The Zohar, translated by Harry Sperling and Maurice Simon

THE ZOHAR

DEUTERONOMY

VAETHHANAN

Deuteronomy III, 23-VII, 11

AND I BESOUGHT THE LORD AT THAT TIME SAYING, O LORD GOD, THOU HAST BEGUN TO SHOW THY SERVANT, ETC. R. Jose adduced here the verse: "And Hezekiah turned his face to the wall and prayed to the Lord" (Isa. XXXVIII, 2). 'How great', he said, 'is the power of the Torah, and how it is exalted above all, since he who occupies himself with the Torah fears no adversaries either above or below, nor any evil haps of the world, because he is attached to the Tree of Life and eats therefrom every day. For the Torah teaches man how to walk in the right way, it gives him counsel how to return to his Master, so that even if sentence of death has been passed on him it is annulled and removed from him and impends not over him. Therefore he should occupy himself with the Torah day and night and never depart from it: for if he banishes the Torah from him or departs from it, it is as though he parted from life. Now it is a good counsel for a man that when he goes to his bed at night he should take upon himself the yoke of the heavenly kingdom with a perfect heart and hasten to entrust to God his soul. The reason, as we have explained, is that all the world then has a foretaste of death, as the tree of death is then present in the world, and all the spirits of men then leave them and ascend and are delivered to Him, but because they are given in trust they afterwards return to their places. Now when the north wind awakes at midnight and a herald goes forth, and the Holy One, blessed be He, enters the Garden of Eden to have joyous communion with the souls of the righteous, then all the sons of the Matrona, and all the denizens of the palace, prepare to sing praises to the Holy King, and then all the souls that were entrusted to her hand are returned to their owners; and most men awake at that time. Those who belong to the supernal Palace rise up in vigour and betake themselves to praisegiving in accordance with the Torah and join the Community of Israel until the day is light. When the morning comes, She and all who belong to the Palace go to visit the Holy King, they being called the sons of the King and of the Matrona, as has been explained. When the morning comes, a man should cleanse himself and gird on his weapons [1] to pay suit to the Holy King. For in the night he paid suit to the Matrona, and now he should come with the Matrona to unite her with the King. He goes to the synagogue, he purifies himself with [the recital of the] offerings, he repeats the praises of King David; he has the phylacteries on his hand and his head, and the fringes at his side; he says "A psalm of David", and offers his prayer before his Master. While he says this he must stand like the heavenly angels, [2] who are also called "those who stand", and concentrate all his thoughts on his Master as he offers his petition. Note that when a man arises at midnight to study the Torah a herald proclaims concerning him: "Behold, bless ye the Lord all ye servants of the Lord which stand in the house of the Lord by night" (Ps. CXXXIV, 1), and now when he stands in prayer the herald proclaims over him, "And I will give thee places to walk among them that stand" (Zech. III, 7). When he has finished his prayer with devotion before his Master, as already said, he should deliver his soul with complete renunciation to the rightful place. Thus there is good counsel for men for all occasions. [260b] When prayer is being offered, all the words that a man has emitted from his mouth during his prayer mount aloft and cleave their way through ethers and firmaments until they reach their destination, where they are formed into a crown on the head of the King. The Companions have agreed that the prayer directed by man to the Almighty should be of the nature of supplication. [3] We know this from Moses, of whom it is said, "And I besought the Lord" (Deut. III, 23); this is the best kind of prayer. When a man stands in prayer he should keep his feet together, [4] and cover his head, and he should also shade his eyes so as not to look at the Shekinah. In the Book of R. Hamnuna the Elder it says that if a man opens his eyes at the time of prayer or does not cast them on the ground he brings the Angel of Death on to himself before his time, and when his soul leaves him he will not behold the face of the Shekinah, nor will he die by a (divine) kiss. If one contemns the Shekinah, he himself is contemned in the hour of need, as it says, "Them that honour me I shall honour, and they that despise me shall be lightly esteemed" (I Sam. II, 30). This is he that looks at the Shekinah at the time of prayer. In fact, of course, one cannot look at the Shekinah; but what he should do is to know that the Shekinah is before him, and therefore there should be nothing interposing between him and the wall.

'Before a man stands in prayer he should first recite the praise of his Master and then offer his supplication. So Moses first said, THOU HAST BEGUN, ETC., and then LET ME GO OVER, I PRAY THEE.'

R. Judah said: 'Why did Moses say first "Lord" (Adonay) and then "God" (YHVH)? Because this is the proper order from the lower to the higher, so as to combine the measure of day with night, and of night with day, and to unite all fitly together.

'THOU HAST BEGUN TO SHOW THY SERVANT. Why is "beginning" mentioned here? Because Moses indeed made a new beginning in the world by being complete in all. It is true that Jacob was also complete and in him the tree was completed below after the pattern above. Yet there was that in Moses which was not in any other man, since his perfection radiated to many thousands and myriads of Israel in the Tabernacle, the priests, the Levites, the twelve tribes with their chieftains, the seventy members of the Sanhedrin -- in fact, with the perfect body, Aaron being at the right, Nahshon at the left, he himself in the centre, as it says here "thy greatness", referring to Aaron, and "thy strong hand", referring to Nahshon. Thus Moses was a new beginning in the world. And if you ask, Who is the termination? the answer is, the King Messiah, for then there shall be such perfection in the world as had not been for all generations before. For then there shall be completeness above and below, and all worlds shall be united in one bond, as it is written, "On that day the Lord shall be one and his name one" (Zech. XIV, 9).'

AND THE LORD SAID UNTO ME, LET IT SUFFICE THEE, SPEAK NO MORE, ETC. R. Hiya said: 'God said to Moses, It is enough for thee that thou hast been united with the Shekinah; thou canst advance no further.' R. Isaac said: 'Long enough hast thou enjoyed the light of the sun that was with thee; thou canst not do so any more, for the time of the moon is come, and the moon cannot shine till the sun is gathered in. Therefore "Charge Joshua and encourage him and strengthen him"; thou who art the sun must give light to the moon.' [5]

BUT YE THAT DID CLEAVE UNTO THE LORD YOUR GOD, ETC. R. Jose said: 'Happy is the people whom God chose from all the heathens and took for His portion and blessed with His own blessing, the blessing of His Name. All other peoples God has placed under the charge of Chieftains who have control of them, but Israel the Holy One, blessed be He, has taken for His own portion to be united to Him, and He has given them His holy Law that they may be joined to His Name.' [261a]

AND THE LORD SPAKE UNTO YOU OUT OF THE MIDST OF THE FIRE: YE HEARD THE VOICE OF WORDS, ETC. R. Eleazar said: 'What is meant by "the voice of words"? It means, the Voice which is also called Utterance, because all utterance proceeds from it. Hence also it says "ye heard" [and not "saw"], because "hearing" corresponds to "utterance".

