Introduction of The Book of Zohar
1) The 613 Mitzvot [commandments] in the Torah are called Pekudin [commands/deposits], as well as Etzot [counsels/tips]. This is so because in all things there is the preparation for attainment, which is the Achor [back] and the attainment of the matter, Panim [front/face]. Similarly, there are “We shall do” and “We shall hear” in Torah and Mitzvot. When keeping Torah and Mitzvot in “we shall do,” prior to being rewarded with hearing, the Mitzvot are called “613 counsels,” preparation, Achor. When rewarded with hearing, the 613 Mitzvot become Pekudin, from the word Pikadon [deposit]. This is so because in each Mitzva, the light of a degree is deposited opposite a unique organ in the 613 organs and tendons of the soul and of the body. It follows that by performing the Mitzva he extends the light that belongs to that organ and tendon through his soul and body. This is the Panim of the Mitzvot, hence the Panim of the Mitzvot are called “deposits.” (Excerpt taken from “General Explanation for All Fourteen Commandments and How They Divide into the Seven Days of Creation.”)
8) “Since man asked and researched, to observe.” “To observe” refers to the Zivug de AVI, called Histaklut [looking] of AVI at each other through their ascent to Rosh de AA. At that time, the Bina returns to receive illumination of Hochma for the ZON. This is because while YESHSUT, ZAT de Bina, do not need illumination of Hochma for themselves—since in and of themselves, ZAT de Bina are similar to their GAR and do not need to receive Hochma—when ZON rise for MAN to YESHSUT, YESHSUT awaken for them to rise to Rosh de AA and receive Hochma. However, ZON, too, do not rise for MAN to YESHSUT, except by raising MAN from the lower people to the ZON in a way that the souls of people rise for MAN to ZON, then the ZON rise for MAN to YESHSUT, and YESHSUT rise to AA and become one Partzuf with upper AVI. At that time, AVI look at each other and extend Hochma for the ZON.
“And since man asked” means that he raised MAN. “And researched” means scrutinizing his actions, to raise the ZON for Zivug AVI to look, so that AVI would look at each other and extend Hochma. “And to know from degree to degree through the end of all the degrees, the Malchut,” since the illumination of Hochma that is drawn through raising MAN and the Zivug is called “knowing” or “ Hochma through Daat” [wisdom through knowledge], for ZON that rise for MAN are regarded there as the Sefira Daat for AVI, as they cause their Zivug. Also, the Zivug is called “knowing,” from the words, “And the man knew his wife, Eve.”
“And to know” means to extend Mochin in Daat from degree to degree, from Daat of the degree of AVI to the Mochin of the degree of ZA. “Through the end of all the degrees” is from ZA to the Nukva, who is called “the end of all the degrees.”
23) The creation of the world means improvement and existence in a way that the world can exist and complete the aim for which it was created. It is known that God has made them one opposite the other. Opposite each force in Kedusha [holiness], the Creator made an equal force in the Sitra Achra, opposite from the Kedusha. As there are four worlds ABYA de [of] Kedusha, there are four worlds ABYA de Tuma’a [impurity] opposite them.
Hence, in the world of Assiya there is no distinction between one who serves God and one who does not serve Him, as there is no distinction whatsoever between Kedusha and Tuma’a. Accordingly, how can the world exist? How can we tell good from evil, Kedusha from Tuma’a?
However, there is one, very important scrutiny, which is that another god is barren and does not bear fruit. Hence, those who fail in him and walk by the path of ABYA de Tuma’a, their source dries out and they have no blessing of spiritual fruits. Thus, they wither away until they shut completely.
The opposite is those who adhere to Kedusha. Their works are blessed, as it is written, “As a tree planted by streams of water, which yields its fruit in its season and its leaf does not wither; and in whatever he does, he prospers.”
This is the only scrutiny in the world of Assiya to know if he is in Kedusha or to the contrary, as it is written, “‘And test Me now in this,’ says the Lord of hosts, ‘if I do not open for you the windows of heaven and pour out for you a blessing until it overflows.’” Afterwards it is written, “So you will again distinguish between the righteous and the wicked, between one who serves God and one who does not serve Him.” Thus, it explains that it is impossible to tell one who serves the Creator from one who does not serve Him, but only in the blessing.
This is the heart of this commentary of the letters, since all the letters came to create the world according to the instruction of the degree in Kedusha that is unique to that letter, for the twenty-two letters are the elements of all the heads of the degrees in the four worlds ABYA. Each of them appreciated its own merit, indicating that by obtaining her degree, the people of the world would be able to make the Kedusha prevail over the Klipot, to reach the desired end of correction. But the Creator replied to each of them that opposite here is that same force in the Klipot, as well, hence, people will not obtain any scrutinies through her.
Then came the Bet, whose instruction in her degree is Beracha [blessing], opposite which there are no Klipot whatsoever, since another god is barren and does not bear fruit. Then the Creator told her, “Indeed, I will create the world with you,” since only in her was there scrutiny and distinction, telling between a servant of the Creator and one who does not serve Him, since she did not have an opposite in the Sitra Achra. Hence, the world will indeed exist in her, to scrutinize and to enhance the Kedusha over the Merkavot [chariots/structures] of Tuma’a, until death is swallowed up forever and they arrive at the end of correction.
54) Who is so wise among you as to turn darkness into light, for whom the bitter tastes as sweet even before he comes here, while he is still alive in this world? Who among you awaits the light each day, shining when the King visits the doe, at which time the glory of the King increases and He is called “the King of all the kings of the world.” And one who does not expect it each day while he is still in this world has no part here.
