Autor: arhiprofesor

(înapoi la pagina ZOHAR CUPRINS / Vayera – click)

376) It is written, “The elders of that city, shall take a heifer of the herd … and shall behead the heifer there in the valley.” And the rule is to behead it with an ax.

377) Woe unto a world that follows the heifer, for which it needs to be beheaded. Since that day when Adam was seduced by the serpent, he has controlled Adam and controlled the people of the world, and is poised to slander the world. And the world cannot escape the death punishment until the arrival of the Messiah King, since the sword of the angel of death is the disclosure of the point of Man’ula [lock] in man’s body, which is unfit for reception of light. And this point will not be corrected until the revival of the dead. Hence, the world cannot be redeemed from its punishment, and the Creator will revive those who sleep in the dust, as it is written, “And death shall be swallowed up forever. It is also written, “And I will also remove … the unclean spirit from the land.” And until then, he is poised to take souls from all the people in this world.

378) The soul of all the people in the world leaves through the angel of death, meaning by disclosing the point of Man’ula. And if you say that the soul of this person, who was killed, came out by the angel of death, it is not so. Rather, the one who killed him is the one who took out his soul, prior to the arrival of the time when the angel of death was to dominate, meaning before it was time for the point of Man’ula to appear in him, when the angel of death still could not control him and put him to death.

But by the killing, the murderer elevates the force of Tzimtzum [restriction] in the Man’ula into the Kelim de Miftacha [key] in Malchut—which are Kelim de Bina—and Malchut returns to being a point, without the lights of life. And with that flaw in Malchut, the killer takes the murdered man’s soul. It turns out that the transgression of murder adds the force of impurity in the pure Kelim from Bina, too.

379) This is why it is written, “And no expiation can be made for the land.” It is not enough for the murderers that the evil serpent is going to slander the world for nothing and that he always accuses even though they did not sin. It is especially so when he is robbed of what he is entitled to take, since with this theft from the angel of death he adds impurity and blemishes the pure Kelim of Malchut that come from Bina, as well, and removes the lights from the who of Partzuf Malchut. This is why it is written, “And no expiation can be made for the land … but by the blood of him who shed it.” This means that the land, Malchut, must be atoned for and be given back the GAR of its lights that had departed it by the transgression of the murder.

The Creator has mercy over His sons; hence, the heifer is sacrificed to correct two things: 1) The soul of man that was taken from the murdered, by which the lights of GAR departed Malchut and must return the GAR to her. 2) So he will never slander, since after the GAR in the first correction were drawn out for her, the serpent has the strength to slander against the world, and he blocks the lights of the world by clinging to these GAR that extend from the left line. Thus, to remove the slandering, a second correction is required.

380) Ox, cow, calf, heifer, all are in the upper one and are therefore corrected by the heifer. It is written, “Our hands have not shed this blood.” “Have not shed,” and we also did not cause his death. Thus, he was not accusing them. For everything, the Creator gives an advice to the world, since He said that two corrections are required for the transgression of murder: 1) to extend GAR to Malchut once again; and 2) to remove the slandering from the GAR of Malchut.

The first correction is done by bringing the heifer and lowering it to a perennial stream. The illumination of the left is called “the face of an ox,” and contains four degrees HB TM, which are ox, cow, calf, and heifer. Each Behina [discernment] corrects its corresponding Behina, and since the entire Malchut should be corrected here, a heifer is brought, which corresponds to Malchut, to evoke extension of Mochin de GAR of the left to the Malchut.

However, since the GAR of the left of Malchut are drawn out, there is fear of the slandering of Satan, meaning his grip on the left. For this reason, a second correction is required—to remove the slandering. This is the beheading of the heifer in the stream, where by this beheading, the GAR de GAR of illumination of the left is revoked and only VAK de GAR remains, at which time there is no longer a hold for Satan in these Mochin.

Also, it is known that for each correction above, a speech and an act are required below. For this reason, it is necessary that the elders will say, “Our hands have not shed this blood,” when they return and extend to Malchut the GAR that departed her by the iniquity of the bloodshed. This corresponds to the act of bringing the heifer to the perennial stream, which was the first correction. “Neither have our eyes seen it” means the concealing of the GAR, which are called “seeing.” By that, the accusing of the serpent is removed from the illumination of the left, and this is the second correction, which corresponds to the act of beheading the heifer. The first correction is the extension of GAR of the left, and the second correction is to remove the slandering of Satan.

(înapoi la pagina ZOHAR CUPRINS / Vayera – click)

(înapoi la pagina ZOHAR CUPRINS / Vayera – click)

367) “And he showed me Joshua the high priest standing before the angel of the Lord.” This is Joshua the son of Jehozadak. The angel of the Lord is a place called Zeror, to which the soul of the righteous was tied and all the souls of the righteous are there. This is the angel of the Lord.

368) “And Satan standing at his right hand to accuse him” is the evil inclination, which wanders and roams in the world to take souls and to take out spirits from the people of the world, and to slander the people above and below. This was while that Nebuchadnezzar tossed Joshua, the great priest, into the fire along with the prophets of falsehood, and Satan was slandering him above so he would burn with them.

369) Such is the way of Satan. He slanders only in a time of danger. And when there is anguish in the world, he has permission to slander and to execute judgment even without judgment, as it is written, “But there is that is swept away without judgment.” What is to slander? Of what was he accusing? He would say that either everyone were saved or everyone were burned, since when the destroyer is given permission to destroy, the righteous is not saved more than the wicked.

370) For this reason, when there is Din in the city, one should flee before he is caught there by the destructor, since when the saboteur is present, he does to the righteous as to the wicked. It is even more so since all three were together, Joshua the great priest with the two prophets of falsehood, Ahab the son of Kolaiah and Zedekiah the son of Maaseiah, and Satan was demanding that either all will be burned or all will be saved. This is because when a miracle unfolds, it does not unfold as half miracle half Din. Rather, it is complete and equal—either miracle or Din.

371) Thus, when the Creator split the sea for Israel, He tore the sea for Israel and they were marching on land. Then the waters returned from another side, drowned the Egyptians, and they died. Thus, there was a miracle from here and a Din from there although they were all together.

372) This is why the tearing of the Red Sea was hard for him, since when the Creator performs a miracle and Din together, it is neither in one place nor in one house. And if it is done in one place, such as the tearing of the Red Sea, it is hard for him, for everything above is done in full; all is done as one and in one place, either miracle or Din, but not halves, meaning half a miracle and half Din.

373) Therefore, the Creator does not execute Din against the wicked until they are complete in their iniquity, so He will not have to save some of them from the Din, as it is written, “For the iniquity of the Amorite is not yet full,” and as it is written, “In full measure, when You send her away.” Hence, Satan was slandering Joshua so he would burn with them, so it would not be half Din and half miracle, until he was told, “The Lord will rebuke you, Satan.” Who told him, “The Lord will rebuke you”? It was the angel of the Lord who said to Satan, “The Lord will rebuke you, Satan.”

374) It is written, “The Lord said to Satan, ‘The Lord will rebuke you, Satan.’” Thus, was it the Creator saying and not the angel? It is the same with Moses and the bush, where it says, “And the angel of the Lord appeared unto him in a flame of fire.” It is also written, “And when the Lord saw that he turned aside to see.” Once it writes, “The angel of the Lord,” once “An angel,” and once, “The Lord.” Here, too, even though it first writes, “The Lord said to Satan,” it is possible for it to be an angel as with Moses. This is why he told him, “The Lord will rebuke you, Satan,” and he did not say, “I am rebuking you,” for if the Lord had been the speaker, He would have told him, “I am rebuking you, Satan.” Thus, the speaker was an angel.

375) Similarly, on a day when there is Din in the world and the Creator sits at the throne of judgment, that Satan is there slandering above and below. He is there to destroy the world and to take people’s souls, since he is Satan, the angel of death.

(înapoi la pagina ZOHAR CUPRINS / Vayera – click)

(înapoi la pagina ZOHAR CUPRINS / Vayera – click)

342) “And Abraham journeyed from there toward the land of the Negev [south].” All of his journeys were toward the south, Hesed, more than toward any other side. He did this with wisdom, to cling to the south, which is Hesed.

343) “And Abraham said to his wife, Sarah … she is my sister.” One should not rely on a miracle. If the Creator performs a miracle for a person once, he should not rely on the miracle the next time, for not every time does a miracle occur.

344) And if one puts oneself in a place where the harm is evident, he thus cancels all his previous merits, as it is written, “I am smaller than all the mercies and all the truth.” And once Abraham came up from Egypt and was saved once, why did he agonize himself now as before, saying once more, “She is my sister”?

