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 with 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. crev ices .. . 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 (literally, Dallghter warn the nation (specificllly.

of Laishah and Anathoth) of

Assyrian invasion.

the Companions, 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).1 84

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;1 86 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. femin ine 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, Peti~ta 1; Pesiqta Kahana Ip.

Rabbi Yose focuses on Abraham,

according to rabbinic tradition was

with a daughter in his o ld age. In

this daughter symbolizes Shekhi­derive 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

merging. . . 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 Rab­bah 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, Ye­sod 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. deriv ing from upper Might Shekhi­nah . the liones , derives from Gevurah (Might).

187. when those streams d isappear . . .

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 She­khinah 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 com­prising 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 could 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 dominate them.20o

Solomon's father, David , as he fl ed from King Saul.

196. The world was impoverished . . . un­til Noah arrived and offered an offering . . . Adam's sin ruined the union of the sefirot, drreby depriving the world of the rich di ­line flow. When oah emerged safely from Ibt ark following the Flood, he offered sac­rifices (Gene is 8:20-22), wh ich stimulated 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 ser­pent."

See BT Shabbat 145b-1 46a: "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. Star·worshipers, 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 , inoculated them against the YCIIOmous slime and restored them to a par­ldisiacal state.

See Tnrgllm Yerl/siza/llli, Genesis 4: I; Pirqei de·Rabbi 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 insc ribed with the Ten Commandments. Later Moses ca rved a sec­ond set, wh ich were aga in inscribed by God. See Exodus 32:19; 34:1.

According to rabbinic tradition, the first tablets offered immortality. See TanQulIla, Ki Tissa 16; and Shir ha-Shirim Rabbah on 8:6: "nr''\n (Harut), Ellgraved, on the tablets [describing the divine writing] . Do not read m,n (harut) , engraved, but rather m,'n (heirut), freedom. Rabb i Yehudah, Rabbi e~emiah , and the Rabbis: Rabbi Yehudah

says, 'Freedom fro m the Angel of Death .' Rabbi e~emiah says, 'Freedom from for­eign rulers.' The Rabbis say, 'Freedom from suffering.'" See Zohar 1:37b, 52a-b.

Here the serpent is identified with the Angel of Death, known as Elld of all flesh (see above, pages 363-65). On the di tinction 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 Gold­en Calf. See Exodus 32:26-28.

200. they were all gi rded with armored belts. . . See Tan~llIma (Suber), Shela ~l ,

add . I : "Rabbi Shim 'on son of Yo~ai said , ' He adorned them with weapons engraved with the Ineffable Na me [YHVH], and as long as they possessed these, no evil could touch them, nei ther the Angel of Death nor

370

THE ZOHAR

"Come and see what is written: The Children of Israel were ornaments from Mount Horeb on (ibid., 6) . '7:~m," (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 orna­ments .. .. (ibid., 6). '"

Cf. Targum Onqelos and Targum Yeru­shalmi, Exodus 33:4, 6; Targum Shir ha­Shirim 2:17; Eikhah Rabbah, Peti~ta 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 ,r,~m' (Vay­natstseiu), 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 rabbin ic 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 ...

Noa~

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 FestivaF09 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 water211- 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 Slikkah lOb, 26a.

1IJ8. village 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. Festival 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,

sprigs 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 mitsvot,

specifically this mit yah. See his Sefer ha­

Rimmon, 391-92; Matt, Zohar, 5- 6.

213. Co m panions have already been aroused by this The symbolic meaning of

th e 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 Tigris River.

371

372

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

lulav218-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 firs t 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 Yeru­shalmi, 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; lu­lav. 1; citron, 01. ee OY; MM; Zohar 1:220b.

Brandi hing these specie, Israel vanqui hes

the seventy prince. ee Pesiqta de-Ray Ka­halla 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 alta r.

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 Akitu 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