56) When a corporeal person fills with compassion and love over one’s friend, he sheds tears, for it extends from the above-mentioned root of the spiritual tears, since anything spiritual that occurs in the upper ones strikes and finds a branch in the corporeal creations. This is so because the upper light kicks and strikes the Masach to breach its boundary, since the upper light always extends only from Ein Sof, above the world of Tzimtzum, where no boundary is discerned.
Also, the upper light craves and longs to expand in the lower one, as it is written, “The Creator craved to dwell in the lower ones.” We also learn, “Divinity in the lower ones—a high need.” Hence, He kicks and strikes the boundary in the Masach, to be drawn below its boundary, and the Masach repels it as Ohr Hozer, and in the meantime, tears fell outside.
These tears come out of compassion and love for the lower one. Hence, in the corporeal branch, too, the tears are always emitted when one’s heart is moved with love and compassion for one’s friend. Yet, spiritual tears do not vanish, as do corporeal ones.
The tears that are as boiling as fire fall into the great sea, as it is written, “For love is as strong as death, jealousy is as severe as the netherworld; its flashes are flashes of fire, the very flame of the Lord.” This is so because those tears come out of compassion and love from the upper light to the lower one. And as you find in the corporeal branch, when one fills with love and compassion for one’s friend, the tears are as boiling as the measure of his feelings for him.
So it is with the above-mentioned tears—they boil as fire, whose “Flashes are flashes of fire, the very flame of the Lord.” This is why it was said, “And the tears are as boiling as fire and fall into the great sea.” The quality of Malchut on the side of Hochma is called “the great sea,” since great waters extend from it, breakers of the sea.
Through those tears, that appointee over the sea, called Rahav, stands and exists, meaning that minister of the sea who was killed at the time of the creation of the world. It is written, “And by His understanding He shattered Rahav,” for when he was told, “Let the water ... be gathered together unto one place,” he did not want to swallow the waters of Beresheet, and he stands and exists on those tears that fall into the great sea, for through them he is revived.
It was said that he sanctifies the name of the holy King and takes upon himself to swallow all the waters of Beresheet. This is so because at the time of the creation of the world, no correction reached Malchut de Malchut, since the Emanator corrected the worlds ABYA in MAN de Bina and not in MAN de Malchut, and this sufficed only for the first nine of Malchut and not for Malchut de Malchut.
It is written, “You are My people, you are in partnership with Me; I started the worlds, and you finish them.” The entire correction of Malchut de Malchut is upon the lower ones. Hence, when it was said to the minister of the sea, “Let the water ... be gathered together unto one place,” he refused and did not wish to swallow all the waters of Beresheet because the Klipot would have overcome him for lack of the correction of Malchut de Malchut. This is why he was killed. However, those tears are the ones that sort and correct the Malchut de Malchut.
For this reason, they give vitality to the minister of the sea, so he may stand and sanctify the name of the holy King, to keep his Master’s command and swallow all the waters of Beresheet. Then all the Klipot in the world and all the evil powers will annul, and all will gather unto one place—the world of Atzilut, since the world of Atzilut will expand equally with the Raglaim of AK down to this world. This will be the end of correction because BYA will return to being Atzilut.
61-62) The Creator listens to the voices of those who engage in Torah. With each word that is renewed in the Torah through a person who toils in the Torah, he makes one firmament. ZA is called “a voice,” and Nukva is called “speech.” When the righteous engages in Torah, he raises MAN to ZON with the voice and speech of his Torah. A voice rises to ZA and the speech rises to the Nukva. The Creator listens to the voices of those who engage in Torah because the voice of Torah rises for MAN to ZA, who is called “the Creator.” And in each word that is renewed in the Torah through the person who is exerting in Torah, he makes one firmament.
A word means speech. Each word that is renewed in the Torah of the one who engages in the Torah rises as MAN for the Nukva, who is called “word and speech.” By that, one firmament is done. The firmament—the Masach on which the Zivug of the Creator with His Divinity is done—is carried out through the MAN that the righteous raise by their engagement in the Torah.
The reason why he says “In a word of Torah” and does not say “Innovation in the voice of Torah” is that the Nukva needs the construction of her Yesod anew for each Zivug, since after each Zivug, she becomes a virgin once again. And through the MAN of the righteous, the Yesod in her is always renewed, meaning the receptacle for the lights of ZA. This is why he says, “In each word that is renewed in the Torah,” since the word, Malchut, is truly renewed by the righteous’ word of Torah, for after every Zivug her receptacle disappears once more.
At the time when a new word of Torah comes out of the mouth of a man, that word rises and is introduced before the Creator. The Creator takes that word, kisses it, and crowns it with seventy decorated and engraved crowns. Then the new word of wisdom rises and sits on the head of the righteous one who lives forever. From there, it flies and sails through 70,000 worlds, rising to Atik Yomin, the Keter. All the words of Atik Yomin are words of wisdom in the high, hidden secrets. That is, when a person raises MAN with his word of Torah, the upper word, Nukva de ZA, rises and is introduced before the Creator for a Zivug with Him.
68) The MAN that the righteous raise to bring contentment to their Maker, to benefit the upper one, is called “innovated words of Torah.” This is so because they are innovated by the upper Zivug, and through them ZON receive new Mochin until they are thus rewarded with establishing heaven and founding earth. By that, they become partners with the Creator because through their words, heaven and earth are renewed.
85) The donkey driver who is leading the donkeys behind them is the assistance to the souls of the righteous, which is sent to them from above to raise them from one degree to the next. Had it not been for this assistance, which the Creator sends to the righteous, they would have been unable to rise from their degree and ascend higher. Hence the Creator sends a high soul from above according to the merit and degree of each righteous, and it assists him on his way.
