Zohar
3,895 passages indexed from Zohar (Sefaria Community) — Page 71 of 78
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Zohar, Bereshit 17:6
The Sabbath prayer is a kindness to this poor man. Therefore a man when reciting the Amidah prayer during the weekdays should stand like a poor man at the king’s gate on account of the Shekinah, and he should clothe it with the vestment of the fringes, and he should stand in his phylacteries like a beggar at the gate when he begins with the word Adonai (Lord).
Zohar, Lech Lecha 11:7
And then, Michael, the High Priest, takes (the Ruach) and offers it as a sacrifice of sweet savor to the Holy One, blessed be He. And it remains there and enjoys the delicacies of the bundle of Life, "no eye had ever seen an Elohim, beside You..." (Isaiah 64:3). Afterwards, it goes down from there and returns to the earthly Garden of Eden. There, it enjoys all the delicacies, clothes itself again with that same clothing, and dwells there crowned with a crown twice as big as the one that it had possessed before.
Zohar, Beshalach 3:4
R. Isaac was reminded of the verse: “Fret not thyself because of the evildoers” (Ps. XXXVII, I). ‘The evildoers,’ he said, ‘as opposed to “sinners” or “wicked men”, are those who defile themselves and all who come into contact with them.’ Said R. Judah: ‘One must indeed beware of making friends (re’im) with the evildoers (mere’im), lest one should suffer for their deeds and be included in their judgement.
Zohar, Shemot 4:1
R. Hiya applied to the Israelites who went down to Egypt the verse: “Eat thou not the bread of him that hath an evil eye, neither desire thou his dainties” (Prov. 23, 6). ‘Indeed,’ he said, ‘the bread or any other boon offered by an evil-eyed man is not worth while partaking of or enjoying. Had the children of Israel, in going down into Egypt, not tasted the bread of the Egyptians they would not have remained there in exile, nor would the Egyptians have oppressed them.’
Zohar, Mishpatim 3:201
and the man himself is truly and perfectly alive, being joined to the Tree of Life. And, being united with the Tree of Life, he is called “a man of repentance”, for he is become a member of the Community of Israel, which is designated by the word “teshubah” (repentance, return), and “repentant sinners can enter even where the perfectly righteous are not admitted.”
Zohar, Noach 1:10
PERFECT HE WAS IN HIS GENERATIONS: this refers to his descendants; he perfected them all, and he was more virtuous than all of them. Again, the words “He was perfect” indicate that he was born circumcised (cf. of Abraham, “Walk before me and be perfect, i.e. circumcised” Gen. 17, 1). IN HIS GENERATIONS: and not in those of his contemporaries, for all future generations issued from him only.
Zohar, Nasso 5:8
Thus when Moses cried to the Lord he was told: Write down the Divine Name, cast it into the water, and let all of them, women and men, be tested, so that no evil report should remain in regard to My children; and until they all be probed I will not cause My Name to rest upon them. Straightway “the Lord shewed him a tree, and he cast it into the waters”, the tree being thus identical with the Divine Name the priest has to write for the testing of the wife of an Israelite. Thus “There he made for them a statute and an ordinance, and there he proved them”.
Zohar, Miketz 5:13
R. Simeon then took for his text the verse: Enjoy life with the wife whom thou lovest all the days of the life of thy vanity, etc. (Eccl. 9, 9). ‘This verse’, he said, ‘has been thus esoterically explained. “Enjoy life” is an allusion to the life of the world to come, for happy is the man who is privileged to gain that life in its fulness;
Zohar, Vayera 10:2
We have thus been taught that when the Holy One loves a man, He sends him a present in the shape of a poor man, so that he should perform some good deed to him, through the merit of which he shall draw to himself a cord of grace from the right side which shall wind round his head and imprint a mark on him, so that, when punishment falls on the world, the destroyer, raising his eyes and noticing the mark, will be careful to avoid him and leave him alone.
Zohar, Mishpatim 3:7
Then the old man began thus: ‘ “The Lord is on my side, I am not afraid; what can men do unto me?… It is better to trust in the Lord than to put any confidence in princes” (Ps. 118, 6, 9). How good, how lovely, how precious, how supernal are the words of the Torah. Shall I tell them in the presence of scholars from whom so far I have not heard even one word of enlightenment? However, I feel impelled to speak, and surely there is no need to be shy in speaking of things spiritual to anyone, whether scholars or no.’