'BUT YE SAW NO FORM. They were not like Moses, of whom it says, "And he beholdeth the form of the Lord". Or we may say that "form" refers to the inner Voice which was not seen at all. ONLY YE HEARD A VOICE: this is the other voice, which we mentioned above. Hence there is a higher He and a lower He; the higher He is "the great voice which did not cease", the flow of which never ceases, and all those "voices" were in it when the Torah was given to Israel. Now what is called "the repetition of the law" (Deuteronomy) was said by Moses in his own name. For the supreme Wisdom is called the summation of the Torah, and from it all issues through that inner Voice. Eventually it comes to rest in the place called "the Tree of Life", wherefrom depend the general and the particular, the Written Law and the Oral Law. And to show that both are one, the later (of the Ten) Commandments are in this version connected with one another by "and".'

R. Jose said: 'Why do we find here both "thou shalt not covet" and "thou shalt not desire"? Because they are two different grades. A man covets things which it is in his power to obtain (wrongfully), and through coveting he does try to obtain them. A man can desire things even if he sees no way of obtaining them.

'GO THOU NEAR AND HEAR, ETC. When the Law was given to Israel, all the Voices were present and the Holy One, blessed be He, was sitting on His throne, and one was seen within another, and the utterance of each came forth from the one above it, wherefore it is said, "The Lord spake to you face to face in the mount out of the midst of the fire" (Deut. V, 4), which means that the utterance came forth from the midst of fire and flame, which thrust it forth by the force of spirit and water; and fire, spirit and water all issued from the trumpet which contained them all. Israel were terrified and drew back, and therefore they said: Do thou speak to us; we do not desire to be spoken to by the mighty Power from on high, but only from the place of the Female, not higher. Said Moses to them: Of a truth ye have weakened my power, and also another power. For had not Israel drawn back and had they listened to [261b] the remaining words as to the first, [6] the world would never have been laid waste subsequently and they would have endured for generations upon generations. For at the first moment they did die, for so it had to be on account of the tree of death, but after they revived and stood up God desired to bring them up to the Tree of Life, which is above the tree of death, that they might endure for ever, but they drew back and were not willing; therefore was the power of Moses weakened and another power with him. Said the Holy One, blessed be He: I desired to stablish you in an exalted place that ye might cleave to life, but ye desired the place of the Female. Therefore GO, SAY TO THEM, RETURN TO YOUR TENTS; let each one go to his female and join her. And with all this, since Israel acted thus only through the pious awe that was upon them, nothing worse was said of them than "O that there were such an heart in them that they would fear me", etc. From this we learn that if a man, though doing an action which in itself is bad, does not turn his mind and intent to the evil side, punishment does not fall upon him as on another man, and God does not impute it to him for evil.

'BUT AS FOR THEE, STAND THOU HERE BY ME. From this point Moses parted from his wife completely and attached himself to another higher place, of the male and not of the female. Happy the lot of Moses the faithful prophet who was favoured with the highest grades to which no other man ever attained, wherefore he was called "good". But was not David also called "good"? Of David it says that he was "goodly to look upon"; his goodness was in the appearance, but Moses was absolutely good.'

R. Judah said: 'A man should place God before him in all his acts. When a man walks abroad he should have three objects in view, the highest of which is prayer, and higher even than prayer is the converse of two or three companions on matters of the Torah, for they shall come to no harm, since the Shekinah accompanies them.' Thus R. Eleazar and R. Hiya were once walking together, and R. Eleazar said: 'It is written, "And the Lord God made for Adam and his wife coats of skins" (Gen. III, 22). Were they then divested of that skin till then? Yes, for they were robes of glory.' Said R. Hiya: 'Surely they did not deserve even coats of skin. For you cannot say that this was before they sinned, since it is after they sinned that it is written, "And the Lord God made them coats of skins" '. He replied: 'At first they were like heavenly creatures, and divested of the earthly type, and heavenly light played around them. After they sinned they became of the type of this world, and the heavenly character was taken away from them, and then God made them coats of skin and clothed them with the character of this world. None the less the beauty of those garments was incomparable. It is further written, "And the eyes of both of them were opened" (Gen. III, 7), that is, to see the squalor of this world, which they did not notice before since their eyes were turned aloft. So of the future time it is written, "And I will bring the blind by a way that they know not", etc. (Isa. XLII, 16), which means that God will open eyes that are not wise to contemplate [262a] supernal wisdom and to attain to heights which they could not attain in this world, that they may know their Master. Happy are the righteous who are deemed worthy of this wisdom, since there is no wisdom like that wisdom, nor knowledge like that knowledge, nor attachment like that attachment.' As they were going along they saw some robbers following them with intent to harm them. R. Eleazar looked at them and two serpents came out and killed them, whereupon R. Eleazar said: Blessed be the Merciful One who has saved us.