345) But Abraham did not rely on himself at all, since he always saw Divinity in Sarah’s abode, that it did not move from there. And because Divinity was there, Abraham relied on that and said, “She is my sister,” as it is written, “Say unto wisdom, ‘You are my sister,’” referring to Divinity, called Hochma [wisdom]. This is why he said, “She is my sister.”

346) “And God came unto Abimelech.” But does God come to the wicked? It is written, “And God came unto Balaam.” Did God come to Balaam? But they were wicked. Indeed, it was the appointee, the messenger appointed over them.

Every nation has its own minister in the heaven. And when the angels do their missions on behalf of the Creator, they all receive the name, “God,” since they come from the side of Din, and the name, “God,” indicates Dinim. This is why it is written, “And God came to Abimelech in a dream of the night,” meaning only an angel appointed over his people and not the Creator.

347) “The lip of truth shall be established for ever.” This is Abraham, whose every word in the beginning and in the end was true. “But a lying tongue is but for a moment” is Abimelech.

348) It is said of Abraham, “And Abraham said to his wife, Sarah … she is my sister.” This is as it was in Egypt, when he said about Divinity, who was with Sarah, “She is my sister.” Here, too, he said, “She is my sister” about Divinity. And Abraham did everything wisely.

349) What is the reason that Divinity is called “sister”? Since Abraham is from the right side, he said, “She is my sister,” as it is written, “My sister, My dove, My undefiled.” This is also why Abraham always called her, “my sister,” since he clung to her and they will never move from one another.

Since Abraham is considered Hesed, and in Gadlut, Hesed rises and becomes Hochma, meaning upper AVI, whose Zivug is perpetual, when Divinity rises to them, she is there with Abraham in a never ending Zivug, as well. At that time, Divinity is called “my sister,” and not “my wife.” This is because a sister is from the right, and a wife [Isha] is from the left, as in Esh Hey [fire of the Lord].

350) In the end, it writes, “And moreover she is indeed my sister, the daughter of my father, but not the daughter of my mother.” But was it really so? After all, she was Haran’s daughter. But he said everything, meaning “She is my sister” about Divinity. In the beginning it is as it is written, “Say unto wisdom, ‘You are my sister,’” and afterwards it is written, “And moreover she is indeed.” Why “moreover”? It adds another clarification to what he said in the beginning. “My sister, the daughter of my father” means that Divinity is a daughter to the upper Hochma, upper AVI, called Aba. For this reason, Divinity is called “his sister,” and she is called Hochma.

“But not the daughter of my mother.” “My mother” extends from the place where everything begins, concealed from all, AA, from whom the Bina that returns to being Hochma is extended. And she dresses in YESHSUT, which are called Ima. And Divinity is not a daughter. Rather, she is as Ima herself because she clothes her. And since she is left, from the side of Ima, “and so she became my wife,” with friendship and kindliness, as it is written, “And His right shall embrace me,” for she desires the Hassadim on the right so that the Hochma in her will clothe in Hassadim, and everything is the Hochma.

This is why he added the clarification that the reason why he said about her, “She is my sister” was from the side of AVI, that from their side she is a daughter and a sister and is not worthy of a wife, since she is from the right. But from the side of YESHSUT, which is Ima, she is neither a daughter nor a sister, but a wife, the fire of the Creator, and worthy of Zivug.

351) When they descended to Egypt for the first time, he said, “She is my sister,” to cling to faith. He called her “my sister” so it will not be mistaken with those degrees outside of holiness. With Abimelech, too, he said, “She is my sister,” so as to not shift away from faith.

352) Abimelech and all the dwellers of the land were idolaters, while Abraham clung to faith. This is the reason why he entered there and said about Divinity, “She is my sister.” And as a sister never parts from the brother, so it is here: Abraham was adhered to Divinity in a way that he would never part with her. A woman can be separated from her husband, but a sister can never part from her brother, since two brothers can never part from each other.

This is so because a brother and a sister extend from the upper AVI, whose Zivug never stops. This is also why a brother and a sister never part. But a man and a woman extend from YESHSUT, whose Zivug is terminable and is not perpetual; hence, a man and a woman can also part.

353) This is why Abraham said, “She is my sister,” for they were all keen for the lights of stars and idols, and worshipped them, while Abraham clung to faith and said about Divinity, “My sister,” so we will never part. And the sign is, “And for his virgin sister,” which is said to the priest, for the priest is the place where Abraham, who is right—Hesed—is present. This is why Divinity is called in relation to him, “And for his virgin sister,” since from the right side, Divinity is called “sister,” as well as “daughter.”

354) It is written, “Fear the Lord your God.” Et [“of the,” the “of” is missing in the English] is the first degree of the ten Sefirot from below upwards, the Nukva, the place of the fear of the Creator. This is why it writes, “Fear,” since the Nukva is where one should fear one’s Maker, since she is Din.

355) “And serve Him.” “Him” is the upper degree, Yesod de ZA that stands atop Nukva. They never separate from one another. Et and Him are attached to each other and never part. “And … Him” is the place of the covenant, a sign to the world, meaning Yesod. This is so because there is no work in Et and it is not for work but for fearing. Rather, the work is above, in Yesod de ZA, called “Him.” This is why it writes, “And serve Him.”

356) “And to Him shall you cling,” where adherence is applied, which is the Guf [body] that is in the middle, the middle line, Tifferet, which stands in the middle between the two hands, Hesed and Gevura, meaning the two lines, right and left. “And swear by His name” is the seventh place of the degrees, when the Nukva is in the form of the Sabbath. The Nukva is called Et in the unification of Et and “Him,” when the unification is from the right line, which receives from the upper AVI. She is called “And swear by His name” when she receives the Mochin of the Sabbath from the middle line, at which time she is called “seventh.”

357) This is why Abraham clung to faith, to Divinity, in the degree of a sister, when he descended to Egypt and when he went to the land of the Philistines. It is like a person who wishes to go down a deep pit and fears that he will not be able to climb back out of the pit. What does he do? He ties a rope above the pit and says, “Now that I have tied this rope, I can go in.” So did Abraham; when he wished to go down to Egypt, prior to descending, he tied a knot of faith to strengthen in it and then went down.

358) He did that when he went into the land of the Philistines, too. This is why “Truthful lips will be established forever, but a lying tongue is but for a moment” is Abimelech, who said, “the integrity of my heart and the innocence of my hands.” And when God replied to him, what does it say? “Yes, I know that in the integrity of your heart you have done this,” but it does not say, “Innocence of hands” as Abimelech said. Thus, Abimelech was lying when he spoke of the innocence of his hands. This is why it is written about him, “A lying tongue is but for a moment.”

359) It is written, “He will keep the feet of His holy ones.” It writes “His holy ones” without a Yod [in Hebrew], which means a holy one, Abraham, from whom He never removed his keeping. “The feet of” are Abraham’s wife, with whom the Creator sent His Divinity and always kept her.

360) “He will keep the feet of His holy ones.” It writes “His holy ones” without a Yod [in Hebrew], which means a holy one, Abraham, with whom the Creator always went, so that others would not be able to harm him. “But the wicked ones are silenced in darkness.” Those are the angels that the Creator killed on the night when Abraham chased them.

361) It writes, “Are silenced in darkness,” which means night, Nukva, which was connected in the darkness and killed them. Abraham chased and the night killed them, as it is written, “And he divided himself against them by night, he and his servants, and struck them.” “And he divided himself against them by night” is the Creator, who split the Rachamim from the Din to avenge Abraham’s vengeance. This is why it is written, “But the wicked ones are silenced in darkness.” It is written, “And struck them,” but it should have said, “And they struck them,” in plural form, since it was Abraham and his servants who struck them. However, it is the Creator who struck them, for not by force does one prevail, for he and Eliezer were alone, since Eliezer is 318 in Gematria, meaning the 318 who were born in his household that the writing mentions.

362) Where there is harm, one should not rely on miracles. And there is no such place where harm is found as when Abraham went after the four kings, chasing them and waging war on them. Why did he rely on a miracle? When Abraham went into it, he did not go to wage war or rely on a miracle; rather, Lot’s anguish drove him out of his home and he took money with him to redeem him. And if he could not redeem him, he would die with him in captivity. But when he went, he saw Divinity shining before him and several armies of angels around him. Then the Creator chased them and killed them, as it is written, “But the wicked ones are silenced in darkness.”

363) “He will keep the feet of His holy ones” was Abraham. And when he went to fight the kings, Isaac bonded with him and they fell before him. Had Isaac not bonded with Abraham, he would have been unable to destroy them. It is written, “But the wicked ones are silenced in darkness,” since it is not by force that one prevails. Although the force is always in the right, Abraham, if the right was not mingled with the left, Isaac, the kings would not be defeated by him.

