2) Anyone who engages in Torah in this world is rewarded with several gates being opened to him, several lights to that world. Hence, when he passes away from this world, the Torah walks before him and goes to all the gate-keepers, declares and says, “Open the gates and let the righteous gentile in, set up a chair for so and so, the King’s servant,” for there is no joy to the Creator except in one who engages in the Torah. It is even more so with a man who awakens at night to engage in Torah, for all the righteous in the Garden of Eden listen to his voice and the Creator is among them.
91) A man who dwells in a city where there are bad people, and cannot keep the Mitzvot of the Torah, and does not succeed in the Torah changes his place, uproots himself from there, and strikes root in a place where good people with Torah and with Mitzvot dwell. The Torah is called “a tree,” as it is written, “It is a tree of life for they who hold it.” Also, man is a tree, as it is written, “For man is the tree of the field.” The Mitzvot in the Torah are as fruits, and it is written about it, “Only the trees of which you know that they are not trees for food, them you should destroy and cut down,” destroy from this world and cut down from the next world. This is why he must uproot himself from that place where there are wicked, for he will not be able to succeed in Torah and Mitzvot there. He will plant himself elsewhere, among righteous, and will succeed in Torah and Mitzvot.
109-111) The righteous are indeed caught by the iniquities of the generation, but the righteous are caught by illnesses or sores to atone for the iniquities of the world, for then all the iniquities of the generation are pardoned, and by that the side of Kedusha rises and the Sitra Achra surrenders.
How do we know all that? From all the organs of the body. When all the organs are in trouble, and a great illness lies upon them, they need to strike one organ so that all will be healed. And which organ is struck? The arm. The arm is struck, blood is drained from it, and then there is healing to all the organs of the body.
So are people—they are organs with one another. When the Creator wishes to give healing to the world, He strikes a righteous one among them with diseases and afflictions, and for him, He gives healing to all. How do we know it? It is written, “And he was wounded because of our transgressions, oppressed because of our iniquities ... and by his bruising we are healed.” “His bruising” means bloodletting, as one lets out blood from an arm, for by that bruise we are healed; it is healing for us, to all the organs of the body. He never strikes the righteous, except to heal a generation and to atone for their iniquities.
118) Oh how Israel are loved by the Creator. Their joy and their praises are only about Him, for so we learned—that any joy of Israel in which they do not include the Creator is not joy.
143-145) One day, a sage from the nations came to Rabbi Eliezer and said to him, “Old man, old man, three questions I would like to ask you:
“One: You say that another Temple will be built for you, but there can only be building twice, a first Temple and a second Temple that are written. You will not find a third Temple in the Torah. That which was for you to build had already been built, and there is never more in it, for the writing called them ‘The two houses of Israel.’ Also, it is written about the second Temple, ‘The glory of that last house will be greater than the first.’
“Also, You say that you are closer to the High King than all other nations. One who is close to the King is always happy, without sorrow, fear, or troubles. But you are always afflicted, in trouble, and in more grief than all the people in the world. We, however, no affliction, trouble, or grief come upon us at all. Thus, we are close to the High King and you are far from Him, and this is why you are having sorrow, troubles, mourning, and grief, which we do not.
And also, you do not eat carcass or none kosher so that you will be healthy and your body will be healthy. We eat whatever we want and we are robust in strength and in health, and all our organs exist. You, who do not eat, are all weak from bad illnesses and are more shattered than all the other nations. You are a people whom the Creator hates in every way. Old man, old man, tell me nothing for I will not hear you or take from you.” Rabbi Eliezer raised his eyes, looked at him, and turned him into a pile of bones.
152) Israel were made by the Creator, the heart of the whole world. Hence, so are Israel among the nations, like a heart among the organs. And as the organs of the body cannot exist even a minute without the heart, all the other nations cannot exist in the world without Israel. And so is Jerusalem among the rest of the countries, like a heart among the organs. Hence, it is in the middle of the whole world, like a heart, which is in the middle of the organs.
187) The evil inclination was given to every person so he may conquer it and ride on it. All the wholeness comes through the evil inclination, if he conquers it, as it is written, “With all your heart,” meaning with both your inclinations—the good inclination and the evil inclination. It follows that if he is rewarded and rides on the evil inclination, he is rewarded.
It is written, “Who is mighty? He who conquers his inclination.” If he conquers it, he is rewarded with all the wholeness. One who is rewarded with conquering it to a certain extent, the evil inclination becomes for him an ass to ride on, and the evil inclination never again afflicts him.
Then the evil inclination becomes for them an ass [Heb: Hamor], since Homer [matter/substance] has the letters of Hamor, as it is written about Abraham, “And [Abraham] saddled his ass,” a poor riding an ass. It is so because they were rewarded with conquering the evil inclination until it became for them an ass to ride on to bring them to the wholeness.
442) The friends wept and said, “Woe Rabbi Shimon, when you part from the world, who will disclose such hidden and profound secrets, which have not been heard since the days of King Solomon until now? Happy is the generation that hears these words; happy is the generation that you are in it; woe unto a generation orphaned of you.”
500) Once it was said, “Let us make man in our image after our own likeness,” why does it say afterwards, “And God created the man in His own image”? He asked the angels about the creation of man. Some of them said, “Let him be created,” and some of them said, “Let him not be created.” The Creator created him, as it is written, “And God created the man in His own image.” Thus, he did not place one portion in him from the angels, and he was not done in their form, but in the form of the king, in His image and after His own likeness, which is only the image of the likeness of His pattern.
504) Happy is he who exerts in the last exile to know Divinity, to honor her in all the Mitzvot, and to suffer for her several afflictions, as it is written, “The bride’s reward is affliction and sorrow,” that is, “According to the sorrow, so is the reward,” as it is written, “And he lied in that place.” Vayishkav [and he lied] has the letters of VeYesh [and there are] Chaf-Bet [22], for if there are 22 letters of the Torah, meaning that he is complete in the Torah, Divinity lays with him.
546) The friends said, “If the Torah were not given on Mount Sinai, but the Creator would say, ‘Here is Rabbi Shimon to give you My Torah and My secrets,’ it would suffice the world. Woe, when you part from the world, who will light the candle of Torah? Everything will darken after that day, for until the arrival of the Messiah king, there will not be a generation as that generation that Rabbi Shimon is in.”
709) Moses said, “These words are unclear and need to be explained for the friends, for one who closes before them the secrets of the Torah pains them. For the wicked, the lights of the secrets become darkness to them.
This is like concealed money. For one who digs until he finds it, and it is not his, it turns in his mind into darkness and gloom. But for the one that it is his, it shines. This is the reason why one should reveal the hidden secrets of Torah to the friends.”
858) The Ein Sof is called “wise in all kinds of wisdoms, understanding in all kinds of understandings, devout in all kinds of Hassadim [mercies], mighty in all kinds of mighty deeds, a counsel in all kinds of counsels, righteous in all kinds of righteousness, and king in all kinds of kingships through Ein Sof [infinity] and unfathomably.”