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56

THE ZOHAR
OW you might say, ' Who deployed the Destroyer here? It was .
overwhelming. ' Come and see: Judgment never manifests in the
the world obliterated, without that Destroyer surging through the
executed upon the world. Similarly here, there was a flood, the
surging through that flood, called by that name.
176
So the blessed
told Noah to hide himself, not expose himself openly.
ow you might say, 'The ark was exposed in this world, and
was surging.' However, as long as one's face is not visible to the
ha no power over him. 177 How do we know? From Egypt, as is
of you shall go out the door of his house until morning (Exodus
Because the Destroyer loomed, ready to destroy, and one must
himself in his presence. So Noah together wi th all his companions
away in the ark, and the Destroyer had no power over them. "
Rabbi I:Iiyya and Rabbi Yose were walking on the way. They
mountains of Kurdistan,1 78 where they saw trace of crevices
dating from the time of the Flood.
179
Rabbi I:Iiyya said to Rabbi Yose, These crevice are vestiges Ii
preserved by the blessed Holy One ever since, throughout the
that the ins of the wicked not be obliterated from His sight. For
way of the ble sed Holy One: He wants the virtuous who do
remembered above and below, their blessed memory un forgotten
to generation. Similarly He wants the sins of the wicked, who
will, not to be forgotten, their punishment and evil memory
generation to generation, as is written: Stained is your iniquity
(Jeremiah 2:22).,,180
Rabbi Yose opened, saying, Cry shrilly, 0 Daughter of
Laishah! 0 poor Anathoth! (Isaiah 10:30) . 181 This verse has heeD
176. called by that name Called "Flood."
177. a long as one's face is not visible ...
See Devarim Rabbah 4:4; Zohar 1:68b, 108b.
178. mountains of Kurdistan lTli' ,.,ll.l
(Turei qardu), namely, the mountains of Ara-
rat, upon which the ark settled as the waters
of the Flood subsided. See Genesis 8:4, and
Targum Qllqe/os, ad loc. , from whom the
Zohar borrows this Aramaic expression. Cf.
Zohar 3:149a; Zij lib (MhN), 49a. The neol-
ogistic phrase in 1:15a: XnlJ'Tli" XJ'Yl:l
(botsina de-qardil1uta). "a spark of impene-
trable darkness, " may allude to Kurdi tan
(see above, p. 107. n. 4).
179. crevices .. . from the
Flood See Genesis 7: 11: All
the great abyss bllrs/.
180. Stailled is your
See above, page 355.
181. Cry shrilly, 0
Listell, Lais/wh! 0 poor
calls on tile inhabitants of
Gallim (literall y, Dallghter
warn the nation (s pecificllly.
of Laishah and Anathoth) of
Assyrian invasion.
the Compani ons, but it was declared for Assembly of Israel. 182 Cry shrilly,
of Gallim! Daughter of Abraham; so they have established.
IS3
of Gallim, as is wri tten: a sealed In (gal), spring (Song of Songs
Gallim-waves, streams merging, flowing into Her, fi ll ing Her, as is
Your branches are an orchard of pomegranates (ibid., 13).184
Laishah, as is written: 1lI''7 (Layish) , The lion, perishes for lack of prey
4=11 ). Layish is male; Laishah, female. Why is She called Layish?1 85 Either
of the verse: Layish, Lion, mighty among beasts (Proverbs 30:30), or
of: Layish, The lion, perishes for lack of prey. But She is aU: Mighty lion,
from upper Might;186 The lion perishes for lack of prey, when those
disappear, no longer entering Her. Then She is calJed Poor Laishah,
(Isaiah, ibid.), perishing for lack of prey, as is written: The lion perishes
of[63h) prey, and the cubs of the lioness are scattered. 187
'nnw' nOD
Hebrew this
denotes the people of Israel. The
on the Song of ongs describes the
affair between the maiden (the earthly
. of Israel) and her lover (the
One, blessed be He). In the Zohar, Ke
can refer to the earthly commu-
also (often primarily) to Shekhinah.
feminine counterpart of the peo-
lilt aspect of God most intimately con-
with them. The lover in the Song of
are pictured as the divine couple: Tif-
and Shekhinah.
Rabbi Yose cites aver e from Isaiah
to the people of Israel and applies
ee Zohar 1:249a-b.
