| Tikkunei Zohar | |
| תקוני הזהר | |
| Sefaria Community Translation | |
| https://www.sefaria.org | |
| Tikkunei Zohar | |
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| The tenth level in the fear of God. There is fear and there is fear. Not all presences are the same. There is fear that a person trembles so that the Holy One of Blessing will not hit that person with a leather strap. Of this fear it is said | |
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| "and the earth was uninformed and void" (Gen. 1:2) - [this fear comes] from the side of the tree of good and evil, and this is the empty land, the bad maidservant, similar to the four basic examples of damages, one of which is the pit, similar to the pit [bor] of Yosef, which is the Pit. "And the pit was empty, there is no water in it" (Gen. 37:24). The bad maidservant is the pit, and "the pit" is the male, and we tech regarding this "a boor [bor] cannot fear sin" (Avot 2:5), this is because this boor has no [true] fear of God. | |
| A person who trembles because of Torah, which is Balance, then Torah comes out from that person, one such has a Higher Balance, and because of this not all fears are the same. There is fear of God which comes due to God's Kingship, which includes all the mitzvot of the Torah, because there is fear that comes because of Torah, which is the middle pillar, and this is [the name] Havay"ah. In that way the masters of the Mishnah said: "Torah is great because it leads to action" (cf. Kiddushin 40b), because if a person does not know Torah, and the reward for the mitzvot, and the punishments for the transgressions, and who created Torah and who gave it to Israel, how will that person actually fear and observe the mitzvot? And in that vein David said to Shlomo his son "know the God of your father and serve God." (I Chron. 28:9) | |
| Because if a person does not recognize who is the One who gave Torah to that person, and what the person is supposed to observe, how would the person fear and observe the mitzvot? And regarding this the rabbis said: an ignorant cannot be pious, and a boor cannot fear sin (Avot 2:5). | |
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| And besides You there is no unity between the Upper and Lower, and You are known as the Master of Everything, and all the Sefirot, every one, has a specific name, and through them You are called King, and You do not have a specific name, because You fill all their names, and You are complete over all, and should You separate from them, the names would remain like a body without a soul.... | |
| You are wise and not with the known wisdom, You are understanding and not with the known understanding, | |
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| ..The lower waters cried and said, “We want to be close to the King!” | |
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| Vav [of the Name Havayah] - this is the Torah that dwells in the mouth, and in the breath of the mouth it fledges on the eagle, since the eagle is the nose, the two wings are the two lips, and about it it is written: "a bird of the air carries the utterance, and a winged creature reports the word" (Prov. 10:20). And this is the middle pillar, in that Wisdom and Understanding are hidden in the brain and in the heart in love and awe, and Torah that has no awe and love cannot fledge towards above. / Sulam breaks new paragraph/ On the Crown children, lifespan and income are dependent, which are all a question of mazal [star alignment/luck], and Keter itself is not due to mazal, and due to that we hold that children, lifespan and income are not dependent on merit, rather on mazal, since Compassion is [actually] merit. | |
| And it is composed of the four sections of the recitation of the Shema, which are 248 words, including [the added words], "God is a merciful king" (<i>El melekh ne'eman</i>). But in order that they should not make an interruption, [the Sages] decreed that [instead of those words,] the prayer leader repeat, "the Lord is a true God" (the last two words of the Shema and the first word of the blessing after it). And when the Jewish people says the Shema, the <i>Chayot</i> [certainly] spread their wings. In which place? In the corners of the commandment, about which it states (Deuteronomy 22:12), "on the four corners of the garment with which you cover yourself." For they are similar to the tunic of the apron [of the high priest]. As the bells and pomegranates correspond to the coils and knots; the bottom of the tunic corresponds to the corners of the commandment. | |