'We have learnt as a profound mystery in the Book of Hidden Wisdom that three hollows of inscribed letters are disclosed in the Cranium of the Small of Countenance, and we have further learnt that there are three Brains enclosed in these hollows, but through the influence of the uppermost and hidden brain of the Ancient Holy One which spreads through that Small of Countenance they become four Brains. These spread throughout the whole of the Body, and these are the four compartments of the phylacteries which the Holy One, blessed be He, puts on. Therefore a man should put on the phylacteries every day, because they are the supernal Holy Name in its inscribed letters. The first compartment of the phylacteries contains the passage, "Sanctify unto me every firstborn", which typifies the highest brain, to wit, Wisdom. The second compartment contains the passage commencing "And it shall come to pass when the Lord thy God bringeth thee".' R. Judah said: 'This typifies the brain which opens out through fifty gates, which in turn correspond to the numerous places where the going forth from Egypt is mentioned in the Pentateuch. We have learnt in the Book of R. Hamnuna the Ancient that God burst open many gates above and below which were closed with chains in order to bring forth Israel, for from the gates of that brain all other gates are unlocked and opened. Had not the gates of that brain been first opened, the others could never have been opened to execute judgement and to bring forth Israel from bondage, All is closed up in that which is called the Supernal Mother, whence power is derived to the Lower Mother. This one comes forth from the Supernal Mother, who is the second compartment, which is called the He of the Holy Name which opens out through fifty gates, and from this issues a spirit to one of the Nostrils. We have learnt, too, that the Jubilee in which slaves go forth to freedom is attached to this Brain, and the fifty days of the Jubilee further correspond to the fifty days of the Omer. Thus He stands for the appeasement of the spirit and its going forth to freedom, and thus the going forth from Egypt depends on this compartment and on the letter He of the Holy Name, as has been explained. Observe that from the side of the Father issues Lovingkindness and from the side of the Mother Force, and the Holy One, blessed be He, grasps both and crowns himself therewith as the letter Vau. [262b] The third compartment contains the passage commencing, "Hear, O Israel", the reference being to the patriarch Israel. R. Simeon, however, says that the reference is to the supernal Israel crowned from the side of his Father, to wit Abraham, and crowned from the side of his Mother, to wit, Isaac. We have learnt that he who loves the King does lovingkindness with all, and all the more so if he asks for no reward, which is a "kindness of truth", through which he increases lovingkindness in the world. Hence this passage goes on, "Thou shalt love". The fourth compartment contains the passage commencing, "And it shall come to pass if ye diligently hearken". This passage contains the words, "Take heed to yourselves ... and the anger of the Lord be kindled against you", and this compartment typifies Might and stem judgement, and it comes from the side of the supernal Mother; for we have learnt that although She Herself is not judgement, yet from Her side issues judgement and force. These four does Vau take and crown himself therewith, and these are the phylacteries which the Holy One, blessed be He, puts on. We have learnt that this Vau ascends and assumes his crowns and grasps both sides and is crowned with all, and therefore Vau is the centre of all above and below to display complete Wisdom on all sides.'

R. Abba learnt: It is written, "Only the Lord had a delight in thy fathers" (Deut. X, 15). Commenting on this, R. Simeon said that the patriarchs are the holy chariot above. As there is a holy chariot below, so there is a holy chariot above. And what is this? As we have said, the holy chariot is the name given to the Whole, all being linked together and made one. But the fathers are only three, and the chariot has four wheels. Who is the fourth? It says: "And he chose their seed after them"; this includes David, who is the fourth to complete the holy chariot, as we have learnt: The patriarchs are the consummation of the whole, and the Body was completed through them and made one. Then King David came and perfected the whole and made firm the body and perfected it. R. Isaac said: 'As the patriarchs merited to be crowned with the holy chariot, so did David merit to be adorned with the fourth support of the chariot.' R. Judah said: 'It is written of David, "He was ruddy and withal fair of eyes". The "ruddiness" typifies his occupation (as a man of war), while "with fair of eyes" refers to the patriarchs. Note that while Jerusalem and Zion correspond respectively to Judgement and Mercy, yet it is written, "The city of David, that is Zion" (I Kings VIII, 1).

'We have learnt: Vau takes those upper ones that we have mentioned, and those are the phylacteries which the Holy One, blessed be He, puts on, and therefore a man should take a pride in them. Of such a one it is written, "And all the people of the earth shall see that thou art called by the name of the Lord" (Deut. XXVIII, 10) -- literally. These are the phylactery of the head. The phylactery of the arm is the left, which is called "strong", and inherits from the "strong". [263a] Therefore the second He, which is the left, takes the four which are one body and entwined in one another, to wit, Tifereth, Nezah, Hod, and Yesod.' Said R. Hiya: 'If that is so, this is what is meant by "Thou shalt see my back" (Ex. XXXIII, 23), which, as we have learnt, means the knot of the phylacteries.' He replied: 'So we have explained, and this is the truth of the matter, and therefore a strap hangs down below to show that all below are sustained by this, and therefore it is called a "sign", as it is written, "And it shall be for a sign upon thy hand".'

HEAR, ISRAEL. R. Yesa said: 'This is the patriarch Israel.' R. Isaac said: '''Israel'' here has the same meaning as "heavens" in the verses "Hear, O heavens" (Isa. I, 2), and "Give ear, O heavens" (Deut. XXXII, 1). "The Lord" here indicates the starting-point of all, in the radiance of the Holy Ancient One, and this is what is called "Father". "Our God" is the deep source of the streams and founts that flow forth to all. "The Lord" again is the body of the Tree, the completion of the roots. "One" is the Community of Israel. All form one whole linked together without division.' R. Isaac learnt: 'The holy supernal chariot consists of the four compartments of the phylacteries which are put on by Vau, as already explained. There is another holy chariot of four other compartments united into one which are put on by the second He, as already stated.' [265a]

R. Simeon said: 'When a man rises at midnight and gets up and studies the Torah till daylight, and when the daylight comes he puts the phylacteries with the holy impress on his head and his arm, and covers himself with his fringed robe, and as he issues from the door of his house he passes the mezuzah containing the imprint of the Holy Name on the post of his door, then four holy angels join him and issue with him from the door of his house and accompany him to the synagogue and proclaim before him: Give honour to the image of the Holy King, give honour to the son of the King, to the precious countenance of the King. A holy spirit rests on him and proclaims: "Israel in whom I will be glorified" (Isa. XLIX, 3), and then ascends aloft and testifies concerning him before the Holy King. Then the Most High King orders the names of all the children of His palace, of all those that acknowledge Him, to be written before Him, as it says, "And it was written in the book of remembrance before him, for them that feared the Lord and that thought upon his name" (Mal. III, 16). The word hoshebei (that thought upon) can also be taken in the sense of "making designs" -- designs of the phylacteries with their compartments, their straps and their writing; designs of the fringes with their threads and the thread of blue; and designs of the mezuzah, all for the sake of God's Name. God then glories in them and proclaims through all worlds: See what my son has done in my world. He, however, who leaves his house to go to the synagogue without the phylacteries on his head or fringes on his garment and who yet says, I will bow down to Thy holy temple in Thy fear -- of him God says: Where is my fear? he is bearing false witness.'