364) “He will keep the feet of His holy ones.” When a person loves the Creator, the Creator loves him in everything he does, and keeps his ways, as it is written, “The Lord will guard your going out and your coming in from this time forth and forever.”

365) See how fond Abraham was of the Creator. Wherever he went, he did not think of what was his at all, but only of adhering to the Creator. For this reason, “He will keep the feet of His holy ones.” This was his wife, since “feet” imply his wife, as it is written, “Now Abimelech had not come near her,” and it is written, “Therefore I did not let you touch her.”

366) It is written about Pharaoh, “And the Lord plagued Pharaoh … because of Sarai, Abram’s wife.” She said, meaning Sarah would say to the Creator, “Strike!” and He would strike. This is why it is written, “He will keep the feet of His holy ones, but the wicked ones are silenced in darkness.” These are Pharaoh and Abimelech, upon which the Creator executed judgments at night, in the darkness, for not by one’s force does one prevail. “One” is Abraham, as it is written, “Now therefore restore the man’s wife.”

(înapoi la pagina ZOHAR CUPRINS / Vayera – click)

(înapoi la pagina ZOHAR CUPRINS / Vayera – click)

329) Through the King’s will, one waste of the form of engraving separates from the right side and adheres to the waste of gold on the left side, and his abode was made inside the impurity and became one form of the tree.

In the right line, covered Hassadim, there is no illumination of Hochma, and in its place, in Bina, it is considered GAR. This is so because she does not receive Hochma because she is in the form of “He desires mercy [Hesed].” However, when the Hassadim spread below to the lower ones, which require illumination of Hochma, waste appears in them. The need for illumination of Hochma creates deficiency in them, and wherever there is deficiency, the Klipot become attached. This is why deficiency is considered waste, and this is the waste of the right. But from the perspective of holiness, this is not a deficiency but a form of carving for a receptacle. Were it not for the deficiency and the hollow, there would never be a receptacle for the lights there. But the Klipot consider it waste.

To complete itself, the waste became adhered. This is because there the Hochma shines without Hassadim and the absence of Hassadim is considered waste of the left line. However, the waste of the right received completion there because it lacks only Hochma. This became a complete form of the tree of degrees, the Nukva, although its abode was in impurity because illumination of the left without right shines to the place of impurity. And also, the waste of gold is impurity.

330) When Isaac, the left line of holiness, wished to awaken in the world in the force of the harsh Din, he grew strong and separated the degrees of the left from their sustenance, meaning he turned the roots of the five cities of Sodom upwards. Thus, he dropped the GAR of the degrees of the left downwards and elevated the form of Din upwards. Then the degrees of the left of the Klipot were ruined and the left of holiness was connected and incorporated with the right. This is why the right line, Abraham, was strengthened, since it was included in the left and received GAR from it. By that, his waste, too, was corrected and he no longer needed to adhere to the waste of gold. It turns out that he separated that form from impurity.

331) The primordial serpent went into the fruits of the tree. This is the wine that he drank and begot two degrees that are connected to one another. And those degrees are on the side of impurity; one is called Milcom and the other is called Peor. That waste of the right that received one form of the tree—Nukva de ZA—through the waste of gold, returned to holiness after the overthrowing of Sodom and is now considered as the fruit of the tree. She drank the intoxicating wine, which is the primordial serpent, when the inciter to extend the GAR de Hochma entered her, as with the tree of knowledge. And through this act, the fruit bore two Klipot—Milcom and Peor—two idolatries.

332) One is a concealed counsel and the other is a revealed counsel. All the deeds of Peor are from the revealed, meaning his work is revealed. Milcom is concealed and covered; all his work is clandestine. Many kinds of impurities came out of those two. They roam the great sea, the Nukva, and all the discernments of impurity.

This is so because two Klipot were extended by the inciting of the serpent—GAR and VAK of the illumination of the left. In impurity, Peor is GAR and Milcom is VAK. And they were arranged the opposite from the holy Nukva, in accord with the conduct of impurity to be opposite from holiness. This is so because in the holy Nukva, the GAR from the Chazeh upwards is covered from illumination of Hochma. From the Chazeh down it is revealed, meaning that illumination of Hochma appears there. Also, there are two points in it, Miftacha [key] and Man’ula [lock]. The Man’ula is hidden in the GAR in her, and the Miftacha openly governs her in the VAK from the Chazeh down.

And those two Klipot are opposite: the Klipa of Peor is considered GAR from the Chazeh up, which is revealed, and the Klipa of Milcom, considered VAK from the Chazeh down is concealed. Additionally, the Miftacha governs the Klipa of Peor from the Chazeh up, and unmitigated Malchut of the quality of Din governs the Klipa of Milcom from the Chazeh down.

333) And what occurs in the worlds occurs in the souls below, as well. Lot, the waste of the right, parted from Abraham and settled among the people of Sodom, who are waste of gold from the left side. From them he received his completion in the worlds. When the Din awakened upon them and they were overturned, the Creator remembered Abraham and sent Lot away from there, at which time he was separated from Sodom’s impurity and returned to holiness.

334) His daughters gave him wine to drink, which is the primordial serpent that entered him, and gave birth to two nations: Ammon in the covered and Moab in the revealed. His degree is the idol worship, Milcom, which is the counsel of the world. The degree of Moab is Peor, revelation.

335) His daughters were similar. One said, “Ben Ammi” [son of my people], meaning I have a son from my people, but she did not say from whom he was because he was in a state of concealment. The other said, Moab, Me Av [from a father], meaning this one is from a father, I delivered him from my father, since his degree was Peor, revelation.

336) In those two, Ammon and Moab, King David clung, since afterwards Ruth came from Moab and King David came out of her. And from Ammon, King David was crowned with that crown that is a testimony to David’s seed, as it is written, “And put the crown and the testimony on him.” The crown is from Milcom, the degree of the Ammonites, as it is written, “And he took the crown of Milcom.”

337) Milcom is the degree of the Ammonites, as it is written, “And it was set on David’s head,” and from there it was a testimony for his sons forever. And in it, those who are of the sons of David and are worthy of kingship are recognized. If he could carry a crown on his head, they said that he must be from David’s seed, for he could carry the crown on his head even on the day he was born, although its weight was a talent of gold and a precious stone. Another person, not of his seed, would not be able to carry it. This is what is written about Joash, “And put the crown and the testimony on him.”

338) King David clung to both these degrees, and they are the power of his kingship to overcome all the other nations, for if he were not included in their side, he would not be able to overcome them. Also, all the degrees of the rest of the nations were included in David so as to overcome and grow stronger than them.

339) “And Lot went up out of Zoar, and dwelt in the mountain.” It is written that the leech has two daughters, Hav, Hav [give, give]. Those are the two daughters of the evil inclination, who evoke the evil inclination to rule over the body. One is a soul that always grows in the body, and one is a soul that craves evil lusts and all the ill desires in this world. This is the senior one, and the first one is the younger one.

340) But the evil inclination did not bond. The evil inclination never bonds unless to those two souls, to seduce people so they believe in him and he will lead them to a place where they throw arrows of death at them that pierce them, as it is written, “Until an arrow pierces through his liver.”

341) It is similar to robbers who rob in the mountains and hide themselves in a terrible place in the mountains, and know that people avoid going to those places. What did they do? They fled from them. He who is wittier than all, who knows how to seduce people, who departed them and sat on the right path, where all the people in the world go—once he comes to the people of the world he begins to connect with them there until he lures them into his net. He brings them to a terrible place where there are robbers who kill them. Such is the way of the evil inclination: it lures the people in the world until they believe it and then brings them to a place of death-arrows.

(înapoi la pagina ZOHAR CUPRINS / Vayera – click)

(înapoi la pagina ZOHAR CUPRINS / Vayera – click)

289) It is written, “A land in which you will eat bread without scarcity, in which you will not lack a thing.” Why the double “In”? The Creator divided all the nations and the lands into appointees, emissaries. But there is no angel that rules over the land of Israel, nor any other appointee, but only the Creator Himself. For this reason He brought the people that none rules but the Creator to the land that none rules but the Creator.

290) In the beginning, the Creator gives nourishment to the land of Israel, and afterwards to the whole world. It turns out that all the other idol worshipping nations receive with scarcity and the land of Israel does not. Rather, the land of Israel is nourished first, and then the rest of the world is nourished from the remains.

291) This is why it is written, “A land in which you will eat bread without scarcity,” but abundantly, in complete fullness. You will eat in it, and nowhere else. In it indicates the sanctity of the land where there is the upper faith, where there is the upper blessing and nowhere else. This is why it writes two times, “In which,” in the verse, to indicate all that was said.