Zohar, Vayera 2:10
Rabbi Yochanan ben Zakai said, At that time, the Holy One, blessed be He (shares His abundance with the soul). And when the Patriarchs, Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, heard the Holy One, blessed be He move towards (the soul) they ask Jacob to go with them and welcome the soul in peace.
Zohar, Vayishlach 5:2
R. Judah remarked: ‘If so, how can we explain the passage: “He raiseth up the poor out of the dust” (I Sam. 2, 8)?’ R. Simeon replied: ‘The dust possesses nothing of its own, hence it is from the dust that the poor man has to be raised who possesses nothing of his own either. At the same time the dust is the source of all fruitfulness and of all the produce of the world, and from it have been formed all things in the world, as it is written: “all are of the dust and all return to dust” (Eccl. 3, 20), including, according to tradition, even the solar sphere. But the dust called abaq is forever barren, and hence, as the term vaye’obeq (“and he wrestled”, or “raised the dust”) implies, the man came up, riding, as it were, upon that dust, in order to contest Jacob’s right.’
Zohar, Bereshit 7:7
This is signified by the formula, “The Lord our God the Lord” (Deut. 6, 4). The mysterious and undisclosed colours which are linked “in one place” form one higher unity; the colours of the bow below in which are united white, red, and yellow, corresponding to those other mysterious colours, form another unity, signified by the formula “and his name is One”. Further, the form “Blessed be the name of the glory of his kingdom for ever and ever” signifies the lower unity, while the upper unity is signified by the form “Hear, O Israel, the Lord our God the Lord is one.” These forms correspond, each having six words.1i.e. in the original Hebrew.
Zohar, Shemot 4:3
R. Isaac said: ‘Though a man should have a vigorous appetite and be a hearty eater, yet if he encounters such an evil-eyed man, it were better for him to take his own life than partake of his bread.’
Zohar, Vayeshev 5:2
Now, as long as the Temple existed, Israel were assiduous in bringing offerings, which together with all the other services performed by the priests, Levites, and Israelites had for their object to weave bonds of union and to cause luminaries to radiate.
Zohar, Vayeshev 5:1
R. Simeon further discoursed on the text: Behold, my servant shall prosper, he shall be exalted and lifted up, and shall be very high (Is. 52, 13). ‘Happy is the portion of the righteous’, he said, ‘to whom the Holy One reveals the ways of the Torah that they may walk in them. This verse contains an esoteric meaning. When God created the world, He made the moon, and made her small, for she possesses no light of her own, but because she accepted her diminution she receives reflected light from the sun and from the other superior luminaries.
Zohar, Balak 6:72
Said the boy to him: ‘Be on your guard and have your weapon ready. Did Israel take this honour and no other?’ He replied: ‘I have found this and no other.’ Said the boy to him: ‘Your sword is of no avail, or you do not wield it properly. Leave the sword to one who knows how to use it.’
Zohar, Miketz 9:12
Hence the “ground” here is an allusion to the Garden of Eden, which it behoves man to dress and to till so as to cause to flow upon it blessings from on high, whereby he himself will receive blessings along with it. Observe that the priest who blesses the people is blessed himself, as it says: “and I will bless them”1i.e. the priests. (Num. 6, 27). Hence, “He that tilleth the ground shall have plenty of bread”, to wit, heavenly food, but “he that followeth after vain things”, namely, he that cleaves to the other side, shall have poverty enough, assuredly.’ R. Jose remarked: ‘Happy art thou to be able to give such an exposition.’
Zohar, Vayigash 2:3
It is written: “Thus saith God the Lord, he that creates the heavens, and stretcheth them forth, he that spreads forth the earth, and that which cometh out of it, he that giveth breath unto the people upon it, and spirit to them that walk therein” (Ibid. 40, 5). The first part of the verse refers to the Holy One, blessed be He, in His operations on high, as He “createth the heavens” and continually and at all times renews them. The “earth” here is an allusion to the holy land which constitutes the “bundle of life”; and it is this earth which “gives soul (neshamah, lit. breath) unto the people upon it.”