R. Jose said: 'Happy the portion of Moses who attached himself to a higher grade than all the other faithful prophets. For in connection with the verse, "Moses spoke and God answered him with a voice" (Ex. XIX, 19), we have learnt that this voice was the voice of Moses, the Voice to which he was attached through his superiority over all the other prophets. And because he was attached to this higher grade he was able to say to Israel, "The Lord thy God", namely, the grade called Shekinah which abode in their midst.' R. Simeon further said: 'We have learnt that the curses in Leviticus were uttered by Moses as coming from the mouth of the divine Might, but those in Deuteronomy were uttered by him as from the mouth of himself. What is meant by "as from the mouth of himself"? Can it be thought that Moses said a single word of the Law of himself? No: what it refers to is the Voice to which he was attached, which is called "himself", so that one set of curses were uttered from the mouth of the divine Might and the other of that grade to which he attained in virtue of his superiority over the other prophets. Hence, while in all other places he says "Thy God", here (in the Shema) he says "Our God".

'Note how diligent men should be to devote themselves to the service of their Master so as to win eternal life. Under the throne of the Holy King there are supernal chambers; and in that place of the throne there is fastened a mezuzah to deliver men from executioners of justice [265b] who are ready to assail them in the other world. Similarly did God do to Israel, giving them precepts of the Law which they may observe to deliver themselves from many assailants and accusers that are on the watch for men every day.' R. Hiya said: 'If a man wishes to guard his steps, he should not step over water that has been poured out in front of a door, because a certain demon abides between the two posts of the door with his face to the door seeing all that goes on inside, and therefore a man should not pour water between the two doorposts.' (R. Isaac, however, said that if it is clean water it does not matter, provided it has not been poured out in contumely.) The reason is that he is authorized to do harm, and if he turns his head to the house everything on which he looks will be cursed. He has three hundred and sixty-five assistants, corresponding to the number of the days of the year, and all go forth with a man when he leaves his house.' R. Eleazar said: 'Against all this God desired to protect Israel, and therefore a man should inscribe on the door of his house the Holy Name in which all faith is summed up. For wherever the Holy Name is the evil species cannot come and are not able to accuse a man. The place of the door of the supernal House is called mezuzah, which is a necessary part of the house, and from it flee the emissaries of justice and punishment. Correspondingly when on earth a man affixes a mezuzah to his door with his Holy Name inscribed in it, such a one is crowned with the crowns of his Master and no "evil species" come near to the door of his house.'

As R. Abba was once coming away from a visit to R. Simeon he was met by R. Isaac, who exclaimed: 'Who is coming? The master of light, the man who all day has been cleaving to a consuming fire. Behold, light abides with him.' R. Abba said to him: 'We have learnt that a man should go to pay his respects to the Shekinah every Sabbath and New Moon, and who is meant? His teacher. All the more, then, is it incumbent on all people to pay their respects to the Sacred Lamp.' Said R. Isaac: 'I will turn back with you and pay my respects to the Shekinah and [meanwhile] taste of those excellent words of which you have tasted.' R. Abba then commenced a discourse on the verse: "A song of degrees, Unto thee do I lift up mine eyes, O thou that sittest in the heavens" (Ps. CXXIII, 1). 'The author of this psalm is not mentioned, and in all such cases we suppose the holy spirit to have uttered it concerning Israel in captivity. We have laid down that whoever desires to offer his supplication before the Holy King should pray from the lowest depth that blessing should be poured down below. This is indicated by the superfluous yod in the word hayoshebi (who sittest), the yod being the lowest of all; and therefore through it one should pray that blessings be poured down to the place called "heaven", that all may be fed from it. For when blessings are drawn from that spot most remote of all and collected in the place called heaven, then blessings abound among both higher and lower beings. "As the eyes of servants look unto the hand of their master": these are the Chieftains of the other peoples who are fed only from the remnants, the overhanging branches of the tree to which Israel cling, and when Israel receive blessings from that place they are all blessed from Israel. "As the eyes of a maiden unto the hand of her mistress": this, as already stated, is the handmaiden whose host God slew in Egypt, since she has no power of her own save when it is drawn to her from the Land of Israel, which itself [266a] is called "mistress". From the direction of this handmaiden issue many officials of judgement who bring accusations against Israel, but the Holy One, blessed be He, protects Israel from them as a father protects his son. God says to Israel: "Many are the accusers looking out for you, but be diligent in my service and I will protect you without, while within you will sleep safely in your beds. Now when the evil species come to the door of a man's house, and they raise their eyes and see the Holy Name written outside the mezuzah, namely Shaddai, which has power over all of them, they flee away in fear of it and do not come near the door.' Said R. Isaac to him: 'If that is so, a man should inscribe only this name on his door; why all the section?' He replied: 'This is quite right, because this name is crowned only with all those letters, and when the whole section is written this name is crowned with its crowns and the King goes forth with all his hosts stamped with the impress of the King, and they all flee from him in fear.' R. Abba said: 'Many holy hosts are present when a man fixes a mezuzah on his door, and they all proclaim, "This is the gate of the Lord", etc. (Ps. CXVIII, 20). Happy is the portion of Israel, for then Israel know that they are the sons of the Holy King, for all bear His stamp. They are stamped on their bodies with the holy impress; their garments bear the stamp of a religious precept; [7] their heads are stamped with the compartments of the phylacteries with the name of their Master; their hands are stamped with the straps of holiness; their feet with the ceremonial shoes; [8] without they bear the stamp of the [precepts connected with] sowing and reaping, and in their houses that of the mezuzah at their doorway. Thus in all ways they are stamped as the sons of the Most High King,'

