Zohar, Chayei Sara 6:4

Said R. Hiya: ‘It is written, “there is nothing new under the sun” (Eccl. 1, 9), whereas this song is going to be something new, and is going to happen under the sun. How can this be? The truth is that this is the moon, and is thus both “new” and “under the sun”. Why will there be a new song? Because “He hath done marvellous things; his right hand and his holy arm hath wrought salvation for him.” For whom? For that grade that intones the chant, for on that grade He supports Himself, as it were, by His right hand and by His left hand. When will that Psalm be chanted? When the dead will come to life and rise from the dust; then there will be something new that had never yet been in the world.’

Zohar, Terumah 10:14

When morning comes and the congregation is assembled in the Synagogue, service must begin with hymns and psalms of David. We have already made clear that the purpose of the liturgy is to stir up Mercy and Lovingkindness both in the higher and lower range, to bring into being redemptive acts, and to awaken joy; and this was the essential significance of the Levitic service, namely to awaken love and joy above by means of song and praise.

Zohar, Bereshit 18:1

Rabbi Shimon opened the discussion saying: Listen, all you celestial beings. Gather, all you earthly beings, the masters of the Yeshivah above and below. Elijah, upon an oath, ask permission from the Holy One, blessed be He, to come down here because a great battle awaits you. Come down, Chanoch Metatron, you and all the masters of the Yeshivot under your supervision. I did not do this for my glory, but for the glory of the Shechinah.

Zohar, Beshalach 4:14

Said R. Abba: ‘Blessed are the Israelites for that the Holy One brought them out from Egypt in order that they might be His portion and possession! Observe that Israel gained freedom from the side of the “Jubilee”; since it shall be thus once again in the future time, as it is written, “And it shall come to pass in that day that the great trumpet shall be blown” (Isa. 27, 13).

Zohar, Mishpatim 3:192

Such a one is set upon the way of life, and, notwithstanding his former stain, everything is put right and restored to its former position. Even when the Holy One has decreed most solemnly against a person, He forgives entirely where there is a perfect repentance. Thus we find it written concerning Jehoiachin: “As I live, says the Lord, if thou Coniah the son of Jehoiakim wert the signet upon my right hand, yet would I pluck thee hence… write ye this man childless…” (Jer. 22, 24-30); and yet, when he repented and turned again unto the Lord, we read: “And the sons of Jeconia, Assir, etc.” (I Ch. 3, 17), showing that after all he was not childless: which proves that repentance annuls all decrees and judgements, and breaks many an iron chain, and there is nothing that can stand against it.

Zohar, Bamidbar 3:2

This we see in their names, as Hareuben Y (the Reubenite), Hashimeon Y (the Simeonite), and so on. Assuredly it is so, inasmuch as a sacred celestial Tree traced out its boundaries through them, as expounded elsewhere. We find Scripture saying: “As for the likeness of their faces, they had the face of a man; and they four had the face of a lion on the right side”, etc. (Ezek. 1, 10). The image of man, that is, was combined with all of them. The faces turned toward the four cardinal points, each with its own likeness, but all combined with the likeness of man.

Zohar, Miketz 6:17

from the purchase of corn in Egypt, and he also foresaw calamity upon calamity1Another play upon the term sheber, which, besides “corn”, also signifies “calamity”. in his sons going down into Egypt. AND JACOH SAID TO HIS SONS: WHY SHOULD YE MAKE YOURSELVES CONSPICUOUS ? meaning, in effect, “you should not pretend to be other than hungry and short of food”.

Zohar, Yitro 14:5

A boraitha also tells us that R. Jose once expounded the verse: Who hath ascended up into heaven, or descended? Who hath gathered the wind in his fists? Who hath bound the waters in a garment? Who hath established all the ends of the earth? What is his name, and what is his son’s name? (Prov. 30, 4). ‘It is Moses who ascended up to heaven, as it says: “And Moses went up unto God.” It is Aaron who gathered the wind in his fists, as it says: “His fist full of sweet incense” (Lev. 16, 12). It is Elijah who “hath bound the waters in a garment”, for he said: “There shall not be dew nor rain these years, but according to my word” (I Kings 17, 1). And it is Abraham who “hath established all the ends of the earth”, for it says concerning him: “These are the generations of the heavens and the earth when they were created (behibar’am)” (Gen. 2, 4), the last word having the same letters as Abraham.’

Zohar, Shemot 8:15

R. Isaac applied the words, “Look from the top of Amana” to the Sanctuary above and to the Sanctuary below, according to the dictum of R. Judah, that the Shekinah never departed from the Western wall of the Temple. R. Judah applied the words, “From the lions’ dens, etc.”, to students of the Torah in the dens, i.e. in the synagogues and houses of study.