Zohar, Pekudei 9:1
R. Abba illustrated from the verse: “When the wicked spring up as the grass, and when all the workers of iniquity do blossom; it is that they may be destroyed for ever” (Ps. 92, 8). ‘This verse’, he said, ‘apart from its more obvious meaning, is to be interpreted as follows. When the wicked spring up, it is but as grass, to wit, like grass that is withered in the parched soil, but revives somewhat at the approach of water, and like a felled tree that can still send forth twigs on either side, but can never regain its former foliage. So will the wicked be destroyed for ever and be altogether uprooted.
Zohar, Shemot 13:45
“Apart from thee” being far away from Thee, and being ruled by other powers, “we make mention of thy name” in separation, thy Name being separated from the Name expressed by Beka. All this in the days of exile;
Zohar, Balak 6:78
And since we draw this eth down upon us, we have at the same time to say prayers and praises, and therefore it is forbidden to greet any man until one has said his prayers, and if he does so he draws a “high place” down upon himself instead of this eth.
Zohar, Toldot 1:7
AND THESE ARE THE GENERATIONS OF ISAAC, ABRAHAM’S SON. ‘Why’, asked R. Jose, ‘should Isaac be referred to just here, and here only, as “Abraham’s son”? The reason is that with the death of Abraham Isaac assumed the image of his father, so that anyone looking at him could say “This is surely Abraham”, and thus would be convinced that “Abraham begat Isaac”.’
Zohar, Vayakhel 9:1
I have further heard from the Sacred Lamp (R. Simeon) that the t’rumah is meant to be resolved into tre (two) and meah (hundred), indicating two out of a hundred. For the sum of the holy grades involved in the mystery of Faith, by which the Holy One, blessed be He, manifests Himself, amounts to ten, and these are also ten utterances. The whole thus amounts to a hundred; and so in bringing an offering1A side allusion to the heave-offering (t’rumah) due to the priest which, according to the Mishnah, normally consisted of a fiftieth part (2/100) of the produce. we have to combine the lower central point with the supernal central point, so as to unite the Shekinah with her Spouse, these being the two of the hundred grades and sub-grades just mentioned.
Zohar, Yitro 1:31
It was Jethro who gave Moses sound advice concerning the administration of justice. And in this is contained an allusion to his confessing the Holy One, namely, in his awareness that “judgement is God’s” (Deut. 1, 17), and belongs not to the “other side”, and that law and right were given to Israel and not to any of the heathen nations, as it is written: “He showeth his words unto Jacob, his statutes and his judgements unto Israel. He hath not dealt so with any nation; and as for his judgements, they have not known them” (Ps. 147, 19, 20). So one must beware of despising anyone, since the words of an ordinary person may be of great consequence, as it says of Moses that he “hearkened to the voice of his father-in-law, and did all that he had said (Ex. 18, 24).
Zohar, Pekudei 6:1
THESE ARE THE ACCOUNTS OF THE TABERNACLE, EVEN THE TABERNACLE OF THE TESTIMONY, AS THEY WERE RENDERED ACCORDING TO THE COMMANDMENT OF MOSES, ETC. R. Jesse said: ‘The wise men having completed the Tabernacle, it was requisite that an account should be rendered of all the parts of the work. For what reason? Because as the account of each work was rendered, so did that work become firmly established in its place.
Zohar, Vayakhel 3:5
What is the remedy against this? When the dead body is carried to the place of burial, a man should turn his face in another direction, andleave the women behind him. Should the latter pass in front he should turn round so as not to face them. Similarly, when they return from the place of burial he should not return by the way where the women are standing, and he should not look at them at all, but should turn a different way. It is because the sons of men do not know of this, and do not observe this, that the majority of people are brought up for judgement and are taken away before their time.
Zohar, Shmini 5:2
Both are one, but the one name refers to judgement, the other to mercy. When she was joined with David, it was for judgement, to wage war and shed blood. Here with Aaron it was for peace, for joy, for gladness and blessing. Hence with David she is called Bathsheba, and with Aaron Elisheba: Elisheba (lit. to seven) to show that she was joined to Grace; Bathsheba (daughter of seven) to signify that she inherited royalty and power.1The text here introduces a brief digression on the esoteric significance of the “voice of the trumpet”, the substance of which has already appeared elsewhere.