292) It is written, “Like the garden of the Lord, like the land of Egypt, as you go to Zoar.” He asks, thus far, we still do not know from the text if the land of Egypt is as the garden of the Lord, if the land of Sodom is as the garden of the Lord, and if the garden of the Lord is the garden called the Garden of Eden. And he replies that “Like the garden of the Lord” is the Garden of Eden, where there is fulfillment and enjoyment for all. But so was Sodom and so was Egypt. And as one does not need to water the garden of the Lord, so was Egypt—none had to water it because the river Niles would rise and water the whole of the land of Egypt.

293) It is written, “And it will be that whichever of the families of the earth does not go up to Jerusalem,” this is their punishment, that they are devoid of the rain. It is written, “If the family of Egypt does not go up or enter.” You can see that it does not write here, “Then no rain will fall on them,” since it did not rain in Egypt and they did not need it. Instead, their punishment is as was written, “It will be the plague with which the Lord smites the nations,” since the Egyptians have no need for rain. Sodom, too, was as the garden of the Lord, containing all the delights in the world. This is why they did not wish for other people to delight themselves in it and were unwelcoming.

294) The people of Sodom themselves were wicked; it is not because of their good land that they did not wish to give alms. Every person who is unkind toward the poor is not worthy of existing in the world. Moreover, he has no life in the next world. And anyone who is kind toward the poor is worthy of existing in the world and the world will exist through him, and he has life and longevity for the next world.

295) “And Lot went up out of Zoar, and dwelt in the mountain, and his two daughters with him.” He went up from Zoar because he saw that Zoar was close to Sodom. This is why he went up from there.

296) “He turns for reasons in His tactics that they may do.” The Creator causes reasons in the world and brings destructive lights to do His deeds, and then turns them around and makes them in a different way. It is the conduct of the Creator to first bring destructive lights that destruct, and then turn them around and correct them.

297) How does He turn them? The Creator executes tactics and causes reasons to turn them until they are not as the previous ones. “That they may do” means according to what people may do. He turns those actions according to the deeds that they do. Thus, people’s actions induce turning those deeds in all that the Creator commands them on the earth, that they receive all kinds of forms in the world by the merit of people’s actions. Ammon and Moab came out through such a corrupt deed and in the end, all the kings of Judah and the Messiah King came out of them.

298) “He turns for reasons.” “He” means that the Creator causes reasons and brings deeds to exist in the world. And once people think that the deeds will come true, the Creator turns those deeds from what they were at first. In the beginning, those deeds came out corrupt, and afterwards the Creator turned them around and corrected them. And some come out good from the beginning, worthy of existing, but were corrupted by people’s actions, and then the Creator turns them around if they repent.

300) The Creator turns the actions that He does in His tactics is without a Yod [in the word, “tactics,” in Hebrew], in singular form. The tactic is the lower courthouse, the Nukva de ZA, and she is the stones that turn before Him. Since the Mochin come to the Nukva and are dispensed from her in three points, regarded as three places, the Nukva is described as turning in three places.

And for that, He turns the Kelim from one Kli to another. And this is all according to people’s actions. If people improve their deeds, those turning stones turn them to the right, Hesed. Then the deeds that are done in the world are to benefit the people of the world as it should be, since Hassadim and abundance are drawn out to the world, and the stones always turn to the right side and never stop. Then the world incarnates in it and receives actions from the right line, which are Hassadim.

302) And if people come to sin, then His tactic is that the Nukva, which always turns, as she was on the right side, now the Creator turns her to the left side, and He turns the causes and the Kelim that were initially on the right side to the left.

303) Then the stones turn and things are done in the world so as to harm people, and the stones turn to the left until people reform their actions. Thus, the stones are dependent upon people’s actions. This is why it is written, “In His tactics that they may do,” since the tactic, which is the stones, depends on people’s actions and never stands, but always turns—either to the right or to the left.

304) The Creator caused the reasons and deeds in the world so that everything will be done properly, and everything comes out and extends below in the world from the essence and the root above. The Creator drew Abraham near Him, Ishmael came out of him, for he was not yet circumcised when he came out of him; hence, he emerged below and not completed in the sign of the holy covenant.

305) Afterwards, the Creator turned reasons with His tactics and Abraham was circumcised and came into the covenant. He was completed in his name and he was called Abraham with a Hey. And the upper Hey of HaVaYaH that was placed into his name, Bina, is his crown, as in water from wind.

306) Since the secret has been completed and circumcised, Isaac came out of him, and he became a holy seed and was tied above in the form of fire from water, as it is written, “Yet I planted you a noble vine, all of it a seed of truth,” meaning that it was not connected to the other side, the left side of Bina, but was included in the right.

Before he was circumcised, he begot Ishmael and brought him down to the externality, since he is the waste of the right. Afterwards, it is written that because He turns in his tactics, the Creator inflicted causes upon him until he was circumcised and was awarded the right line of Bina, water, although he did not receive the water directly from Bina but from ZA, Ruach. It is written about that that the upper Hey, meaning Bina, adorned him with her right line, Hesed, water, and he received it from ZA, Ruach, as transference.

Then Isaac came out of him, who was tied up above in Bina, meaning received the left line from Bina. However, he did not receive it directly from Bina, but fire from water, meaning he received from Abraham, and this is called “water.” This is why he was included in him, as it is written, “Abraham begot Isaac.”

307) Two separate nations came out of Lot and his daughters, and connected to the Sitra Achra. Hence, the Creator causes reasons and affects inversions in the world so that all will be as it should be, connected to its place in holiness, so it will be fitting to elicit the kings of Judah and the Messiah King from there.

308) Lot was worthy of him and his wife begetting these two nations, but to tie them to their rightful place He brought them out from his daughters, and their conception was made through wine, as it is written, “And they made their father drink wine.” This wine was intended for them on that night in the cave. Had it not been for the wine, these nations would not have come into the world.

We must first understand the two explanations in the words, “Because He turns in His tactics.” There are two kinds of overthrowing in the corrections of the worlds. One is the overthrowing of Sodom and Gomorrah, since those GAR of the illumination of the left were destructive lights. The second overthrowing is the turning of the stones. This is the overthrowing of Moab and Ammon, who were Klipot that were more impure than all the nations by their very nature, until they were forbidden to mingle with the crowd of the Lord. Because He turns in His tactics, all those kings and the Messiah King came out of them, since those two nations were drawn out by the intoxicating wine through the primordial serpent, which was similar to the sin of the tree of knowledge. Hence, he extended revealed GAR of illumination of the left, meaning lights that are revealed in Hochma, and in the form of GAR, so that the lights will be drawn out from above downwards, as in the tree of knowledge.

And this extension was done by the elder one, from whom Moab was born, whose idol worship, Peor, is disclosed. And the intimation is that the Moab is revealed to all, that he was born from his father. Also, it is known that through extension of GAR of the left, the Malchut of the quality of Din appears. Hence, the younger one extended only VAK because the Malchut of the quality of Din was already revealed in her. And yet, the two Klipot, GAR and VAK, were connected to one another and were receiving from each other. And since the extension of the younger one was mingled with Malchut of the quality of Din, which rejects all the Mochin, all her actions were covered.

This is why Ammon and Moab were forbidden to mingle with the crowd of the Creator, since their iniquity was grave. Moab was forbidden because he was from the GAR of the illumination of the left, when besides being extended through harsh Dinim, they also expose Malchut of the quality of Din. And Ammon was forbidden because he had Malchut from the quality of Din in him.

However, to counter that, the Nukva of holiness was erected when the lower ones improve their deeds, when the lights that are revealed in Hochma shine in her below the Chazeh and in the form of from below upwards. This revokes the Klipa of Moab.

In this way, the lines of Hochma and Hassadim mingle in one another, the illumination of Hochma exists in its full perfection, and the covered lights shine in her from above the Chazeh, in the place of GAR. Also, the Malchut of the quality of Din is established and concealed there from the Chazeh upwards, and does not affect any Din. This cancels the Klipa of Ammon.

Additionally, Malchut that is mitigated in the quality of Rachamim, called Miftacha [key], is established from the Chazeh of Nukva downwards. It was written that if he is rewarded, good. If he is not rewarded, it is bad because then the correction in the Nukva is corrupted and the lights shine in Dinim of the left, and the Klipot of Moab and Ammon regain their dominion and introduce harsh Dinim to the world.

The Creator causes reasons and does deeds in the world, in Nukva, called “world.” He corrected her in lights that are covered from the Chazeh upwards, and revealed lights from the Chazeh downwards. He did this in the construction of the Nukva so that the illumination of Hochma would persist in her. In this way, the lines are included in one another and the Hochma clothes in Hassadim and then persists. And once people are confident that the Mochin will persist, they no longer keep their ways and sin in extending the revealed lights in the place from the Chazeh upwards. Then the Creator turns it around, the Klipot of Moab and Ammon return to their places, and the lights of the left bring harsh Dinim to the world.