| And there are five knots corresponding to [the five words of the] Shema. For they correspond to the five strings in David's harp, which would play of themselves. The thirteen coils are like the calculation (numerical equivalent of the word,) <i>echad</i> (one). For the sound of the tune ascends with, "one." And between the coils and the knots, it is eighteen; which adds up to 72 for all the [four] sides. And that is [the significance of], "And a throne shall be established in kindness (<i>chesed</i>)" (Isaiah 16:5). [The numerical value of] <i>chesed</i> is 72: Anyone who wraps himself with the wrapping of the commandment is as if he establishes the throne of the Holy One, blessed be He. And [the four <i>Chayot</i>] are the [intertwined name of God of eight letters, while] each one [of the <i>Chayot</i>] has four faces and four wings. That (eight times eight) adds up to 64, and with the eight letters [of God's intertwined name], it adds up to 72. And the corners of the commandment... | |
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| [And the corners of the commandment] teach us this secret, which is that the eight strings on each side correspond to the four faces and four wings of each <i>Chayah</i>. And according to the small count of Chanokh, <i>Az</i> (the introductory word to the Song at the Sea) is (the numerical equivalent of) the Omnipresent. <i>Az</i> (So) it will sing in every place. And the masters of the Mishnah taught, "Anyone who reduces [the coils] should not reduce [them to] less than seven; and anyone who increases [them] should not increase [them to] more than thirteen." Those seven correspond to the days of creation, which hint to the seven names [in the forty-two letter name found in the initials of (the prayer,) Ana BeKoach], <i>alef, bet, gimmel, yod, tav, tsaddi, etc.</i> It is said about them (Isaiah 6:2), "Seraphs stood above him; each one had six wings" - through which prayer flies upwards. And they are 42 there, corresponding to the 42 mentions (of God's name) in the hand tefillin and in the head tefillin. And it is about them that it is stated (Deuteronomy 28:10), "And all the peoples of the earth shall see that the name of the Lord, etc." | |
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| "A prayer of the destitute one, who prays as he gathers his cloak." (Psalm 102:1). "The destitute one" - this is the shekhinah, who is destitute? the tzaddik, | |
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| [The men wanted to return to the land (Jonah 1:13) in teshuvah and "were not able because the sea" which is the decree of judgment "was growing more and more stormy around them"] At that moment, "Ad-nai appointed a great fish to swallow Jonah/Yonah/the dove" (Jonah 2:1) - This is the first exile, about which it is written "and Jonah went down to the bowels of the ship" (Jonah 1:5). And this is "I will go with you to Egypt" (Gen. 46:4), as we maintain "in every place that Israel was exiled the Shechinah was with them" (see Zohar 2:7a and Megillah 29a). In that time (of the first exile) it was said about them (Israel) "And a new king arose in Egypt" (Ex. 1:8) and this is Pharaoh, about whom it is written "Ad-nai appointed a great fish to swallow Jonah", since he wanted to erase Israel from the world, as it is written "every son that is born you will throw into the Nile" (Ex. 1:22), similarly "Ad-nai appointed a great fish to swallow Jonah" to kill him. It is not written "to swallow Jonah" but "to swallow ET Jonah" and the particle ET is there to include the Faithful Shepherd [Moshe] who would bring Torah in his hands, which is from ALEF to TAV, and all reincarnations were in his hands, and this is the great fish, about which it is written "the great serpent" (Ezekiel 29:3), which is the fish of Egypt and its partner is Dagah (Jonah 2:2) and "the bowels of the Dagah" are Egypt. | |
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| It is called “Purim” because of Yom HaKippurim [which can be read as “the day that is like Purim”], for, in the future, people will rejoice on Yom Kippur, and will transform its required afflictions to delight. Although the Divine Presence forbade the wearing of shoes on Yom Kippur, at that time people will quote the verse, “How beautiful are your footsteps in sandals, O prince’s daughter” (Shir HaShirim/Song of Songs 7:2), and pleasure, joy, and much good will happen on that day – this will be the case in the time of the coming Redemption. | |