Zohar, Noach 13:8
(this is indicated by the form vayithnaselu, which shows that they were stripped by the hand of another). The ornaments referred to are those which they received at Mount Horeb at the time when the Torah was given to Israel.’
Zohar, Achrei Mot 3:1
The two sons of Aaron brought strange fire on the altar and did not unify God’s name in the fitting manner, and therefore they were burnt.’ R. Isaac said: ‘It is written here, “After the death of the two sons… and they died”. Why this double mention of their death? One referring to their actual death, the other to their having no children, for he who has no children is counted as dead.’1T. B. Nedarim, 64b.
Zohar, Yitro 13:4
Among all the other signs of the Zodiac there is not one possessing mouth or tongue, but this one has both, and the two are one. Therefore it is written in regard to the Torah: “And thou shalt meditate therein day and night” (Jos. 1, 8), “day” corresponding to the tongue, and “night” corresponding to the mouth. And both these are one.
Zohar, Lech Lecha 14:2
For the world on high requires to be stirred by the impulse of the lower world, and so when the souls of the righteous leave this world and mount on high, they all clothe themselves with a supernal light, with a resplendent figure, and God disports Himself with them and delights in them, since they are the fruit of His handiwork, and for this reason Israel who are possessed of holy souls are called sons to the Holy One, blessed be He, as it is written, “Ye are sons to the Lord your God” (Deut. 14, 1), that is, the fruit of His handiwork.’
Zohar, Achrei Mot 9:3
Now, too, I see that you are come because the male is not abiding with the female. If you have come only for this, return, because I see that on this day face will once more be turned to face. But if you have come to learnthe Torah, stay with me.’ They said: ‘We have come for both purposes. Let, therefore, one of us go and take the good news to our fellows, and we will stay here with our Teacher.’
Zohar, Lech Lecha 7:12
As it is written, "And Abram took Sarai his wife..." (Gen. 12:5). This refers to the body, which in comparison to the soul is like the female toward the male. "And Lot his brother's son" refers to the serpent that does not completely leave the body because the clinging of the body is not entirely gone from it. Nevertheless, the arousal of the soul strikes it always, warns and reproves it, and forces it to obey so that it cannot take control any more.
Zohar, Vayikra 4:2
-that earth which is fitly blessed by them, the holy earth, the supernal earth, the true earth. Then, too, the time of cutting-off (zamir) has drawn near, the time to destroy the dominion of the nations over Israel, when the Tabernacle was set up,
Zohar, Beshalach 4:13
Also, it was to mislead the Egyptians into thinking that it was all a mere accident. Therefore it was that they went day and night.’
Zohar, Shemot 13:9
and even in Israel there will be found some wicked ones who shall join them in the fight against the Messiah. Then there will be darkness over all the world, and for fifteen days shall it continue, and many in Israel shall perish in that darkness. Concerning this darkness it is written: “Behold, darkness covers the earth and gross darkness the peoples” (Isa. 60, 2).
Zohar, Terumah 13:4
And although their mutual love is so great that they never separate, yet “ye shall take from Him My heave offering”, meaning, “ye should take the Shekinah to dwell with you”. The Holy One, blessed be He, unlike a human husband, who would protest violently should anyone take from him the wife whom he so dearly loves, is greatly pleased when the Shekinah, whom He so loves, is “taken” from the supernal sphere, the abode of Love, to dwell below in the midst of Israel. Happy is the lot of Israel and happy that of all those who are worthy of this.
Zohar, Miketz 7:4
According to another interpretation, it is the good prompter who says, “and now shall my head be lifted up above mine enemies round about me”, to wit, above the evil prompter that surrounds man on every side and is his enemy throughout: “and I will offer in his tabernacle sacrifices with trumpet-sound”, alluding to the study of the Torah, which has been given from the side of fire, as we read: “At his right hand was a fiery law unto them” (Deut. 33, 2); for it is through the Torah that his head is lifted up and his enemies are broken before him, as it says: “Thou hast subdued unto me those that rose up against me” (Ps. 18, 40).
Zohar, Mishpatim 3:27
The two companions rejoiced and wept, but said nothing. The old man also wept, even as he had done before.
