Zohar
3,895 passages indexed from Zohar (The Zohar; London, Soncino Press, 1933) — Page 9 of 78
License: Public Domain
Zohar, Yitro 9:2
His sign is the letter Pe’ when it is included in the letter Resh, but not in Samech. He makes a show of being pious, but is not;
Zohar, Shmini 4:5
Now, on all solemn occasions some act must be manifested, and therefore a ceremony was performed with Aaron below to produce a corresponding reaction above, and in this way worlds were blessed through the mediation of the priest. Aaron had to bring a calf for a sin-offering on account of the sin he had previously committed.
Zohar, Balak 6:6
To these the five fingers of the hand correspond, and therefore all the blessings of the priest are made with separated fingers.
Zohar, Metzora 7:5
R. Judah cited the verse: “He that sitteth in the heavens shall laugh, the Lord shall have them in derision” (Ps. 2, 4). The word “laugh”, he said, has reference to Isaac, who came from the side of wine, which first smiles and then rages and kills.
Zohar, Vayakhel 13:4
The inner meaning of this action is as follows. All the six days are concentrated within one sacred point, where they form a unity. There is another sextet of days that stand without and belong to the “other side”. Now, for holy Israel, for all those who lead a holy life during all the week, all the six days become as one with those six days that are within and that are concentrated into that central point wherein they are kept and guarded.
Zohar, Achrei Mot 10:3
We have learnt that Moses worried himself to find out what was the cause of their misfortune. Hence God spoke to him after their death and said to him: “The cause is that they ‘drew near to the Lord’, and thrust themselves forward in the lifetime of their father.” Now if the sons of Aaron brought this upon themselves through thrusting themselves forward in the lifetime of their father, what should I deserve if I thrust myself forward before my father and R. Pinchas and the rest of the Companions?’ Hearing this, R. Pinchas came up to him and kissed him and blessed him.
Zohar, Nasso 14:2
R. Isaac said that the reason is because the Shekinah does not abide with one who is not married, and the priest in especial must be one with whom the Shekinah abides. Along with the Shekinah there rests on the priests Hesed (Grace), and they are called hasidim (grace-endowed), and as such it behoves them to bless the people. So Scripture says: “And thy saints (hasidim) shall bless thee” (Ps. 145, 10); also, “Thy Thummim and thy Urim be with thy saintly one (hasid)”. ‘ “On this wise ye shall bless”, to wit, in the holy tongue; “on this wise”, to wit, in fear and in humility.’
Zohar, Miketz 2:9
Come and behold, "Blessed be Adonai who day by day bears our burden" (Tehilim 68:20). The name Adonai is spelled Aleph-Dalet-Nun-Yud, (this alludes to the Nukva). This verse contains the mystery of wisdom. "Day by day" is the secret of "two years (lit. 'two years' days')". This is as it is written, "And it came to pass at the end of two years that Pharaoh dreamed, and behold, he stood by the river." We have already learned this secret; it means Joseph, because the words, "a river" refer to Joseph the Righteous.
Zohar, Vayera 16:12
Thus when the Holy One saw the works of Sodom and Gomorrah, He sent upon them those angels to destroy them.’ Thereupon, as it is written, “Lot saw,” to wit, the Shekinah. Not that anyone can see the Shekinah really, but he saw a resplendent halo about their heads, and therefore we read: “And he said, Behold now, my lords (Adonay)”, as has been already explained, and it was on account of the halo, the reflection of the Shekinah, that he said, “turn aside, I pray you, into your servant’s house, and tarry all night, and wash your feet”.
Zohar, Bamidbar 6:5
Thus in the morning a man takes upon himself the yoke of heaven by reciting the Psalm headed “Praise of David”, followed by ten “Hallelukahs”, to wit, the five Psalms each commencing with “Hallelukah” and ending with “Hallelukah”, with the very last of them containing ten, times the expression “praise ye” (Ibid. 150).
Zohar, Vayeshev 5:22
These bodies, then, are destined to rise first, as we said already, and then all the others in the other lands will be raised in a complete state and will be renewed with the renewal of the moon, and the world will be restored to its primeval state, in allusion to which it is written: “Let the Lord rejoice in his works” (Ps. 104, 31).
Zohar, Pekudei 5:6
R. Jesse said: ‘This verse was uttered by the Community of Israel when the Temple was built and the Ark entered into its place.’ R. Hezekiah said: ‘It is the Holy One, blessed be He, who utters this verse, applying it to the Community of Israel when the latter performs His will. For at such a time the Holy One, blessed be He, ascends His Throne of Glory, and has compassion on the world, and blessings and peace and love are there, so that He says: “This is my resting-place for ever”, etc.