In the beginning, the righteous does not know that soul at all. It seems to him that it is a very low soul which is accompanying him on his way. This is called “the impregnation of the righteous’ soul.” It means that the soul above has not completed her assistance, hence it is completely undistinguishable that it is her. But once she completes her assistance and brings the righteous to the desired degree, he recognizes her and sees her sublimity. This is called “the disclosure of the soul of the righteous.”
119) In the hall of the Messiah King, all the corrections that should be revealed at the end of correction—upon the arrival of the Messiah King—are already prepared and ready. Not a single detail is missing, and those souls in the hall of the Messiah King are all those who have already been rewarded with the end of correction from the root of their own souls.
120) It was said about the upper King that he is sublime, hidden, and concealed, and He makes gates for Himself, one atop the other. This is not an allegory. Rather, it is the lesson itself, since being a sublime, hidden, and concealed King, the thought cannot perceive Him whatsoever. Hence, He made many gates one atop the other, by which He made it possible to approach Him, as it is written, “Open for me the gates of righteousness.” These are the gates that the Creator has made, making it possible for the righteous to approach Him through those gates.
At the end of all the gates, He made a gate with several locks. That gate is called Malchut de Malchut, the final point of all the upper gates. This last gate is the first gate for the upper Hochma [wisdom]. That is, it is possible to be rewarded with the upper Hochma only after the attainment of this last gate specifically, as for attainment of the upper Hochma, it is the first gate. This is why it is written, “Fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom,” since “Fear of the Lord” is called the last gate, which is the first for the wisdom of the Lord.
121) The thought of creation is to delight His creatures and no pleasure is perceived by the creature while he must be separated from the Creator. Moreover, we learn that the Creator craves to dwell in the lower ones.
The common thing in understanding those two matters, which deny each other, is that the world was created in complete oppositeness from the Creator, from one end to the other, in every single point. This is so because this world was created with a desire to receive, which is the opposite form of the Creator’s, in whom there is not even a shred of this desire, as it is written, “And man is born the foal of a wild donkey.”
In that respect, all the issues of the governance of His guidance in this world are in total contrast to the thought of creation, which is only to delight His creatures, for it is according to the desire to receive in us, which is our standard and our tastefulness.
This is the meaning of the locks on the gates. First, all the many contradictions to His uniqueness, which we taste in this world, separate us from the Creator. Yet, when exerting to keep Torah and Mitzvot with love, with our soul and might, as we are commanded—to bestow contentment upon our Maker—all those forces of separation do not affect us into subtracting any of the love of the Creator with all our souls and might. Rather, in that state, every contradiction we have overcome becomes a gate for attainment of His wisdom. This is so because there is a special quality in each contradiction—revealing a special degree in attaining Him. And those worthy ones who have been rewarded with it turn darkness into light and bitter into sweet, for all the powers of separation—from the darkness of the mind and the bitterness of the body—have become to them gates for obtainment of sublime degrees. Thus, the darkness becomes a great light and the bitter becomes sweet.
Hence, to the extent that they previously had all the conducts of His guidance toward the forces of separation, now they have all been inverted into forces of unification, and sentence the entire world to the side of merit. This is because now each force serves for them as a gate of righteousness, by which they will come to receive from the Creator everything that He has contemplated for them, to delight them with the thought of creation, as it is written, “This is the gate of the Lord; the righteous will enter through it.”
However, prior to being rewarded with inverting the desire to receive in us through Torah and Mitzvot, into reception in order to bestow, there are strong locks on those gates to the Creator, for then they have the opposite role: to drive us away from the Creator. This is why the forces of separation are called “locks,” since they block the gates of approaching and drive us away from the Creator.
But if we overcome them so they do not affect us, cooling His love from our hearts, the locks become doors, the darkness becomes light, and the bitter becomes sweet. Over all the locks, we receive a special degree in His Providence, and they become openings, degrees of attainment of the Creator. And those degrees that we receive on the openings become halls of wisdom.
124) Also, those who keep the Torah are seemingly the ones who make it because all those forces of separation are inverted and become gates, each lock becomes a key, and each door becomes a hall of wisdom. By those who keep the Torah, all the sublime degrees that are included in the thought of creation to delight His creatures become revealed.
It follows that all the wisdom and the whole Torah are revealed only by those who keep the Torah, those in whom there is doing, in whom there is good and evil. This is why they are called “keepers of the Torah,” for it appears only through them. The verse calls them “Those who do them,” for they are seemingly the ones who make the Torah. This is so because were it not for their concealments, which have become gates through their prevailing, the Torah would not have been revealed.
125) Rabbi Shimon was sitting and studying the Torah on the night when the bride, Malchut, unites with her husband. On that night, after which—on the day of Shavuot—the bride is to be with her husband under the Huppah [wedding canopy], all the friends, who are the members of the bridal chamber, must be with her on that night and rejoice with her in the corrections in which she is corrected, meaning to engage in Torah, from Torah to Prophets, from Prophets to Hagiographa, the interpretations of the texts, and the secrets of the wisdom, for these are her corrections and adornments.
The Bride and her maidens come and stand on their heads, and she is corrected in them and rejoices in them all through that night. On the next day, the day of Shavuot, she comes to the Huppah only with them. And these friends, who engage in the Torah all night long, are called “members of the Huppah.” And when she comes to the Huppah, the Creator asks about them, blesses them, and crowns them with the crowns of the bride. Happy are they.
Explanation: There are two meanings to it, which coincide.