Zohar, Shemot 8:3
When R. Isaac was once studying with R. Eleazar, the son of R. Simeon, he asked him: ‘Did the Shekinah go down to Egypt with Jacob?’ Said R. Eleazar: ‘Surely! Did not God say to Jacob, “I will go down with thee into Egypt” (Gen. 46, 4)?’ Said R. Isaac: ‘See now, the Shekinah went down with Jacob into Egypt, but She also had with Her six hundred thousand holy Chariots (angelic beings), for it is written,” and the children of Israel journeyed from Rameses to Succoth, about (lit. Iike) six hundred thousand on foot” (Ex. 12, 37). Now it does not say “six hundred”, but “like” six hundred, etc., which suggests that there was an equal number of celestial beings who went out with them.
Zohar, Mishpatim 3:198
the Holy One, seeing the wasted life of him who walks in the evil way, says: “I must give him strength. I see his ways of darkness, and I must open in his heart a way of repentance and bring healing to his soul.” This is the meaning of “I will lead him”-like one who takes hold of somebody’s hand and leads him out of darkness.
Zohar, Bechukotai 7:4
King Josiah interpreted the verse thus, but as we have learnt, he was made to suffer for the sins of Israel. Now seeing that Josiah was a good king and acted rightly, why had he to suffer for the sins of Israel?
Zohar, Mishpatim 3:210
and so I may not have any cause of saying that thou art wrong and I am right. The point of these words is as follows. We know that every man naturally uses the language of his occupation. Now David had been a king’s jester, and so, though in sore distress and tribulation, when he found himself before the King, he reverted straightway to his quips and witticisms in order to entertain the King.
Zohar, Beshalach 14:7
Said R. Hiya: ‘When Job saw how he suffered, he said: “If this is so, then God makes no distinction between wicked and righteous. Pharaoh hardened his heart, and said, ‘Who is TETRAGRAMMATON, whose voice I should hear?’, and he deserved punishment; but I have not done anything of the kind, why should I have such a fate? ” For it was of him that it is written, “He that feared the word of the Lord among the servants of Pharaoh…” (Ex. 9, 22).’
Zohar, Terumah 9:8
But at the time when the limbs and the fat of the offerings were burnt, the smoke provided them a full repast of the kind suited to their station, and being busy with this they forgot to come forth and roam about the Holy Land.
Zohar, Miketz 5:16
“For that is thy portion in life”: this alludes to the association of the sun with the moon, as it behoves us to bring the moon, as it were, into the sun and the sun into the moon so that there should be no separation between them, this being the portion of man by which he may enter the world to come.
Zohar, Toldot 4:6
Observe that Jacob knew that Esau was destined to ally himself to that tortuous serpent, and hence in all his dealings with him he conducted himself like another tortuous serpent, using all cunning devices; and so it was meet. The same idea was expressed by R. Simeon when, in expounding the verse, “And God created the great fishes, and every living creature that creepeth” (Gen. 1, 21), he said: ‘The “great fishes” are symbolic of Jacob and Esau, and “every living creature that creepeth” symbolises all the intermediate grades.’ Verily Jacob was endowed with cunning to enable him to hold his own with that other serpent; and so it was meet.
Zohar, Vayishlach 4:1
AND JACOB WAS LEFT ALONE, ETC. R. Hiya discoursed on the verse: There shall no evil befall thee, neither shall any plague come nigh thy tent. (Ps. 91, 10). ‘When God’, he said, ‘created the world, He made on each day the work appropriate for that day. This has already been explained. Now on the fourth day the lights were created; but the moon was created without light, since she diminished herself. This is implied in the phrase “Let there be lights”, wherein the term meoroth (lights) is written defectively (less the letter vau), as it were me’eroth (curses); for as a result of the moon’s diminution, occasion was granted to all spirits and demons and hurricanes and devils to exercise sway, so that all unclean spirits rise up and traverse the world seeking whom to seduce;
Zohar, Bereshit 11:9
This is the first He’ beyond which it is impossible for the human mind to penetrate, because what is further is enveloped in the thought of God, which is elevated above the comprehension of man. If that which is within the Thought cannot be comprehended, how much less the Thought itself! What is within the Thought no one can conceive,