Zohar
3,895 passages indexed from Zohar (The Zohar; London, Soncino Press, 1933) — Page 15 of 78
License: Public Domain
Zohar, Chukat 9:1
LET AARON BE GATHERED UNTO HIS PEOPLE, ETC. R. Hiya adduced here the verse: “Wherefore I praised the dead which are already dead”, etc. (Eccl. 4, 2).
Zohar, Yitro 1:8
Observe this. In the mystic doctrine of the Holy Name we speak of King and Priest, both above and below. The King above is the mystic Holy of Holies,1Binah. and under him there is a Priest, the mystic Primeval Light, who ministers before him; he is the priest who is called “great” and is stationed at the right hand.
Zohar, Beshalach 15:16
Said R. Judah: ‘If this is the song of the Shekinah, why does it say that Moses and the children of Israel sang it? Blessed were they that they knew how to praise Him for all the power and might which the Shekinah receives and shall receive from Him, the Holy King!’
Zohar, Achrei Mot 2:3
The verse continues: “Jacob shall not now be ashamed… but when he seeth his children the work of my hands”, etc. The reference here in “his children” is to Hananiah, Mishael and Azariah, who cast themselves into the fiery furnace.
Zohar, Beshalach 4:5
When morning dawns the Community of Israel still rejoices in her Lord, and He extends the sceptre of His grace over her and over every individual who participates in her rejoicings and communion with Him. It is on this account that the Community of Israel is known as “the hind of the morning”.’
Zohar, Vayeshev 5:16
“at the time of evening”, to wit, the eve of Sabbath, which is the sixth millennium, the same period as that alluded to in the text: “and to his laboul until the evening” (Ps. 104, 23), also in the words: “for the shadows of the evening are stretched out” (Jer. 6, 4).
Zohar, Lech Lecha 8:5
the whole account is signed with his hand so that he should be judged in the next world for all his actions, former and later, old and new, not one of them is forgotten (as it is written, “that every man should acknowledge his works”); and for all the deeds which he committed with his body and his spirit in this world he gives an account with his body and spirit before he leaves the world.
Zohar, Shemot 13:17
At the time when the Holy One shall arise to renew all worlds, and the letters of his Name shall shine in perfect union, the Yod with the He, and the He with the Vau, a mighty star will appear in the heavens of purple hue, which by day shall flame before the eyes of the whole world, filling the firmament with its light.
Zohar, Yitro 11:7
Just as in the firmament, which covers the whole universe, we behold different shapes formed by the conjunction of stars and planets to make us aware of hidden things and deep mysteries; so upon the skin which covers our body and which is, as it were, the body’s firmament, covering all, there are shapes and designs-the stars and planets of the body’s firmament, the skin through which the wise of heart may behold the hidden things and the deep mysteries indicated by these shapes and expressed in the human form. Concerning this it is written: “The viewers of the heavens, the stargazers” (Is. 47, 13).
Zohar, Vayeshev 5:20
We read, then, “and she will say, Drink, and I will give thy camels drink also”, that is, do thou drink first, and afterwards I will give drink to the othet grades, for although those grades drink from the same source, they ultimately derive their sustenance from the religious activity of the righteous who knew how to serve their Master properly, for it is the righteous who know how to supply proper sustenance to each grade. “The same be the woman”, it says further, “that thou hast appointed for the son of my master”; that assuredly is the body destined for that superior soul.
Zohar, Bechukotai 1:9
Said God to him: Wretch, my sons have anticipated you. They have something which prevents all evil sides and species and sorceries from coming near them, to wit, the tent of assembly and the holy vessels and the utensils of the Sanctuary and the incense of spices, which allays all wrath and anger, both above and below, and the daily sacrifices and the two altars and the table and the shew-bread and the laver and its base, and many utensils to serve the utterance of the mouth, the ark and the two tablets of the Law and Aaron to make atonement for the people with his prayer every day. When the wicked Balaam saw all this he said: “For there is no divination against Israel nor sorcery against Israel”. Why? Because “the Lord his God is with him, and the pleasure of the King is in him”. Therefore, “My people, I beseech you to remember the time when Balak and Balaam joined forces to destroy you, but did not succeed because I took hold of you as a father takes hold of his son, not letting him fall into the hand of another.” The verse continues, “From Shittim to Gilgal”. Why are these places mentioned? As much as to say: Remember that when you let go your hold upon me, then in Shittim “the people ate and bowed down to their gods” (Num. 25, 2), and in Gilgal “they sacrificed bullocks” (Hos. 12, 11), and then your enemies prevailed over you.