Zohar, Vayikra 3:3

R. Simeon said: ‘All these explanations are good, but the real truth is that “friends” refers to those above and “beloved” to those below.’ ‘Who’, asked R. Eleazar, ‘are those above and those below?’ ‘This is a good question’, he replied. ‘Those in the higher realm who are fast friends and never separate are called “friends”, whereas those below who unite only at certain times are called “beloved ones”.

Zohar, Yitro 1:7

The ten powers of which we spake are the lower ten Words (Sefiroth), symbolized by the inscribed letters corresponding to those above, and they have charge, in the first instance, of the raising of the fingers in prayer. And when the whole side of holiness is united above, the “other sides” are subdued, and they also confess and praise the Holy King.

Zohar, Shemot 2:5

were now driven into exile with their necks yoked and their hands fettered; and when they reached the land of exile despair settled in their hearts, and they thought that they would never be raised up again, since God had deserted them.

Zohar, Vayigash 9:3

“Thy neck” signifies the Temple below, which for its beauty is compared to the neck in the human body: as the neck gives symmetry and beauty to the body, so does the Temple to the whole world.

Zohar, Vaetchanan 5:2

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.

Zohar, Vayigash 8:9

For his whole being was derived from the tree of life and not from the dust. He, therefore, without suffering death, as is the lot of other men, went up on high, as Scripture says: “and Elijah went up by a whirlwind into heaven” (II Kings 2, 11).

Zohar, Vayishlach 2:3

R. Abba said: ‘All the world knew that Laban was the greatest of wizards and sorcerers and magicians, and that no one whom he wished to destroy could escape from him, and that it was from him that Balaam learnt all his skill-Balaam, of whom it is written: “for I know that he whom thou blessest is blessed, and he whom thou cursest is cursed” (Num. 22, 6). Thus Laban and his magic were universally feared. Hence Jacob’s first intimation to Esau was, “I have sojourned with Laban”; and lest Esau should think that it was merely a month, or, at most, a year, he added: “and I stayed until now”-a space of twenty years.

Zohar, Vaera 7:5

On this occasion the word began to function, but it ceased again, as the time was not yet ripe; hence the verse continues, “and said to him, I am the Lord” (Ibid.).

Zohar, Bereshit 6:16

LET THERE BE A FIRMAMENT: i.e. let there be a gradual extension. Thereupon El (God), the “right cluster”,1al. ‘shoulder’: in either case a designation of the grade Hesed (kindness). El Gadol (Great God), spread forth from the midst of the waters to complete this name El and to combine with this extension, and so El was extended into Elohim (=El+H, Y, M). These H, Y, M, extended and became reversed so as to form lower waters, Y, M, H. This extension which took place on the second day is the upper waters. The he, yod, mim, form hayam (the sea), which is the upper waters. The reversal of these letters, yamah (seaward), is the lower waters. When they were firmly established, all became one whole, and this name was extended to a number of places.

Zohar, Vayigash 10:1

AND THE REPORT THEREOF WAS HEARD IN PHARAOH’S HOUSE. R. Abba opened a discourse on the verse: My soul yearneth, yea, even pineth for the courts of the Lord; my heart and my flesh sing for joy unto the living God (Ps. 84, 3). ‘Observe’, he said, ‘that before offering his prayer to his Master, a man should first recite some thanksgiving. He should also pray before his Master in the proper time:

Zohar, Miketz 4:18

Now, observe that all the doings of the world are controlled by vast numbers of spirits, but the people of the world know not and regard not what it is that upholds them. Even Solomon, the wisest of men, could not apprehend them.’

Zohar, Lech Lecha 20:4

When Israel were in their own land everything was as it should be, the heavenly throne was fully spread over them, and the liturgy which they performed pierced through the ether and ascended on high to its place. For Israel alone was qualified to serve God in that land, and therefore the Gentiles kept aloof, since they did not rule over it as now, but were nourished only by the “residue”.

Zohar, Vayera 6:22

Note that Adam transgressed through eating of the tree of knowledge of good and evil, and this brought death into the world. God then said, “and now, lest he put forth his hand, and take also the tree of life etc.” (Gen. 3, 22). But when Abraham came, he remedied the evil by means of that other tree, which is the tree of life, and by means of which he made known the true faith to the whole world.