1) The days of the exile are called “night,” since this is the time of the concealment of His face from the children of Israel. At that time, all the powers of separation of the servants of the Creator dominate, and yet, precisely at that time the bride bonds with her husband—through Torah and Mitzvot of the righteous, who at that time are regarded as those who hold the Torah. All the sublime degrees called, “secrets of the Torah,” are revealed by them, since this is why they are called “those who make them,” for they seemingly make the Torah. It follows that the days of the exile are called “night,” in which the bride bonds with her husband, and all the friends, who are the members of the bridal chamber, are those who hold the Torah.
After the end of correction and the complete redemption, it is written, “For there shall be one day, which is known to the Lord, neither day nor night, when in the evening time there will be light.” This is why it is written that on the next day, the bride is to be with her husband under the Huppah, for then BON will return to being SAG, MA will be AB, and AB is regarded as the next day and a new Huppah.
At that time, the righteous are called “members of the Huppah,” who engage in Torah, in whom there is no action, for then it is said, “And the earth shall be full of the knowledge of the Lord.” And since those righteous—through their good deeds—raise BON to being SAG by their extension of the fear from the past, they are regarded as making this new Huppah, and this is why they are called “members of the Huppah.”
2) The night of Shavuot is called “the night in which the bride bonds with her husband.” This is so because on the next day, she is destined to be with her husband under the Huppah, on the day of Shavuot, the day of the reception of the Torah. However, it is the same matter as the first explanation because on the day of the reception of the Torah it was already the end of correction, in the form of “He will swallow up death forever, and the Lord God will wipe away tears from all faces.” It is as it is written in the verse, “ Harut [carved] on the tablets”; do not pronounce it Harut, but Herut [freedom], since freedom from the angel of death has come.
126) In the end, when the great Zivug of Atik Yomin, Rav Pe’alim uMekabtze’el, appears, a great light will appear in all the worlds. By that, every flesh shall completely repent out of love.
128) Huppah is a gathering and assembling of all the Ohr Hozer [reflected light] that came out over the MAN that the righteous raised in all those Zivugim of the Creator and His Divinity, that appeared one at a time during all days and times of the 6,000 years. Now they have all become a great, single light of Ohr Hozer that rises and hovers over the Creator and His Divinity, who are now called “groom and bride.” The Ohr Hozer hovers over them like a canopy [Huppah], and for this reason, at that time the righteous are called “members of the Huppah,” for each has a part in this Huppah, to the extent of the MAN that he raised to the Masach in Malchut for raising Ohr Hozer. When it says, “the heaven,” it is the bridegroom entering the Huppah. This refers to the time of the end of correction, at which time the Creator is called bridegroom who then enters his Huppah.
138) … Know that this is the whole difference between this world, prior to the correction, and the end of correction. Prior to the end of correction, Malchut is called “the tree of knowledge of good and evil,” since the Malchut is the guidance of the Creator in this world. As long as the receivers have not been completed so they can receive His whole benevolence, which He had contemplated in our favor in the thought of creation, the guidance must be in the form of good and bad, reward and punishment. It is so because our vessels of reception are still tainted with self-reception, which is very limited in its measure, as well as separates us from the Creator.
The complete benefit, in the great measure that He had contemplated for us, is only in bestowal, which is pleasure without any boundary and limitation. But reception for oneself is limited and highly restricted because the satiation promptly puts out the pleasure. It is written, “The Lord has made everything for His own purpose,” meaning that everything that occurs in the world was created from its inception only to bestow contentment upon Him. Thus, people engage in worldly affairs in complete contrast to how they were initially created, since the Creator is saying, “The whole world was created for Me,” as it is written, “The Lord has made everything for His own purpose,” and “Everyone who is called by My name, I have created for My glory.”
And we say the complete opposite because we are saying, “The whole world was created only for us.” We want to devour all the abundance of the world into our bellies, for our own delights, and for our own glory. Thus, it is no wonder that we are still unworthy of receiving His complete benefit. For this reason, His guidance of good and evil has been prescribed for us, with guidance of reward and punishment, for they are interdependent because reward and punishment result from good and evil. When we use the vessels of reception contrary to how they were created, we necessarily sense evil in the operations of Providence in relation to us.
It is a law that the creature cannot receive disclosed evil from the Creator, for it is a flaw in the glory of the Creator for the creature to perceive Him as an evildoer, for this is unbecoming of the complete Operator. Hence, when one feels bad, denial of the Creator’s guidance lies upon him and the superior Operator is concealed from him to that same extent. This is the greatest punishment in the world.
Thus, the sensation of good and evil in relation to His guidance brings with it the sensation of reward and punishment, for one who exerts to not part from faith in the Creator is rewarded even when he tastes a bad taste in Providence. And if he does not exert, he will have a punishment because he is separated from faith in the Creator. It follows that although the Creator does, is doing, and will do all the deeds, it still remains hidden from those who sense good and evil, since at the time of evil, the Sitra Achra is given the strength to conceal His guidance and faith. Thus, one comes to the great punishment of separation and becomes filled with heretical thoughts. And upon repentance, one receives the corresponding reward and can adhere to the Creator once again.
However, by the guidance of reward and punishment itself, the Creator has prepared it so that ultimately, we will be rewarded with the end of correction through it, that all the people will obtain the corrected vessels of reception in order to bestow contentment upon their Maker, as it is written, “The Lord has made everything for His own purpose,” as they were initially created. At that time, the great Zivug of Atik Yomin will appear, we will come to repentance from love, all the sins will be turned into merits, and all the bad into great good.