As they proceeded R. Abba said: 'What is the meaning of the verse: "They have forsaken me the fountain of living waters to hew out to them cisterns, broken cisterns that cannot hold the water" (Jer. II, 13)? This', he said, 'refers to one who is false to the sign of the holy impress. And how is he false to it? By letting it enter into an alien domain, which is called "broken cisterns". For so the idolatrous peoples are called, but Israel's God is called "a fountain of living waters". For the perennially flowing Stream waters all the Garden and replenishes every place, as we have already pointed out, until it comes to that place in the Garden which is called "the fountain of living waters", whence are sustained all creatures above and below. But all the sides of the Left Side are not watered from that Stream of running water because they are of the side of the other peoples, and they are called "broken cisterns". Hence he who is false to the holy impress cleaves to the "broken cisterns which do not hold the waters" because they do not enter into them, whereas he that is able to guard it is granted to drink of the waters of that stream in the world to come, and causes that supernal Well to be filled so as to pour forth blessings to higher and lower; happy is he in this world and the next: of him it is written, "And thou shalt be like a watered garden and like a spring of water whose waters fail not" (Isa. LVIII, 11). Woe to him who is false to the holy impress, for he is false [266b] to the most high Name, nay more, he causes blessing to be withheld from that Well, and we apply to him the words, "he hath brought up an evil name on a virgin of Israel" (Deut. XXII, 19); for so R. Simeon has expounded, that one who brings a false charge against his first wife and brings an evil name upon her is like one who casts aspersions on high. This, again, is in conformity with what R. Hiya said in the name of R. Jose, that a virgin inherits seven blessings, but not a woman who is married again; she, however, inherits the blessing of Boaz and Ruth.'

They came to a field where they saw a number of trees, and sat down beneath them. R. Abba said: 'Here is clear air for expositions of the Torah; let us stay here.' He then began a discourse on the verse: "And it shall come to pass in that day that a great trumpet shall be blown; and they shall come which were ready to perish in the land of Assyria, and they that were outcasts in the land of Egypt" (Isa. XXVII, 13). 'What is meant', he said, 'by "that day"? It is that day which shall be known to the Holy One, blessed be He, as it is written, "But it shall be one day which is known unto the Lord" (Zech. XIV, 7), or again, "In that day when Gog shall come against the land of Israel" (Ezek. XXXVIII, 19). "A great trumpet shall be blown"? What difference does it make whether it will be great or small? It refers, however, to that great trumpet through which slaves go forth to freedom; this is the trumpet of the supernal Jubilee, and it is very mighty, and when it is aroused all freedom is set in motion, and it is called "the great trumpet". "They that are perishing in the land of Assyria": because those who live in an alien land suck from an alien power, and, as it were, do not abide in the faith. They are lost from all sides, for when Isr:lel dwell in the Holy Land they are ever virtuous in all, both above and below. According to another explanation, "those that are perishing" are the Zaddik and the Community of Israel. These are also called "lost", as it is written, "Wherefore perisheth the land" (Jer. IX, 12), to wit, the Community of Israel. The Zaddik, as it is written, "The righteous (Zaddik) perisheth" (Isa. LVII, 1). If it is asked, Whence are they to "come", the answer is, the Community of Israel from exile, and the Zaddik, as it is written, "When the Lord returneth with (eth) the captivity of Zion" (Ps. CXXVI, 1), which, as we have explained, means that He will return to His place and join the Community of Israel. "And they shall bow down to the Lord on the holy mountain, Jerusalem": this means, if we may say so, that Israel will not go out of captivity save with the Shekinah.'

R. Abba further discoursed on the verse: "The Lord shall keep thy going out and thy coming in from this time forth and for evermore" (Ps. CXXI, 8). He said: 'That God shall keep thy going forth we understand; but what need is there to say, "thy coming in"? For when a man goes into his house he is in no danger? What it means, however, is that he who affixes the holy sign to his house with the words of the Holy Name is protected against all danger. The one who dwells at the door of his house accompanies him when he issues forth, and when he returns it proclaims before him: Have a care for the honour of the image of the Holy King -- all this on account of the Holy Name which is impressed on his door, so that not only is a man protected in his house, but God protects him both when he goes out and when he comes in, as it is written, "The Lord shall keep thy going out and thy coming in", etc. But as for the evil spirit that abides between the doorposts, [267a] woe to the man who does not know how to guard against it by impressing on the door of his house the Holy Name that it may be with him, for this spirit has three hundred and sixty-five assistants, one for every day of the year, which accuse him above and below, trying to mislead him by day and troubling his dreams by night. When he goes out they accuse him; when he comes in they place their hands on his shoulders and say: Woe to So-and-so who has thrown off the control of his Master, woe to him in this world and in the world to come! Therefore the sons of the true faith should be stamped throughout with the impress of their Master to scare away all the sides of the "evil species", that they may be protected in this world and the next.'

AND THOU SHALT LOVE THE LORD THY GOD. R. Jose adduced here the verse: "Now, therefore, what do I here, saith the Lord, seeing that my people is taken away for nought" (Isa. LII, 5). 'This', he said, 'shows the love of God for Israel, for although their sins caused Him to depart from them, and they were scattered among the nations, yet He avenges their wrong. When Israel were in their land, God used to delight Himself in His garden and draw near to Israel and hear their voice and glory in them. But since through their sins Israel have been banished from their land, the Holy One, blessed be He, does not enter His garden nor take delight in it, and He even exclaims, "What do I here, saith the Lord?" Since the day that Israel were banished from their land there has been no joy before the Holy One, blessed be He. Therefore because of the love which God shows to Israel it is written, "thou shalt love the Lord thy God", which means that man should bind himself to Him with very strong love, and that all service performed by man to God should be with love, since there is no service like the love of the Holy One, blessed be He.' R. Abba said: 'These words are the epitome of-the whole Law, since the Ten Commandments are summed up here, as the Companions have explained. Nothing is so beloved of God as that a man should love Him in the fitting manner. How is this? As it is written, "with all thy heart", which includes two hearts, one good and one evil; "with all thy soul", one good and one evil; [9] and "with all thy might". What lesson can be learnt from the word "all" here?' R. Eleazar said: 'The word "might" refers to money, and "all" means both money which comes to a man from inheritance and money which a man earns himself.' R. Abba said: 'To return to the words "and thou shalt love": one who loves God is crowned with lovingkindness on all sides and does lovingkindness throughout, sparing neither his person nor his money. We know this from Abraham, who in his love for his Master spared neither his heart nor his life nor his money. He paid no heed to his own desires because of his love for his Master; he spared not his wife, and was ready to sacrifice his son because of his love for his Master; and he sacrificed his money also by standing at the cross-roads and providing food for all comers. Therefore he was crowned with the crown of lovingkindness. Whoever is attached in love to his Master is deemed worthy of the same, and what is more, all worlds are blessed for his sake.'