Zohar, Vayikra 10:7

So the Community of Israel, on all previous occasions in which she was in exile, when the appointed time came, used to return of herself to the King; but in this exile the Holy One, blessed be He, will himself take her by the hand and raise her and comfort her and restore her to his palace. So it is written: ‘In that day I will raise up the tabernacle of David that is fallen’ (Amos 9, 11), the ‘tabernacle of David’ being identical with the ‘Virgin of Israel’.

Zohar, Introduction 12:2

R. Eleazar then began thus: ‘It is written: Ye shall keep my Sabbaths (Lev. 19, 30). Consider this: the Holy One, blessed be He, created the world in six days and each day revealed a part of His work, and functioned through the energy imparted to it. But none of the work was actually disclosed nor the energy functioning until the fourth day. The first three days were undisclosed and imperceptible, but when the fourth day came the product and energy of all of them was brought out into the open.

Zohar, Toldot 8:5

Rabbi Elazar ben Arach was sitting and was exceedingly sad. Rabbi Yehoshua came before him and asks why the appearance of the candlelight of the world had become dark. He said, Great fear entered me, for I see how the companions versed in the Mishnah have responded on whom the spirit of saints dwells. They said that redemption will be in the sixth millennium. This was well said, but I see a longer time for the dwellers of the dust, who shall wait until the four hundred and eighth year of the sixth millennium, when they will rise. For this reason, the companions were stimulated by the verse that referred to the dwellers of the dust as the children of Chet, for Chet alludes to their rising after four hundred and eight (Heb. Chet Tav) years. As it is written, "In the year of this Jubilee you shall return every man to his possession" (Vayikra 25:13), when this (Heb. hazot) shall be finished. [The numerical value of Hazot is 5,408, as the Hei of Hazot alludes to the Hei (= 5) thousands; and Zot is 408 in numerical value]. Then, "you shall return every man to his possession," means that the body will return to its soul, which is its possession and lot.

Zohar, Vayishlach 3:14

The reason why Isaac did not transfer to him any years like the others was that he was himself wrapt in darkness, and David came from the side of darkness, and he who is in darkness possesses no light whatever, nor any life: it is for that reason that David possessed no life at all of his own.

Zohar, Beshalach 13:10

we must picture a king who combines in himself the balance and harmony of all attributes, and therefore his countenance always shines like the sun, and he is serene because of his wholeness and perfection; but when he judges, he can condemn as well as acquit. A fool, seeing that the king’s countenance is bright, thinks that there is nothing to be afraid of; but a wise man says to himself, “although the king’s countenance shines, it is because he is perfect and combines benevolence with justice, and in that brightness judgement is hidden, and therefore I must be careful”.

Zohar, Vayishlach 3:1

AND THE ANGELS RETURNED TO JACOB, SAYING: WE CAME TO THY BROTHER ESAU, AND MOREOVER HE COMETH TO MEET THEE, AND FOUR HUNDRED MEN WITH HIM. The word “Esau” after “thy brother” seems to be superfluous, since Jacob had no other brothers. It was, however, a hint to Jacob not to think that Esau had retraced his steps and entered on the path of rectitude, but that he was still the same wicked Esau as of old. And moreover “he cometh to meet thee”, and that not by himself, but having “four hundred men with him”.

Zohar, Bereshit 19:9

So the letter Vav came down together with (Moshe to) guard him, so he does not perish among them, because according to the secret of reincarnation, he was destined to mingle among the mixed multitude in exile, whose souls originated from the aspect of those of whom it is written: "For the heavens shall vanish away like smoke" (Isaiah 51:6). These are the ones for whom Noah did not plea for mercy. About them, it is written: "They were destroyed from the earth" (Beresheet 7:23), because they came from those of whom it is said, "You shall blot out the remembrance of Amalek" (Devarim 25:19). Moses did not protect himself from them and dropped the (small) Hei among them. For this reason, he shall not enter the land of Yisrael until he brings the Hei back to its place. This is also why he fell from his grade, and the letter Vav descended with him. Because of this, the letter Hei fell down and the letter Vav of Moses shall raise it up.

Zohar, Balak 6:70

R. Eleazar then discoursed on the verse: “Bless the Lord, ye angels, ye mighty of his”, etc. (Ps. 103, 20). ‘King David’, he said, ‘here invited the hosts of heaven which are the stars and constellations to bless the Holy One, joining his own soul with them, wherefore he concluded the Psalm with the words, “Bless the Lord, O my soul”.’

Zohar, Beshalach 12:5

She for her own bodyguard has armed hosts of sixty different degrees. Holding their swords, they stand around Her. They come and go, entering and departing again on the errands of their Master. Each with his six wings outspread they circle the world in swift and silent flight. Before each of them coals of fire burn. Their garments are woven of flames from a bright and burning fire. A sharp flaming sword also is at the shoulder of each to guard Her. Concerning these swords it is written: “The flaming sword which turned every way to keep the way of the tree of life” (Gen. 3, 23).