Zohar, Vayera 1:12
“As he sat in the tent door” refers to the supernal world which was at hand to illumine him. “In the heat of the day.” That is, it was the right side, to which Abraham clave, that illumined. According to another exposition, “in the heat of the day” indicates the time when the grades approach each other, impelled by mutual desire.’
Zohar, Miketz 3:4
R. Isaac said: ‘Although it has been affirmed that no man is shown anything in a dream save what falls within his own grade, it is different with kings, who are permitted to see more deeply than other men; for inasmuch as a king’s grade is higher than that of other men, he is permitted to see that which falls within a higher grade than that of other men. So Scripture says: WHAT GOD IS ABOUT TO DO HE HATH SHOWN UNTO PHARAOH. whereas to other men God does not reveal what He is about to do, except to the prophets, saints, or sages of the generation.
Zohar, Balak 5:2
That higher Satan, as we have stated elsewhere, goes down to earth in the form of an ox, and all those wicked spirits which have been condemned to Gehinnom he licks up in one moment and hands over to Dumah after he has swallowed them.
Zohar, Beshalach 1:5
Now this child became the prophet Habakkuk. The duplicate form of his name (Habakkuk instead of Habuk=embraced) suggests that he owed his life to two “embracings”: one of his mother (cf. 5, 16), and one of Elisha, one coming from the sphere to which he was attached at first, and the other from the higher supernal grade.
Zohar, Balak 13:4
Then Zilya, of the tribe of Dan, arose and seized the Domination that rules over enchantments and flew after him. When Balaam saw him he changed his direction in the air and broke through five ethers and vanished from view. Zilya was then sorely vexed, not knowing what to do.
Zohar, Balak 6:69
Midian was destroyed by Gideon, so that none were left of the seed which harmed Israel with counsel or in any other way. God cherishes enmity against all who harm Israel and takes vengeance on them, but if anything good for the world is destined to issue from them, He bears with them until that good has come forth, and then He punishes them.’ Said R. Eleazar: ‘This is indeed so, and all this is correct.’ Said the boy: ‘Now do you Companions prepare your weapons and join combat.’
Zohar, Mishpatim 3:281
So the Community of Israel cries aloud unto her Spouse, saying: “Since I have cleaved to Thee, may my image remain engraven upon Thine heart, so that even when I myself must perforce be driven hither and thither in exile Thou mayst find my likeness there and remember me. May I thus cleave to Thee for ever and not be forgotten of Thee.” “For love is strong as death”-as the strength of the region where death dwells is the place called “eternal love”. “Her coals are coals of fire.” What are these coals? The diamonds and precious gems which are born of that fire.
Zohar, Mishpatim 3:92
Now, as we have begun to disclose these mysteries, it is opportune to reveal that all souls.(neshamah) emanate from a high and mighty Tree, from that “River which goes out of Eden” (Gen. 2, 10), and all spirits (ruah) from another, smaller Tree-the souls from above and the spirits from below-and they unite after the fashion of male and female. And when they (soul and spirit) unite, they shine with a celestial light, and in their union they are designated “Lamp”, as it says, “The lamp of the Lord is the soul of man” (Prov. 20, 27), NeR (lamp) being the abbreviation of Neshamah-Ruah (soul-spirit).
Zohar, Mishpatim 3:267
They complain before Him and make moan, saying, When a person commits a sin he must assuredly die.
Zohar, Vaera 7:7
R. Judah interpreted in the same sense the verse from the Song of Songs (v, 5-6): “I rose up to open to my beloved, but my beloved hath withdrawn himself and was gone”. As long as the Community of Israel is in exile the Voice is withdrawn from her and the Word does not function, as it says, “I am dumb with silence” (Ps. 39, 3); and even when the Word does awaken, “my Beloved hath withdrawn Himself’, i.e. it suddenly ceases, as it did at first with Moses.
Zohar, Vaera 10:6
The truth is that when He judges Israel He pushes them away from Him with His “Left Hand” but brings them near to Him with His “Right Hand”, but with the Gentiles it is just the opposite, as it is written, “Thy right hand, O Lord, is become glorious in power; thy right hand, O Lord, hath dashed in pieces the enemy” (Ex. 15, 6). Therefore Judah, who is of the Left, clave to the Right, and the other tribes of his company (v. Numbers 2) also clung to the Right; Issachar, who devoted himself to study of the Torah, which comes from the Right (Deut. 33, 2: “from his right hand went a fiery law for them”), and Zebulun, who supported Issachar in his studies by supplying his material needs (cf. Gen. 24lb), also clave to the Right.