At that time, the Creator corrects the turning stones, the Nukva, so that the revealed lights will shine below the Chazeh, and then the Hochma clothes in Hassadim and the right governs. This is so because then the Klipot of Moab and Ammon return to their places and the left rules. Thus, He turns the reasons and the Kelim that were first erected in the right, meaning the lights that are covered above and the lights that are revealed below, and now they have been overturned so the revealed lights are above and the covered lights are below. This way is the domination of the left in harsh Dinim that were tied to their proper place. The revealed lights above the Chazeh, the Klipa of Moab, and the covered lights are below the Chazeh, the Klipa of Ammon. It is the opposite order in the Nukva, which is called “world”—the covered lights will shine in her above and the revealed below.

309) With Moab and Ammon, they themselves gave them the names. She called him Moab because he is Me Ab [from a father]. The elder said, “In the strength of Moab, he is from my father.” “And the younger, she also bore a son, and called his name Ben-Ammi [son of my people].” She said Ben-Ammi in humbleness, Ben-Ammi, but she did not say from whom he was.

310) In the beginning, it is written, “And he did not know when she lay down or when she arose,” with a Vav [in “arose” in Hebrew], and a point over the Vav, as well. This indicates that there was help from above in that deed, for the Messiah King was to come out of it. This is why the word “arose” was filled with Vav. With the other, it writes, “arose” without the Vav, since no part for the Creator was to come out of her, as with the elder. This is why it writes, “arose” with a Vav and a point over it only in the elder. And although kings came out of the younger, since Naama the Ammonite was Solomon’s wife and the mother of Rehoboam, but David is the primary and he is the Messiah King.

311) “And he did not know when she lay down or when she arose,” meaning he did not know that the Creator was to raise King David out of him, and King Solomon, and all the other kings, and the Messiah King. It is written in Ruth, “And she rose up before one could discern another.” On that day she certainly had rising, since Boaz had bonded with her to erect the name of the dead on his domain, and all those kings were established from her, and every noble man in Israel.

312) Come and see Abraham’s humility. Even in the beginning, when the Creator wished to execute judgment in Sodom, he asked for mercy on them. And yet, he did not ask for mercy on Lot. Afterwards it is written, “And behold, the smoke of the land ascended like the smoke of a furnace,” but he did not inquire about Lot and did not say a thing about him to the Creator. And the Creator, too, said nothing, so that Abraham would not think that the Creator would diminish any of his merit because of that.

313) But did Abraham have no regard for Lot whatsoever? After all, we see that he risked his life to wage war with four powerful kings. But since Abraham loved the Creator and saw that Lot’s deeds were not as proper as they should be, Abraham did not wish for the Creator to abandon something of His own for him. This is why he did not ask for mercy for him, neither in the beginning nor in the end.

326) And they are yelling and saying, “Woe, for we had obeyed the evil inclination and the smoothness of his tongue.” They regret, but it does not help them because remorse and repentance help only during life and not after death.

327) When Rav Joseph went down to Babel, he saw unmarried lads coming and going among beautiful women without sinning. He told them, “Are you not afraid of the evil inclination?” They replied, “We do not come from a mixture of evil; we are carved from the holy of holies.” In other words, they told him that their parents had no foreign thoughts while they were carved off their blood, but sacred and holy thoughts. This is why they were not afraid of the evil inclination.

328) Anyone who enters the city and sees beautiful women will lower his eyes and say, “I am carved off important parents.” The hard obstacle, the Klipa, brings thoughts of women; “Leave! Leave me, for it is a holy fruit of the Sabbath, born from a Zivug of the Sabbath, when the Klipot have no hold in the offspring of the Zivug of the Sabbath.” One who enters the city must say this whisper because the warmth of the weariness of the road governs him and thus the evil inclination can rule over him.

(înapoi la pagina ZOHAR CUPRINS / Vayera – click)

(înapoi la pagina ZOHAR CUPRINS / Vayera – click)

250) “And the Lord rained on Sodom and Gomorrah.” “Behold, the day of the Lord comes, cruel.” The day of the Lord is the courthouse below, the Dinim that extend from Malchut when she is in illumination of the left, the point of Shuruk before it is mingled by the middle line. And it is called “a sentence.” “Comes” means that it always comes for every beginning of Zivug. It comes to me because I do not execute judgment [Din] until I enter and receive permission.

There are two actions in each Zivug:

• Taking permission, when the Nukva does not consent to a Zivug with ZA before he extends to her illumination of the left, illumination of the point of Shuruk. For this reason, extension of illumination of the left is considered taking permission for a Zivug.
• The sentence. When ZA receives permission from the Nukva, when he extends to her illumination of the left, at that moment all the litigants receive permission from ZA and execute the Dinim because there is no illumination of the left without disclosure of the Dinim. This is why she is called “sentence,” and this is the meaning of coming to take permission, since it comes at the beginning of each Zivug.

251) “Behold, the day of the Lord comes.” This is the saboteur below, the angel of death. When he takes the soul, he is called “cruel.” And it is written, “And full of wrath … to make the earth a desolation.” This is Sodom and Gomorrah, who became a desolation. “And He will exterminate its sinners from it” are the dwellers of that land.

252) Afterwards it writes, “For the stars of heaven and their constellations.” This is so because He poured over them fire from the heaven and obliterated them from the world. Afterwards it writes, “I will make man scarcer than pure gold.” This is Abraham, whom the Creator elevated above all the people in the world.

253) These verses are about the day when the Temple was ruined. On that day, upper and lower were darkened, and the stars and the constellations were darkened. Or, these verses relate to the day when the Creator raises the assembly of Israel from the dust at the time of redemption, and that day will be known above and below, as it is written, “And there shall be one day which shall be known as the Lord’s.” And that day will be a day of vengeance, when the Creator avenges all the idol worshippers.

254) And when the Creator avenges the rest of the idol worshipping nations, then it is said, “I will make man scarcer than pure gold.” This is the Messiah King, who will rise and be glorified by all the people in the world, and all the people in the world will serve and bow before him, as it is written, “Let the nomads of the desert bow before him … the kings of Tarshish.”

255) Although it seems as though this prophecy was made about Babel, it was in fact said about everything. This is because it is said in this portion, “For the Lord will have compassion on Jacob,” and it is written, “And the peoples shall take them, and bring them to their place,” which means that this prophecy is not specifically about Babylon.

256) “And the Lord rained on Sodom.” This is the degree of the courthouse below, which receives permission from above. HaVaYaH means He and His courthouse. He is ZA, and His courthouse is Nukva, which is the courthouse of below.

Also, the degree of the courthouse below is a verdict. This is why it is written, “And the Lord,” since ZA is mentioned in this action, as well. This is so because this verdict did not execute the judgment until the permission from above was received, meaning from ZA, implied in the name, “And the Lord.”

The judgment was executed with Rachamim, as it is written, “From the Lord [HaVaYaH] out of heaven,” where HaVaYaH is the Rachamim [mercy], so that the Din [judgment] will be in Rachamim. Here the Rachamim is as it is written, “And it came to pass, when God destroyed … and God remembered Abraham.” Afterwards, two complete nations came out of Lot, and he was rewarded with David and King Solomon coming out of him.

257) “When they had brought them outside, one said, ‘Escape for your life!’” When the Din is in the world, a person should not be on the street, for because the Din is present, it does not distinguish between righteous and wicked. Hence, one must not be there. This is the reason why Noah hid in the ark, so he would not look at the world while the Din was being executed. It is also written, “And none of you shall go out the door of his house until the morning,” until the Din was done. This is why it is written, “Escape for your life! Do not look behind you.”

258) The Din that the Creator executed in the flood and the Din in Sodom were both Dinim of hell, since the wicked in hell are sentenced by water and by fire.

259) Sodom was sentenced by the judgment of hell, as it is written, “And the Lord rained on Sodom and Gomorrah brimstone and fire from the Lord out of heaven.” One was sentenced with water, one was sentenced with fire. And both are sentences of hell. And the wicked in hell are sentenced by these two discernments, for there is hell of snow, which is water, and there is hell of fire.

260) The Din of the wicked in hell is twelve months, where they are whitened [also white-hot] and purified. Afterwards, the Creator raises them from hell and they sit at hell’s door, seeing the wicked come in and being sentenced, and they ask for mercy for them. Afterwards the Creator takes pity on them and elevates them from hell’s door, too, and brings them to the place where they are needed. From that day forth the body is calmed in the dust and the soul inherits its rightful place.