~ 0 Daughter of Gallim! Daughter of
.. . See BT Sanhedrin 94b: "Rav
said. ' ... Cry shrilly, 0 Daughter of
Daughter of Abraham, Isaac, and
who enacted mitsvo( a profusely as
-In (gallei ha-yam), the waves of the
Cf. ikhah Rabbah, P e t i ~ t a 1; Pesiqta
Kahana Ip.
Rabbi Yose focuses on Abraham,
according to rabbinic tradition was
with a daughter in his old age. In
this daughter symbolizes Shekhi-
derive from Hesed, symbolized by
Abraham and by flowing water. See Tosefta,
Qiddllshin 5:17; BT Bava Batra 16b; Bahir 52
(78); al:unanides on Genesis 24:1.
184. sealed "l (gal ), spring .. . streams
mergi ng. . . In the midrashic interpretation
of Song of Songs, the beloved described as a
sealed spring symbolizes the people of Israel
(Shir ha-Shirim Rabbah on 4:12; Shemot Rab-
bah 20:5). Here the spring i Shekhinah, As-
sembly of Israel , filled by the flow of the
sefiro( from He ed to Yesod, who are known
as Gallim. "waves" of emanation.
185. Layish is male; Laishah, female . ..
The word ;,w'., (/aishah) means "lioness,"
while its homonym, Laishah, is the name of
the city addressed by Isaiah. Usually male
and female symbolize the divine couple, Ye-
sod and Shekhinah, though here, as we soon
see, both genders characterize hekhinah. See
Zohar 1:249b-250a and, on the masculine
aspect of Shekhinah, 1:232a.
186. deriving from upper Might Shekhi-
nah. the liones , derives from Gevurah
(Might).
187. when t hose streams disappear . . .
Poor Laishah ... When She is not nour-
ished by the flow of emanation, Shekhinah
is impoverished and unable to transmit bless-
ing. See Zohar 1:250a.
3
368
THE ZOHAR
''Anathoth, poorest of the poor, as is said: of the priests who wen
(Jeremiah 1:1),188 and similarly: Anathoth, go to your field! (1
What is the point?l90 As long as King David was alive, Abiathar
and in all ways. Afterward Solomon said to him, Anathoth, go
Why did Solomon call him this? Because he was telling him,
father was poor; now, go to your field!' 191
"Now still the question may be posed: Why was Abiathar called
you say he came from Anathoth, look at what is written: One SOlI
son of Ahitub escaped-his name was Abiathar (1 Samuel 22:20),192
have been from Nob, since Nob was the city of the priests.
193
Evm
claimed that Nob and Anathoth are one and the same-it being
thoth' only because the city was reduced to poverty and destroyed
the priests eliminated-still Anathoth was a village, not identical
The real reason he called Abiathar Anathoth was as he said:
(hit 'anneita), you were afflicted, with all the hardships my father
ibid. ). 195 He came from the city of Nob, but because the
transpired during his lifetime, he was called otherwise."
188. Anathoth, poorest of the poor ...
Rabbi Yose interprets the name of the
priestly village, mml1 (Anatot) , in the ense
of'll1 (ani), "poor, " referring to the priests'
lack of inheritance (Deuteronomy 18:1-2).
The plural form suggests intense poverty.
See Zohar 1:249b.
189. Anathoth, go to your field! The ex-
pression means literally: Go to Allathoth, to
your field, a command given by King Solo-
mon to Abiathar. Abiathar had been a loyal
follower of Solomon's father, King David,
and was appointed high priest. However, as
a result of his upport for the succession of
Adonijah (another of David' s sons), King
Solomon banished him to Anathoth. See 1
Samuel 22-23; 1 Kings 1:7; 2:26-27.
190. What is the point? Why did Solo-
mon call Abiathar by the name Anathoth?
191. 'In your days father was poor; now,
go to your field!' Abiathar initially served
David in a period of poverty, as indicated by
the name Anathoth. Shekhinah, symbolized
by David, was then al 0 incomplete. Now
in the affluent reign of Solomon, with She-
khinah fulfilled, Abiathar is out of place and
must return to his humble home.
moon does not become
day of its cycle, 0 it
until the gloriou reign of
fifteenth generation from
siqta de-Ray Kahana Pl; IIIIl
bah 15:26: "When Solomon
disk of the moon became
See Zohar l:73b, 7.