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| One older person stood up from behind a wall, and said: Rebbe my teacher, The Holy Light, come and light candles, for that is a Mitzva (commandment), on that it is said: An everlasting fire shall be kept burning on the altar, it should not be extinguished. And, on that it is also said: To light the eternal flame. This is surely the light of the divine, the light that shines within the soul of every person. Come, light it with her. | |
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| "<i>Bereshit</i>, in the beginning" (Genesis 1:1). This includes two fires ("<i>trei esh</i>"), which are the two flames [referred to in the blessing] "Blessed is the Creator of the lights of fire". And in this regard it is written (Song of Songs 2:5) "Sustain me with cakes (<i>ashishot</i>)", that is, with two fires (<i>eishot</i>). Why is 'sustain me' said in this context? This refers to the eves of the Shabbat, when an additional soul descends in order to support the lower <i>Shechina</i> in exile, of whom it is said (Amos 5:2) "Fallen, not to rise again [is the maiden of Israel.]" When Shabbat reaches its end, this additional soul leaves, of which it is written (Exodus 31:17) "[God was] refreshed (<i>vayinafash</i>)". [This is the meaning of ] <i>vayinafash</i>? As soon as it leaves, woe to the soul! (<i>vay nefesh!</i>), for nobody is left to support her. In such moments, she cries out to Israel "Support me with <i>ashishot</i>", that is, with lights of fires. What are these fires? Two Torahs, carved of fire, which are ELOHIM, the aspect of might. These are known as (Isaiah 54:13) "Teachings of the Lord," two lips of burning flames, or two apples out of which the spirit of the Messiah comes, of which is said (Isaiah 11:2) "The spirit of the Lord shall alight on him." | |
| [This can be compared] to a princess confined in sickness because of her love for her husband. When her husband left she fell to her bed, crying out and saying "Support me with cakes,<i>ashishot</i>)". So too, she [the <i>Shechina</i>] is confined in sickness, and says (Song of Songs 2:5) "Refresh me..." With what? "...with apples," which flourish in the trees of the forest - and these are the fragrant plants. | |
| The third elder rose and said: Rabbi! Rabbi! Behold, we do the <i>Havdalah</i> ceremony with [all sorts of] fragrant plants, even though she specifically spoke about apples. Rather, we use fragrant plants, of which it is said (Song of Songs 7:9) "Your breath is like the fragrance of apples." Moreover, all sorts of fragrant plants are fit for [these Havdalah] blessings. [In fact,] we use myrtle branches, because they have [sets of] three leaves, known as the 'three <i>hadassim</i>', which hint at the three forefathers. The two nostrils [smelling the fragrance], however, represent the two apples, the two true prophets, from whom the holy spirit - the faithful shepherd - is destined to issue. Thus it is written (Song of Songs 2:5) "Refresh me with apples, for I am faint with love." | |
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| On the eve of Shabbat, it is said (Song of Songs 5:5) "I rose to let in my beloved" - on Shabbat! And when Shabbat departs, it is said (Song of Songs 5:6) "My beloved turned and was gone..." At that time, "... I sought, but found him not; I called, but he did not answer." Until I swear that the next time He comes, I will clutch his hand and not let it go, as it says (Song of Songs 3:4) "I held him fast, I would not let him go, until I brought him to my mother's house, to the chamber of she who conceived me" - that is, the third temple. | |
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| Rabbi Shimon rose and said: Enter, holy hosts of above and of below, to witness the adornments of the bride. For the wedding canopy is decorated for Her, and the groom is waiting there for Her. He said: Elijah! Elijah! Descend to us, you and the hosts of souls of the righteous from the schools of above and of below, in order to adorn the bride. Immediately, Elijah descended, along with many angelic hosts and many souls. | |
| When the groom, that is, the sun, comes to light up the moon, she decorates her hair with thirteen decorations - twelve constellations and the moon. And He (Psalms 19:6) "is like a groom coming forth from his chamber; like a hero, eager (<i>yasis</i>) to run," - to run his courses in the heavens. He surely peeks (<i>yatsits</i>) at her, as it says (Song of Songs 2:9) "Peeking through the lattice." - looking at her in the heavens. | |