261) Even the generation of the flood were sentenced only to fire and water: cold water came down from above and boiling water from below, from the abyss, and they were sentenced by the two Dinim. This is so because the Din from above is in two Dinim—water and fire—which is why there was brimstone in Sodom, for brimstone is from water.

262) Are the men of Sodom to rise in the future, at judgment day? Those of Sodom and Gomorrah will not rise in the future during the revival of the dead. It is written, “And that the whole land is brimstone and salt, a burning waste … which the Lord overthrew in His anger and in His wrath.” “Which the Lord overthrew” means in this world. “With His anger” is in the next world, and “His wrath” is in the future, when the Creator revives the dead.

263) As their land was lost for all eternity, they were lost for all eternity. The Creator’s judgment is judgment for judgment, an eye for an eye. They would not revive the soul of the poor with food and drink, the Creator, too, does not revive their souls in the next world.

And when The Zohar says, “To the next world,” it is precisely so because it takes example from their land, and their land was lost only during the 6,000 years, at which time it is called “for all eternity.” But at the end of correction, Sodom will return to the way it was, as it is written, “And your sisters, Sodom and her daughters, shall return to their former state.” Hence, concerning their souls, too, he is not speaking of the time of revival, but speaks only about the next world, during the 6,000 years.

264) As they avoided giving alms—which is called “life”—to the poor, the Creator deprived them of life in this world and in the next world. And as they deprived the people of the world of their caravans and trails, the Creator deprived them of the caravans and trails of mercy from having any pity on them in this world and in the next world.

265) All the people in the world will rise at the revival of the dead and will stand up for judgment. But it is written about the people of Sodom, “and those are to reproaches and everlasting abhorrence.” And since the Creator, the Merciful One, sentenced them in this world and they suffered the judgment, they will not be judged in the future with all the judgments but only with some.

266) It is written, “And sent Lot out of the midst of the overthrow.” What is, “When He overthrew the cities in which Lot dwelt”? Did he not dwell in only one of them? Indeed, Lot lived in all of them, as it is written, “And Lot dwelt in the cities of the Plain, and moved his tent as far as Sodom.” However, he was not accepted except by the King of Sodom who accepted him in Sodom for Abraham, who gave him back the people and the possessions he had lost during the war of the four kings.

268) There is one gem among the stones, the Nukva de ZA. It is comely and shapely. The place of the gathering of the smoke and burning fire is in seventy faces, which is the illumination of the left in the Nukva before she is included in the right. At that time, he is the place of the Dinim, burning fire and steaming furnace. On the wardrobe, the place for gathering clothes, there are seventy sweltering faces to the four directions of the world, HB TM.

269) These seventy faces are elucidated out of three colors—white, red, and green. The color of Malchut, black, is absent there. These sparks are included in the sparks that sparkle to the four directions of the world, HB TM. This means that even though these seventy faces have only three faces—lion, ox, and eagle, meaning HGT—lacking a man’s face, Nukva, when they are mingled in one another, the Nukva is included in the HGT, as well, and there are three faces in each, even in the Nukva.

Thus, there are three faces in the lion’s face, three faces in the face of the ox, three faces in the eagle’s face, and three faces in the face of a man. Hence, they are twelve faces, where each of the HG TM has three faces, with the face of man—the color Nukva—missing in each of the HG TM. This is why they are twelve, HB TM that have three colors in each.

And here there is a very powerful spark from the left side, which grips to the heaven, ZA. By the force of the illumination of that spark, each discernment of the twelve discernments receives six edges, HGT NHY, from ZA.

We see three discernments in these seventy faces: 1) Who are primarily only three colors HB and Tifferet, with the Nukva absent there. 2) In regards to their integration in one another, there are these three discernments in the Nukva, too, by which these three colors become twelve discernments. 3) Their unification in ZA, where each of the twelve discernments receives six Sefirot HGT NHY.

This is how they became seventy discernments, since six times twelve is seventy-two. But essentially, they are only seventy—seventy Sanhedrin and two witnesses. And seventy angels stem from those seventy faces, which are Malchut’s courthouse. And the Din is calmed in those seventy discernments and the books are open. Thus, even though the judgment is open in them, and they are open and seen by all, yet the judgment is quieted and completely inactive. This is Malchut of the quality of Din that is hidden in them, as it is written, “If he is rewarded, it is good.”

270) From here emerge arrows, swords, spears, and the fire of the tower, since the three colors that extend from the three points—Holam, Shuruk, Hirik—are included in all four, even in the Nukva. Hence, when she is in Dinim of the illumination of the left, arrows are drawn out by the force of Holam in her, which kill from afar.

Also, by the Malchut’s ascent to Bina, the Bina was halved and its bottom half fell off it, and the light of GAR departed her. But Bina did this deliberately, like the eagle that is merciful to its offspring and says, “It is better that the arrow will hit me rather than my offspring.” By the force of the point of Shuruk, in which swords are drawn out, which kill from up close, all the Dinim in the Shuruk extend from the nearness of the light of GAR de Hochma. And by the force of the point of Hirik in her, spears are drawn out, which include both: killing from up close like a sword and tossing them and striking from afar like an arrow, since it contains both.

All those three Dinim creates burning fire in the Nukva, and this is called “the fire in the tower,” which is the Nukva. And strong fire that comes out from the heaven, ZA, grips the Nukva, and when the upper fire—the Dinim in ZA—grips those below, in the seventy Dinim of the Nukva, no one can break the anger and judgment of the Dinim in the Nukva.

271) The eyes blaze like tongues of flame. ZA descends to the world with them with blazing eyes. Woe unto one who meets him when he is girded with swords. The Dinim that extend from the point of Shuruk are called “swords.” A sharp sword in his hand, he pities neither the good nor the bad, since the verdict of those seventy colors comes down by the left hand by the permission of the unification, when the side of heaven was united in him.

272) He overturns in several Dinim; each day he turns into several colors, which acquire a different shape each time. All the kinds of Dinim that are in the tools of anger of the Creator are seen in him, and those Dinim sit at the top of the world. And for their foolishness, people do not look at them.

273) Brimstone and fire are the waste of water and the waste of fire that were fused from the heaven and united with each other and descend over Sodom. The heaven is fire and water, right and left that were united in ZA, and the Shamayim [heaven] has the letters of Esh [fire] and Mayim [water]. And through the iniquities of the lower ones, they were parted and there was a dispute between fire and water, which are the two lines, right and left. It is considered that they were fused, and that the waste of the right is brimstone and the waste of the left is fire. And these two kinds of Dinim that were conjoined are the ones that overthrew Sodom.

274) There are ten names of corrections in the King’s authority, ten Sefirot. Ten and not nine, ten and not eleven. And yet, they amount to a great number, the number of seventy-two names. Seventy blazing colors emerge to each side from the seventy-two names, seventy colors that were carved and were made into the seventy names of the angels, which are the heavens. They come out of the seventy-two names of the heavens, which is ZA, and there are three discernments in them, corresponding to the three lines of ZA.

Hence, those that extend from the right line are arranged as an acronym of the alphabet in direct order. And those that extend from the left are arranged as an acronym of TASHRAK, TZAPH’AS, which is the alphabet in reversed order, indicating Din and extending from the middle line, arranged in the acronym of the nine points, Kamatz, Patach, Tzere, Segol, Sheva, Holam, Hirik, Sharak, and Shuruk, which is also called Melaphom.

278) When they all unite as one, by the power of the upper one, ZA, it is then called “And the Lord [HaVaYaH],” which means that all is included—ZA and Nukva and the seventy angels below her. “From the Lord [HaVaYaH] out of heaven” means the Holy Name that is carved in seventy other names. The heavens is ZA, the name AB in Mochin de ZA whose essence is seventy. And those are the seventy of ZA that dominate the seventy Dinim de Nukva, “And the Lord,” and seventy names in holiness—in Mochin de ZA—are HaVaYaH without Vav, called Shamayim [heaven].

279) The seventy Dinim in Nukva receive from the seventy names of ZA. And HaVaYaH that contains seventy Dinim receives from HaVaYaH seventy names of ZA. The lower ones, the seventy Dinim, depend on the upper ones, the seventy names of ZA, and all is connected as one. When they connect with one another and shine simultaneously, by that, the Creator Himself is revealed. The heaven is Ayin, HaVaYaH without Vav, and the seventy-two names that emerge from the three verses, “And … went,” “And it came,” and “And … stretched.”