Zohar, Vayakhel 11:34
There follows the pronouncement of the blessing of the people by the priests in order to embrace all Israel at the moment when they receive blessings. For at that moment the Community of Israel receives blessings, and it is a propitious moment to surrender our souls to Him in the full willingness of our heart when we fall on our faces and recite the Psalm: “Unto Thee, O Lord, do I lift up my soul…” (Ps. 25, 1), which should be the expression of our full and complete self-surrender to Him. These are the six precepts that are bound up with our daily prayer, and that comprise in a way the six hundred precepts of the Torah.
Zohar, Bereshit 2:10
The next word, ve-eth, indicates the firm union of male and female; it also alludes to the appellation ve-Tetragrammaton (and the Lord), both explanations coming to the same thing. Ha-aretz (the earth) designates an Elohim corresponding to the higher form, to bring forth fruit and produce. This name is here found in three applications, and thence the same name branches out to various sides. Up to this point only extend the allusions to the Most Mysterious who carves out and builds and vivifies in mysterious ways, through the esoteric explanation of one verse.
Zohar, Shemot 5:6
Next is he who purposely prevents the seed from coming to fruition, for he destroys the King’s workmanship and so causes the Holy One to depart from the world.
Zohar, Mishpatim 3:22
Said R. Hiya: ‘And yet it is written: “God reigneth over the nations”!’ The old man replied: ‘I see that thou hast been behind their wall, and hast come forward to support them with this verse. I ought first to deal with my own difficulty; but since I have found thee in the way, I will first remove thee, and then go on to remove all other obstacles.
Zohar, Mishpatim 3:207
Nor does the title “Hittite” show that Uriah was not virtuous: he was merely called so after the place whence he came, as Jephthah was called “the Gileadite” (Judges XI, I) because he was from Gilead.
Zohar, Bereshit 4:7
“Darkness” is a black fire, strong in colour. There is a red fire, strong in visibility; a yellow fire, strong in shape; and a white fire, the colour which includes all. “Darkness” is the strongest of all fires, and this it was which took hold of Tohu. “Darkness” is fire, but fire is not darkness, save when it takes hold of Tohu. The symbol for this is, “his eyes were dim so that he could not see, and he called Esau, etc.” (Gen. 27, 1). Here, too, “the countenance of the evil one was darkened” because it countenanced the evil one. Hence this fire is called “darkness” because it rested upon Tohu and took hold of it; this is the inner meaning of the words “and darkness on the face of the abyss”.
Zohar, Mishpatim 3:37
Observe this. All men are in the power of the Holy King, and all have their allotted time in this world; but for this one there is no appointed time, and therefore it mocks at the evil spirits and gloats over them.
Zohar, Pekudei 3:3
“One that judgeth” is from the side of Rigour; “and seeketh judgement”, from the side of Mercy; “and is ready in judgement”, alluding to the Throne of Judgement, which is on earth. Similarly, the Tabernacle was established only on this side of Mercy, as already said; and thereby were adjusted all the affairs of the lower world.’