At that time, His private Providence will be revealed throughout the world, for all to see that He alone does, is doing, and will do all those deeds from before. This is because now, once the evil and the punishments have become benefits and merits, it will be possible to attain their Doer, for they have now become fitting for the work of His hands. Now they will praise and bless Him for those imaginary evils and punishments at the time.
This is the main point of the essay, for thus far the corrections, too, were regarded as the work of our hands because we received rewards or punishments for them. However, at the great Zivug of the end of correction it will be revealed that both corrections and punishments were all the work of His hands, as it is written, “The heavens tell the work of His hands.” This is so because the great Zivug of the firmament will say that everything is the work of His hands and He alone does, is doing, and will do all the deeds.
140) This is so because prior to the end of correction, before we qualified our vessels of reception to receive only in order to give contentment to our Maker and not to our own benefit, Malchut is called “the tree of knowledge of good and evil.” This is so because Malchut is the guidance of the world by people’s actions. And since we are unfit to receive all the delight and pleasure that the Creator had contemplated in our favor in the thought of creation, we must receive the guidance of good and evil from the Malchut. This guidance qualifies us to ultimately correct our vessels of reception in order to bestow and to be rewarded with the delight and pleasure He had contemplated in our favor.
Our sensation of good and evil causes reward and punishment, too, since the sensation of evil causes separation from faith in the Creator. It follows that if one exerts during one’s bad feeling to not blemish his faith because of that, and to keep the Torah and Mitzvot in wholeness, he is rewarded. And if he does not succeed in the test and receives separation, he is filled with evil thoughts.
It is known that for such thoughts the Creator punishes as for an act. It is written about it, “To lay hold of the hearts of the house of Israel.” It is also known that the righteousness of the righteous will not save him on the day of his transgression. However, this concerns only those who ponder the beginning.
Yet, sometimes the thoughts prevail over a person until he wonders about all the good deeds he has done and says, “What profit is it that we have kept His charge, and that we have walked in mourning before the Lord of hosts?” At that time, he becomes a complete wicked because he ponders the beginning and loses all the good deeds he had done by this bad thought, as it is written, “The righteousness of the righteous will not save him on the day of his transgression.” This is why repentance is helpful, although this is already regarded as beginning to serve the Creator anew, as a newly born infant, whose righteousness from the past has completely vanished.
Often, the guidance of good and evil causes us ascents and descents, each according to what he is. You should know that for this reason, each ascent is regarded as a separate day because due to the great descent that he had, doubting the beginning, during the ascent he is as a newly born child. Thus, in each ascent, it is as though he begins to serve the Creator anew. This is why each ascent is considered a specific day, and similarly, each descent is considered a specific night.
It is written, “Day to day pours forth speech,” a holy day, from among those upper days of the King. In other words, on each ascent that a person had, when he clung to the upper days of the Creator, the friends are praised and each tells his friend that thing that he said. This is so because through the great Zivug at the end of correction they will be rewarded with repentance from love, for they will complete the correction of all the vessels of reception, so they will be only in order to bestow contentment upon the Creator. In that Zivug, all of the great delight and pleasure of the thought of creation will appear to us.
At that time, we will evidently see that all those punishments from the time of descents, which brought us into doubting the beginning, were the things that purified us and were the direct causes of all the happiness and goodness that have come to us at the time of the end of correction. This is so because were it not for those terrible punishments, we would never have come to this delight and pleasure. Then these sins will be inverted into actual merits.
“Day to day pours forth speech” means that each ascent prior to the end of correction is one of those upper days of the King, praising the friends. Thus, now it reappears in all the magnificence of its wholeness, which belongs to that day, and praises the friends who keep the Torah with that thing which each said to the friends, which is, “It is vain to serve God; and what profit is it that we have kept His charge,” which at the time inflicted great punishments.
This is because now they have been turned into merits, since the entire wholeness and happiness of that day would not be able to appear now, in that grandeur and magnificence, were it not for those punishments. This is why those who speak those words are regarded as “Those who fear the Lord and who esteem His name,” as actual good deeds. This is why it was said about them, too, “I will have compassion over them as a man has compassion for his own son who serves him.”
It is said, “Day to day pours forth that speech” and praises it. This is so because all those nights are the descents, the suffering, and the punishments that arrested the Dvekut [adhesion] with the Creator until they became many days one after the other. Now, once the night and darkness have become merits and good deeds, as well, the night shines like the day and darkness like light, there are no more arrests, and all 6,000 years unite into a single great day.
Thus, all the Zivugim that came out one at a time and disclosed ascents and descents that were separate from one another have now assembled into a level of one, sublime, and transcendent level of Zivug, which shines from the end of the world through its end. It is written, “Day to day pours forth that speech” because the word that separated between one day and the next has now become a great praise and praises it, for it has become a merit. Thus, they all became one day for the Lord.
141) We should know that in eternity, the order of time is not as it is in this world. It follows that when the Creator contemplated creating the world, all the souls with all their conducts were already created in Him—through the end, in the complete wholeness that is required of them, to receive all the pleasure and delight that He had contemplated to delight them. In Him, the future is like the present, and future and past do not apply to Him.
Now you will understand the words, “The Creator showed Adam HaRishon each generation and its teachers,” as well as to Moses. This seems perplexing. Since they have not been created yet, how did He show them? However, it is written that all the souls and all their conducts through the end of correction have already come out before Him in reality. They are all present in the upper Garden of Eden, and from there they come down, clothing bodies in this world, each in its time. The Creator showed them to Adam HaRishon from there, as well as to Moses, and to all who were worthy of it. This is an extensive matter and not every mind can bear it.