249b; 2:85a; 3=6Ia; ZJ:l83b
de Leon, Shushan Edut, 341-
moon symbolize Shekh,nah.
192. One son ... his II4IIIt
The verse concludes: and he
son, who escaped. ee I
1:224ll.
194. Anathoth was a
with Nob The village of
located on the outskirts of the
See Nehemiah 11:32; Zohar
195. all the hardships
dured Abiathar hared the
Rabbi l:fiyya said, "The world was impoverished ever since the day Adam
violated the commands of the ble ed Holy One until oah arrived and offered
an offering, and the world was settled. 196
Rabbi Yose aid, "The world remained unsettled and earth did not escape the
slime of the erpent until Israel stood at Mount Sinai, embracing the Tree of
Lifejl97 then the world was settled. Had Israel not relapsed, sinning before the
blessed Holy One, they would have never died, for they had been purged of the
slime of the serpent. Then the original tablets were smashed-tablets com-
prising total freedom, freedom from that serpent: End of all flesh. 198 When the
Itvite rose to deal death,I99 the evi l serpent aroused, slithering in front of
them, but he coul d not overpower Israel for they were all girded with armored
belts. Once Moses said Now take off your ornaments (Exodus 33:5), the serpent
was empowered to domi nate them.
20o
Solomon's father, David, as he fl ed from
King Saul.
196. The world was impoverished . . . un-
til Noah arrived and offered an offering . . .
Adam's sin ruined the union of the sefirot,
drreby depriving the world of the ri ch di -
line fl ow. When oah emerged safely from
Ibt ark following the Flood, he offered sac-
rifices (Gene is 8:20-22), which stimul ated
Ibt union of the sefirot, ensuring blessi ng
aOO harmony for the world.
197. slime of the serpent. . . IVnn KlJOll!
(Zohama de-naha h), "The fi lth of the ser-
pent."
See BT Shabbat 145b-146a: "Rav Yosef
1IIght: ' . .. When the serpent copulated with
Eve, he injected her with KlJOl1T (zohama).
filth [or: slime, lewdness]. Israel, who
stood at Mount inai- their zohama ceased.
Starworshipers, who did not stand at Mount
Sinai- their zohama did not cease.'" Isracl 's
acceptance of the Torah, symbolized by the
Tree of Li fe, inocul ated them against the
YCIIOmous sli me and restored them to a par-
ldisiacal state.
See Tnrgllm Yerl/siza/llli, Genesis 4: I; Pirqei
deRabbi E/i'ezer 21; Zohar 1:36b-37a, 52a,
S4i, mb.
198. original tablets were smashed .. .
When Mo es saw the Children of Israel
worshiping the Golden Calf, he smashed
the stone tablets inscribed with the Ten
Commandments. Later Moses ca rved a sec-
ond set, which were again inscribed by God.
See Exodus 32:19; 34: 1.
According to rabbinic tradition, the first
tablets offered immortalit y. See TanQulIl a,
Ki Tissa 16; and Shir ha-Shirim Rabbah on
8:6: "nr''\n (Harut), Ellgraved, on the tablets
[describing the di vine writing] . Do not read
m,n (harut) , engraved, but rather m,'n
(heirut), freedom. Rabbi Yehudah, Rabbi
and the Rabbi s: Rabbi Yehudah
says, 'Freedom from the Angel of Death.'
Rabbi says, 'Freedom from for-
eign rulers.' The Rabbi s say, 'Freedom from
suffering.'" See Zohar 1:37b, 52a-b.
Here the serpent is identifi ed with the
Angel of Death, known as Elld of all flesh (see
above, pages 363-65). On the di tincti on
between the original tablets and their copy,
see Tishby, Wisdom of the Zohar, 3:1103-06.
199. When the Levi tes rose to deal death
To kill those who had sinned with the Gold-
en Calf. See Exodus 32:26-28.
200. they were all gi rded with armored
belts. . . See (Suber),
add. I : "Rabbi Shim'on son of said,
' He adorned them with weapons engraved
with the Ineffabl e Name [YHVH], and as
long as they possessed these, no evil could
touch them, nei ther the Angel of Death nor
37
0
THE ZOHAR
"Come and see what is written: The Children of Israel were
ornaments from Mount Horeb on (ibid., 6) . (Va-yitnatstselu),
stripped-the verse should read '7YJ" (Vaynatstselu), They stripped.1
were stripped, by someone else, for the serpent was empowered to
ornaments from Mount Horeb-that they received from Mount
Torah was given to Israe1. 202
Rabbi J:Iiyya asked, "Since Noah was a righteous man (Genesis
didn't he abolish death throughout the world?203
Rabbi Yose replied, "Because the slime of the world had not yet
Furthermore, they did not believe in the blessed Holy One; all of
grasping the leaves of the tree below and dressing themselves
spirit.