281) These are the seventy names that govern the seventy bottom degrees, which are “And the Lord,” with a Vav. And these are the seventy names that are HaVaYaH without a Vav, which is called “heaven,” ZA. Seven firmaments, the seven Sefirot of ZA, each of which consists of ten, add up to seventy names of the Holy Name, HaVaYaH. This is the meaning of the words, “And the Lord rained,” which are seventy Dinim de Nukva. “From the Lord out of heaven” are the seventy names of the Holy Name, HaVaYaH.

282) The most hidden of all that is hidden was given to the wise. This name is called “heaven,” and from it, the hidden secret called man was created. The number of organs in his body is 248 organs. Also, man extends from heaven, from ZA in the Mochin of the seventy-two names. This is why 248 organs were created in man, corresponding to the 216 letters in the seventy-two names and the thirty-two paths of wisdom.

283) The number of letters of the seventy-two names is 216. This is so because each name contains three letters, and three times seventy-two is 216. Seventy-two is the hidden and the concealed, the whole of the Torah. It is included in the twenty-two letters and ten utterances, which are thirty-two in Gematria, being the thirty-two paths of wisdom. This name is 216 letters, and with the thirty-two paths that were included in it, they amount to 248, which are the 248 organs of the body.

ZON are called twenty-two letters and ten utterances, ten Sefirot de Bina. The Mochin de AB appear through the rising of ZON for MAN to Bina when the twenty-two letters of ZON unite with the ten Sefirot de Bina. Hence, this raising of MAN is called “thirty-two trails of wisdom” or “The thirty-two ways of wisdom,” indicating that all the Hochma [wisdom] that appears in Atzilut appears only in these paths.

And since ZA is the cause of these Mochin, 248 discernments were carved in it, indicating the thirty-two paths and the 216 letters that appear through thirty-two paths, which are 248 organs in the body. For this reason, ZA himself is called “man,” too, indicating the expansion of these Mochin in him.

284) ZA is called “man,” governing the throne, which is seventy Dinim and seventy angels that extend from them, which are called “throne.” It is written, “And upon the likeness of the throne was a likeness as the appearance of a man upon it from above.” ZA, called “man,” is above the throne, which is the Nukva and the seventy Dinim in her. It is written, “And the Lord rained on Sodom,” which is the Nukva and her seventy Dinim, meaning a throne, “from the Lord out of heaven,” which is ZA above the throne.

285) Sodom was sentenced for avoiding giving alms, as it is written, “Neither did she strengthen the hand of the poor and needy.” For this reason, their sentence was from heaven, since alms and heaven are one. It is written, “For Your mercy [Hesed] is great above the heavens.” Thus, alms and Hesed extend above the heaven, and because alms depend on heaven, Dinim, too, extend from the heaven, as it is written, “From the Lord out of heaven.”

There are Dinim de Nukva and there are Dinim de Dechura [male Dinim]. Dinim of Sodom are Dinim de Dechura, from the heaven, ZA, since their verdict was sentenced for depriving alms, and this flaw concerns ZA, who was prevented from bestowing alms and Hesed upon the Nukva; hence their Din is Din de Dechura.

286) The Din of Israel is from heaven, too, as it is written, “For the iniquity of the daughter of my people is greater than the sin of Sodom.” Also, Jerusalem is regarded as the sister of Sodom, as it is written, “Behold, this was the iniquity of your sister Sodom.” For this reason, their sentence from heaven is the same sentence as that of Sodom, for avoiding giving alms. The only difference is that Sodom has been overthrown and is incorrigible, and Jerusalem is ruined but can be corrected.

The cities of Sodom extended GAR of illumination of the left. This was their essence. And Jerusalem is only VAK of the illumination of the left. And prior to the sin of Sodom, the Mochin of the illumination of the left were properly arranged above, GAR on top, followed by VAK, followed by Din. When he sinned and their sentence was determined, he turned the degrees from below upwards in the Mochin of illumination of the left, and this elevated the verdict above, so only she became fit for a Zivug, as it is written, “In the evening she went.”

Following her came the VAK de Mochin, and following them—below all the others—the Kelim de GAR de Mochin fell. And since he overturned the five degrees above, the cities of Sodom were overturned below. And since they were regarded as GAR, they fell below all the others. This is so because this correction that was done in the illumination of the left remained so until the end of correction. At that time, it is said, “And thy sisters, Sodom and her daughters, shall return to their former state,” since then the degrees above will return to their former state: GAR above, followed by ZAT, and finally the sentence.

Even though it is the same verdict for Jerusalem and Sodom, there is still a big difference. Because Sodom is considered GAR, they were overturned and cancelled out until the end of correction. Jerusalem, however, is considered VAK, and hence was not overturned, VAK de Mochin of the left of the illumination of the left remained in place, in the middle, and no change will ever occur in them. However, they were ruined because of their iniquity, since the upper Zivug was separated for a time until they repent. This is the meaning of Jerusalem being recoverable if Israel repent even before the end of correction, while Sodom is irrecoverable, since the overthrowing will not be removed before the end of correction.

287) “But his wife looked back from behind him,” behind Lot. The saboteur was walking behind him. Wherever Lot went, the saboteur avoided sabotaging. And the place from which he went and left behind, the saboteur would overthrow. This is why the saboteur told him, “Look not behind you,” for I will be sabotaging behind you, and this is why it is written, “But his wife looked back from behind him.” Seeing the saboteur, she became a pillar of salt because as long as the saboteur does not see the face of a person, he does not sabotage it, but since Lot’s wife turned her face back to look behind him, she promptly became a pillar of salt.

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239) “And these are the nations which the Lord left, to test Israel by them.” I was looking at that eternal world, and the world stood only on those righteous that reign their hearts’ desire. It is said, “He appointed it in Joseph for a testimony.” Why was Joseph rewarded with that virtue and kingship? For he had conquered his inclination. This is because we learned that all who reign their inclination, the kingdom of heaven awaits them.

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224) “And the two angels came to Sodom.” It is written, “And the Lord went when He had left off speaking to Abraham.” This is so because when Divinity departed Abraham and he returned to his place, “The two angels came to Sodom in the evening,” since one angel departed with Divinity and those two remained.

225) When Lot saw them, he ran after them. But was he hospitable to anyone who came to his town, giving them food and drink? Also, his town’s people did not kill him, but when they found out that Lot’s daughter gave bread to a poor man they covered her with honey and put her on the rooftop until the bees ate her.

227) But because it was night, he thought his town’s people would not see him. Yet, when they came in the house, everyone gathered and surrounded the house.

228) Why did Lot run after the angels? He ran toward them since he saw Abraham’s form with them. It is written, “And Lot saw them, and ran to meet them” because he saw Divinity over them.

229) “And Lot saw them, and ran to meet them … and he said, ‘Behold now, my lords,’” with Aleph–Dalet–Nun–Yod [in the words “my lords”—ADNI], which is the name of Divinity. But in our books it does not say, “Ran to meet them,” but “Rose up to meet them.” It seems that the view of The Zohar is that the meaning of “Rose up to meet them” is that he ran to meet them. Otherwise, it should have said, “And rose up from before them.”

It is written, “Turn aside, I pray you.” Should it not have said, “Come aside, I pray you”? Indeed, he wished to take them around the house and not let them in the house the usual way so that the town’s people would not see them. This is why he said, “Turn aside, I pray you.”

230) It is written, “For He looks to the ends of the earth, and sees under the whole heaven.” People should consider the deeds of the Creator and engage in Torah day and night. Anyone who engages in Torah, the Creator is praised by him above and praised by him below, for the Torah is a tree of life for all who engage in it, to give them life in this world and to give them life in the next world.

231) It is written, “For He looks to the ends of the earth,” to give them food and to provide for them with all that they need. The earth is Malchut. The ends of the earth is all that extends from her, since He always watches over her, as it is written, “The eyes of the Lord your God are always on it, from the beginning to the end of the year.”

232) It is written about this earth, Malchut, “She brings her food from afar,” and then she gives prey and food for all the animals of the field, which are the angels of BYA, as it is written, “She rises while it is still night, and gives prey to her household and portions to her maidens.”

233) This is why it is written, “For He looks to the ends of the earth, and sees under the whole heaven,” to give all the people in the world food and nourishment according to each and everyone’s needs, as it is written, “You open Your hand, and satisfy every living thing with favor.”

234) “For He looks to the ends of the earth” means to regard people’s deeds and to watch over all that people do in the world. “And sees under the whole heaven” means He sees and observes every single one.

235) When the Creator saw the deeds of Sodom and Gomorrah, He sent those angels to destroy Sodom. It is written, “And Lot saw,” meaning that he saw Divinity. But who can see Divinity? Indeed, he saw a light shining and rising over their heads, and then he said, “Behold now, my lords,” with Aleph–Dalet, which is the name of Divinity. And for Divinity, meaning that illumination that he saw shining over their heads, he said, “Turn aside, I pray you, into your servant’s house.”