Zohar, Lech Lecha 3:6

The verse, "and from your kindred" (means) from the body, that is called 'the Tree of Life'. And it includes the twelve supernal tribes, which are the secret of the twelve borders. The verse "and from your father's house" refers to the Shechinah. "Your father" means the Holy One, blessed be He. As it is written, "He who steals from his father or his mother, and says it is no transgression..." (Mishlei 28:24). "His father" is none other than the Holy One, blessed be He, and "his mother" is none other than the Congregation of Yisrael. The words, "to the land that I will show you," refer to this world, to which the soul is sent.(End of Sitrei Torah).

Zohar, Balak 6:83

And this was brought about by the might and power of her doughty warriors. Hence it is written, “Mighty in strength that fulfil his word”. And then when they have restored her to her form and beauty they and all the other hosts wait attentively for her words, and she is like a king in the midst of his army.

Zohar, Metzora 8:3

R. Simeon drew a similar lesson from the verse: “And if a woman have an issue of her blood many days”, etc. (Lev. 15, 25).’ ‘The “blood” is that referred to in the verse, “The sword of the Lord is filled with blood” (Isa. 34, 6). “Not in the time of her impurity”, as we have learnt, that the wicked bring punishment on the world before its time. “Or if she hath an issue beyond the time of her impurity”: this implies an excess of punishment, as it is written, “I will chastise you still more seven times for your sins” (Lev. 26, 18).

Zohar, Vayishlach 3:13

Abraham allowed him five years of the hundred and eighty years which he was properly entitled to live, so that he lived only a hundred and seventy-five years, five years less than his due. Jacob was also due to live in this world as many years as Abraham, but he lived only a hundred and forty-seven years. Thus, Abraham and Jacob between them conceded to David thirty three years. Then Joseph should have lived a hundred and forty-seven years like Jacob, his father, but he fell short of that number by thirty-seven years. These, with the other thirty-three, completed the seventy years allotted to David, which were thus transferred to him out of the lives of the patriarchs.

Zohar, Terumah 15:2

In this way blessings are transmitted to this ‘olam va’ed from the highest world, so that it attains its full perfection.

Zohar, Mishpatim 3:126

The same problem arises even when the widow does not marry again. What becomes of her husband’s spirit which cleaves to her? All this must now be explained. Old man, old man! See what thou hast done and what thou hast taken upon thyself! Arise, old man, and unfurl thy sail! Arise, old man, and humble thyself before thy Master!’

Zohar, Vayechi 1:5

There are high mysteries in this verse, and we friends wonder about them, for it says that Jacob lived instead of Yisrael, to wit 'And Israel lived.' For the name Jacob indicates smallness, and the name Israel indicates Mochin of greatness, while "and lived" alludes to the Light of Chayah, which is the Mochin of greatness. It should have said, 'And Israel lived.' How do we know that Yisrael indicates Mochin of Greatness? From the verse, "Yisrael is holy to Hashem" (Jer. 2:3), (Holy is an allusion to greatness). It also says, "Israel is My son, My firstborn" (Shemot 4:22), firstborn being an allusion to greatness. Rabbi Elazar, the son of Rabbi Shimon, said, Yet scripture says, "and he sold his birthright to Jacob" (Beresheet 25:33), for with the birthright, which is greatness, the name Jacob is mentioned.

Zohar, Mishpatim 3:237

Mark this. It is written: “They will die as solitaries.(aririm) without offspring” (Lev. 20, 21). The word aririm is both masculine and feminine, indicating that a man who refuses to generate leaves the world in the sphere of femininity, although he first entered it in the sphere of masculinity. The Holy One, blessed be He, suffers not any man who has emasculated himself in this world to appear before Him, just as in a similar fashion no castrated animal was a permitted sacrifice (Lev. 22, 24).

Zohar, Behar 2:2

R. Eleazar further quoted here the verse: “If thou buy an Hebrew servant, six years shall he serve” (Ex. 21, 2). ‘Every Israelite’, he said, ‘who is circumcised and bears on him the holy impress has relief in the sabbatical year, because it belongs of right to him to find rest therein: and this is called “the Sabbath of the land”. Truly there is freedom and rest in it; as the Sabbath is rest for all, so the sabbatical year is rest for all, for the spirit and the body.