204
Further, they later persisted in sinning, clinging to the
as before, and Torah, Tree of Life, had not yet been brought down
the blessed Holy One.,,205
anything else. As soon as they sinned [with
the Golden Calf], Moses said to them: Now
take off your ornaments, and I will decide
what to do to you (Exodus 33:5). At that
moment, When the people heard this evil
word, they mourned, [and no olle put on his
ornaments] (ibid., 4). What is written? The
Children of Israel were stripped of their orna-
ments .. .. (ibid., 6). '"
Cf. Targum Onqelos and Targum Yeru-
shalmi, Exodus 33:4, 6; Targum Shir ha-
Shirim 2:17; Eikhah Rabbah, 24; Shir
ha-Shirim Rabbah on 1:4; Pirqei de-Rabbi
Eli'ezer 47; Bf Shabbat 88a; Avodah Zarah 5a;
NaJ:unanides on Exodus 33:6; Zohar 1:52b,
126b; 2:227a.
201. the verse should read (Vay-
natstseiu), They stripped Since the Chil-
dren of Israel stripped off their ornaments,
why the construably passive conjugation?
202. But, they were stripped, by someone
else. . . See BT Shabbat 88a: "Rabbi Simai
expounded: 'When Israel said We will do
before We williistell (Exodus 24:7) [thereby
demonstrating true faith by committing
themselves to fulfill God's word before
hearing the details], 600,000 ministering
angels came to each and every Israelite, set-
ting two crowns upon him, one for We will
do, and one for We will listen. As soon as
Israel sinned, 1,200,000 angels
tion descended and removed
said: The Children of Israel 1l'1li
their ornaments from Moullt
According to the simple
the phrase from Mount Horeb
sin? In rabbinic tradition, the
empowered to abolish the
BT Mo'ed Qatan 16b: "The
over Me? The righteous ODe.
decree and he abolishes it."
204. all of them were
of the tree below ...
grasped the leaves of the Tree
which convey the knowledgt
See Zohar 1:36b, 53b, 5680
brought down to earth ...
N o a ~
As they were walking, they saw a Jew approaching.
Rabbi Yose said, "This person is a Jew-he looks SO! "206
When he reached them, they asked him.
He said, "I am an envoy for a mitsvah! 207 For we live In the village of
. 208 and the time of the FestivaF
09
nears, so we need a lulav and its fellow
. 210 I'm on my way to pluck them for the mitsvah."
They walked on as one.
The Jew said to them, "These four species of the lulav, all of which propitiate
ilr water
211
- have you heard why we need them on the Festival?"212
They replied, "The Companions have already been aroused by this,213 but if
possess a new word, say it!"
He said to them, "True, the place we live in is small, but everyone there
in Torah under the guidance of one inflamed by the rabbis:
214
Rabbi
son of Yose from Mal:lOza, 215 who each day tells us new words. He said
life, could have guided and protected the Temple in Jerusalem on the last six days
on the description of wisdom in Prov-
p 8: She is a tree of life to those who
her. See BT Berakhot 32b, 61b.
lIl6. This person is a Jew-he looks so!
Zohar \:164a: "While they were walking,
saw a man approaching, accompanied
a child riding on his shoulders. Rabbi
said, "This man is certainly a Jew!"
1IJ7. I am an envoy for a mitsvah! The
Jew is on a spiritual errand,
been sent to fulfill a commandment.
Dr Sli kkah lOb, 26a.
1IJ8. vill age of Ramin The name means
exalted," though see above, note 124.
village is not mentioned in rabbiJ1ic lit-
but it reappears in Zohar 3:39b.
1IJ9. Festi val The week-long harvest
of Sukkot , celebrated at the end of
110. lulav and its fellow species Four
taken and waved during the festival
a palm branch (/ulav), a citron,
spri gs of myrtle, and two willow twigs.
leviticus 23:40.