This is why it is said in The Zohar that as they unite in one above, she unites in one below, since the level of the great Zivug of the end of correction—as it is written, “The Lord will be one and His name One”—this level has already come out above—all the souls and all the deeds in the world, which will be created through the end of correction, in relation to His eternity, for the future is as the present to Him. It follows that this pillar of light—which shines from the end of the world through its end, which will shine at the end of correction—is already standing in the upper Garden of Eden and shines before Him as it will appear to us at the end of correction.
It says there, “One opposite one,” since the Creator is one. This is so because at the end of correction, the two levels will shine one opposite the other, and then “The Lord will be one and His name One.” And it was written, “Those matters make a line from the dwellers above and from the dwellers below,” a line that shines from the dwellers above and from the dwellers below, one opposite the other.
This is so because that level shines from the dwellers above—which are the souls who are all in the upper Garden of Eden—and shines from the dwellers below—which are all the souls once they have actually been dressed in a body in this world and arrived at the end of correction. In other words, those two levels shine at the end of correction together, and then the unification of “The Lord is one and His name One” appears.
156) When the Creator wished to create man, He summoned sects of the upper angels, sat them down before Him, and said, “I wish to create man.” They replied, “What is man, that You should remember him?” That is, “What is the nature of this man?” He told them, “Man was created in our image; his wisdom will be greater than your wisdom, since man’s soul comprises all the angels and upper degrees, just as his body comprises all the creations of this world. For this reason, upon the creation of man’s soul, He called upon all the upper angels to include themselves in man’s soul, as it is written, “Let us make man in our image, after our likeness.” In other words, He incorporated all the angels so they would be included in man’s Tzelem [image] and likeness. They asked the Creator, “What is the nature of this man?” meaning, “What will we gain from him, by our inclusion in him?”
He replied, “Man was created in our image; his wisdom will be greater than your wisdom.” He promised them that this man, who was to be comprised of our image, his wisdom would be greater than your wisdom. By that, you, too, will gain that great attainment that you are now lacking.
In the future, Israel’s merit will be greater than that of the angels. Thus, they all partook and were incorporated in man’s image.
163) Whereby the engagement in Torah and Mitzvot Lishma [for Her name], Israel are rewarded with actually adhering unto Him, and His Divinity dresses in them until they perform the same deeds as the Creator: reviving dead, bringing down rains, and sustaining heaven and earth. In that respect, they are completely like Him, as it is written, “By Your actions we know You.” However, they attain all that only by complete and whole faith, and they do not even contemplate attaining Him with their wisdom, as do the sages of the nations.
175) By the breaking of the Kelim of Kedusha and their falling into the separated BYA, sparks of Kedusha fell into the Klipot. From them, all sorts of pleasures and fancies come into the domain of the Klipot, for the sparks transfer them into man’s reception and for his pleasure. By that, they cause all kinds of transgressions, such as theft, robbery, and murder.
However, we were also given Torah and Mitzvot. Thus, even if one begins to engage in them in Lo Lishma, for one’s own delight, to satisfy one’s base desires, according to the powers of the breaking of the vessels, he will eventually come to Lishma through them and will be rewarded with the purpose of creation—to receive all the delight and pleasure in the thought of creation in order to bestow contentment upon Him.
175) One should always engage in Torah and Mitzvot, even Lo Lishma [not for Her name] because from Lo Lishma he comes to Lishma [for Her name]. This is so because for man’s lowness, he cannot engage in Mitzvot in order to bestow contentment upon his Maker right from the start. Rather, by his nature he can make any movement only if it is for his own benefit. For this reason, first he must engage in Mitzvot Lo Lishma, out of his own benefit. And yet, during the act of Mitzvot, he extends abundance of Kedusha [holiness/sanctity], and through the abundance that he extends, he will eventually come to engage in Mitzvot Lishma, in order to bring contentment to his Maker.
183) The prayer that we pray is the correction of the Holy Divinity, to extend abundance to her, to satisfy all her deficiencies. Hence, all the requests are in plural form, such as “And grant us knowledge from You,” or “Bring us back, our Father, into Your law.”
This is so because the prayer is for the whole of Israel, since all that there is in the holy Divinity exists in the whole of Israel. And what is lacking in her is lacking in the whole of Israel. It follows that when we pray for the whole of Israel, we pray for the Holy Divinity, since they are the same. Thus, before the prayer, we must look into the deficiencies in Divinity, to know what needs to be corrected and filled in her.
184) Abraham is the root of Hesed in the souls of Israel, since he is the one who corrected the holy Divinity into a receptacle for the light of Hesed. She received the Hassadim for all the souls of Israel in their fullest. Had it remained so, all of Israel would have been adhered to the Creator permanently, and the holy Divinity would be the house of Malchut, filled with every delight and pleasure, and not a single person would wish to part from her for even a minute.
However, Abraham’s entire correction consisted of making a complete receptacle for the light of Hassadim, without any possibility of a flaw. In other words, he elevated the holy Divinity into bestowal and contentment upon our Maker, and to not receive anything for our own delight, for this is the quality and the receptacle of the light of Hesed. It is written about it, “Anyone who says ‘What is mine is yours and what is yours is yours—a Hassid [from the word Hesed],’ for he does not demand anything for his own pleasure.
And since all the restrictions and the whole of the grip of the Sitra Achra are only in reception for oneself, it follows that by that, he entirely removed the scum of the Klipot and the Sitra Achra, and Divinity has been established in complete purity. However, that still did not complete the thought of creation, since the essence of the thought of creation was to delight His creatures, and the measure of pleasure depends and is measured only by the amount of the desire to receive, where by the amount of the desire to receive, so is the measure of pleasure from reception.