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| that is [the meaning of] <i>yasis</i>. But what is the meaning of 'hero'? What heroism is in this? Rather, there are twelve windows in the heavens, [filled with] warriors adverse to Him guarding the gates. [Then,] the sun wraps himself in the letters of the tefillin, and dresses himself in might, as it is written (Isaiah 42:13): "The Lord goes forth as a hero." Thus he goes out "eager like a hero running his course", opening up all the windows of the heavens and creating twelve paths - just as Moses did in the [Red] Sea. Surely, He "runs his course", and since at first He took on [His aspect of] might, the [colour of the rising] sun is red. | |
| After this, He dresses in the aspect of loving-kindness, in white, and thus the anger of the sun is tempered. Green extends out of the central pillar, and when He dresses in loving-kindness, in white light, He [is able to] light up the moon. And (Psalms 19:7) "His rising-place is at one end of heaven..." - that is the central pillar. One of its ends is [known as] 'the Righteous', and "...his circuit reaches the others..." - the two pillars of truth. In these, "nothing escapes his heat." - this refers to the upper <i>Shechinah</i>, who is the Heat. From there, He is coloured in shades of green, that is, mercy. At this time, the sun and the moon look at each other, "nothing escapes his heat", since she [the upper <i>Shechinah</i>] is the canopy of her [the lower <i>Shechinah</i>]. | |
| At that time, She is robed in three colours, flaunting Herself before Him with the three colours of Her eyes: white, red and green. At that time, He will say of Her (Song of Songs 6:5): "Turn your eyes away from me, for they overwhelm me!" - they burn me with their flames of your love! [Then Elijah exclaimed:] Sacred Lamp! (Rabbi Shimon), these two eyes are the two precious tablets of Torah, of which it is said (Exodus 31:18): "stone tablets inscribed with the finger of God." They are written on both sides, coloured with twelve shades on this side and twelve shades on the other. These are the twenty-four sides, and it is written (Exodus 32:15) "they were inscribed on one side (<i>zeh</i>) and the other side (<i>zeh</i>)." <i>Zeh</i> is written twice, [and its numerical value (12) doubled is like] the twenty-four books of the Tanach. | |
| These are the twelve faces and twelve wings of the heavenly beasts, as it is written (Ezekiel 1:8) "Each of the four had the face of a lion on the right" - this is the white of the eye. "Each of the four had the face of an ox on the left" - this is the red of the eye. "Each of them had the face of an eagle" - this is the green of the eye. And it is written, "Each had four faces... and four wings." - this all comes to twenty-four. And these wings are the eyelids, which are referred to as (Exodus 32:15) "they were inscribed on one side (<i>zeh</i>) and the other side (<i>zeh</i>)." [So too,] about the heavenly beasts it is said (Isaiah 6:3) "One (<i>zeh</i>) would call to the other (<i>zeh</i>), Holy! Holy! Holy! The Lord of Hosts! His presence fills the earth." Certainly, they are called "<i>zeh</i> and <i>zeh</i>", just like the two sides of the tablets of Torah, inscribed on one side and the other. These are inscribed tablets of stone, and that stone is the Foundation Stone from which the earth is formed. And this is the pupil of the eye, of which it is written (Zechariah 3:9) "A single stone with seven eyes." These are the seven skins of the eye, of which it is said (Psalms 119:164) "I praise you seven times a day." And this is the Holy Regency, as it is written, (Psalms 118:22) "The stone that the builders rejected will be the chief cornerstone." Who are these 'builders'? They are they masters of the Mishnah who built structures in the world, and the deciders of law (<i>Halachah</i>) who rejected Her in exile. [Therefore,] it is written of Her, "will be the chief cornerstone. For she is Moses' <i>Halachah</i> from Sinai, received by Moses. Although Her pupil was black, through it and from it will the Holy One light up the world, for He will illuminate Her. | |
| These eyes illuminated by Torah, of which it is written (Psalms 145:15) "The eyes of all look to you expectantly, and you give them food when it is due." Man must, therefore, to delve into them regularly: morning, evening and afternoon, always, the Holy One looking into Her eyes - as it is written (Deuteronomy 11:12) "The eyes of the Lord your God are always looking at her (the land of Israel), from the beginning of the year until its end." And we connect the words [in the two verses], the daily sacrifice (<i>tamid</i>) and "the eyes of the Lord God always (<i>tamid</i>) looking at her". And the (<i>Tamid</i>) sacrifice was [offered] in the morning and the evening, like the recitation of the Shema prayer. From this we learn that one who recites the Shema in the evening and the morning, it is as if one has fulfilled the commandment of continually studying Torah, day and night, as it is written (Joshua 1:8) "Let not this Book of Torah cease from your lips, but recite it day and night." | |