Once when R. Jose was ill, R. Abba and R. Judah and R. Isaac went to see him. They found him asleep lying on his face. When he awoke they perceived that his face was wreathed in smiles. Said R. Abba to him: 'Have you seen some notable thing?' [267b] 'Assuredly so,' he replied, 'for my soul went aloft and I saw the glory of those who have sacrificed themselves for the sanctity of their Master, how they were given thirteen streams of pure balsam, and how the Holy One, blessed be He, held joyous converse with them. I saw things which I am not permitted to tell. I asked for whom was this honour, and they replied: For those who loved their Master in the other world. My soul and my heart were illumined with what I saw, and therefore my face was wreathed in smiles.' R. Abba said: 'Happy is thy portion. The Torah testifies of them saying, "Eye hath not seen, O God, beside thee what he shall do for him that waiteth for him" (Isa. LXIV, 4.).' R. Judah said to him: 'The Companions have already asked: Why is it written here, "he shall do", and not "thou shalt do"?' He replied: 'The reason is to be found in the inner meaning of the words, "To behold the beauty of the Lord and to inquire in his temple" (Ps. XXVII, 4.). The "beauty of the Lord", as we have explained, is that which comes from the Ancient Holy One, and wherewith the Holy One, blessed be He, delights himself. So here, "he shall do" refers to the Ancient Hidden One on whom it depends.' He said: 'Assuredly it is so. Happy those to whom the love of their Master cleaves; there is no limit to their portion in the other world.' R. Isaac said: 'Many are the abodes of the righteous in the other world, one above another, and highest of all that of those to whom was attached the love of their Master, for their abode is linked with the palace that surpasses all, the Holy One, blessed be He, being crowned in this one. This Palace is called Love, and it is established for the sake of love. So it is too with the Holy Name, the forms of the letters of which are linked together, so that the whole is called "love"; wherefore he who loves his Master is linked to that Love. Hence it is written, "And thou shalt love the Lord thy God".'

AND THESE WORDS SHALL BE, ETC. R. Isaac adduced here the verse: "All my bones shall say, Lord, who is like unto thee, who delivereth the poor from him that is too strong for him, yea, the poor and the needy from him that spoileth him" (Ps. XXXV, 10). 'This verse', he said, 'refers to the time when the Holy One, blessed be He, will revive the dead, at which time He will prepare the bones and bring each one near to its fellow, as it says, "And the bones came together, bone to his bone" (Ezek. XXXVI, 7). They will then sing a psalm, namely, "O Lord, who is like thee", etc. And this song will be superior to that which the Israelites chanted by the Red Sea, for there they mentioned the Holy Name only after three words, as it is written, "Who-is like-unto-thee among-the-mighty, O Lord", but here they will put the Holy Name first. "He delivereth the poor from him that is too strong for him". This means that God delivers the good prompting from the evil prompting; for the evil prompting is hard like stone, whereas the good prompting is tender like flesh. What does the evil prompting resemble? When it first comes to associate itself with a man it is like iron before it is placed in the fire, but afterwards like iron when it is heated and becomes wholly like fire.' R. Hiya said: 'The evil prompting is at first like a wayfarer who comes to the door of a house and, finding that there is no one to stop him, goes into the house and becomes a guest. Finding that there is still no one to stop him he takes liberties and acts as the master [10] [268a] until the whole house is subject to him. From where do we learn this? From the story of David and Nathan. Nathan first said, "There came a traveller to the rich man" -- a mere traveller who passes the door without any intention of staying there and meaning to proceed on his way. So the evil prompting when it first approaches a man prompts him to a petty sin, being still but a chance visitor. Then the text goes on, "to prepare for the guest that came to him". So the evil prompting incites him to greater sins one day or two days like a guest who stays in a house one or two days. Next it says, "And dressed it for the man (ish) that was come to him" (the word ish meaning "master", as in "the man, the master of the land" (Gen. XLII, 30)). So the evil prompting becomes the "master of the house" in respect of the man, who is now bound to his service, and he does with him what he likes. Hence a man should ever carry about with him words of Torah in order that the evil prompting may be subdued by them, since there is no opponent of the evil prompting like words of Torah; wherefore it is written, "And these words shall be upon thy heart" (lebabeka), that is, upon both thy promptings, the good prompting that it may be crowned with them and the evil prompting that it may be subdued by them.' R. Judah asked: 'Why does the good prompting need them?' He replied: 'The good prompting is crowned by them, and the evil prompting, if it sees that a man does not repent nor seek to study the Torah, goes above and points out his guilt.'

When R. Simeon came, he said: 'Assuredly in the section of the Shema are hinted the Ten Commandments, as already stated elsewhere, in the words "and these words shall be". There are also ten commandments here corresponding to the other ten. They are as follows: (1) "Thou shalt teach them diligently to thy children", (2) "And thou shalt speak of them", (3) "When thou sittest in thy house", (4) "And when thou goest by the way", (5) "And when thou liest down", (6) "And when thou risest up", (7) "And thou shalt bind them for a sign on thy hand", (8) "And they shall be for frontlets between thine eyes", (9) "And thou shalt write them upon the doorposts of thy house", (10) "And upon thy gates". Hence this section is a fundamental portion of the Law; blessed is he who recites it completely twice every day. since then the Holy Name is fitly sanctified in his mouth.'

R. Aha once rose after midnight with R. Eleazar to study the Torah. R. Eleazar cited the verse: "For it is thy life and the length of thy days" (Deut. XXXII, 47). 'Observe', he said. 'that above all the stipulations which God made with Israel when they entered the Holy Land was the stipulation that they should study the Torah. Why so? Because the Divine Presence finds a home in the land only through the Torah. and it finds a home above only through the Torah. For so my father has said: The Oral Law has been made known only for the sake of the Written Law, and the Shekinah finds a home above and below only through the Torah.' As they were sitting, R. Simeon bent his head and said: 'Assuredly it is so, and this secret I have found in the Book of R. Hamnuna the Ancient, who applied to the Community of Israel the verse: "Her food, her raiment, and her duty of marriage shall he not diminish" (Ex. XXI, 10); and if they are withheld from her, then it is written, "She shall go out for nothing without money". He that withholds the Torah from her is like one who withholds the raiment of his wife from her, so that she is left as a widow without being a widow.'