Zohar, Bereshit 9:5

Adam for a hundred and thirty years had intercourse with female spirits until Naamah was born. She by her beauty led astray the “sons of God”, Uzza and Azael, and she bore them children, and so from her went forth evil spirits and demons into the world. She wanders about at night time, vexing the sons of men and causing them to defile themselves. Wherever these spirits find people sleeping alone in a house, they hover over them, lay hold of them and cleave to them, inspire desire in them and beget from them. They further inflict diseases on them without their being aware-all this through the diminution of the moon.

Zohar, Introduction 14:22

Whilst they were sitting there entered his son, R. Eleazar, and R. Abba. He said to them: ‘Of a certainty the face of the Shekinah has arrived, and it is for this reason that I named you Peniel, because you have seen the Shekinah face to face. And now that you have learnt the secret of the verse concerning Benaiah the son of Jehoiada, an exposition indeed emanating from the Ancient and Holy One, as well as of the verse following, I am going to expound to you another even more mysterious verse in another passage.’

Zohar, Kedoshim 3:8

Said R. Abba: ‘Why does the section of “holiness” follow immediately upon the section dealing with sexual offences? Because we have learnt that whoever preserves himself from these offences shows that he was begotten in holiness; all the more so if he sanctifies himself with the holiness of his Master.

Zohar, Introduction 14:11

“He certainly was not aware of it, and indeed he waited even more than three months, namely, four months, as we have been taught: The twenty-fifth day of Nisan David called the people to arms, and the people assembled under Joab on the seventh of Sivan, when they went and smote the Ammonites. They remained there the months of Sivan, Tamuz, Ab, and Elul, and on the twenty-fourth of Elul happened the incident of Bath-Sheba. And on the day of Kippur (Atonement) the Holy One, blessed be He, forgave him that sin. According to another account, on the seventh day of Adar David called the people to arms, and they assembled on the fifteenth of Iyar, and on the fifteenth of Elul happened the incident of Bath-Sheba, and the day of Kippur he was vouchsafed the message: ‘The Lord also hath put away thy sin: thou shalt not die’ (Ibid. 12, 13), to wit, thou shalt not die at the hand of Duma.”

Zohar, Mishpatim 3:266

how they shed tears before the Holy One.

Zohar, Terumah 10:2

It is written: “The burden of Dumah. He calleth to me out of Seir, Watchman, what of the night? Watchman, what of the night? The watchman said, The morning cometh, and also the night: If ye will inquire, inquire ye: return, come” (Is. 21, 11). This verse has been explained in references to Israel’s exile in Seir (i.e. Edom=Rome). Israel says to the Holy One: “Watchman, what of the night?” meaning, “What will become of us in this exile, which is like the darkness of night?” Says the watchman, namely, the Holy One: “The morning hath come once (in the Egyptian exile) when I made My light to shine unto you, when I liberated you, when I ordained you for My service, when I gave you the Torah in order that you might achieve eternal life, but ye have forsaken My Torah”, and therefore came also the “night” of this present exile. If ye will inquire from “the book of the Lord” (Ibid. 34, 16) and read therein, ye will find there the reason and cause of your exile and the means of redemption. If you so inquire there, the Book will call upon you, “Return with a perfect repentance and come near to Me”.

Zohar, Vayera 5:13

I then said to them: My children, all this is similar to what we learn in our Torah, nevertheless you should keep away from these books so that your hearts should not be led astray after those idolatrous services and after those “sides” mentioned here. Be on your guard lest, God forbid, you be led astray from the worship of the Holy One, since all these books mislead mankind.

Zohar, Mishpatim 3:97

It may be said, “the spirit becomes the same as what it was”: this is so, but it has not been built up save for the sake of the other spirit which was left in that vessel.. There is here a profound mystery. According to the Book of Enoch, this “building” is indeed constructed by the other spirit which was left in the “vessel,’, and which draws after him the spirit which roams about in the air naked and alone; and these two spirits are welded together, and if the person is worthy to be built up again, the two spirits become one indeed, an organ in which a superior soul may wrap herself.

Zohar, Vayera 9:4

R. Simeon said: ‘The “gates” mentioned in this passage are the same as the gates in the passage, “Lift up your heads, O ye gates” (Ps. 24, 7), and refer to the supernal grades by and through which alone a knowledge of the Almighty is possible to man, and but for which man could not commune with God.

Zohar, Chukat 4:6

6. As soon as this cow turns into ashes, there is a requirement to throw into it "cedar wood, and hyssop, and scarlet" (Bemidbar 19:6) as we have already learned. "And a man that is clean shall gather up" (Ibid. 9) and not a holy man. "...and lay them outside the camp in a clean place..." (Ibid.) since nothing is called 'clean' except from the aspect that he was first unclean.

Zohar

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