Zohar, Ki Teitzei 1:4
It is not the custom of the King and the Matron to ride a donkey (Heb. chamor), [Meaning, the literal understanding of the Torah is referred to as Chomer, which is similar to Chamor, and is comprised of wheat and the tree of knowledge of good and evil]. Instead they ride on horses. ['Horses' here corresponds to the secrets and mysteries of the Torah]. This is the meaning of, "you ride upon your horses, your chariots of salvation" (Habakuk 3:8). For Malchut is not treated lightly so as to have the Matron ride on a donkey, and even more so the King, for it is no place for commoners and servants, [The angel Metatron is called a commoner and servant] whose way is to ride a donkey. This is why it says of Messiah, "humble (Heb. ani), and riding upon an donkey" (Zechariah 9:9). Ani stands for the Mishnah orders of Eruvin, Nidah and Yevamot, [Ani also means "poor"] and the rest of the Mishnah in total. [ As long as a person does not know the mysteries of the Torah, but only knows the revealed Torah, one is "poor" in knowledge and it is like he is "riding on a donkey", which is the aspect of the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil. However, Hashem] is not considered a King until He rides on His horse, which is the Congregation of Yisrael [ This is Malchut/Kingship. See Song of Songs 1:9 "I have likened you, my darling, To a mare in Pharaoh’s chariots"].
Zohar, Introduction 12:35
“Thy goodness” alludes to the light that was created on the first day. “Which thou hast laid up for those who fear thee”, since He has treasured it up for the righteous in the world to come: “which thou hast wrought” alludes to the higher Gan-Eden (Garden-of-Eden, Paradise), as it is written, “The place, O Lord, which thou hast wrought for thy dwelling” (Exod. 15, 17), to wit, “Thou hast wrought for them that trust in thee”.
Zohar, Chayei Sara 3:3
He opened with the verse, "Moreover, land has an advantage for everyone, he who tills a field is a king" (Kohelet 5:8). "Moreover, land has an advantage" (is the Nukvah) "for everyone." Certainly, "All" (Heb. כֹּל). Because (from Yesod) emanate spirits and souls and goods to the world. Of the verse, "He who tills a field is a king," who is the king? He is the Holy One, blessed be He, who "tills a field" when it is properly cultivated. The King is the supernal King (Zeir Anpin) who is joined to the field when it is tilled. What is the field? This is a field which Hashem has blessed (Nukvah), "Like the smell of a field which Hashem has blessed" (Gen. 27:27). For when it is tilled and cultivated properly, the supernal King unites with it.
Zohar, Metzora 7:4
So he obtained all his requests of the King, and therefore it fell to him to purify all those who came before the Queen, so that there should be none unclean among those who entered the sanctuary. Hence it is written: “And he shall take for him that is to be cleansed two birds”, etc.’
Zohar, Bereshit 11:5
When Sabbath expires the luminaries of light are withdrawn and the luminaries of fire assume sway each in its place. They rule from the expiry of one Sabbath till the commencement of the next. For this reason it is proper to use the light of the lamp at the expiry of Sabbath.
Zohar, Mishpatim 3:218
We read, “And the king sent and called for Shimei and said unto him, Build thee an house in Jerusalem” (Ibid. 5, 36). Where, we may ask, was the great wisdom in this? It was, indeed, wiser than it seems. Solomon did all things in wisdom; he knew that Shimei was a wise man, and he said to himself: “I desire him to spread knowledge in the land, and he therefore must not go from Jerusalem, the centre.”
Zohar, Shemot 12:2
Yea, verily, He “came” for the sake of the Matrona (Shekinah), to take Her, as it were, by the hand and raise Her in glory, as He will also do when Israel’s captivity in Edom (Rome) Will come to an end.’
Zohar, Pinchas 12:3
He replied: ‘My son, there is a deep mystery here. When they departed from the world they were not sheltered under the wings of the holy Rock, because they had no children, and they were therefore not fitted for the high priesthood.
Zohar, Bereshit 5:9
AND GOD SAW THE LIGHT THAT IT WAS GOOD. This is the Central Column: Ki Tob (that it was good) threw light above and below and on all other sides, in virtue of Tetragrammaton, the name which embraces all sides. AND GOD DIVIDED: He put away strife, so that the whole was in perfect order.
Zohar, Vayera 11:2
For the Holy One desires to associate with Himself the righteous so that they may admonish and call the people to repentance in order that they may escape the punishment decreed by the judgement-seat on high, and, in any case, so that they should not be left with any loophole for complaining that the Holy One metes out punishment without justice.’