Hence, once Divinity has been corrected only in a vessel of bestowal, without any reception for oneself at all, which is the departure from reception for the Creator and giving only to Him, still no correction has come from that to the basic thought of creation, which comes only by the greatness of the desire to receive.
This is the meaning of Abraham’s begetting of Isaac. Once Isaac found Divinity in utter wholeness and fulfillment with the light of Hesed through Abraham’s corrections, he felt the deficiency in her, that she was still unfit for reception of all that is included in the thought of creation. For this reason, he went and corrected her into a receptacle so she will be fit to receive that desired fullness in the thought of creation. He evoked the desire to receive from the Creator, too, but only in reception in order to bestow. This means that he has a great desire to receive, but only because the Giver wishes it. Had the Giver not wished for it, there would have been no desire in him to receive anything from Him.
It is known that reception in order to bestow is regarded as actual bestowal. Thus, the Sitra Achra still has no grip there, in this will to receive. For this reason, the holy Divinity was established by him in the last, great wholeness, for now she was fit to receive all the pleasantness and softness from all that the Creator contemplated to delight His creatures when they arose in the mind to create them.
For this reason, now the holy Divinity is called “His holy Temple,” for now the King is in her with all his grandeur and splendor, like a king in his palace.
185) Rabbi Pinhas was usually before Rabbi Rehumai, by the shore of the Sea of Galilee. A great and elderly man was Rabbi Rehumai, and his eyes grew weak. He said to Rabbi Pinhas, “Indeed, I heard that Yochai, our friend, has a gem, a good stone, a son. I looked in the light of that gem and it is as the illumination of the sun from its sheath, illuminating the entire world.”
Explanation: Malchut in all her corrections is called “a good stone,” and she is called “a gem.” He says, “Yochai, our friend, has a gem, a good stone, a son,” meaning he has already been rewarded with Malchut, with all her corrections and adornments. He looked in the spirit of holiness, in the light of the gem, that it was as illuminating as the light of the sun upon its exit from its sheath, which is the correction of Malchut’s future, so the light of the moon will be as the light of the sun, that then she illuminates the entire world.
And behold, after the light of Malchut became the light of the sun and her peak rose to heaven, she illuminated from the heaven to the earth in another pillar of light, to the entire world. He was illuminating and going until it was enough for Rabbi Shimon to properly correct the throne of Atik Yomin. The intimation is that he was already rewarded with the two disclosures at the end of correction. These are the six verses from the verse, “The heavens tell,” to “The law of the Lord is whole,” and the six names that are written from the verse, “And there is nothing hidden from its heat,” through the end of the psalm. This is so because the light standing from the heaven to the earth and illuminating the entire world implies to the six verses, and until Atik Yomin comes and properly sits on the throne, it indicates those six names.
188) It said, “Rabbi Shimon Bar Yochai has come out of the cave with his son, Rabbi Elazar.” Rabbi Pinhas went to him and found that he has changed. His body was filled with holes and sores from sitting in the cave. He wept over him and said, “Woe that I have seen you so.” Rabbi Shimon told him, “Happy I am that you have seen me so, for had you not seen me so, I would not be so.” Rabbi Shimon started with the Mitzvot of the Torah and said, “All the Mitzvot of the Torah that the Creator gave to Israel are written in the Torah in a general way.”
Commentary: For all the years that he had to dwell in a cave, he had to sit there inside the sand to cover his nakedness and engage in Torah, and his flesh was punctured and with sores because of it. Rabbi Pinhas wept over him and said, “Woe unto me that I have seen you so.” Rabbi Shimon replied to him, “Happy I am that you have seen me so, for had you not seen me so, I would not be so,” meaning I would not have been rewarded with the revelations of the secrets of the Torah, for he was awarded all the great sublimity of his wisdom during those 13 years of hiding in the cave.
189 ) “In the beginning God created.” This is the very first Mitzva [commandment]. This Mitzva is called “the fear of God,” and it is called Resheet [beginning/head], as in “The fear of the Lord is the Resheet [beginning] of wisdom.” It is also written, “The fear of the Lord is the Resheet [beginning] of knowledge,” since fear is called Resheet. Also, it is the gate by which to enter faith, and the whole world exists on this Mitzva.
Why is it written that fear is the beginning of wisdom and that it is the beginning of knowledge? It is because fear is the beginning of each and every Sefira, for no Sefira can be obtained if not by first obtaining fear.
This is why he says that it is the gate by which to enter faith, as it is impossible to obtain whole faith if not out of fear of God. And by the measure of fear is the measure of the installment of faith. For this reason, the whole world exists on this Mitzva, for the world exists only on Torah and Mitzvot, as it is written, “If not My covenant day and night, I would not put the ordinances of heaven and earth.”
And since fear is the beginning and the gate of every Mitzva, as it is the gate of faith, it follows that the whole world exists on fear, as it is written, “In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth.” With fear, which is called Resheet, in which all the Mitzvot are included, God created the heaven and the earth. And were it not for fear, God would not create a thing.
191) There are three manners in the fear of God, only one of which is considered real fear:
|
1. |
Fear of the Creator and keeping His Mitzvot so that his sons may live and he will be kept from bodily punishment or a punishment to one’s money. This is a fear of punishments in this world. |
|
2. |
When fearing punishments of Hell, as well. Those two are not real fear, for he does not keep the fear because of the commandment of the Creator, but because of his own benefit. It follows that his own benefit is the root, and fear is a derived branch of his own benefit. |
|
3. |
Fear, which is the most important, when one fears one’s Master because He is great and rules over everything, the essence and the root of all the worlds, and everything is considered nothing compared to Him, for He is the root from which all the worlds expand. Also, His glory appears over all His deeds, and He rules over everything because all the worlds He has created, upper and lower, are considered nothing compared to Him, for they add nothing to His essence. It was said, “And he will place his will in that place, which is called ‘fear,’” meaning he will place his heart and desires in that place, which is called “fear.” He will cling to the fear of the Creator willingly and voluntarily, as is befitting and proper with the King’s commandment. |
198) The second commandment is a commandment to which the commandment of fear clings and which it never leaves: it is love—that one should love one’s Master with whole love. And what is whole love? It is great love, as it is written, “Walk before Me and be whole.” “Whole” means whole with love.
