תְּחוֹת שָׁלְטָנוּתָא דְּגַבְרִיאֵ"ל. וְעִמֵּיהּ כָּל אִינּוּן מַשִּׁרְיָין תְּחוֹת יְדֵיהּ. וְחַד מְמָנָא קָאִים עָלַיְיהוּ בְּתַרְעָא, דְּאִתְקְרֵי קַדְשִׁיאֵ"ל, וְסַחֲרִין לֵיהּ י"ב מְמָנָן, תְּלַת תְּלַת ד' זִמְנִין. וְהַהוּא מְמָנָא רַהֲטִיאֵ"ל קַיְּימָא עַל כֻּלְּהוּ, דְּלָא אִשְׁתַּנִּי שְׁמֵיהּ. אָת חַד נָצִיץ עַל רֵישַׁיְיהוּ דְּכָל אִלֵּין מַשִׁרְיָין, וְאָת דָּא אִיהוּ ז', וְאִיהוּ אִתְחַלָּף גּוֹ תִּקּוּנָא דְּמַשְׁכְּנָא בְּאָת ל. הַאי אִתְחַלָּף בְּרָזָא דְּיִזַּל מַיִם מִדָּלְיָו. וְאִתְחַלָּף בְּגִלּוּפֵי אַתְוָון, וְאִקְרֵי חִלּוּפָא ל'. כַּד הַאי נָצִיץ עַל רֵישַׁיְיהוּ דְּכָל אִלֵּין מַשִׁרְיָין, כְּדֵין כֻּלְּהוּ נַטְלִין לְהַהוּא סִטְרָא דְּהַהוּא נְצִיצוּ.** | | 23. Within that: Kaftziel (קַפְצִיאֵל), chief commander, captain of hosts, under the dominion of Gabriel. With him were arranged all the hosts under his hand — those entrusted to him at that hour. One commander stands over them — Azael (עֲזָאֵל) by name — and twelve commanders surround him on each side, three-three, as we have established. Kaftziel, chief commander, stands over all of them. One letter flashes upon the heads of all those hosts — it is the letter *dalet* (ד). All of them move toward the spark of that letter. This letter hangs in the air over two other letters. | **23. לְגוֹ מִן דָּא, קַפְצִיאֵ"ל רַב מְמָנָא, רַב מַשִׁרְיָין, תְּחוֹת שָׁלְטָנִיהּ דְּגַבְרִיאֵל, וְעִמֵּיהּ הֲווֹ מְתְתַּקְנָן כָּל אִינּוּן מַשִׁרְיָין דִּתְחוֹת יְדֵיהּ, אִינּוּן דְּאִתְמְסָרוּ לֵיהּ בְּהַהִיא שַׁעֲתָא, וְחַד מְמָנָא קָאִים עָלַיְיהוּ עֲזָאֵ"ל שְׁמֵיהּ. וְי"ב מְמָנָן סָחֲרִין לֵיהּ לְכָל עִיבָר, תְּלַת תְּלַת כְּמָה דְּאוֹקִימְנָא, וְקַפְצִיאֵ"ל רַב מְמָנָא קַיְּימָא עַל כֻּלְּהוּ. אָת חַד נָצִיץ עַל רֵישַׁיְיהוּ דְּכָל אִלֵּין מַשִׁרְיָין, וְאִיהִי אָת ד', וְכֻלְּהוּ נַטְלֵי לְהַהוּא נְצִיצוּ דְּהַהוּא אָת. הַאי אָת תַּלְיָיא גּוֹ אֲוִירָא, עַל תְּרֵין אַתְוָון אָחֳרָנִין.** | | 24. Within that: Shami'el (שַׁמְעִיאֵל), chief commander. This one exchanges into four names, for he does not remain in his engravings — at times on the right side, at times on the left. With him twelve commanders surround him on each side, three-three, as we established. Ragsiel (רַגְשִׁיאֵל) is chief commander over those twelve, under that other commander. One letter flashes upon their heads above — this letter is *heh* (ה). This hangs in the air over all the other letters, at that letter *dalet* (ד) that we mentioned. Of those four letters, these two rise above all the others. All of them move toward the spark that hangs from that letter. | **24. לְגוֹ מִן דָּא שַׁמְעִיאֵ"ל רַב מְמָנָא, הַאי אִתְחַלָּף לְד' שְׁמָהָן, בְּגִין דְּלָא קַיְּימָא בְּגַלְפוֹי. זִמְנִין לִסְטַר יְמִינָא, וְזִמְנִין לִסְטַר שְׂמָאלָא, וְעִמֵּיהּ י"ב מְמָנָן דְּסָחֲרִין לֵיהּ לְכָל עִיבָר תְּלַת תְּלַת, כְּמָה דְּאוֹקִימְנָא, וְרַגְשִׁיאֵ"ל רַב מְמָנָא עַל אִלֵּין י"ב, תְּחוֹתֵיהּ דְּהַהוּא מְמָנָא אָחֳרָא. וְאָת חַד נָצִיץ עַל רֵישַׁיְיהוּ לְעֵילָּא, וְאָת דָּא אִיהִי אָת ה', וְדָא תַּלְיָא בַּאֲוִירָא עַל כָּל שְׁאָר אַתְוָון, בְּהַהוּא אָת ד' דְּקַאמְרָן. ד' אִלֵּין תְּרֵין סְלִיקוּ לְעֵיל עַל כָּל שְׁאָר אָחֳרָנִין, וְכֻלְּהוּ נַטְלִין לְהַהוּא נְצִיצוּ דְּתַלְיָא מֵהַהוּא אָת.** | | 25. Innermost of all, in the place called *Holy*, one letter flashes within the hiddenness of the Holy — the closed *mem* (ם סְתִימָא). This flashes its spark upon all the letters, and a voice goes out from between those letters. Then the spark of this letter strikes and takes two other letters whose sparks hang in the air — *dalet* (ד) and *heh* (ה) — and what remains is **אֵל**. These join with those others of the right side. They strike one another; all of them move; the former ones return as before and go out — and then they are called: **וַיִּקְרָא אֶל מֹשֶׁה**. | 25**. לְגוֹ לְגוֹ, בַּאֲתַר דְּאִקְרֵי קֹדֶשׁ, נָצִיץ אָת חַד גּוֹ טְמִירוּ דְּקֹדֶשׁ, וְאִיהִי אָת ם סְתִימָא. הַאי נָצִיץ בִּנְצִיצוּ עַל כֻּלְּהוּ אַתְוָון, וְקָלָא הוּא נָפִיק מִבֵּינַיְיהוּ דְּאִלֵּין אַתְוָון. כְּדֵין בָּטַשׁ נְצִיצוּ דְּהַאי אָת, וְנָטִיל תְּרֵין אַתְוָון אָחֳרָנִין נְצִיצִין דְּתַלְיָין בַּאֲוִירָא, וְאִינּוּן ד' ה', וְאִשְׁתְּאַר אֵל. וְאִתְחַבְּרָן בְּאִלֵּין אָחֳרָנִין דִּסְטָר יְמִינָא, וּבָטְשׁוּ אִלֵּין בְּאִלֵּין, וְנַטְלֵי כֻּלְּהוּ, וְאִתְהַדְּרָן קַדְמָאֵי כְּמִלְּקַדְּמִין וְנַפְקֵי לְבַר, וּכְדֵין אִקְרוּן: וַיִּקְרָא אֶל מֹשֶׁה**. | ### 3.1 Full Text Unedited [[Zohar Vayikra Drasha on Otiyot - Full Bi|Full Text of Zohar Vayikra on the Letters - Unedited]]