236) “And spend the night, and wash your feet.” Abraham did not do so. Instead, in the beginning he said, “wash your feet” and then “And I will fetch a piece of bread.” But Lot said, “Turn aside, I pray you … and spend the night,” and then, “And wash your feet.” This was so that people would not recognize them, for if they recognized them they would say that now they have just come to him, since they have not washed their feet from the road.

237) This is so because this is what the guests who entered there did, since they were sleeping in the street because there was no one to let them into his home. This is why they said, “No, we shall spend the night in the street.” It is written, “Yet he urged them strongly.”

238) When the Creator executes judgment in the world, one messenger does it. But now in the overturning of Sodom, we see two angels, as it is written, “And the two angels came to Sodom.” But was one angel not enough? The answer is that it was really one, and the reason why the text speaks of two angels is that one was to get Lot out and to save him, and the other was to overturn the city and to destroy the land. This is why there was only one in the overturning of Sodom.

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218) “And Abraham drew near, and said, ‘Will,’” etc,. Who saw such a merciful father as Abraham? It is written about Noah, “And God said unto Noah, ‘The end of all flesh is come before Me,’” and Noah kept silent. He did not say a thing and he did not ask for mercy. But when the Creator told Abraham, “The outcry of Sodom and Gomorrah,” it immediately writes, “And Abraham drew near and said, ‘Will You indeed sweep away the righteous with the wicked?’”

219) Abraham, too, did not do it fully, as it should be. But Noah did nothing: he asked neither for the righteous, as did Abraham, nor for the wicked, as did Moses. Abraham demanded proper justice, so a righteous would not die with a wicked. He began with fifty righteous and got to ten. He did, but he did not complete, since he did not ask for mercy whether there were righteous or there were no righteous. Abraham said, “I do not wish to demand reward for my actions,” meaning he did not believe in himself, that he could ask for such a reward that by his merit the wicked would be redeemed from the judgment.

220) But the one who did fully perform is Moses. When the Creator told him, “They have turned aside quickly out of the way,” it immediately writes, “And Moses besought the Lord his God,” until he said, “And now, if You will, forgive their sin and if not, please blot me out from Your book which You have written.” And even though they all sinned, he did not move from there until He told him, “I have pardoned according to your word.”

221) But Abraham considered only if there were righteous among them. And if there were no righteous among them, he did not pray. This is why there was no such man who protected his generation as Moses, the loyal shepherd.

222) “And Abraham drew near, and said,” meaning he positioned himself to say, “Suppose there are fifty.” He began with fifty, which is the beginning for Daat, down to ten, which is the end of all the degrees. This is so because there are five levels in each degree, emerging one below the other on the five Behinot [discernments] of the Masach. Thus, there are fifty Sefirot at the level of Keter, which are five Sefirot KHB TM, in each of which are ten Sefirot. At the level of Hochma there are only forty Sefirot, since it lacks the ten Sefirot de Keter. At the level of Bina there are thirty Sefirot because the ten Sefirot of Hochma are missing, too. There are twenty Sefirot at the level of Tifferet because the ten Sefirot de Bina are absent, too, and only ten Sefirot at the level of Malchut, the end of all the degrees.

223) Abraham prayed until ten. These are the ten days between Rosh Hashanah [Hebrew New Year’s Eve] and Yom Kippur [Day of Atonement], during which the ten Sefirot of Malchut are corrected to rise to Bina. This is the reason why he began to pray from fifty to ten, which are the ten Sefirot of Malchut, corrected in the ten penitential days. And when he reached ten, he said, “From here and below, which is where Malchut is not mitigated in Bina, is not a place that stands in repentance, unmitigated in Bina, called ‘repentance.’” This is why he did not ask for less than ten.

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211) The Creator said to Abraham, “The cry of Sodom and Gomorrah is great” because it has come before Me what they are doing to the whole world. The whole world avoids entering Sodom and Gomorrah, as it is written, “A stream breaks far from habitation, forgotten by the foot.” “A stream breaks” means that the stream, which is Sodom, was making a breach to those people from the world who entered there. And all of them, if they saw one giving food or drink to another, they would throw him in the depths of the river, and throw the person who received the food and drink from him, as well.

212) This is why all the people in the world avoided going in there. And those who entered there exhausted the strength of the body in hunger, for they were not given food or drink and their form was altered from the form of the rest of the people, as it is written, “They hang afar from men, they swing to and fro.” This means that they would turn away from carriages and caravans to avoid entering there. Even the birds avoided entering there. For this reason, the whole world was crying out about Sodom and Gomorrah and all the cities, for they were all equal.

213) “The cry of Sodom and Gomorrah is great.” Abraham said to the Creator, “Why?” He told him, “Their sin is exceedingly grave.” Hence, “I will go down now, and see if they have done according to its outcry.”

214) On the side that is under the sound of the hail, all the thickets rise in the shoulder. They gather into one drop and come in the holes of the great abyss, and become five in one. One is when there are clear sounds, when they all become one, since the sound of below comes among them and extends with them as one. And that sound ascends and descends and demands judgment.

The judgments [Dinim] in the world divide into two discernments: 1) From the Malchut herself. The sound that rises from these Dinim is called “the sound of below,” of Malchut. 2) From the Malchut that is mitigated in Bina. The sound that rises from these Dinim is called “the sound of above,” of Bina. This is called, “the sound of the hail.”

On the side below the hail, the voice of above, from Bina, all the thickets rise, open, and are attained. In the shoulder means Mochin de GAR of the posterior of the Guf [body]. This is so because the sound of the hail is all good without bad. Hence, all the thickets of these Dinim receive their correction in it.

All the lights gather in one of the three drops—Holam, Shuruk, and Hirik. In the drop of Shuruk, all the Dinim extend as long as it does not connect with the drop of Holam. By the force of the Dinim de Shuruk, they enter the holes of the great abyss, meaning they come in the Dinim de Bina, the sound of above.

And then all five Sefirot KHB TM are included in one sound. Even the Malchut, which is the sound of below, is included in this voice of above, called “the sound of the hail.” And the sound of Malchut herself will not be heard because if her sound were to reveal, the Mochin would depart. Hence, there is one sound here.

All five are one. When there are clear sounds, the coarse sound of below is not heard among them. And they all became one sound and the sound of below is not mingled in them, since the sound of Malchut herself came among them, among the voices of above and was extended along with them. This means that it was absorbed among them and is unheard.

And that sound of above, which is heard, rises at the point of Holam and descends at the point of Shuruk, in the Dinim that extend from the Shuruk before she is included in the Holam, so she can extend and shine below. At that time, the sound rises to demand Din, when the point of Shuruk dominates, and then the Creator appears, to supervise in Din.

This is so because the appearance of the Creator is the light of Hochma. And after the integration of the lines in one another, she extends from the domination of the point of Shuruk, when there is no light of Hochma in any line, but in her. However, at that time it watches in Din. But after the integration of the lines in one another, he shines in Rachamim.

From the point of Holam, which is Hesed, to the point of Shuruk, which is Din, it is considered a descent. There is seeing at the point of Shuruk, light of Hochma. “According to its outcry, which has come to Me,” the outcry of the one voice, to demand Din during the domination of the Shuruk. This is so because the disclosure of Hochma is specifically during this outcry, for there is no disclosure of Hochma at any other point except the point of Shuruk.

216) From whom is this outcry? It is the sentence that demands Din everyday, so the Din will appear. “According to its outcry, which has come to Me” is the outcry of the sentence.

The sentence is the illumination of the point of Shuruk in the Nukva before she is included in Hassadim, when she appears only with the appearance of Dinim. Joseph is illumination of GAR, and by the brothers’ selling of Joseph to Egypt, the GAR was removed from them, for she accused because her illumination was cancelled due to the selling of Joseph. This is because she wished to shout and to disclose the Din; she wished to bring back the GAR that were cancelled by the selling of Joseph. And because she only shines with the disclosure of the Din, her illumination is implied, meaning the disclosure of Hochma through the outcry of the sentence of Din.

217) “Which has come to Me.” It is written, “In the evening she goes and in the morning she returns.” This refers to after he explained the word, “According to its outcry,” which is disclosure of illumination of Hochma through the outcry of the sentence. “Which has come to Me” is in present tense [in Hebrew], meaning it comes during the Zivug, as it is written, “In the evening she goes,” implying the time of Zivug that receives from the illumination of Shuruk, called “evening” because it is dominated by the Dinim of Shuruk, which is “She rises while it is still night.” This is why it is written, “Which has come to Me,” in present tense, for it is a regular conduct, since in the beginning of each Zivug there is the domination of the Shuruk in illumination of the left line.

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