When it is written, “And God said, ‘Let there be light,’” it is whole love, which is called “great love.” And here it is a commandment for one to love one’s Master properly.
This is so because there is conditioned love, which comes because of the good that the Creator has given to him, by which his soul clings to Him with heart and soul. And although he is completely adhered to the Creator, it is still considered incomplete love, as it is written, “Noah walked with God.” This means that Noah needed support to assist him because he was supported by all the good that the Creator had bestowed upon him.
Abraham, however, did not need support, as it is written, “Walk before Me and be whole.” “Walk before Me” means without support, but “Before Me,” even though you do not know if I will come after you to support you. This is whole love, great love, where although I am not giving you anything, your love will still be whole, to adhere to Me with all your heart and soul.
200-201) The love for the Creator is interpreted on both sides: There is one who loves Him so as to have wealth, long life, sons around him, rule over his enemies, his ways are firm, and thus, he loves Him. And if it were to the contrary, and the Creator would reverse the fortune upon him with harsh judgment, he would hate Him and not love Him at all. For this reason, this love is not love that has a foundation.
Complete love is love on both sides, whether in Din, or in Hesed and successful ways. He will love the Creator even if He takes His soul away from Him. This love is complete, for it is on both sides, in Hesed and in Din. Hence, the light of the act of creation came out, and was then concealed. When it became concealed, the harsh Din came out and the two sides, Hesed and Din, were included together, becoming whole…This is so because now it became possible to disclose the wholeness of His love even while He takes one’s soul away from him. Thus, room was given to complement the love in a way that had it not been hidden and the harsh Din had not been revealed, this great love would have been devoid of the righteous, and it never would have been possible for it to become disclosed.
204 ) The third commandment is to know that there is a great and ruling God in the world, and to properly unify Him each day, in the upper six edges, HGT NHY de ZA, make them one unification in the six words of “Hear O Israel,” and aim the desire with them upward. For this reason, the word “One” should be extended to the measure of six words.
The Zohar says two things: 1) We must know that there is a great and ruling God in the world. 2) Properly unify Him each day. This is so because first we must know those two sides in love—upper AVI and YESHSUT. That there is a great God, upper AVI, who is great in Hassadim, and that He is ruling in the world, YESHSUT, who is called “ruler,” which implies to the Dinim that come out of them, that the light was concealed from them and the harsh Din comes out, since the name ruling and governing indicates Dinim.
The meaning is that we should know those two sides of love, and include fear in each of them, and he will receive the love of the Creator, both in Hesed and success of his ways, and in Din, since then it is regarded as complete love.
Afterwards, each day, a proper unification must be made in the six upper edges, to raise MAN to ZON, and ZON to YESHSUT. At that time, YESHSUT and ZON rise and unite as one with AVI, who are called six upper edges, as they clothe VAK de AA, where by this unification, YESHSUT rise in the place of AVI, above Parsa de AA, where there is upper water, and the light is not hidden from them. And when YESHSUT are filled with light, they give to ZON, ZON give to all the worlds, and the Hassadim appear in the worlds. This is the meaning of the reading of Shema.
211) Yet, we should know that Elokim is HaVaYaH and it is one without separation. HaVaYaH is the Elokim [“The Lord He is the God], and when a person knows that it is all one, and does not place separation, even the other side will depart from the world and will not be drawn down.
…This is so because if a person intensifies the raising of MAN and elevating the ZON to unite them in the place of AVI, as it should be, not only will the Sitra Achra not grip to the abundance, but it will cause the removal of the Sitra Achra so that she cannot govern the world.
217) It is impossible to cling to the Creator and keep His Mitzvot properly before one believes in the names of the Creator, that He is good and does good to all, that He is merciful and gracious. Those who have not been rewarded with a Nefesh of Kedusha are still governed by the Sitra Achra. Hence, they go and roam the world and cannot find a place to rest.
When their thoughts roam the world and they see the Creator’s guidance in people, they believe it is not as good as it should be, judging by His holy names. Thus, they blemish the holy names and find no place to rest where they can believe in the names of the Creator, to connect to Him. For this reason, they are defiled in the side of Tuma’a [impurity], meaning they come to deny the Creator. All that is because he did not enter the Kedusha and was not included in her, since he was not rewarded with a Nefesh of Kedusha and does not take actions to be included in Kedusha.
However, those who engage in Torah and extend a holy Nefesh, their body turns to be as angels and they are rewarded with preceding hearing to doing, as they do. This is why it is written about them, “And let fowl fly above the earth,” meaning that the Creator will make wings for them, like eagles, and they will roam throughout the world, as they roam in their thoughts throughout the world and see the Creator’s guidance.
And yet, not only are they not failing to the side of Tuma’a, they even receive strength to raise MAN and always increase their power. And “Those who wait for the Lord will gain new strength; they will mount up with wings like eagles,” for thus they mount up wings like eagles to roam in all the people’s incidents. Also, they always regain strength and raise MAN through the power of their faith in the Creator’s uniqueness, and always extend the spirit of Kedusha from above.