111. all of which propitiate for water
the four species were waved as
of a ritual prayer for rain. Similarly, in
of Sukkot, as the rainy season approached,
water was drawn and poured as a libation
on the altar. The additional service for She-
mini Atseret (the day following Sukkot ) opens
with a prayer for rain.
212. why we need them on the Festival
In his Hebrew writings, Moses de Leon at-
tacks assimilated Jews who used rationalistic
ideology to justify their neglect of mi tsvot,
specifically thi s mit yah. See his Sefer ha-
Rimmon, 391-92; Matt, Zohar, 5- 6.
213. Companions have already been
aroused by this The symbolic meaning of
the four s pecies is discussed in Z ohar
1:220a-221a; 2:186b; 3:24a, 31b, 104a. See Tish-
by, Wisdom of the Zohar, ]:1249-5l.
214. one inflamed by the rabbis x:n1Y
p:rlt.l (Tsurba me-rabbanan), a phrase refer-
ring to a scholar, perhaps meaning "scorched
by the rabbis." See BT Ta'anit 43; and M
Avot 2:10: "Rabbi Eli ' ezer says, ' ... Warm
yourself by the fire of the wise-and be-
ware their glowing coals, 0 that you'll not
be burned. For their bite is the bite of a fox;
their sting, the ting of a scorpion; their
hiss, the hiss of a serpent; and all their
words like coals of fire. '"
215. Mal:lOza A large trading town on
the Tigri s River.
37
1
37
2
THE ZOHAR
that the Festival is the time when all those princes appointed
nations prevail, ble ed from the side of Israel,216 called by us
as is said: the raging waters (Psalms 124:5).217 In order to overpowa-
approach with the mystery of the holy name-with those four
lulav
218
-in order to propitiate the blessed Holy One to prevail
them through the mystery of the holy name, and to arouse holy
to pour upon the altar.
219
"He further told us that on Rosh Hashanah the first arousal
world. What is the first arousal? Lower Court of Justice, aroused
world, with the ble ed Holy One sitting in judgment over the
court remains in session until Yom Kippur, when Her face
serpent-cosmic informer-is nowhere to be found, being
goat they offer to him, deriving from the side of impure spirit,
216. all those princes appointed over
other nations... According to rabbinic
tradition, the seventy nations of the world
are governed by seventy angels or heavenly
princes appointed by God.
ee Daniel 10:20; Septuagint, Deuteron-
omy 32:8-9; Jubilees 15:31-32; Targum Yeru-
shalmi, Genesi 11:8, Deuteronomy 32:8-9;
Tall!ltIma, Re'eh 8; Leqa!1 ToY, Genesis 9:19;
Pirqei de-Rabbi Eli'ezer 24; Zohar l:46b, 108b;
3:298b; Ginzberg, Legellds, 5:204-5, n. 91.
According to rabbinic tradition, the sev-
enty bullocks offered by Israel on Sukko!
( umbers 29:12-34) benefit the seventy na-
tions. ee BT SlIkkah 55b; Eikhah Rabball
1:23; Pesiqta de-Ray Kahana 28:9; Tishby,
Wisdom of the Zohar, ):1251-53.
217. the raging waters The full verse
reads: Then oyer liS would have swept the
raging waters. See Zohar 2:64b.
218. In order to overpower them ... the
holy name... The four species symbolize
the four letters of the name 011<1' (YHVH),
perhaps as follows: myrtle, ,; willow, 01; lu-
lav. 1; citron, 01. ee OY; MM; Zohar 1:220b.
Brandi hing these specie, Israel vanqui hes
the seventy prince. ee Pesiqta de-Ray Ka-
halla 27:2.
219. to arouse holy water upon us, to
pour upon the altar As mentioned above
(note 211), in the Temple on the last six days
of Sukko!. water was drawn and poured as a
Israel's ritual of the four
pours down upon Shekhlllah,
the altar.
Ju t ice") and conveys it to
Zohar 2:186b, 237b-238a.
222. serpent-cosmic
where ... engrossed in that
Yom Kippur, a scapegoat
of Israel is offered to the
Azazel (Leviticus 16:10).
Babylonian Akit u ritual a
for a human being, is offered
goddess of the Aby .
de-Rabbi Eli'ezer 46, the ~
preoccupy Satan: "They gM
bribe on Yom Kippur so that
nuJJify Israel's sacrifice."
See BT Yoma 20a: "On

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