They sat and studied the Torah till daylight, when they resumed their journey. As they went along they saw a man going on the road with his head shrouded. When they came near him they found that he was muttering [268b] with his lips, and he made no answer to their greeting. Said R. Eleazar: 'Of a surety this man is consulting his Master.' R. Eleazar and R. Aha sat down and said their prayers, while the man stood upright in another place. They went on their way and the man went another way. Said R. Eleazar: 'Either that man is a fool or an evildoer.' He then said 'Let us occupy ourselves with the Torah, for it is time.' Before he could commence, the man came up to them. Said R. Eleazar: 'We must not interrupt our study, for he who studies the Torah becomes worthy of obtaining the heavenly inheritance in the glory of the supernal Holy King, and also of an inheritance in this world, which is called "the glory of the Lord". For when a man walks in the path of rectitude before the Holy One, and occupies himself with. the Torah, he inherits that "glory of the Lord" for himself, and he has many protectors and advocates above who point out his merits before the Holy King, but if a man does not study the Torah nor walk in the way of his Master, then God appoints for him an accuser, who flies about in the air but does not at first go aloft, in case that man will repent of his sins. When he sees that he does not repent, and does not seek to study the Torah, he goes aloft and points out his guilt.'

He then discoursed on the verse: "And if the family of Egypt go not up and come not, neither upon them shall be the plague", etc. (Zech. XIV, 18). Why does it not say here, "not upon them shall be the rain", as in the case of all the other peoples? It is because, as the Companions have pointed out, the land of Egypt does not require rain, and therefore another punishment was decreed against them. But the Holy Land was ever watered from the heavens, and therefore when Israel studied the Torah it was watered properly; and he who withheld Torah from it was like one withholding good from heaven.'

They went into a cave which was by the road, and the man went in with them. They sat down, and the man opened a discourse on the verse, "And the Lord spake unto Moses face to face", etc. (Ex. XXXIII, 11). 'This verse', he said, 'does not seem to hang together properly; first it says, "God spake to Moses face to face", then, "Moses returned to the camp", then, "And his minister Joshua the son of Nun, a young man", etc. What does it mean?' Said R. Eleazar: 'Verily God desired to honour us, for now we are associated with the Shekinah, which has not departed from us. Let him who has opened the discourse continue it.' The man then proceeded: 'Moses was separated by many degrees from all the other prophets, who bore the same relation to him as an ape to a human being. Other prophets beheld visions in a glass that did not illumine, and even so they did not venture to lift up their eyes and gaze above, but were like Daniel, who said, "I was fallen into a deep sleep on my face, and my face was upon the ground" (Dan. X, 9); nor was their message given to them in clear terms. Not so was Moses, the faithful prophet: he saw his vision in a luminous glass [11] and still stood upright, and he dared to raise his head and gaze upwards, like one to whom his neighbour says: Lift up your head and look me in the face in order that you may know what I say. So Moses raised his head without fear and gazed [269a] at the brightness of the supernal glory without losing his senses like the other prophets, who when they prophesied were bereft of their faculties and became transformed and knew nothing at all of this world. Not so Moses, for even while he was in that exalted grade he did not lose his faculties, and straightway after gazing on the brightness of the heavenly glory he "returned to the camp" to speak to them concerning all their requirements, and his mind was as clear as before, and more so. "His minister Joshua the son of Nun, a young man", derived instruction from "the tent", [12] where he learnt to contemplate in the holy spirit. So long as he was with Moses he used to learn and derive instruction from "the tent" without fear, but after Moses departed from him and he was left alone, then we read of him that "he fell on his face on the ground and did worship" (Joshua V, 14), not being able to gaze even on the messenger of God; how much less so then on another place. There was a man with whom a king entrusted vessels of gold and precious stones. As long as they were with him the man's servant was able to handle them and examine them. When, however, the man died, the king would not leave anything with the servant and took back his deposit. Alas, exclaimed the servant, for what I have lost! When my master was alive I had the handling of all these. So while Moses was alive Joshua used to suck every day from the "tent" without fear, but when Moses died, then Joshua "fell on his face". So I, being in your company, will examine the words of the Torah and not be afraid. When, however, I leave you, I shall not be able to examine them by myself. He then continued:

'AND THOU SHALT TEACH THEM DILIGENTLY TO THY CHILDREN AND SHALT TALK OF THEM, ETC. A man should sharpen the intellect of his son on the words of the Torah like a two-edged sword, so that he should not be dull. THOU SHALT TALK OF THEM. Every word of the Torah has each its separate way. A man should conduct and guide himself by them so as not to turn aside right or left. WHEN THOU SITTEST IN THY HOUSE. A man should conduct himself with due propriety in his house, so as to set an example to his household, and he should also be gentle with them and not overawe them. AND WHEN THOU WALKEST BY THE WAY: to guide himself by the precepts of the Law and to direct himself by them in the fitting manner, and to prepare himself like Jacob for gift, for battle, and for prayer. AND WHEN THOU LIEST DOWN: to conduct himself in the fear of his Master, in holiness and humility, so as not to be bold of face towards his Master. AND WHEN THOU RISEST UP: to give praises to his Master for having restored his soul, in spite of his many sins before his Master, who, however, shows him lovingkindness and restores the soul to his body.

'AND THOU SHALT BIND THEM FOR A SIGN UPON THY HAND. Our colleagues who dwell in the South have explained the inner meaning of the four compartments of the phylacteries in their own way, viz., that the passage "sanctify to me every firstborn" is to correspond to the Supernal Crown (Kether); "and it shall come to pass when the Lord bringeth thee" to Wisdom; "hear, O Israel," to Binah; and "and it shall come to pass if thou hearkenest diligently" to Hesed. Then they are all combined in one on the left arm which is called Strength (Geburah). We, however, do not accept this view, because the Supreme Crown comprises all and is not reckoned (among the grades). Further, the section "and it shall come to pass [269b] when the Lord bringeth thee" is connected with the going forth from Egypt, and so with that place in which is freedom for slaves. [13] Hence our colleagues are not right. We commence from Wisdom, and we hold that the Holy One, blessed be He, wears them, four above, four below, four in the place of the brain, and four in the place where the heart is, because one is linked with the other. Man should crown himself with them, because they form the supernal Holy Name, and whoever crowns himself with the supernal Holy Crown is called king on earth as the Holy One, blessed be He, is king in the firmament. AND THOU SHALT WRITE THEM ON THE DOORPOSTS OF THY HOUSE AND ON THY GATES in order that a man may be found complete in all, complete in the precepts of his Master, inscribed above and inscribed below. Happy is the portion of Israel.'