Zohar, Noach 9:2
R. Isaac studied regularly with R. Simeon. One day he asked him: ‘With reference to the passage “And the earth was corrupt”, if men sinned, why should the earth be called corrupt?’ R. Simeon replied: ‘We find a parallel in the passage, “And the land was defiled, therefore I did visit the iniquity thereof upon it” (Lev. 18, 25), where the same problem arises. The explanation is that mankind constitute the essence of the earth, so that they infect the earth with their own corruption. This is made clear by the language of the Scripture in the passage, “And God saw the earth, and behold it was corrupt, for all flesh had corrupted their way upon the earth.”
Zohar, Terumah 12:18
Blessed is he who concentrates his mind and will, with true humility and longing, upon this mystery. Blessed is he in this world and blessed shall he be in the world to come!’
Zohar, Chayei Sara 7:2
The “woman” referred to here is the God-fearing woman; “thy seed” refers to the idolatrous nations; “her seed” to Israel; “he shall bruise thy head”, to wit, the Holy One, who will one day destroy him, as it is written: “He will swallow up death for ever” (Is. 25, 8), and also, “and I will cause the unclean spirit to pass out of the land” (Zech. 13, 2).
Zohar, Chayei Sara 1:6
In the judgement, good and evil actions are not weighed in the same way. No account is taken of evil deeds which a man is likely to perpetrate in the future, for so it is written, “for God hath heard the voice of the lad where he is” (Gen. 21, 17). But in regard to good actions, not only those already performed in the past are taken into consideration, but also those which a man is going to perform in the future; so that even if the present account would prove a man guilty, the Holy One in His bounty towards His creatures puts to his credit all his future good deeds, and the man is thus saved.
Zohar, Chukat 6:2
Then the right hand was broken, as it says, “Let Aaron be gathered to his people”, and finally the sun was darkened, when God said to Moses, “And die in the mountain”, etc.
Zohar, Achrei Mot 7:1
R. Abba said: ‘The high priest did not see the divine presence when he entered the sanctuary, and but a cloud came down, and when it lighted on the mercy seat the Cherubim beat their wings together and broke out into song.
Zohar, Lech Lecha 7:5
Or we may refer them to Terah and his household, whose light was Abram. It does not say “light”, but “their light”, viz. the light that was with them. “The high arm is broken” refers to Nimrod, who led astray the whole of mankind. Therefore it is written lech lecha (lit. go for thyself), to give light to thyself and to all that shall follow thee from now onwards.
Zohar, Balak 6:57
They said: ‘Holy angel, messenger from above, thy wine has conquered in the mystery of the holy spirit.’ They all came and kissed him, and R. Eleazar said: ‘Blessed be God for sending me here.’
Zohar, Mishpatim 3:154
Therefore “the former husband who sent her away cannot take her again to be his wife, after that she is defiled” (Deut. 24, 4). It does not say “he should not”, but “he cannot”, because, as the woman has united herself with another man and been subjected to a lower grade, the Holy One is unwilling that the former husband should lower himself by uniting with a grade that is not his.
Zohar, Vayigash 8:3
Similarly Elijah said in effect: “whoever preserves one soul in the world merits life and is worthy to lay hold of the tree of life; yet now the tree of death, the side of evil, has obtained power over the widow whom Thou hast commanded to sustain me.”
Zohar, Vayeshev 1:18
Neither did the exile really commence during the life-time of Joseph, since he was the image of his father, but as soon as he died the captivity began in earnest, as it says: “And Joseph died… come, let us deal wisely with them… and they made their lives bitter with hard service, in mortar and in brick, etc.” (Ex. 1, 6-14).
Zohar, Chukat 2:4
Now when God said to Moses, “Draw not nigh hither” (Ex. 3, 5), He also said, “Put off thy shoes from off thy feet”; and it has been explained that by these words He enjoined him to part from his wife and attach himself to another wife of holy supernal radiance, to wit the Shekinah.
Zohar, Vaera 7:9
R. Judah replied: ‘When that was said, Jacob was included in Isaac, who was blind at that time, and a blind man is counted dead; for as long as a person is alive, the Holy Name is not joined to his name (i.e. the God of so-and-so), therefore Jacob was included in Isaac and not directly mentioned; but Jacob being now dead, the Holy Name could be connected with him.
Zohar, Kedoshim 3:13
And it is fitting that One should come and attend to one.
Zohar, Vayakhel 1:6
They had to depart because, when the time comes to punish the guilty, the pious and just who are among them are first made responsible for their sins. This has already been made clear elsewhere. Similarly, if it had not been for the riff-raff that became associated with Israel, the Israelites would not have incurred punishment for the sin of the golden calf.