| Daf 145b | |
| The face of the Queen, these are the forty-nine facets of purity (through which the Torah can be interpreted), shining like a rose, white and red, drawing in from the right and from the left. White, from the clarity of humility; Red, from the shame of fear - <i>yar'e boshet</i> (an anagram of <i>Bereshit</i>, "In the beginning"). When [Her face] becomes golden-green, this is the Groom who has risen up to the sun, who is the Supernal Mother. From these three colours of the face emanate the seventy-two facets (of the divine name), whose numerical value equals that of <i>Hesed</i> (Loving-kindness), and which is comprised of two hundred and sixteen letters, the numerical value of which equals that of <i>Gevurah</i> (Might). This is the mystery [hinted at in the words] (Exodus 34:6) <i>Vaya'avor Ado-nai</i>, "And God passed before", which itself is the mystery of <i>'Ibbur</i> (Impregnation or intercalation. Both <i>Vaya'avor</i> and <i>'Ibbur</i> are comprised of the letters representing 72 and 216). He illuminates the Bride with four faces, as it is written, (Ezekiel 1:6) "Four faces [belonging] to [each] one." The middle column is the <i>Vav</i> [which models the additional month added to] the leap year, comprised of has thirteen months, and alluded to by the initials of <i>Vaho Ani Vaho.</i> Within this <i>Vav</i> is a pregnant woman, the mystery of the impregnation of <i>Yesod</i> (Foundation), containing a drop (of semen) by which impregnation takes place. This is <i>Vav</i>, for without such a drop no impregnation could occur. This is the mind containing wisdom. | |
| <i>Vav</i> is also the nose adorning the face, of which it is written (Genesis 2:7) "The Lord God created (<i>Vayiitzer</i>)", shining white and red. This nose going on the straight path is the nose of truth, for were it not on the true path it would be not be a seal of the King. Therefore, the image of the Queen has the nose straight on her face, where the two nostrils are the two true prophets. The mouth is the daughter of the Queen, and in it is the tongue of erudition (cf. Isaiah 50:4), which is Righteousness, of which is written (Song of Songs 4:3) "Your lips are a thread of scarlet, Your mouth is lovely -" in Torah. The mouth is the totality of all: it contains sound and speech, which are [the divine letter] <i>Vav</i> and <i>Hei</i>, and it contains breath, which is <i>Hei</i>, and the still, small mouth is <i>Yud</i>. [Therefore, the mouth is] adorned with the divine name, and this is the meaning of "Your lips are a thread of scarlet, Your mouth is lovely." | |
| "Your neck is an ivory tower" (Song of Songs 7:3) - this is Jerusalem, as it is written (4:4) "Like a tower of David is your neck..." - her adornments are the priests, Levites and Israelites; "... built as an armory (<i>talpiot</i>)" - this is the Righteous One who is a hill (<i>tel</i>) towards which everyone faces (<i>ponim</i>), and whose points are the true prophets. For the <i>Shechina</i> is surely Jerusalem, adorned by the three forefathers, bejewelled with the foundations of truth. | |
| Another reading: "Your neck" - this is the Torah, adorned by her 248 commandments; her jewels and amulets are the 365 prohibitions guarding her. When she rises up, wearing these jewels, towards Her groom, how many good scents rise up in Her! Of this it is written (Song of Songs 3:6) "Who is she rising from the desert" - this is Mount Sinai, the neck of the world; "in clouds of myrrh" - this is the Holy One, of whom it is said (4:6) "I will go to the mount of myrrh"; "and frankincense" - this is the holy moon, of whom it said "and to the hills of frankincense"; "from all the powders of merchants" - this is the Righteous, who is everything united in All. | |
| Another reading: "Your neck" - this is the Oral Torah, <i>Halacha</i> from Moses at Sinai; "In clouds of myrrh" - this is [the phrase] "The master said (<i>amar mar</i>)"; "And frankincense (<i>levonah</i>)" - this is the elucidation <i>libbun</i> of Halacha; "From all the powders of merchants," - this is the Righteous, who holds all kinds, who illuminates the Oral Torah, and when | |
| Daf 146a | |
| she is adorned in all kinds of jewellery, [she is] as Jerusalem, the neck of the world - the Holy One surrounds her, as it says (Zachariah 2:9) "And I will be - declares the Lord - a wall of fire around it." He embraces her with two arms, as it is written, (Song of Songs 2:6) "His left hand under my head, and his right arm embraced me." |