Zohar, Lech Lecha 18:5
From thence he began to reverse the process and descended from the higher to the lower, so as to fix all in its proper place. On the return journey, too, the mention of his stages contains an allusion to the higher Wisdom. It is written, “And he went on his journeys from the South”, i.e. from the side of the Right, from the very beginning of the upper world, the mysterious and recondite, reaching to the Limitless (En Sof), and then descended stage by stage “from the South to Bethel”,
Zohar, Vayishlach 4:12
Hence no one should ever go on a lonely road, even in a city, but only where people are about, nor should a man go out in the night-time, when people are no longer about. It is for a similar reason that it is written: “his body shall not remain all night upon the tree” (Deut. 21, 23), so as not to leave the dead body, which is alone, without the spirit, above ground in the night. The wicked Balaam, however, for that very reason went alone like the serpent, as already explained.’
Zohar, Vayikra 7:6
“God hath made himself known in her palaces for a refuge”: these are Nezah and Hod, in which all blessings and joy are stored up, and from whence they issue through the agency of that grade which is called Zaddik. “For lo, the kings assembled themselves, they passed by together” these are all the crowns of the King together; and from this point the Psalm has a different reference.
Zohar, Vayakhel 11:35
If you ask, What of the thirteen left over,1There being, according to the Rabbinic reckoning, six hundred and thirteen precepts. these are a category apart designed to draw upon us the thirteen attributes of mercy that comprise all the precepts. These are the six precepts by which prayer is embroidered.
Zohar, Vayikra 3:1
R. Judah said that the words, “Eat, O friends, drink, yea drink abundantly, O beloved”, were addressed to all the lords of the loud battle-shout, who were then established and blessed because they all partook of the banquet of the King. For when the King came rejoicing he rejoiced the Matrona, and then they all ate and were glad.
Zohar, Miketz 9:7
And then He gave a warning to man, as we read further: “And unto man he said: Behold, the fear of the Lord, that is wisdom; and to depart from evil is understanding” (Ibid. 28, 28), since wisdom is the means to attain to the fear of the Holy One, and understanding is the power by which to separate and keep away the refuse, and thus attain to a knowledge of and an insight into the glory of the Most High King.’
Zohar, Vayakhel 2:7
That company consists of the mourners for Zion, the same that wept for the destruction of the Temple. The litany of the middle four hours begins with: “By the rivers of Babylon, there we sat down, yea, we wept”, etc. (Ps. 137, 1-9), the angels that chant it having themselves actually wept at the time by the rivers of Babylon together with Israel, as is clear from the words, “yea, we wept”. We leam this also from the statement of the Scripture: “Behold, the angels cry without” (Isa. 33, 7), the word “without” indicating Babylon; for that company of angels accompanied the Shekinah as far as Babylon, and there they wept together with Israel. Hence they commence their chanting with “By the rivers of Babylon” and conclude with “Remember, O Lord, against the children of Edom”, etc. (Ps. 137, 7-9).
Zohar, Bamidbar 7:2
R. Simeon, in reply, said: ‘Just so. It says [literally] “and he came to the horn of south-east”, that is, first to the horn, symbolic of the yoke of the Kingdom of Heaven, and then to the south-east, symbolic of the Tree of Life….
Zohar, Vayishlach 4:3
Hence it is that the evil prompter has sway in the world, following men about and employing all manner of ruses and seductions to turn them aside from the paths of the Holy One, blessed be He. And in the same way as he seduced Adam and thereby brought death into the world, so does he ever seduce men and cause them to defile themselves;
Zohar, Lech Lecha 13:3
R. Isaac said: ‘Woe to the sinners of the world who do not know and do not observe the work of the Holy One, blessed be He, nor do they reflect that all which takes place in the world is from God, who knows from the outset what will be at the end, as it is written, “declaring the end from the beginning” (Is. 46, 10). He looks ahead and lays a train now for developments in the distant future.