Zohar, Chukat 2:2
The latter thereupon discoursed on the text: “Now this was the custom in former time in Israel concerning redeeming and concerning exchanging, to confirm all things”, etc. (Ruth 4, 7). ‘This verse’, he said, ‘raises a problem. If the ancients adopted this custom on the basis of the Torah, and later generations abolished it, how could they do so, seeing that to abolish a thing laid down in the Torah is like laying waste the whole world? If, again, it was not an injunction of the Torah, but a mere custom, why was a shoe chosen for the purpose?
Zohar, Bereshit 6:1
AND GOD SAID, LET THERE BE A FIRMAMENT IN THE MIDST OF THE WATERS. Here in the particular (day) there is an allusion to the separation of the upper from the lower waters through that which is called “the Left”. Here, too, discord was created through that which is called “the Left”. For up to this point the text has alluded to the right, but now it alludes to the left; and therefore there was an increase of discord between this and the right. It is the nature of the right to harmonize the whole, and therefore the whole is written with the right, since it is the source of harmony. When the Left awoke there awoke discord, and through that discord the wrathful fire was reinforced and there emerged from it the Gehinnom, which thus originated from the left and continues there.
Zohar, Vayera 9:6
For there is door within door, grade behind grade, through which the glory of the Holy One is made known. Hence here “the tent door” is the door of righteousness, referred to in the words, “Open to me the gates of righteousness” (Ps. 118, 19), and this is the first entrance door: through this door a view is opened to all the other supernal doors. He who succeeds in entering this door is privileged to know both it and all the other doors, since they all repose on this one.
Zohar, Vayigash 5:16
For at that time numberless celestial angels break joyously forth into song on high, and correspondingly praises should be sung here below; and whenever anyone offers up in the night praises on earth, the Holy One, blessed be He, finds pleasure in him, and all those holy angels that sing praises to the Holy One hearken to the one that sings praises to Him in the night on earth.
Zohar, Vaera 3:19
R. Simeon concluded: ‘See now the truth of R. Hezekiah’s saying, that when the Holy One created man He took the dust of the lower Sanctuary, but for the making of his soul He chose the dust of the upper Sanctuary. Just as in the formation of man’s body from the dust of the lower Sanctuary, three cosmic elements were combined, so in the formation of his soul from the dust of the upper Sanctuary, further elements, to the number of three, were mingled, and so man was completely formed. And this is the significance of the words: “Blessed is the man to whom the Lord imputeth not iniquity, and in whose spirit there is no guile.” When does the Lord not impute iniquity? When there is no guile in his spirit.
Zohar, Bamidbar 8:4
Observe the inwardness of the matter, to wit, that although prayer is performed by speech and verbal utterance, its efficacy springs primarily from the preparatory actions performed. First action, then prayer- utterance corresponding to that action.
Zohar, Noach 7:3
We might think that the same applies to the Land of Israel. Our teachers, however, have laid down that no other spirit rests upon the Land of Israel, nor has it any guardian angel save God alone. There was, however, one occasion when another spirit did rest upon it in order to destroy the people. That was in the time of David, when, as it is written, “David saw the angel of the Lord… having a drawn sword in his hand stretched out over Jerusalem” (I Chron. 21, 16), and thus destruction came upon the land.’
Zohar, Balak 6:89
The word yikbuku (curse him) means properly “pronounce distinctly”: that is, they will set forth his sins distinctly to the holy Mother. We may also translate, “he who withholds blessings from the Son”,
Zohar, Mishpatim 3:166
1Only the last two lines of the Hebrew text appear in the translation. ‘All the twelve tribes represent on earth their celestial prototypes, and because they were in reality “sons” in this world, the Shekinah.
Zohar, Bereshit 14:3
Now a woman may not do anything without the consent of her husband. When he desired anything built in the way of emanation (aziluth), the Father said to the Mother by means of the Word (amirah), “let it be so and so”, and straightway it was so, as it is written, “And he said, Elohim, let there be light, and there was light”: i.e. one said to Elohim, let there be light: the master of the building gave the order, and the architect carried it out immediately; and so with all that was constructed in the way of emanation.
Zohar, Vayakhel 12:14
That tongue of fire is of the side of the Right, and it is in virtue of that that it sweeps away the blaze of fire and confines it to the great abyss, where it abides until the Sabbath ends. At the conclusion of the Sabbath it behoves every Israelite to pronounce a benediction over fire, so that the tongue of fire, under the force of that benediction, re-emerges, retaining its command over the flame, and keeping it in subjection all that night.
Zohar, Beshalach 12:4
Said R. Abba: ‘How many thousands, how many myriads, of celestial cohorts surround the Holy One and follow in His train! Princes of supernal countenances are there, and beings full of eyes; lords of the sharp weapons, lords of the piercing cry, lords of the heralding trumpet, lords of mercy, lords of judgement; and above them the Lord has appointed the Matrona to minister before Him in the Palace.