R. Eleazar then discoursed as follows. 'We find sometimes the expression "Thus saith the Lord of Hosts", and sometimes "Thus saith the Lord God". What is the difference? A message opening with the words "Thus saith the Lord of Hosts" is one of mercy, whereas a message opening with "Thus saith the Lord God" is one of judgement. The reason is that in the first case the Koh (thus) [14] is blessed from the Zaddik and Nezah and Hod, which are called "the Lord of Hosts", and therefore the message is delivered in gentleness, since it comes from the place thereof. But in the other case it sucks from the side of judgement, from the side of the supernal Geburah; and I have learnt from my father that it is then judgement with mercy. Thus the prophet was careful to give the source of his message, and the sons of the true faith knew whence it depended.'

R. Aha then discoursed on the verse: "Curse ye Meroz, saith the angel of the Lord", etc. (Judges V, 23). 'This verse', he said, 'contains a profound mystery. When the Holy King handed over his house to the Matrona, he placed in her hands all kinds of weapons and engines of war, and put Her in command of all his warriors who are called "the mighty men of Israel, expert in war" (S.S. III, 7, 8); for when the Holy One, blessed be He, makes war, it is with these that He does so. We have learnt that when the Israelites vowed to uncover the holy impress on their flesh, [15] then that "sword that executeth the vengeance of the covenant" collected all its forces and armament to make war with Sisera, and the stars poured down fire from heaven, as it says, "The stars from their courses fought with Sisera" (Jud. V, 20). For God said to them: Be ready to execute the vengeance of my sons. I am going to exact a twofold vengeance from the enemy, once for the six hundred chariots which he lent the Egyptians to make war against Israel, and again for their oppression of my sons till now. Therefore they were judged with two punishments, one of fire and one of water. Among the stars was one which did not come to assist in the work of vengeance, and it was cursed for ever, so that when it commences to shine the other stars come and swallow it up with all its attendant stars, and they all vanish. Hence it says, "Curse ye Meroz, saith the angel of the Lord". It may be asked, Has an angel the right to say this? This, however, is the one of whom it is written, "And the angel of the Lord that went before the camp of Israel removed", etc. (Ex. XIV, 19), for to him belong [270a] all wars, and this is also the one whom Jacob called "The angel that delivered me" (Gen. XLVIII, 16). This one, too, will be supreme and glorious in the time to come, and through him the Holy Name will be magnified, and the Holy One, blessed be He, will take vengeance of the peoples.'

They went on until they came to R. Simeon, who on seeing them said: 'Behold, the Shekinah is here; of a truth we must show gratitude to the Shekinah.' He then discoursed on the verse: "Lo, it is yet high day", etc. (Gen. XXIX, 7). 'This verse', he said, 'has been expounded to signify that when Israel shall turn in repentance before the Holy One, blessed be He, through the merit of the Torah they shall return to the Holy Land and be gathered from exile. For the captivity of Israel is only one day and no more. If, therefore, they do not repent, God says: Behold it is still high day, it is not time that the cattle should be gathered together -- without merits or good deeds to their credit. You have, however, a remedy: "Water the sheep": study the Torah and drink of its waters, "and go and feed" in a restful spot, the desirable place of your inheritance. Or, again, we may take the "day" mentioned here to refer to the "day of discomfiture, of treading down, and of perplexity" (Isa. XXII, 5), when the Temple was destroyed and Israel went into captivity, and on account of their evil deeds that day is prolonged and drawn out. Therefore "water the sheep", as we have explained, with words of the Torah, for through the merit of the Torah Israel will escape from captivity. What do Israel reply? "We cannot, until all the flocks be gathered together", that is, until the other supernal Days be gathered together, "so that they may roll the stone", roll away the stern judgement of that Day which commands the mouth of the "Well" that is in captivity with us. When that Well is released and the stone will no longer dominate it, then "we shall water the sheep". At the end of days God will restore Israel to the Holy Land and gather them from exile. This "end of days" is the "latter end of days" frequently mentioned in Scripture, which is also a name for the Community of Israel in exile. With this the Holy One, blessed be He, will execute vengeance, and He will also restore it to its place, as it is written, "And it shall come to pass in the latter end of days that the mountain of the Lord's house shall be established", etc. (Isa. II, 2). Just as when the Temple was destroyed the shadows commenced to fall, as it is written, "Woe unto us for the day declineth, for the shadows of evening are stretched out" (Jer. VI, 4), so at the end of the captivity the shadows will commence to pass. The extent of that shadow will be six fists and a half, measured by the hand of a man who is a man among men. The mnemonic for this mystery among the Companions is the verse, "For we are but of yesterday and know nothing, because our days upon earth are but a shadow" (Job VIII, 9): that is to say: We are but from yesterday in captivity, and we did not know that the shadow is for God to settle us upon the land. Happy he that sees it and happy he that does not see it. Woe to him who will be at hand when the mighty lion seeks to join his mate, still more when they actually do join. Of that time it is written, "The lion roareth, who will not fear", etc. (Amos. III, 8). Of that time it is also written, "And the Lord God will turn thy captivity", etc. (Deut. XXX, 3): the Community of Israel will return from exile and the Zaddik will return to occupy his place.'

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Notes:

1. i.e. fringes and phylacteries.

2. v. T.B. Berachoth, 10b.

3. Ibid., 28b, Aboth II.

4. T.B. Berachoth, 10b.

5. v. T.B. Baba Bathra, 75a.

6. According to the Rabbis, the Israelites heard the first two commandments directly from God, the rest from Moses. T.B. Maccoth, 24a.

7. The fringes.

8. The shoe used in the ceremony of halizah.

9. T.B. Berachoth, 54a.

10. v. Bereshith Rabba, 22b.

11. T.B. Yebamoth. 49b.

12. The Shekinah.

13. Binah.

14. A name of the Shekinah.

15. At the time of circumcision.

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