Zohar, Ki Teitzei 1:5
The Holy One, blessed be He, outside His place is not a King. When He returns to His place, "Hashem shall be King" (Zechariah 14:9). It is said of Israel as well that all Israel are princes [Literally, 'the sons of kings']. Like the father, so are the sons. The children are not princes until they return to the land of Israel. You may say that he is a commoner, though he is a commoner in relation to his Master, do not treat lightly a blessing from a commoner, for this commoner is the servant Metatron. The first man, who did not keep the glory he was given [ because he ate from the Tree when he was not supposed to do so], was brought down to eat together with his donkey, and he said {to Hashem} 'I and my donkey shall eat from the same trough'. Issachar merited this donkey by being called, "Issachar is a strong donkey" (Genesis 49:14).
Zohar, Korach 1:3
R. Judah said: ‘The left should always be embraced in the right. Korah sought to change the order fixed both above and below, and therefore he perished both above and below.
Zohar, Lech Lecha 10:11
And this is what they meant by saying that the Neshamah of Neshamah rests upon a person who feels awe and has Wisdom. The Neshamah reaches a person in Binah, as it is written, "And to man He said, Behold the fear of Hashem, that is wisdom (Heb. חָכְמָה)" (Iyov 28:28). The Neshamah comes to a person through repentance, which is called 'Binah' and 'Sarah'. The Ruach is called 'the voice', and is also called 'Da'at.' And this is drawn down to a person who raises his voice in Torah. (The Ruach is) also called the written Torah, and all the positive deeds come from the mental Nefesh.
Zohar, Vaetchanan 5:4
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”.’
Zohar, Yitro 1:41
And he saw this brightness from a distance, but, as it were, through a partition; therefore, although he prophesied, he knew not what he prophesied: he looked at the light with a “closed eye” (Num. 24, 4), for there is no sphere of the “other side” that entirely lacks some streak of light from the side of holiness
Zohar, Shemot 7:7
The secret Garden In worlds of light hidden -Two hundred and fifty Encompassing worlds- Where Shekinah’s splendour From splendour proceeding Its splendour sends forth To the ends of creation, In the fulness of glory Is revealed in its beauty To the eyes made seeing- The garden of Eden.
Zohar, Vayakhel 6:6
On the fifth day He created the fishes of the sea and the birds of heaven. With the birds he stipulated that they should feed Elijah when he restrained the heaven from rain, as it is written: “and I have commanded the ravens to feed thee there” (I Kings 17, 4); and He stipulated with the fishes of the sea to appoint one fish that should swallow up Jonah and then eject him.
Zohar, Mishpatim 3:197
Now this verse will repay a little closer consideration. The question is, does it refer to the living or to the dead? For the beginning and the end seem to conflict with one another, the first part referring to the living and the second to the dead. We may, however, interpret thus. As long as a man is alive and walks “frowardly in the way of his heart” because the evil inclination is strong in him, making it hard for him to repent and start a new life
Zohar, Mishpatim 3:180
Those that are worthy will awake to life in the world below, since they have not merited the world above; and those that are not worthy even of this will awaken to shame and everlasting contempt. As the “other side” will pass away from the world (there being no more evil principle or sin), the Holy One will leave these specimens of the past and evil world, who belonged to the stream which issued forth from that side, in order that all the children of the world may, in beholding them, be astonished.
Zohar, Introduction 11:13
Seeing, declaring, establishing and searching out correspond to these four operations which the Holy One, blessed be He, went through before entering on the work of creation. Hence the account of the creation commences with the four words Bereshith Bara Aelohim Aith (“In-the-beginning created God the”), before mentioning “the heavens”, thus signifying the four times which the Holy One, blessed be He, looked into the Torah before He performed His work.’
Zohar, Noach 1:5
Thus the words “these are the generations” imply that this brought forth products and no other. So it was with Noah in the lower world. Noah was the sacred covenant below corresponding to that above, and hence is called “Man of the earth”. The inner meaning which we learn from this is that Noah had need of an ark with which to become united in order thereby to preserve the seed of all species, as it is written, “To preserve seed”.